Jeanne Louise nodded. “How did she die?”
“She was driving home from work the week before Christmas when a drunk driver blindsided her. Ran her into a telephone pole. She survived a couple weeks; almost to New Year’s, but . . .” He let his breath out on a sigh and shrugged unhappily.
Jeanne Louise was silent for a minute, but then steered the conversation away from his beautiful wife by asking, “So Livy is almost six?”
“Six next month,” Paul murmured.
He’d watched his wife die over two weeks, and now was getting to watch his beautiful daughter go as well, Jeanne Louise thought solemnly, and could understand the desperation that had led him to kidnap an immortal. Well, if she was right about his motive in kidnapping her, and she was very, very sure she was right, the only question that left was . . . “Why me?”
He glanced to her with surprise. “Why you what?”
“Why did you kidnap me?” Jeanne Louise explained. “There are a lot of immortals working at Argeneau Enterprises. Why me?”
He frowned, watching his daughter briefly, and then admitted, “I don’t know. I just . . .” He shook his head helplessly and then glanced to her, looking rather perplexed. “You were the first person to come to mind when I . . .”
Jeanne Louise watched him for a minute, but he didn’t finish that thought. She finished it for him in her mind, “when I decided I needed an immortal to save my daughter.” He wasn’t ready to admit that yet. No doubt he wanted to be sure she really, really liked Livy before he put his proposition to her. In his mind, it would increase his chances of her turning the girl. But then he had no clue what he would be asking of her. Or what he would lose if she did as he wished.
“I had noticed you at work several times,” Paul said suddenly, his gaze on his daughter again. “We take breaks at the same time. We’ve shared lunch, snack breaks, and breakfast without sharing a table for the last almost two and a half years.”
Jeanne Louise swallowed, but stayed silent. He had been in the cafeteria three times a day for two years and four months and she’d never noticed him. She’d probably walked right past him a thousand times at Argeneau, never stopping to even glance his way let alone try to read his mind. If she had . . . dear God, her life mate had been that close to her all this time, Jeanne Louise thought, with a combination of horror and dismay.
“You always look so prim and professional from the ankles up, but you wear the damnedest shoes,” Paul said suddenly with amusement.
Jeanne Louise blinked at his words and peered down, but her feet were covered with the blanket hiding the shackles on her ankle. If it weren’t, she’d be looking at black, five-inch high-heeled shoes with studs on the heels. Damnedest? They were sexy as all get-out, as were all of the shoes she bought. But she’d thought they were hidden by the long pants she always wore. Jeanne Louise supposed when she sat in the cafeteria with ankles or legs crossed that her pant legs rode up and the shoes showed. She’d never considered that. Had never really thought anyone would even notice. Apparently Paul had.
“Daddy, can Boomer and I watch that dragon training movie?”
Jeanne Louise smiled at Livy as she approached with Boomer on her heels, a frown curving her lips as she noted the pallor to the girl’s face. Slipping into the girl’s mind, she was immediately beset with a pain that made her flinch and squeeze her eyes closed. The child had a crushing headache. Jeanne Louise took a moment to try to adjust to the pain, and then opened her eyes again and set about trying to ease it for the girl. If asked, she wouldn’t have been able to explain how she did it, but she used the same technique she’d been taught to use when feeding off the hoof to keep her victims from feeling the pain of her teeth sinking into their necks.
“Do you have another headache, baby?” Paul asked, deep concern obvious in his voice.
“I . . .” Livy frowned, one small hand moving to her forehead as if feeling to see if it was still there, and then she said with surprise, “It was hurting a minute ago, but not now.”
“Well . . .” Paul sounded nonplused, but Jeanne Louise didn’t glance around, her concentration still on Livy as she continued to work to ease her pain. Unfortunately, being in her thoughts meant that Jeanne Louise was feeling the pain even if Livy now wasn’t. It was an unbearable, pounding throb that reverberated through her skull. She didn’t know how the child had borne it without weeping and wailing. She wanted to and she was an adult. Biting down on her lip to keep from moaning, she swallowed and tried to ignore the nausea growing in her stomach.
“Well,” Paul said again, getting up now. “Perhaps relaxing with a movie is for the best. Yes, you and Boomer can watch a movie.”
Jeanne Louise sensed him glancing her way, but was already dividing her attention between trying to keep Livy from suffering and trying to think of how to keep her from feeling it after she’d left her sight. There was no way she knew of. She had to be able to see the girl to continue to control her mind and keep her from feeling the pain.
“Jeanne Louise? Are you all right?”
“Fine,” she said tightly.
“You’ve gone pale,” Paul said sounding concerned again. “Do you need—?”
Blood, she supposed he was asking. And apparently he thought her fixation on Livy was because she saw the child as a big snack. At least that’s what Jeanne Louise concluded when he suddenly stepped into her line of vision, blocking her view of the child.
Jeanne Louise shifted her eyes to his face, seeing the protective anger there and knew she was right. Paul thought she was eyeing Livy like a big juicy steak. Idiot, she thought, and then tried to see past him to Livy when the child suddenly sucked in a gasping breath. The pain had no doubt hit her full force now that Jeanne Louise wasn’t controlling it, and it would have hit like a sledgehammer to the head, she knew.
Fortunately, Paul heard the sound too and moved to the child, allowing Jeanne Louise to see her again. She immediately slipped back into her thoughts and took control once more; quickly removing the pain again. Jeanne Louis ground her teeth as it began to pound at her own mind.
“What is it, honey?” Paul was asking.
“I— N-nothing,” Livy said shakily, one hand on her forehead. “It’s gone again.”
Jeanne Louise saw Paul glance her way out of the corner of her eye, but ignored him. The seconds ticked by like hours as he peered at her and she knew he was trying to work out what was happening. Apparently, he didn’t think it was anything good, because he suddenly turned, shifting his body so that his back was to her even as he moved Livy in front of him, blocking Jeanne Louise’s view of the child once more and again breaking the connection.
She wasn’t at all surprised to hear a moan from the child a bare heartbeat later.