Pulling the door closed behind him, Paul moved slowly down the stairs, trying to think how best to convince Jeanne Louise to agree to a picnic and promise not to say anything about being kidnapped. The only thing he could come up with was begging. Paul wasn’t too proud to beg for his daughter. He’d do that and a lot more for Livy, and suspected he would be doing a lot of it until the situation was resolved.
Grimacing, he approached his office, surprised to see that he’d forgotten to close the door when he’d carried Livy out earlier. The office was soundproof, but it only worked if the door was closed. It was one of the things he’d arranged over the last month when he’d decided on his plan. He’d moved his office out of this room because it was windowless, had had it soundproofed, then had moved the hospital bed he’d purchased while his wife, Jerri, had been ill into his office. He hadn’t wanted her dying in a cold, sterile hospital. She’d spent the last two weeks of her life in that bed in their home with a nurse and himself tending to her and standing watch.
Paul had also bought chains and had begun taking a little blood from himself every day to build up a supply for Jeanne Louise while she was here. And while he’d done all that, he’d planned and replanned when and how it was best to take her.
He could have kidnapped her and brought her here a lot earlier if he’d simply robbed a blood bank rather than build up a supply of his own blood, but Paul wasn’t a thief and blood banks were already in short supply. His conscience hadn’t been able to deal with stealing from a blood bank and risking someone dying because of it. It was all right, though. The added time had given him the opportunity to properly plan kidnapping her. He’d come up with several plans this last month, but the one he’d settled on had been the best.
Jeanne Louise appeared to be asleep when Paul stepped up to the open door, but her eyes opened almost at once and she peered at him solemnly and announced, “Yes, I’ll join the picnic.”
His eyes widened incredulously. “How did you—?”
“I heard Livy ask you,” she interrupted gently. “We have exceptional hearing.”
“Oh.” Paul stared at her blankly. He’d known they were stronger and faster, but hadn’t realized their hearing was improved as well. “What else do the nanos do for you?”
Jeanne Louise shrugged. Mortals working in R and D were briefed on immortals. He would know about the night vision, increased speed and strength, etc. What he wouldn’t know about was that they were usually able to read the minds of and even control mortals. Those abilities had been necessary when they’d fed off the hoof, hunting humans and feeding off them. Slipping into their thoughts and keeping them in place while ensuring they didn’t suffer any pain had been most useful. As had being able to make them think the small marks left behind were from an accident with open shears or something. Paul didn’t need to know this though. To keep him from asking the questions she could see swirling in his eyes, she said, “You’ll have to remove most of these chains. I can’t eat like this. One around my ankle ought to be sufficient during the picnic. You can always put the others back on afterward.”
Uncertainty immediately claimed Paul’s expression and then he asked warily, “You’re stronger. How do I know you can’t just snap the one chain?”
“I can’t just snap it like twine,” she assured him. “It would take a little bit more effort than a quick jerk. You don’t know that for sure, of course, and I could be lying. But if you keep your tranquilizer gun on you, it shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” she pointed out quietly.
His eyes narrowed with a combination of confusion and suspicion. “Are you saying you won’t try to escape?”
“I can do better than that. I promise you I won’t try to escape. At least not until I’ve heard this proposition of yours,” Jeanne Louise said solemnly.
Paul’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
Jeanne Louise hesitated. She simply couldn’t tell him it was because he was a possible life mate for her and she hoped to claim him. In the end, she went with, “Because I like Livy.”
It was the right thing to say and apparently thoroughly believable to him. He relaxed at once, a small smile curving his lips. “Everyone likes Livy. She’s adorable and so smart and funny. She makes the world a brighter place.”
Jeanne Louise stayed silent. The man loved his daughter. If she hadn’t already figured that out, the way his eyes lit up and his face softened as he spoke of her would have done it.
“Right.” He smiled, looking more relaxed than he had since she’d woken up to see him standing over her. “I’ll make a picnic for us and then come down and get you. We can have it outside. It’s a beautiful sunny day. Livy will like that and—” He blinked and paused, a frown suddenly tugging at his lips. “Oh. I forgot, you can’t—”
“I can go out in daylight, I will just have to sit in the shade,” she said quickly.
“Really?” Curiosity immediately filled his expression again. “Most immortals work at night. I thought you all avoided sunlight.”
“We avoid it to avoid needing more blood, but we can go out in daylight,” Jeanne Louise said solemnly.
Paul nodded and she could see a million questions swimming in his eyes, but in the end, he simply said, “You’ll have to tell me more during our picnic. I’ll go fix sandwiches and stuff for us. You like ham, cheese, and mayo right?”
Jeanne Louise blinked at the question. It was her favorite, but she had no idea how he knew that.
“It’s what you usually order in the cafeteria on your first break,” he explained and she relaxed. The man had obviously paid attention to the details while planning this kidnapping.
“Yes, I like ham, cheese, and mayonnaise,” she agreed quietly.
Nodding, Paul turned to the door. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Jeanne Louise watched until he was out of sight and then laid back and closed her eyes again. This was good. A picnic outside. She suspected he wanted her to get to know and like Livy in the hopes that she’d be more agreeable to turning the girl, but it would also give them a chance to get to know each other better in a more natural setting. She would also be able to see if the other symptoms of life mates were there as well. Or perhaps not, she thought with a frown.
Not being able to read a mortal or immortal was only one sign of a life mate. A resurgence of appetite was another. A lot of immortals stopped bothering with food after the first hundred years or so, but Jeanne Louise was just 102 years old. She still ate, and mostly still enjoyed food, though she had noticed lately that it didn’t seem as tasty as it had always been. Which was why she’d been so surprised that the food he’d offered when she’d woken up here had smelled and tasted doubly good. But he may just be a good cook. Cafeterias weren’t known for tasty fare and that’s where she usually had her breakfasts.
Other appetites awoke in an immortal when they found their life mate as well. Sex for instance, but that hadn’t begun to wane yet for Jeanne Louise, so she wasn’t sure she’d be able to tell anything at all there. In fact, she was presently casually dating a sweet, smart mortal who was very skilled in that area. So much so that she hardly ever took control of him to encourage him to do the things she liked. Something she disliked doing to begin with, but sometimes couldn’t resist in the heat of the moment.
Truthfully, Jeanne Louise wasn’t sure spending time with Paul would really help her figure out if he was her life mate. But it couldn’t hurt either, she supposed, and wondered how long it would take him to get the picnic together and come back for her. It would be nice to get out of this bloody bed and get outside for some fresh air. By her guess it was midday or, perhaps, mid-afternoon. She doubted anyone would realize she was even missing yet and had to wonder how soon it would be noticed and what would happen then.