Crawling out from the knee cubby, Jo crouched behind the desk and peered nervously over it toward the door just to be sure, but when she didn't see anyone at the door or through the windows, she quickly stood and tiptoed out of the room, only to stop when she heard the voices up the hall.
"Nothing to say?" Mortimer was asking.
"He was talking earlier," Bricker commented, and she could hear the frown in his voice.
"Well then, I guess we just wait for Lucian. He'll find out anything we need to know," Mortimer decided and Jo realized she'd best get her butt moving. She glanced around briefly, her gaze moving back toward the exit, and then shifting to the garage where the SUVs all sat lined up silent and waiting. She headed for the garage. It seemed the smartest option to her. Jo didn't trust that Mortimer and Bricker wouldn't lock the door of the building when they left this time, and she might not be able to get back in. Besides, there was obviously no sense looking for the keys in the office since Bricker had them. But perhaps she could find something in the garage to hack through the bars or jimmy the lock or something.
"Lucian might come tonight and put you out of your misery, but it could be morning before he gets here," Mortimer was saying as Jo reached the garage door. "You might as well make yourself comfortable. Do you want anything?"
Nicholas's response was just a rumble of sound as Jo carefully opened the door to the garage and slid through it. As she eased the door carefully closed, she heard Mortimer say, "Then we'll leave you to your thoughts."
Jo hurried to the first SUV in the garage to duck on the other side of it. She waited there for one heartbeat, but then couldn't resist easing up to peer through the windows of the SUV. She was just in time to see Bricker and Mortimer enter the small entry hall and move into the office.
As she'd feared, Mortimer did drop to sit in the desk chair and scoot his knees under the desk as he leaned back in the seat. Had she remained, she definitely would have been caught, Jo thought as she watched Bricker settle himself on the corner of the desk. The two men looked like they were settling in for a long chat, and she sighed to herself, wishing they'd get their butts out of there even as she wished she could hear what they were saying. Jo even briefly considered trying to sneak to the door and cracking it open to listen, but the risk of being caught was enough to put that idea in the "not very smart" category so she remained where she was.
They talked for only a moment before Bricker stood and moved to the medical refrigerator she'd earlier noted held a stock of blood. As she watched, he opened the glass-fronted door to retrieve a couple of bags.
Jo frowned, wondering what on earth he was going to do with them. Her confusion only increased when he tossed one of the bags to Mortimer, and she eased up a little higher to see better, only to drop quickly out of view again when Bricker suddenly glanced in her direction.
Biting her lip, Jo waited, sure she'd been spotted and that Bricker would come bursting into the garage any moment. But a moment passed and then several more without the sudden sound of the garage door opening. Still, she gave it another moment and then eased up just high enough to see through the windows again. What she saw was Bricker throwing out what appeared to be a now-empty blood bag as he followed Mortimer out of the office.
Jo ducked back down and waited until she heard the slam of the outer door. She then eased back up to peer through the windows of the SUV again. The office was empty, Mortimer and Bricker were gone. Jo hesitated and then got to her feet and moved to the large garage door in front of the SUV she'd been hiding behind. Rising up on her tiptoes, she managed to peer out the high window and saw Mortimer and Bricker moving off across the lawn toward the house. She watched, waiting until they entered through the sliding glass door, and then turned to peer around the garage.
Unlike the office, the garage lights had been on when she'd entered the building and still were. Jo had no idea why, unless some of the partygoers had arrived in some of the SUVs in here. Which meant they'd be coming in to collect their vehicles when they wanted to leave. She had to get moving.
Jo moved quickly to the long worktable along the back wall of the garage, her eyes quickly scanning the tools hanging from hooks in the pegboard above it. There was everything from screwdrivers to chain saws on that board. Jo briefly considered the easy route, taking the chain saw and just cutting through the bars, or failing that-because she wasn't entirely sure even a chain saw could cut through metal bars-simply cutting through the plasterboard walls. How ever, chain saws were bloody noisy, and the sound might reach the house or the front gate and bring someone running, which meant she had to do it the hard way. She'd have to pick the lock. It wasn't an impossible task, but she was rusty and it might take a bit of time. She hoped the men didn't return for a while as she grabbed up several likely-looking tools.
Moving quickly, Jo hurried out of the garage, but instead of heading right back to Nicholas's cell, she made a quick detour into the office for a brief look out the window. Reassured to find the lawn empty and still, she hurried out of the office with determined strides.
Chapter Four
Fate was a fickle bitch with a very bad sense of humor, Nicholas decided, lying on the cot in his cell and staring up at the ceiling. Here he was, caught and about to meet his Maker, and Madam Fate throws a life mate at him just to muddy the waters. How sick and twisted was that?
He grimaced at the ceiling, his ears straining to hear any sounds of movement in the building. Mortimer and Bricker had arrived not long after Jo had slipped away in search of keys. Since there had been no uproar or stir after they'd left him, it seemed obvious her presence hadn't been discovered. She must have hidden, he supposed, and wondered why he hadn't warned the men of her presence.
That would have been the responsible thing to do, Nicholas knew. Her being here and the fact that she'd regained the memories that Decker had wiped could cause problems. However, Nicholas hadn't been willing to give up the opportunity to talk with her again, maybe even steal another kiss, and possibly even escape. He'd like to take her with him, but he had nothing to offer her except life on the run, and that was no life for a woman like Jo. He could already tell she was the free-spirited type, and they couldn't be free-spirited when they were on the run. They had to be cautious and careful about every little thing they did.
Mind you, he hadn't been much of either lately, Nicholas acknowledged. He'd been taking too many chances and too many risks. It was what had gotten him caught this time and nearly got him caught at the beginning of summer. But he couldn't regret what he'd done in either instance. Even if he died tomorrow, Nicholas wouldn't regret saving Jo from Ernie. The rogue would have either killed her, or hurt her badly and gone after Dani and her sister, or have simply taken Jo back to his father. None of those conclusions was acceptable to him. He might not be able to claim Jo as his life mate, but Nicholas would do what he could to keep her safe while he could.
Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't explain the situation to her. Not that Nicholas had it in him to tell her the truth anyway. He had no desire to see the horror and disgust enter her eyes when she learned what he'd done fifty years ago. If she even believed him and didn't simply decide he was spaced out on drugs or just plain crazy. After all, he didn't look like he could have been around for fifty years, and explaining the whole I'm-a-vampire bit wasn't likely to be that believable to her.
Nicholas smiled faintly at the thought of her expression if he tried to explain that. Really, I am a vampire, but a good vampire... except for that one time I murdered an innocent.
He grimaced. Yeah, except for that one inexplicable evil deed he'd performed while in the throes of grief, he was a swell guy.
The slam of the outer door caught his ear, and Nicholas opened his eyes, straining to listen for other sounds in the building, but the steady hum of Mortimer and Bricker's voices from the office was gone. Absolute silence seemed to resound from the hall. He waited another moment, but there wasn't any noise at all now except for his own breathing.
Nicholas was starting to worry that his life mate had decided to leave him to his fate and had slipped back to the safety of the house when he heard the soft "shush" of air being moved as a door opened. It was followed by the scuff of someone walking quickly, and Nicholas smiled to himself. He was sure it was Jo and that she was still here. It might be selfish of him, but he was glad. He could talk with her a little bit and maybe learn something about this woman who could have been his salvation had he not made one stupid, irreconcilable mistake all those years ago.
Standing, he moved to the bars to peer out. She appeared just moments after he reached them, expression fretful and eyes nervous as she hurried down the hall toward him.
"I couldn't get the keys, Bricker has them," Jo babbled as she approached. "But I found these and think I can pick the lock."
"Pick it?" Nicholas asked doubtfully.
"Yes. I worked as a locksmith's assistant the summer between high school and university. He taught me a few tricks. I can do this," she assured him, dropping to her knees in front of his cell door. She examined the lock briefly and then grimaced. "It might take me a little time, but I can do it... and if not, I'll go back and get the axe and just chop through the wall."
Nicholas found himself smiling for no reason. Really, the woman was adorable, he thought, and asked, "So you've worked with a locksmith and now manage a bar. What else have you done in your short life?"