The Immortal Hunter(18)

Dani let her breath out slowly. "You're right, of course."

"But you're still blaming yourself," Decker guessed dryly.

"Maybe," she admitted wryly. "But I'll try not to."

Knowing that was the best he could expect, Decker let it go and asked, "Did they grab you on the way into the grocery store or on the way out?"

"Out," Dani answered, and then smiled as she admitted, "Stephanie had gone a little wild making her selections. My mother doesn't allow junk food in the house and Stephi went nuts, getting everything she loves but rarely gets. We were both laden down with bags when we came out. The van was parked beside the car when we came back. I didn't think much of it, and then..."

Decker's eyes narrowed on her face, noting the confusion and bewilderment there. "What is it?"

"I-We-The van door slid open and we just-Both Stephanie and I just dropped our bags and climbed into the van. I don't know why, but we just did," she said with bewilderment.

"And then what happened?" Decker asked, not wanting her to think about that too long. It was obvious the rogues had used mind control, but he could hardly explain that to her.

Dani hesitated, obviously still troubled by her own actions, and then continued, "Once we were in the van I suddenly knew we shouldn't be and I grabbed Stephanie's arm and tried to drag her back out. The men just laughed, and one knocked me back while another grabbed Stephanie and pulled her onto his lap and started pawing her. I tried to help her, but just got knocked back again. The man who hit me seemed to be enjoying it," she added angrily, and then her expression clouded with confusion and she said, "And then the one driving told them to stop playing with the foody Decker's mouth tightened, but he merely said, "What happened next?"

"The guy holding Stephanie said something like 'Aw, Dad, we're just having a little fun.'"

This seemed to bewilder her even more. Decker wasn't surprised. All immortals looked to be about twenty-five to thirty. The father would look too young to be called Dad by the others.

"It must have been a nickname," Dani said, shaking her head. "They pretty much left us alone after that. They just kept staring at us with this eager, hungry expression that gave me the creeps. After a few minutes, Stephanie stopped screaming and then we got to the clearing. They dragged us from the van and made us sit on this log while they started a fire and stuff. That's when I found out my phone didn't get any reception there."

Decker nodded, recalling her telling him she hadn't been able to get a signal. That was probably why the men hadn't taken away her phone.

"When the men finished gathering wood and had a fire going, they joined us around the fire and I asked what were they going to do with us. They all started laughing and then one of them dragged me over to the cliff and threw a log from the fire down in the ravine and there were these two women-"

Her voice choked off and Decker caught her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "You don't have to tell me. I saw them."

She nodded and fell silent, and Decker considered what she'd said. The men had obviously controlled her and Stephanie to get them into the van, but then had dropped the control and allowed them to struggle and be terrified for a bit. They hadn't had to. They could have kept them under their control and unaware the entire time they had them, but apparently enjoyed the horror their victims experienced.

"Those poor women," Dani said unhappily, "and their poor families."

"Yes," he said simply, and squeezed her hand again.

She glanced at him and said reluctantly, "I guess I owe you my life."

"You don't owe anyone anything," he said gruffly.

Dani shrugged and asked, "Did you already suspect these men were responsible for those other women going missing? Were you already following them when they kidnapped us?"

"Nicholas was tracking them," he admitted reluctantly.

"The one who went after my sister?" Dani asked.

He nodded.

"Did he see us get taken in the parking lot, or-"

"No. He was at a restaurant a good distance away when it happened," Decker said, and seeing the question in her eyes, explained, "I gather he put a tracking and listening device in the wheel well of the van. He heard when you were taken and used the tracking device to follow."

"And how did you and Justin end up there?" she asked.

"We followed Nicholas," he said shortly.

"Why were you following Nicholas?"

Decker shifted uncomfortably and merely said, "He was rushing out of the restaurant when we got there, so we followed."

The way her eyes narrowed suggested that it wasn't a very satisfactory answer. He wasn't surprised when she asked, "Who exactly is this Nicholas?"

Decker sought his mind for a way to answer and finally said, "He used to work with us."

"Then why hasn't he called you to tell you where he's tracked the SUV to so far?"

"He doesn't have my cell phone number," Decker said, glad to be able to answer at least that question and honestly. There hadn't even been cell phones when Nicholas had gone rogue. Before she could ask, he added, "And I don't know his number either."

"Does your boss know it?" she asked.