The Immortal Hunter(40)

Not wishing to interrupt, Dani glanced curiously around the kitchen. As with the rest of the house, this room appeared pretty barren. It did have a refrigerator, stove, and microwave, but the glass-faced white cupboards were empty and the small breakfast nook that overlooked the backyard was bereft of the table that should have been there.

"No, I have not lost my mind," the woman said with exasperation, reclaiming Dani's attention. "Look, I have to get to work. I'll swing by the restaurant tonight and explain, okay?"

The woman grunted at the response of whomever she was talking to and said good-bye. It wasn't until she turned to move to the phone base on the side counter that she spotted Dani. She paused briefly, a startled expression widening her large eyes, and then continued to the counter.

"My sister," she explained, setting the phone back in the cradle. She then turned to peer at Dani as she added wryly, "She thinks I've lost my mind. Now I just have to come up with a way to reassure her I haven't without telling her the truth."

When Dani just stared at her silently, not sure what to say to that, she grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, Dani. Of course you don't have a clue who I am, do you?" Her high heels clicked on the floor as she moved forward, holding out her hand. "I'm Samantha Willan. Call me Sam."

Dani straightened slightly as the name sparked a memory. "Mortimer's Sam?"

"Yes." The woman smiled happily as they shook hands, her face transformed from almost plain to almost pretty. When Dani smiled uncertainly back, Sam tilted her head and said sympathetically, "It must have been unsettling to wake up in a strange bed in a strange house. Especially one that's half empty," she added, glancing around before explaining, "Bastien bought the house, but only purchased minimal furnishings."

"Bastien?" Dani asked, vaguely recalling Justin and Decker mentioning that name as well.

"Yeah. I'm pretty new to all this myself, but apparently he's the go-to guy if you need anything done," Sam explained and then sighed. "I guess Lucian told him to buy a house for the enforcers to use as a headquarters and he found this one. He also bought beds, a fridge and stove, and the other appliances, but said he thought he should leave the furnishings to whoever ended up living here and running it... which is going to be Mortimer and me." She paused to peer at the empty upper cupboards surrounding them and grimaced. "I guess it was nice of him in a way, but I so don't have the time to shop right now."

Dani merely stared at her with confusion.

"You don't have a clue where you are, do you?" Sam asked suddenly, and shook her head before adding, "And I don't have the time to explain. I'm already late for work." Sam tapped her fingers impatiently on the marble countertop and then blew out an exasperated breath and started to move past her. "I guess we'll just have to wake Decker. I hate to do it, but it's his own fault. I told him he should wake you up last night, but-" She shrugged.

"It's all right," Dani said quickly. "If you're running late, just tell me where he is and I'll find and ask him myself."

"Oh, thank you," Sam said with relief as she swung back. She immediately headed for a purse that sat perched on the empty counter next to a door at the far end of the room. "He's in his room. Sleeping. They all are. It's daylight and they were up all night searching for your sister."

"Stephanie?" Dani asked with sudden alarm, and when Sam nodded, asked, "Wasn't she at the airport?"

Sam paused with her hand on her purse, her expression troubled, but then she simply said, "I really have to go to work, Dani, and this isn't going to be a fast-and-easy-answer kind of deal. I think Decker should explain to you."

"Where is his room?" she asked abruptly, anxious to learn about her sister.

"The room next after yours," Sam said with obvious relief that she hadn't insisted that Sam explain. She picked up her purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder as she added, "He wanted to be close in case you woke up. Not that it made much difference."

Nodding, Dani turned back the way she'd come.

"Dani?" Sam called, stopping her.

She turned back in question.

"Don't be too mad at Decker. He's a pretty good guy from what I know of him. And finding a life mate can apparently put a person off their stride to say the least." Sam smiled wryly as she said that and then turned and headed out the door behind her.

Dani caught a glimpse of the interior of a garage with three vehicles parked inside and then the door closed. She waited until she heard an engine start, and then turned and headed back up the hall, her temper rising with each step. She was furious that she'd been allowed, or possibly made, to sleep through the events of last night and now didn't know what the heck was going on. Other than the fact that her sister was apparently still missing, she had no idea what had happened. The last thing she recalled was rolling around in the back of the SUV with Decker-a rather poor description of what had taken place, Dani acknowledged. Those few moments of passion had been like nothing she'd ever before experienced. They were burned in her brain, as was the image of the puncture marks on her neck. Even so, they still didn't burn as brightly as her anger by the time she retraced her steps, passed her room, and moved to the next door up.

Dani stopped there and raised her hand to knock, and then paused. She'd had every intention of rapping furiously at the door to wake the man, but mindful of the fact that Sam had said they all were sleeping, she hesitated. Dani had no idea who they all were, but if they all had been up all night searching for her sister, she had no desire to repay them by disturbing their sleep. Decker, however, was another matter. She'd really like to smack him... and decided she would as she reached for the doorknob.