Valerie didn’t answer, she couldn’t have if she’d wanted to. His announcement sent a shaft of pain shooting through her chest that had left her gasping for breath.
“Where is Ambrose?” he repeated, shaking her furiously by his hold on her hair to get her attention.
“I don’t know who Ambrose is!” Valerie cried out, grabbing at the hair on the sides of her head to try to ease the pain. His shaking her certainly regained her attention. He’d pulled her out of her haze of grief, but rage replaced it as Valerie thought of her poor Roxy, lying dead somewhere there in the dark garage. She reacted without stopping to think about it, raising her foot and shooting it back at his legs with force. Score! Valerie thought grimly as he bellowed in pain and stumbled back, dragging her with him.
Growling as he regained his footing, Igor turned and slammed her into the van, his weight crashing into her from behind to add to the assault. Valerie groaned as the wind was knocked out of her and shock waves of pain vibrated from her breasts down to her knees.
“Who do you think I mean?” he asked furiously by her ear.
“Your boss,” she gasped almost soundlessly. She simply didn’t have the breath in her to speak.
“Where is he?” Igor demanded, easing his weight from hers enough to allow her some air. As he did, Valerie heard a very faint bark. It sounded far away, or muffled as if coming from outside, but it was definitely a bark. Roxy wasn’t dead. She’d barely had the thought when Igor cursed and dragged her away from the van by her hair.
“Where is he?” he growled, pulling her several feet, presumably, toward the garage door.
Valerie hesitated, but when he stopped and caught her by the throat, she quickly answered, “At the Enforcer house.”
There was no reason not to tell him. It wasn’t like Igor could break him out. Although, if he tried, it would give them a chance to catch him. Savoring that thought, she asked, “What did you do with Billie, Laura, and Kathy?”
“You’ll see soon enough,” he assured her. “Where is the Enforcer house?”
“I don’t know the address,” Valerie said. When he started to lift her off the ground by her hair, she added quickly, “I don’t. They took me there, they didn’t tell me the address.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to show me,” he said grimly, releasing her throat and continuing the way he’d been dragging her before stopping.
“I’d really rather not,” Valerie said honestly and then frowned and asked, “Why aren’t you just reading my mind and controlling me?”
“Why bother?” he asked dryly.
“Because then you wouldn’t have to drag me around by my hair and hurt me,” she pointed out in an arid tone of her own.
“But I like hurting you. It eases the pain you caused me when you staked me.”
Valerie bit her lip. He sounded testy, even resentful. Imagine! Like he hadn’t deserved it and she was the bad guy or something. Mouth tightening, she said, “Or maybe you’re a new turn and haven’t learned to control or read us mere mortals yet.”
Her talk with Leigh at the Enforcer house was what had given her that idea. Leigh had mentioned that she was still learning both skills, but was getting pretty good at them and Valerie had wondered if Igor was a relatively new turn and hadn’t yet learned those skills. Otherwise, why hadn’t he just taken control of her in the bathroom when she’d squirted the shampoo at him? Or after, when he’d come out of the bathroom to get her?
She suspected she’d hit the nail on the head when Igor’s step faltered and he snapped, “Shut up.”
“Make me,” Valerie muttered, blinking rapidly when he suddenly pushed the door open and dragged her out into bright sunlight. Half-blinded by the sudden light, Valerie was taken by surprise and stumbled to her knees when she was suddenly free. She was so startled that she almost missed the grunt Igor let loose as he released her, but she definitely heard the sounds of the short fight that followed. Turning her head, she watched with amazement as Anders thrust a wooden sunflower stake from the garden into Igor’s chest. The man fell like a ton of bricks, crashing onto his back beside her on the concrete driveway.
“Well, that felt good,” Anders said grimly and when she glanced to him with surprise, he shrugged and admitted, “It’s nice to be able to actually save you for a change, rather than just showing up after you’ve already saved yourself.”
Valerie released a startled laugh that ended in a gasp when he caught her by the arms and raised her to her feet.
“Thank you,” she sighed, sliding her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. “You’re my hero.”