Stefan's Salvation(35)

her chickens and frighten her a little? The woman has no right to stay on that land. Her

stepfather promised to sell it to me as soon as he wed her mama. I always knew that

land would be worth a small fortune someday. But the son of a bitch died before he

could make good on his promise. That land should have been mine years ago. Mine!"

he screamed. "Laurel Rose is nothing but a witch."

Stefan grabbed the crazed man by the scruff of his neck and lifted him off his feet.

Leaning down so only Cyril could hear him, he said, "If she dies, you won't live the

night."

Stefan sensed the exact moment the mayor realized what he'd done. He reeked of

fear and desperation as he struggled in Stefan's grasp. "Put me down," Cyril gasped,

trying to sound tough and unconcerned. But his façade of bravado slowly slipped away

under Stefan's dark glare.

"Who has Laurel Rose?" Stefan's eyes promised retribution as he glared at the man

in his grasp. "Who?"

"He won't hurt her unless he has to." The mayor's words sounded false to Stefan's

ears. Cyril wasn't so sure about his cohort. "At least, he won't do anything until she

signs the papers."

Stefan growled low in his throat as he plucked the name from Cyril's mind. It took

all his self-control not to just break the man's neck and be done with him. The mayor

didn't care what happened to Laurel Rose so long as he got her land. Stefan's fingers

tightened convulsively. It would be so easy.

His head snapped up suddenly and he listened intently, easily subduing the

mayor's struggles. It had been the faintest of sounds, but he'd heard it. He sensed his

brothers both searching and scanning the night as if they'd heard it too. A whisper of

his name caressed his mind and he locked down hard on the source. Sending his own

senses out searching, he followed the slight psychic trail. Now he knew where to find

her.

Opening his hand, he dropped the mayor, ignoring him as he fell to the ground.

Cyril groaned and rolled to a sitting position, yelling as he saw two state police officers

approaching. "Arrest him! He assaulted me."

One of the officers helped Cyril up before slapping a pair of cuffs on his wrists.

"You have the right to remain silent." The rest of what the officer said was lost as the

mayor began to scream and struggle against the restraints.

Sam Cassidy, who'd been standing at the back of the crowd watching the scene

unfold, stepped forward and nodded to Stefan. "I'll help clean up the mess here and

follow you. Where are you going?"

Stefan inclined his head toward Cassidy in acknowledgement. "I'm going to

church." Turning, he stalked back through the crowd, which was still muttering and

talking.

Most were appalled by the mayor's actions, but some said they always knew that

Cyril Jenkins came from a bad family and blood would tell. Many were suddenly

sympathetic toward Laurel Rose, recalling the numerous times her grandpa, and even

Laurel Rose herself, had helped different members of the community.

There was a small crowd gathered around Karen, talking all at once. Some were

sympathetic toward her and were desperately trying to find out more of the gossip.

Others were more interested in finding out why she was leaving town and where she

was going.

Stefan had no time or patience for their small-town gossip.

The town would talk for years about this night, he knew. The story would grow to

legendary proportions over time, but for now, the townspeople all quickly got out of

the way of the three dark strangers as they strode back out of Salvation.

The moment they were beyond the sight of the people, Stefan raced toward the

white church on the outskirts of town. Laurel Rose was there and she was dying.



Chapter Twenty-Three



Laurel Rose groaned. Her bed felt hard tonight and she was so very cold. Shivering,

she tried to roll over and grab the covers, but she couldn't move. Frowning, she forced

her eyes to open, but it was difficult to get them to stay that way. Her head throbbed

and she squinted as the light hurt her eyes.

"Good. You're awake. I was beginning to wonder if you would wake up. Not that it

really matters, but it is more fulfilling this way." Jeremiah Stoner's cool voice brushed

her skin like an icy wind. It was then she realized she was naked.

Her hands had been tied together, raised above her head and securely bound to

something. She tugged at the bindings, but her arms were almost numb because the

ropes wrapped around them were so tight. She seemed to be spread over a low stone

surface, much like an altar. "Where," she began, stopping to lick her dry lips. "Where

are we?"

"This is my place. No one comes here but me." She heard the sound of a match

striking and then a candle flared to life just off to her right. It illuminated a room

painted entirely in black. From what she could see, the room was mostly empty except

for the slab of stone she was lying on. Turning her head, she glimpsed several long

aquariums, but instead of fish, they held poisonous snakes that hissed and slithered as

the light hit them.

Jeremiah continued around the room, lighting candles which sat atop tall black

metal stands. When the room was ablaze with light, he stood beside her, staring down

at her like some dark demon. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he stroked his hand

along the side of her face. Laurel Rose jerked her head away, but he just laughed,

digging his fingers into her cheeks as he turned her face back toward him. "There is no

escape. You are mine to do with as I choose."

"You're crazy." The words slipped out of her mouth, but he just laughed. The

maniacal sound echoed in the dark, almost empty chamber.

"Perhaps. But perhaps not." Giving her face one final squeeze, he allowed his hand

to slip down the curve of her neck and onto her bare shoulder. Laurel Rose shivered

with revulsion. His fingertips felt cold against her flesh as he traced his hand over her

breasts and then down across her belly. Her stomach roiled at his touch. "It doesn't

matter. What matters is that I have you."

Moving down toward her feet, he gripped her ankle in his hand. She tried to kick

out, wanting to hurt him, but she was still so weak that all she did was hurt herself

when her leg fell back against the stone.

"Temper, temper." He chuckled to himself as he wrapped a length of rope around

her ankle. Capturing her other foot, he bound the two of them together before securing

them to a large iron circle at the base of the table. When he was finished, he brushed his

hands and stood back, staring at his handiwork. "There, that's perfect."

"What do you want with me?" Laurel Rose still couldn't believe that a man who

purported to be a man of God would shoot out her tire, cause an accident and then

kidnap her. She'd always sensed that he was malevolent, but this was beyond her

comprehension.

"It's simple, really." He strode around the table, studying her from every angle. She

followed him as best she could, not wanting to take her eyes off him for a minute. Like

the snakes against the wall, he was dangerous and deadly and preparing to strike. "I

want your power."

She forced herself not to cringe when she felt him standing behind her head. But

she couldn't suppress the cry of distress that escaped her lips when he stroked her hair.

The man was pure evil. She sensed it in every cell of his body. He was enjoying her fear

and discomfort, getting perverse pleasure and drawing power from it. Laurel Rose bit

her lip to smother her cries. She would not feed his ego or his enjoyment. Stefan would

come.

That thought helped clear the terror and the cobwebs from her mind. Surely it had

to be dark by now. Stefan would have risen and would be searching for her. Opening

up all her senses, she called out to him with her mind. She had no idea where she was,

but she prayed the connection they had would help lead him to her.

"What do you mean you want my power? And just where are we?" She needed to

keep him talking. Anything to give Stefan more time to find her. And he would come.

Of that she had absolutely no doubt. Just as the sun rose in the morning and set in the

evening, Stefan would come for her. She just had to stay alive long enough for him to

find her.

"Why, we're at church, Laurel Rose. It's quite convenient for me and no one would

think to look for you here. No one else knows that this room exists. I had it built

specially, dug out below the church with a secret entrance only I know about. The poor

builder had an unfortunate accident once the room was finished." His footsteps echoed

on the wooden floor as he walked around the altar to stand at her side once again.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared down at her with a benign expression on his

face. It was the one he commonly wore--a placid mask that hid the monster beneath.

Laurel Rose shuddered to think of what had become of that other man. She

imagined that her fate would not be much different from his. But she wasn't dead yet

and she wasn't about to give up. As unobtrusively as possible, she worked the ropes

that were tied around her wrists, trying to loosen them enough so she might be able to

free herself. "Very clever." She sensed Jeremiah's need to brag about his

accomplishments, to have his ego stroked. She'd keep him talking all night if that's

what it took.

Jeremiah inclined his head. "I thought so. The simple fools of this parish actually