Immortal Ever After (21 page)

“No hurry,” he assured her, heading for the door with Roxy trotting dutifully behind him. “Take a shower if you want.”

Valerie didn’t wait to see him leave, but immediately headed for the bathroom. She hadn’t originally intended to shower, but after taking care of other matters, she noted the still dripping showerhead, realized Anders must have had a quick shower before dressing, and decided maybe she wanted one after all. But a quick one.

With her long hair to shampoo and rinse and the need to shave, Valerie wasn’t as quick as Anders, but she was still pretty quick. When she got out, she brushed out her hair, put it back in a ponytail and then went out into her bedroom to find fresh clothes. A glance out her window showed another hot and sunny day, so rather than the jeans she’d worn that morning when it was cooler, Valerie donned a pair of red shorts and a white T-shirt.

Anders and Roxy were still outside when she got downstairs, so she headed out to join them, frowning and muttering another, “Damn,” when Roxy sat down to scratch herself.

“What’s wrong?” Anders asked, moving toward her.

“Roxy should have had her flea pill three days ago,” Valerie answered.

Anders paused and glanced back to a still scratching Roxy. Frowning, he said, “Well, surely fleas couldn’t have infested her already?”

Valerie smiled. “No. She’s probably just scratching because of dry skin or something, but if I don’t get her her pill, she could get fleas.”

“I suppose her pills are in Cambridge?” he asked with a grimace.

“Yes,” she admitted, but quickly added, “The nearest vet should be able to supply them, though. There’s no need to drive all the way to Cambridge.”

“Good,” Anders said, obviously relieved. He glanced to the house, then to Roxy and finally to Valerie and said, “Well, we could pick them up now. Maybe grab some breakfast out.”

“Or brunch,” Valerie said wryly with a glance at her watch. It was after 11 now. They’d been up for hours. Well, not really up, she supposed. More like up and down, she thought and then said, “I guess we’ll have to take Roxy with us. I wouldn’t want to leave her here alone. She might get up to mischief.”

“You can leave her with me,” Leigh announced, drawing their attention to her presence in the open French doors.

“Good morning,” Valerie said, offering a smile and wondering why she was suddenly blushing. It wasn’t like the woman knew what had happened between she and Anders while Leigh and her husband were sleeping just up the hall. They hadn’t been that loud. Had they?

“Good morning,” Leigh responded, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “You two go ahead and get the pills. I’m happy to look after Roxy while you’re gone.”

“Are you sure?” Valerie asked.

“Positive,” Leigh assured her. “Roxy’s a sweetheart, and she’ll keep me company until Lucian wakes up.”

“Thank you,” Anders said. “Is there anything you need while we’re out?”

Leigh hesitated, and then asked, “Would you mind making a stop at the grocery store on the way back?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. “What do you need?”

She glanced back toward the house, and then said, “I know we need bread and milk, but there may be a couple more things. I’ll check and text you a list if that’s all right?”

“Of course,” Anders said with amusement and then took Valerie’s arm to urge her into the house. As he walked her through the living room and up the hall he said, “Go grab your shoes and purse. I’ll pull the car out of the garage and around to the door.”

“Okay,” Valerie agreed and started to turn for the stairs, only to have Anders swing her back and claim her lips. She hesitated under the caress, but then slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back when he deepened it. Damn, one kiss and she was ready to drag him up to her room again.

She’d barely had the thought when Anders broke the kiss and smiled at her. “Go, or we’ll end up back in your bed and Roxy and Leigh will have to do without.”

A bit dazed still from the kiss, Valerie nodded silently and turned to the stairs, flushing bright red when she glanced up the hall and spotted a grinning Leigh watching them from the kitchen.

Shaking her head, Valerie hurried quickly upstairs, trying to remember what she was going there for. It was damned embarrassing, but just one kiss from Anders left her a blithering idiot.

“G
eez, there isn’t a single parking spot,” Anders muttered, scanning the crammed parking lot of the veterinary clinic. “I’ll have to look for a spot on the street.”

“Or you could just double-park here and I could run in,” Valerie suggested. When he frowned at the suggestion, she rolled her eyes. “You can see everyone coming and going from here and I should only be a minute. I’ll be fine.”

He pursed his lips, then let his breath out on a sigh and nodded, “Okay, but scream my name if you need me. I’ll hear you.”

“Sure you will,” Valerie said with amusement, and then leaned forward to kiss him, but caught herself at the last minute. It was just too risky. His kisses sent her up in flames. Besides, she wasn’t sure she had the right. Valerie wasn’t really sure what was happening between them yet. They’d had sex, sure, really hot, mind-blowing sex, but that didn’t mean she had the right to kiss him when she wanted to, or to treat him like a boyfriend. Heck, they hadn’t even been on a date yet, and she had no idea if they would, or if he wanted to. Maybe she was just a fling to him.

Sighing at the situation she’d managed to get herself into, Valerie forced a smile and slid quickly out of the car, saying, “I’ll be right back.”

The clinic was as busy inside as the parking lot suggested. Every seat in the place was taken and the floor was littered with dogs, cat carriers, and cages with smaller animals. There were also three people in line, waiting to register their animals.

Valerie took her place at the end of the line and glanced around as she waited. There was a Doberman pinscher with an injured paw, a sheltie lying down and looking miserable, a Lab who appeared to be losing its hair, a cat who was meowing nonstop . . . She mentally noted each animal, doing a quick assessment, and working out what treatment was required. It was a mental exercise to pass the time, but made her miss her own clinic quite a bit. Valerie loved being a vet, always had. You didn’t go to school all that time for a career you didn’t love and Valerie loved animals. Taking care of them was her dream job.

“Ma’am?”

Valerie glanced forward, surprised to see that it was her turn at the counter. Either the two women running the desk here were particularly efficient, or she’d spent more time analyzing the animals than she’d realized.

Smiling, she stepped up to the counter and explained the situation. It turned out to be a little more involved than she’d expected. This clinic was pretty strict and made her fill out a patient form for Roxy, listing her birthday, full name, date of last shots, etc. Valerie shifted along the counter to make way for the next person while she quickly filled out the pertinent information. She was half listening to the pet owners who stepped up to the counter after her, and had just finished filling out the form when a woman’s voice caught her ear.

Pausing, Valerie lifted her head and glanced over, peering curiously at the petit, short-haired blond chatting easily with the receptionist. Her voice was familiar. She sounded an awfully lot like one of the women who had been caged in the house of horror with her, Cindy—

“Sorry, Miss MacVicar,” a man in a doctor’s coat, one of the vets she supposed, said, appearing on the other side of the counter. “I had to write up the file.”

Valerie froze, her eyes running over the woman again. It
was
her: Cindy MacVicar. Her eyes slid to the cat carrier the woman carried. Cindy had told them she had a cat named Mittens.

“That’s all right, Doc,” the blond said with a smile. “Mittens and I are in no hurry.”

Nodding, the man turned to the receptionist and began to give instructions and Valerie immediately stepped closer along the counter, saying, “Cindy?”

“Yes?” The blond turned, a small scar by the corner of her mouth puckering as she smiled at her uncertainly. Tilting her head as she peered at Valerie, she frowned. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

“Yes,” she said at once, and then admitted, “Well, not by sight. I’m sorry, it’s me, Valerie Moyer,” she explained and when the woman’s expression remained blank, she added, “From the house?”

Cindy shook her head with bewilderment. “What house?”

The question made Valerie frown, but she explained, “The house with Igor and his boss?”

“Igor?” Cindy echoed with amusement, but shook her head again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Valerie stared at her with bewilderment. She knew it was her. Her voice was somewhat distinct, sharp and quick. She sounded like the Cindy MacVicar from the house. And how many Cindy MacVicars could have a cat named Mittens?

Determined, Valerie stepped closer still and said, “The cages? You were kidnapped a week and a half before me. You were there for at least three weeks. You have to remember.”

“I’m sorry. I think you have me mixed up with someone else,” Cindy said gently. Actually she said it as if unsure Valerie were quite mentally stable, and then added, “I was on a month long vacation up until the day before yesterday. I just got back.”

“Here are the pills, Dr. Moyer. Are you done with the form?”

Valerie turned with confusion as the receptionist set a packet on the counter. She stared at it blankly, and then nodded and handed over the form with Roxy’s information. She started to take the pills, already turning back to Cindy, but the receptionist said, “Do you want to pay in cash or debit?”

Valerie grimaced. She’d almost forgotten to pay. Opening her purse, she took out her wallet and retrieved the necessary cash.

“Thank you. I’ll just get your change,” the receptionist said when she handed it over. She then glanced to Cindy. “Ms. MacVicar, the doctor forgot to weigh Mittens. If you follow Joan, she’ll do it now for the file.”

“Of course.”

Valerie watched Cindy follow the second receptionist from the room, bewilderment uppermost in her mind. Lucian had said the women wanted to get on with their lives and forget about what had happened to them, but this was ridiculous. It was as if Cindy really didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Maybe she wasn’t the right Cindy, Valerie thought with a frown. But the voice . . . She was sure it was the same. However, she’d never seen Cindy and couldn’t be 100 percent sure.

“Here you are,” the receptionist said, recapturing her attention. She was holding out her change.

Valerie accepted her change with a small sigh, murmured, “Thank you,” and turned to head out of the clinic.

“Ms. Moyer?”

Pausing, she glanced back.

“Roxy’s pills.” The receptionist held them up.

Valerie returned quickly to collect them, very aware that the room had gone quiet, everyone eyeing her with speculation now, including the receptionist. She supposed blurting out the bit about being kidnapped hadn’t been too smart. And Cindy’s complete denial hadn’t helped. They were all wondering about her state of mind, she supposed. Look out for the crazy lady.

Forcing a smile, Valerie accepted the packet of pills and turned to hurry out.

“Everything all right?” Anders asked as she got back into the car a moment later.

“Yes,” Valerie muttered, shoving the packet in her purse and quickly doing up her seat belt. But then she asked, “Did you see the house where we were kept?”

“Yes,” he answered, frowning a bit.

“The cages?”

He nodded, looking perplexed by the question.

“Did you meet the other women?”

Anders frowned. “Valerie, why—?”

“Cindy MacVicar?”

“Short, blond?” he asked uncertainly. “Scar by her mouth?”

Valerie sank back in her seat without responding. It
had
been her. It had to be. Why hadn’t she seemed to recall anything about their misadventure? Or was she just an excellent actress?

“Valerie?” Anders asked.

She could hear the frown in his voice without looking at him, but didn’t at first react. Her mind was racing. She was recalling how certain Lucian had sounded when he’d said the women wouldn’t want to meet again, and wondering if that was because he knew they didn’t even recall it? Had Lucian and the other Enforcers somehow erased their memories? But how and why would they do that?

“Valerie?” Anders repeated, sounding concerned now. “Did something happen inside the vet’s clinic?”

She shook her head at once, instinctively keeping what had happened to herself for now . . . at least until she could figure out why Cindy didn’t remember anything. Realizing that he was staring at her suspiciously, Valerie cleared her throat and lied, “I was just thinking while I waited in line and wondering about the other women. I never saw them, you know. I wouldn’t recognize them on the street if I bumped into them.”

Much to her relief, that seemed to make him relax, which, in turn, made her suspicious. Why would he be relieved that she wouldn’t recognize the other women? Fretting over that, she straightened her shoulders and lied again. “I just recalled that there’s a book I need for class on Monday.”

“Oh.” Anders turned forward in his seat and switched on the engine. “Well, the campus isn’t far from here. We could swing by on the way to the grocery store.”

“Yes, please,” Valerie said and closed her eyes briefly. She’d been about to suggest that, but he’d done it for her. Billie had said she worked at the coffee shop in the bookstore and Valerie intended to find and talk to her. If she could find her.

Valerie tightened her hands around her purse. She had to find her. Billie was the only other woman Valerie had a chance of finding. Laura worked in a realtor’s office, but hadn’t said which one or where, and Kathy was unemployed and hadn’t said anything that would lead to her.

“So,” Anders said, peering around as they entered the bookstore twenty minutes later. “What book are we looking for?”

“Let’s have a coffee first,” Valerie said determinedly.

“Coffee?” Anders asked, picking up speed to keep up with her as she hurried forward. “Where?”