The Wolf Prince (23 page)

She stumbled. He caught her elbow to steady her. “That is so not going to happen in my lifetime.”

“Oh, I would only let you wear it for me.” His thumb traced circles on her arm. “And I would be the one who painted you.”

Flames shot down to her lower regions, then curled into a tight little ball of passion. If he kept this up, it was going to be a long night.

They chatted their way to the French doors that were open to the outside, spilling people out onto the large patio. More lights twinkled in the trees, and again, beads draped everything. The bandstand was a makeshift float in bright colors.

Any other time, Darcy would have loved to be outside with Surlock. Since there were no walls, it seemed less like she was crammed into a can of sardines.

But she was working, and getting more and more frustrated. No one seemed to recognize Surlock, but Darcy told herself the evening was still young. More people would probably show up.

Outside, they continued their meet and greet.

She noticed one woman seemed to be staring at her intently. The woman had followed them outside. Darcy knew it could just be a coincidence, but what if she knew Surlock? Darcy was pretty sure she’d never met her. She was just taking a step toward her when Annette and Jennifer hurried up to them.

“Come on, Peter wants you both inside for the first parade,” Annette said, grabbing her arm while Jennifer latched on to Surlock’s.

Before Darcy could protest, they were herded back inside. A parade? No, she wanted to talk to the woman. But the group grew in size and she was forced to move along with them or be trampled. She looked back for Surlock, met his gaze, then lost him.

“Let the parade begin,” Peter said. Bowls of beads were passed around.

“Grab some,” Annette yelled over the noise of the band, which had gotten louder.

Her smile was infectious. Darcy knew she would find Surlock again as soon as the parade was over. She grabbed a handful of beads, laughing. Someone shoved a champagne cocktail in her hand. She realized how thirsty she was and downed the drink, then placed the empty glass on a waiter’s tray as he passed.

Bleh, the drink had a bad aftertaste.

“Let the good times roll,” Peter called out.

The music changed to a sexy beat as they pranced through the ballroom. One of the bead throwers yelled out that he wanted to see some skin. A female voice laughed and told him to keep dreaming.

Darcy joined in on the fun. She caught sight of Surlock briefly before she began to throw beads into the crowd of clapping, yelling people. She smiled and waved at him. He smiled and waved back.

When she turned back around, the room blurred. Wow, the cocktail she’d drunk had gone straight to her head. It was a good thing she was in the middle of the crowd because she was afraid the tight press was the only thing keeping her upright. Next time she would remember to eat before she went to one of Peter’s parties.

“Over here,” a man yelled, then raised his hands for beads.

Darcy tossed some his way, laughing when he caught them. She glanced around. No Annette. People were disappearing. No, just her friends. No problem, she would find them later.

The room blurred again and she had to blink several times until it cleared, but even then everything still looked slightly out of kilter. Not that it mattered that much. She was having too much fun!

“Isn’t this great?” a female voice asked beside her.

Darcy laughed and turned toward the other woman. “I love Peter’s parties,” Darcy yelled above the noise, but when she got a good look at the woman, anything else she was going to say died in her throat. It was the same person who had been watching her and Surlock earlier.

This was her chance. Maybe this woman knew Surlock. Darcy’s heart pounded. Damn it, her vision was freakin’ blurry. The woman weaved beside her.

“You okay?” the stranger asked with concern. “I’m Darcy Spencer. Do you happen to know the man I’m with?”

The woman smiled. “Of course, I know Surlock.”

R
elief flooded Darcy. She’d known they’d meet someone who would recognize Surlock. She looked around, but didn’t see him anywhere. Not that she could see very well at all. Jeez, why was everything so fuzzy?

“You really do know Surlock, right?” Darcy asked.

“Of course. My name is Excoria. Has he not mentioned me?”

“No.” She didn’t tell her he had amnesia.

“I saw him go out that side door,” Excoria said, pointing to an exit that would lead them to the opposite side of the yard.

Now why would he go out that way? Everyone was gathered on the other side of the house. Maybe he just needed some quiet time. She had to admit it was pretty noisy.

“We need to catch up to him,” Darcy told her. As big as the estate was, Surlock might get lost. He needed to talk to this woman.

Darcy glanced her way. She wore a really bad costume. What was she supposed to be, an alien? She should’ve watched
Star Trek
or something because this was the worst alien costume she had ever seen.

The humming started in Darcy’s ears again. She closed her eyes, willing it to go away. Talk about bad timing. Maybe she could just ignore it.

“Let’s hang on to each other so we don’t get separated.”

“Good idea.” Darcy could barely walk a straight line. How embarrassing. Actually, she wasn’t real sure she was even accomplishing that small feat. Hanging on to someone helped.

“I’m afraid Peter’s drinks are a little strong.”

“I agree,” Excoria said, then laughed lightly.

Darcy would definitely talk to Peter about this tomorrow. They stepped into the night. The crisp air lightly teased her. It was nice outside. “Wow, look how beautiful the stars are. They’re so bright. ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star,’” she sang off key.

“Over this way,” Excoria urged.

Darcy blinked several times. What the hell was she doing? Oh, yeah, looking for Surlock. She needed to find him.

Darcy glanced around. “But there aren’t any people over here. I don’t see Surlock, either. I think we went through the wrong door.”

“No, I’m positive that was the door.” Excoria dragged Darcy down the path and around a corner.

“Wait a minute.” Darcy came to a sudden stop, tumbling into a bush. A thorn stabbed her arm. Damn, that hurt.

Excoria helped her out of the bush. “Watch where you’re going!”

Why the hell was Excoria pissed? Darcy was the one who’d been hurt. It wasn’t her fault Peter made his drinks so strong. “How do you know Surlock?” she asked.

“He’s a prince from New Symtaria.”

“He’s really a prince,” Darcy said in wonder. “We have the same birthmark, you know.”

“Oh, yes, I know. You’re an impure.”

“I beg your pard on,” she said, then stumbled again as they made their way farther from the house, away from the noisy revelers. “I am not impure.” She frowned. “Oh, wait a minute. I’m not pure, either.” She shook her head, falling against Excoria again. They nearly lost their balance. “It wasn’t my fault I lost my virginity. I got horny.” She stumbled again.

“Could we just walk without talking?” Excoria ground out.

Darcy looked around. “Where are we going?”

“To my car.”

“But we’re supposed to be looking for Surlock. Oh, wait, I suppose I should call him Prince Surlock. Protocol and all, you know.”

“Whatever,” Excoria mumbled.

Darcy blinked, looking around. “I don’t think Surlock would have come out this far. We should go back.” She started to turn around, but Excoria grabbed her by the waist.

“Not so fast. Surlock told me to bring you to him.”

“Why would he do that?”

“There are bad people after him. He is in danger.”

Darcy couldn’t breathe. Oh, no, what if she had put him in greater danger? First, she’d whacked him over the head and given him amnesia. And now she’d waved him like a white flag in front of the bad guys. Come and get him! Sheesh.

“Let’s hurry.” Darcy stumbled faster.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

They walked for what seemed like miles. The farther they went, the clearer Darcy’s thoughts became, and the more suspicious she started to get. When they arrived at a beat-up green Ford, her worries increased.

“Where’s Surlock?”

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Excoria opened the back door. “Hurry and get in.”

Darcy crossed her arms in front of her. “No, not until I see Surlock.”

Excoria pursed her lips. “Get in. You’re wasting time.”

Darcy shook her head. “Nope. Not gonna happen.”

Excoria plowed into her, taking Darcy completely unaware and knocking her against car. She fell inside the open door, hitting her head against the seat with a thud. She was still woozy from the drink, which she guessed must have been drugged, so her reaction time was slowed. Before she could sit up, Excoria had shoved Darcy’s feet inside and slammed the door.

“Let me out!” She reached for the handle, except it wasn’t
where it should be. She kicked on the door, but only managed to hurt her foot.

“Temper, temper.” Excoria laughed as she slid into the front seat. She started the car and began driving away.

Oh, hell, what had she gotten herself into this time? The woman up front, Excoria, if that was even her real name, headed away from town. A partition separated the backseat from the front or she’d jerk the bitch’s head off.

Darcy looked around the backseat for a weapon of some kind. Nothing. She glared at Excoria. “Surlock will kill you.” If the car hadn’t swerved just a fraction, she would’ve wondered if Excoria had even heard her. “He won’t stop looking for me. This is fair warning—let me go. If you release me, I won’t say a word.”

“Not a chance. You’re my ticket to more wealth than I could ever spend in one lifetime. I’m finally going to have everything I want.”

“All you’re going to get is a jail cell and a long prison term.”

The woman only laughed.

Darcy leaned against the backseat. “He will find me, you know,” she said calmly and with enough confidence that she knew the woman was at least a little worried.

“I’ll let you in on a few things,” Excoria told her. “Before this night is over, Prince Surlock will be captured, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

Darcy was suddenly very cold, even though the inside of the car was warm and stuffy. Surlock captured? She didn’t even want to think about it. The woman turned onto the main road, but she didn’t head toward town as Darcy had hoped.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I want wealth. I don’t care about causes. It’s nothing to me.”

Darcy thought she might faint. She quickly took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Causes?”

“Your lover is going to be exchanged for my leader. At least, that’s the plan. We could’ve gotten a king’s ransom for him, but
no, they want to free Zerod. Why, I don’t know. The guy is totally crazy. He scares the hell out of me.”

Terrorists. Oh, God, terrorists didn’t care who they killed. That must have been the reason Surlock was wandering the woods without clothes or any kind of identity. He must have escaped them.

Then she’d clobbered him. Lord, he’d been through a lot. She frowned. Then why take her? “But why did you kidnap me?”

“Bait. You’ll lure him into our trap.”

She couldn’t let that happen. Not when she had leverage of her own. “My parents are rich,” she said. “They would pay you a lot of money if you returned me safely to them.” Darcy met Excoria’s eyes in the rearview mirror and saw the calculating gleam. This might just work. “By tomorrow, you could be long gone. No one would ever find you. A new identity. You could have the life you’ve dreamed about.”

The woman’s thoughtful expression turned angry. “Quit messing with my head. You probably think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’m not that dumb. You might have money, but you’re just an impure. The lowest of the low have more status than you.”

There she went with that “impure” stuff again. “Who cares if I’m a virgin or not? It’s not like I’m going to be a nun or anything.”

Excoria laughed. “You think that’s what it means?”

Now she was confused. If Excoria wasn’t talking about virginity, then what was she talking about?

But she didn’t have a chance to ask as Excoria pulled down a bumpy dirt road. Darcy figured the woman was crazy. After all, Excoria planned to kidnap Surlock. Darcy would not want to be in her shoes when she did because she was pretty sure he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

The humming in her ears intensified. She reached up, massaging them. Excoria chuckled. Bitch.

“Problems?”

“Whatever you put in my drink, and I know you put something in it, has made the humming in my ears worse.”

Her laughter only grew louder. It didn’t mix well with the humming and Darcy could feel a headache coming on. At least the bumping down the road had stopped. They were in front of a large abandoned warehouse. Darcy was pretty sure no one had used it in a long time. Most of the windows were broken out.

“Don’t try anything,” Excoria said as she cut off the engine, and climbed out.

“It’s not likely I could overpower you, so why try? I’m still tipsy from the drink and this horrible humming is making my head pound.”

“You still haven’t figured it out, have you?” She opened the back door and motioned Darcy to get out.

No, and she didn’t care if she ever did. Her first priority was escaping, and she knew she could take this scrawny bitch. Her self-defense classes were about to come in very handy.

As she scooted out, she moaned, holding her head. When she was standing, she slammed her elbow into Excoria’s face, connecting with her nose. The other girl screamed. Darcy didn’t waste any time, but took off running back down the road. She would cut across the pasture as soon as she rounded the corner.

The main road wasn’t that far. She could jog to it. Except her jog was more of a stumble and weave, but she had one thing going for her—determination! Surely whomever she flagged down would have a cell phone so that she could call the police. Everyone had a cell phone nowadays.

She had almost reached the corner when she heard a high-pitched sound, and then something slammed into the middle of her back. She gasped for her next breath, stumbled and fell to her knees. It was all she could do to take a breath.