“Elena, honey,” I said. “Who else is here?”
She pulled away from me, suddenly remembering where she was, suddenly remembering the danger around us.
“Hammond is here. That is all.” She spoke in short phrases, her breathing as unsteady as my own. “Rath was . . . just getting ready to . . .” She shuddered. “I thought he was going to kill you with the knife. We heard something outside. I did not know what or who it was. When I saw you, I thought he would kill you.”
I got off the bed, moved away from her, the gun in my hand again. “What about the others?”
“Hammond only is here. Downstairs. I do not know where.” She paused. “Shell, what are you going to do?”
I grinned at her, the blood pounding through my veins, thundering in my head. “I’m going to kill him.”
She licked her lips and stared
