He saw her silhouette.
Saw as she disrobed.
The drapes were drawn, but she was there, curved and lean and glorious.
And he saw Beckett. Saw him rise to take the naked woman into his arms.
Saw them fall down together.
Saw them rise…
In his blood, he could feel them writhing, feel the thunder of their hearts.
Hatred burned through him.
It was his city.
It had been his city throughout time. Some fools didn’t see it; they didn’t realize that things never really changed, nor did people. Beckett had been self-righteous and superior years ago, and he was the same now. But time came round and round, and the evils done in the past could and would be rectified now.
Beckett had brought death and destruction to his people. But he knew that it was all one. He knew that it was his duty to bring real justice to his city.
And the time was coming.
He was suddenly filled with pride; subterfuge was a game he played perfectly. There was simply not the least suggestion that he was anything but completely mentally fit; his calm, cool action and meticulous machinations proved that. That he could wait, that he could play the game of life so easily, and others never saw…
He nearly laughed aloud. There were those who might think him insane, when, in truth, he was simply a genius-a man with an agenda as deep and important as the spirit and the universe itself, and the brilliance to move about as if he were invisible. He knew more about life and death and time and pride than anyone, and he was so damned good that it was almost-criminal.
Katie O’Hara was so beautiful.
She rose, and he could see the perfection of her silhouette on the drapes, the curve of her breasts, the lean length of her torso, the exquisite stretch of her legs…
He imagined her, as she would be.
And his fingers itched to touch her.
Her death would be spectacular. She deserved the true immortality.
The light went off at last, and he turned away.
14
They’d barely woken up before the phone rang.
In fact, it was quite a jolt. Katie’s eyes had just opened, and David’s had just opened, and she was thinking that it could be a lovely morning.
Then the startling sound of her phone, and when she saw the caller ID, she answered.
For a moment, Katie had a strange sensation of, “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!”
Her uncle Jamie was back in town, just in time for the festivities.
“Pirates!” he said.
“Uncle Jamie? What are you talking about?”
“Pirates. Here, there, everywhere. Oh, and with a vampire or two thrown in. Katie, my girl, bless you, wonderful! I need you-desperately! I was afraid I wouldn’t get you. Ah, and I heard that your brother is here in town, too, eh?” Jamie said. “Tell him to get his rich, famous, sorry ass down here with you. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I thought we’d have a small breakfast crowd and the good Lord help me, I told Merrillo to open her up, and it’s a deluge! A deluge of pirates. And, oh, Lord have mercy. You should see the hottie who just walked by with a wench’s costume painted on.”
“Uncle Jamie, if she’s twenty, behave yourself.”
He chucked. “I need you, my girl.”
Katie covered her phone and looked at David.
“I need to go into O’Hara’s,” she told him.
“Now?” he asked, his hand on her midriff as he pulled her closer.
“I’ll be there in just a bit, Uncle Jamie. And I’ll get my brother’s sorry ass out of bed, too.”
She hung up. It was good hearing from Jamie. Business as usual.
No worry about corpses taking the places of mannequins.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
She started to get out of bed, but the hand on her midriff didn’t let go. David’s eyes were alight and a subtle smile was curved into his features.
He rolled over, pinning her. “Now?” he repeated.
She laughed. Something seemed beautifully normal about the day. She ran her fingers through the thick richness of his hair. “Well, now, yes…”
She felt his fingers stroke down the length of her body.
“Well, almost now,” she amended. “I mean, really, almost now…”
“Time schedule, yes,” he said, and they locked in one another’s arms.
Fifteen minutes later, breathless and laughing, she leapt out of bed while he rolled over and groaned. She flew into the shower, raced out in a towel and banged on her brother’s door while David took his turn in her shower.
“I’ve a message for you to get your sorry ass up!” she called to him.
“What? I’m still supposed to be filming in the China Sea!” he called back.
“You were seen. Get your-”
“Sorry ass up, yeah, yeah, all right. What the hell?”