Page 148 of Dark Lover

Sam withdrew her hand, as if burned. “You know where we are?” Now, she saw that there were identical doors lining each side of the hall.

“We’re in a maze,” he said roughly. “And evil is behind every single door.”

Sam stepped away from the door. She should have bumped into Ian, but to her shock, she didn’t. She turned. He was gone—she was alone!

She reminded herself that this was a virtual reality. But Moray had separated them from the others, and now, he’d separated her from Ian. She looked down the hall. It seemed endless. “Ian?”

She strained to hear.

Where are ye?

“I’m in the maze.”

Dinna open the door!

“Open the door,” Moray murmured.

She whirled. He stood behind her, grinning. “Where’s Ian, you bastard? What have you done with him?”

“He’s playing a game,” he murmured. He reached out and slid a manicured nail down her cheek. She jerked away. “We want you, Sam. In more ways than one.”

“I’ll bet you do.”

“We always get what we want.”

“Not always—not this time.”

“Do you know how much power we now have? No one can defeat us. No one ever has. But you know that, don’t you? There are hundreds of pages written about the great Moray in your files at HCU.”

“Yeah, you’re almost famous,” Sam said. “Whoops, I meant infamous.” How could she go up against him alone? She had to get out of this reality! She thought about the salon with its lavish furnishings, imagined everyone standing there, trying to figure out their next move. She strained for that reality.

For one moment, the hall shifted and she thought she glimpsed everyone but Ian, standing before that console table and Art Deco mirror.

His next words brought her back. “You really should open the door, Sam. It’s the only way out of this world.”

She needed help. Tabby, damn it, what happened to your spell?

But she couldn’t even sense her sister, much less hear her.

Now, she heard soft sounds, coming from the door closest to her. Sam tensed.

“No one is going to help you.” Moray reached out and slid his finger over her shoulder. “Only you can help yourself. Open the door.”

She met his gaze. It was a mistake. His powers of persuasion were extraordinary.

Now she could identify the sounds coming from the room behind the door. A woman was gasping in pleasure.

“Open the door, Sam. You won’t be sorry. You’ll be very pleased.”

She didn’t want to open the door but she couldn’t help herself, because suddenly she had to know what was on the other side. She turned and pulled the heavy door open.

A couple was on the floor. Sam saw the man’s extraordinary beauty and knew he was a demon. She was witnessing a pleasure crime. Her instinct was to stop it, to save the Innocent. But she saw the woman’s champagne-colored hair and she froze in disbelief. For an instant, she was paralyzed.

The demon vanished. Her mother sat up. “Sam?”

Sam backed into the wall. “Mom?”

Laura got up. “It’s me, Sam. You saved me!”