Page 81 of The Other Lady Vanishes

Adelaide watched the flames. “It’s as if we are stuck in a spider’s web. Everyone who blunders into it gets caught: you and me, Madam Zolanda, Thelma Leggett—even Dr. Ormsby.”

“The doctor who worked in the Rushbrook lab?”

“Yes. I hated him but I honestly don’t think he cared about selling the drug—he was obsessed with his research.”

“Did he or the others ever figure out that you had made an antidote to Daydream?”

“No. Believe me, I kept that secret.”

“Good.”

“What are you thinking?” Adelaide said.

“That antidote may be your one ace in the hole if someone succeeds in grabbing you,” Jake said.

“What do you mean?”

“It gives you something to trade.”

“For what?”

“Your life.”

She made a face. “Thanks for the cheery thought. But even if that strategy worked, I’d end up back at the Rushbrook Sanitarium. I’d rather be dead.”

“Don’t talk like that. We’re going to get through this.”

“All right, but promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“If I end up back at Rushbrook, promise me that you’ll find a way to get me out.”

Jake gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

“Last night on the beach I told you that I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you,” he said.

“Yes, I know. And it was very sweet of you.” A wistful sensation whispered through her. She smiled a little. “But you were hallucinating.”

“I remember every word and I meant every word. If you end up back at the asylum, I will come and get you and I will destroy anyone who stands in my way.”

She believed him. She could not explain why, but she did. There was a sharp, fierce edge to his words that told her he would keep the promise or die trying.

“Jake,” she said. “You cannot know how much that means to me.”

“Maybe not, but I do know how much you mean to me. The world.”

His mouth came down on hers in a kiss that sealed the vow.

Chapter 38

For a heartbeat she did not—could not—respond. There was heat and power and promise in his embrace but there was also risk. She was very sure now that she could trust him to try to protect her, but there was nothing he could do to shield her heart. She was falling in love with him. That was her fault, not his.

Nevertheless, there was an unshakable bond between them, a bond forged by the forces that threatened them both. They needed each other if they were to have any chance of surviving the nightmare that had enveloped them.

That bond was enough, at least for tonight. She craved the raw thrill of abandoning herself to the desire that flared between them. She was desperate for a sensation strong enough to free her from the past, even if the escape was only temporary.

With a soft, muffled cry, she wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck and gave herself up to the embrace.