Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

clear the raspy croak that substituted for his voice. From his training, he knew the adrenaline pumping into his bloodstream would help disperse the fog in his head. Until then, he wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him cower.
    Seeing Slater standing in front of him, a smirk on his lips, didn’t surprise Lucier in the least. “Where’s Diana? I swear if anything’s happened to her , there won’t be any place for you to hide.”
    A derisive huff emerged from Slater ’s throat as he paced before him, his relaxed demeanor conveying his advantage . “His first words are for his lady. How noble. Brave, too, considering you’re strapped to a chair.”
    “My men and the FBI know where we are. You won’t get away with this.”
    “You mean those little GPS tracking devices you and Diana carried ? They’re beeping signals as we speak. At Diana’s house. Did you really think you could pass through the security gate without alerting us of their presence ? Your men couldn’t find you now with the latest in satellite technology or with a team of champion bloodhounds .
    “ Besides, you called your man ― what’s his name? Beecher ?― and told him you and Diana spent a lovely evening at the Compton s ’ . You even mentioned you found no evidence to implicate our group in anything more nefarious than unknowingly renting a house to a man who kidnapped a baby. Your d etective must think the two of you took an extended holiday, when in fact you’re hundreds of miles away from New Orleans, in our compound.”
    What call? Think, Ernie . But his mind was a black hole. He writhed again st his bonds t o free himself, caving limp in the chair as his weakened body collapsed . Even in full strength, he couldn’t have shucked his bindings.
    He’d been surprised Slater wasn’t at Compton’s house the night of the reading and concluded he’d been wrong about him. He chalked up his irritation at the man to a foolish emotion that colored his opinion from the beginning. Colored it green. Now he knew h is innate sense of distrust had been spot on, and Diana, maybe for the first time in her career ―her life― had missed Slater’s evil core .
    He should have trusted his cop instinct.
    “ T ell me ,” Lucier said, “ i s Diana okay ?”
    “She’s fine. Why would we hurt her? She’s what this is all about.”
    “What is this all about?” Lucier asked , forcing out the words .
    “You’ll find out soon enough.”
    K eep your wits. Find out as much as you can . “What day is it?”
    “ Monday morning. I’m afraid you’ve been out for quite a while. ”
    Monday . At least thirty-six hours had passed . He’d probably been restrained all that time , which accounted for the stiffness . “ I need to pee .”
    “Soon. We made sure you did your business. We wouldn’t want you to mess yourself , b ut you do reek.”
    The thought that someone had seen to his bodily functions caused a cold spike down his spine. What drug had allowed them to put him under so completely? “ When I don’t show up for work and they can’t find Diana, they’ll come looking for us. They’ll find us.”
    Slater arched one brow. “Hold the thought.”
    The ominous phrase chilled Lucier. Slater sounded so sure of himself. With the tracking devices useless, and i f they were hundreds of miles away , how would anyone find them? Ralph Stallings said the combined properties of the group were a complicated mess.
    “How did you drug us ? I watched every morsel of food we ate, every drop of liquid poured into our glasses.”
    Slater’s arrogant sneer claimed victory without words. “But not the drop at the bottom of the glass , before we filled it. E nough to put you under. We supplemented later, after you fell into your plates.”
    I was so careful, so prepared ― so stupid . He should have switched place cards and changed seats. If he’d done that, the looks on their faces would have given them away . He should have checked the glasses. Should have insisted that he and Diana stayed home. Should have, should have. Didn’t.
    Too damn late now. He strained harder against the binding straps, but they only cut deeper into his skin.
    “Sorry about the restraints. L etting you roam free didn’t seem like a good idea.”
    “You son of a bitch,” Lucier said, still struggling. “Where is she? I want to see her.”
    “You will. In a minute. She’s quite something, you know. An amazing woman. I ’d hoped she’d take to our way