Witchcraft

sharp denial was from Ariel. ' course it is."
    Kimberly assured her. "Who else would be calling at four in the morning? Why don't you get out your fortune-telling cards and see if I'm right?" The phone rang again, harshly demanding. "The only problem," Kimberly continued, "is that by the time you've dealt the cards to determine who's calling, Cavenaugh will have given up and decided something must be wrong. Knowing him, I expect his next move will be to call the Highway Patrol. With his name and clout he'll probably get them to come check on me." The phone rang again and the man with the gun was definitely nervous now. He looked at Ariel for guidance. "We'd better let her answer it, my lady." Ariel lifted an admonishing hand. "I will decide, Emlyn ." Her once-cheerful eyes were full of threat as she nodded brusquely at Kimberly. "Answer it. And be very, very careful what you say, Kim, or I will have Emlyn kill you where you stand. Tell Cavenaugh you're fine. Then get rid of him."
    Aware of the other three watching her with violent intensity, Kimberly moved to answer the phone. She was so certain it would be Cavenaugh that she wasn't at all surprised at the sound of his voice. What did surprise her was the urgent concern in his words. "Kim? A re you all right?"
    "I'm fine, Cavenaugh . It was a long drive, but I'm home. I told you there wouldn't be any problem, didn't I?"
    "You didn't have the courtesy to tell me a thing," he exploded softly. "You just did a midnight flit without bothering to mention the little fact that you were leaving town."
    "You know how writers are, darling. They get the oddest compulsions at the oddest hours. I just had to come back here to finish what I started." Across the room Ariel glowered at her, motioning her to get off the phone. "You don't work like that. You work regular hours.
    What the hell are we discussing your writing for, anyway? You know that's not what's wrong between us. Kim, listen to me. We've got to talk about what happened tonight." Kimberly steadied herself, deliberately dropping her voice to what she hoped would sound like a sensuous purr to the three people watching her so malevolently. "You know I'll look forward to that. I always enjoy our pillow talk.
    Remember the last chat we had in bed?"
    "Kimberly, you're not making a whole lot of sense. But, yes, I do remember the conversation," Cavenaugh said roughly. "You told me you loved me. Are you trying to tell me that you've realized you still do?"
    "Actually, I was referring to the other topic we discussed," she murmured lovingly. Emlyn raised the snout of the gun in a gesture of warning. "I remember how you assured me that you understood. Your understanding would mean a great deal to me right now, Cavenaugh ." There was a taut silence on the other end of the phone. Kimberly could almost feel Cavenaugh sorting through her words. When he spoke again there was a new edge in his voice, one she had never heard before. "You were scared that night."
    "Yes, darling," she whispered lightly. "And tonight?"
    "Oh, I still feel the same way, Cavenaugh . Even more so." He swore with soft violence. "How much time have I got?". Kimberly swallowed. "I don't know how I'll make it through the rest of the night without you," she said, some of the purring quality draining from her voice. "How many of them?" The question was as hard and cold as a knife blade. Kimberly swallowed.
    "I've got three chapters to get done for that deadline. A lot of work so I really must get to bed. It's been a very long, tiring drive. Take care, darl ing . I'll look forward to seeing you when I've finished Vendetta." She hung up the phone before an obviously nervous Emlyn could get any more restless. The younger woman looked relieved and glanced at Ariel for direction. Ariel nodded. "Tie her up, Zorah , and put her in the bedroom for now. We have preparations to make." She flung a coldly amused look at Kimberly. "It's a good thing you had the sense to keep Darius out of this. Loving him as much as you do, I'm sure you wouldn't want him hurt. Take her away, Zorah . Emlyn , give her a hand and then come back here. There is much to be done before tonight." Loving him as much as you do. The words played about in Kimberly's brain as she submitted to having her wrists bound behind her back and her ankles tied. Emlyn supervised the process, his gun never wavering. Loving him as much as you do. The old witch was right, Kimberly realized as Zorah and Emlyn left the room.