Read The Maestro (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 3) for Free Online

will do just that. However, what is the signal you must give me if you have a dark urge?”
    She rolled her beautiful blue eyes and said, “I have to take your hand and squeeze it.”
    He smiled. “Perfect.” Noticing she was done with her meal, he pushed a delicate aperitif glass filled with dark-red fluid to her. Adam noticed it and kept his mouth shut.
    The men watched her sip it, her eyes roll, and a smile blossom on her face. Her eyes brightened, and she said, “I have to go and dress appropriately for our outing.” She pointed at the glass. “I want to bring that glass with us for the trip.” She sprang from her chair and left the dining room. Her movements were graceful, and she had finally blossomed into a striking woman. She reminded Maurice of his wife.
    Adam reached out and poked his arm. “What was in that glass, boss? You give her a tiny amount of something after each meal, and I’ve noticed that you decrease the amount each day.”
    Maurice wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and replied, “Warm butcher’s blood. I obtain it from the chef. She craves the taste of blood, and it soothes her nerves. It serves no medicinal purpose.”
    Adam sat back, content with the answer, and shook his head. “Makes no matter to me. Delilah’s almost back to normal, and I’m relieved about it. You don’t think she’ll slide backward, do you?”
    Maurice shook his head. “Not if I can help it. I found she reacts well when she has a goal to reach. She wants to see her brother above all, and she’s working hard to reach that goal.”
    “Once she does, what will her next goal be?”
    Maurice grinned. “I have several goals lined up for her.” He reached out and patted Adam’s hand. “Don’t worry so much. It will only end up giving you untimely facial wrinkles.”

CHAPTER 4
     
    Tilly Hughes’s mind wound backward in time to explain her current predicament. She remembered going hiking at night with some friends from school and meeting that nice hunk from the farm. For some reason she couldn’t comprehend, Reginald had shoved her. She fell, and she expected to feel the ground beneath her but didn’t. She didn’t know how far she had plummeted, but when she’d landed, she felt a bone snap in her left leg. The pain was excruciating and had forced her to black out.
    When she came to, she had no idea how late it was. Her parents would be worried. She screamed out in pain when she tried to move. Old, mossy furniture, rocks, and debris surrounded her. She searched for the flashlight that she’d had in her hand before she fell and found it beside her, upside down. She hoped the batteries hadn’t died while she was unconscious. She shook the flashlight, flicked it on, and tried to shove herself to the side of the pit with her right leg while dragging the left one along. Each movement caused the pain to rocket through her body, and she screamed again, hoping in vain that someone would hear her and come to her rescue, but she doubted any of her friends were still there. She finally reached the edge of the pit and rested her back against its stone sides.
    Her screams were heard all right, but not by any human. She could hear rustling and low-pitched growls surround her from on high. Panicking, she shone the flashlight beam on her injured leg to see if there was any blood and saw that her skin had split wide open; she thought she could see bone but wasn’t sure. She wasn’t a dullard and knew that wildlife was attracted to the scent of blood, yet she had nothing to wrap the leg with. She placed the flashlight on her abdomen as her hands searched the ground surrounding her for any type of cloth she could use, regardless of its cleanliness, to wrap the leg. She found an old, torn, filthy bedsheet, ripped it, and haphazardly wrapped her left leg and knotted it tight. It caused her pain, but she gritted her teeth and stifled another cry. Grasping the flashlight with her trembling hands once more, she thought of her