Garden of Evil, page 7
Piper pulled in a breath to calm her frazzled nerves and pressed her hands into her forehead, unable to absorb exactly how badly that conversation had just gone. She clomped back into the attic, shaking her head. “That did not just happen,” she said.
“What are we going to do?” Phoebe asked, her voice near panic as she placed The Book of Shadows back on its pedestal in front of the window. “Where do you think she went?”
“I don’t know,” Piper said, lowering herself onto the couch. She glanced at the door, wishing they’d done something to keep her there. “I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid.”
Unfortunately, Piper knew that in the state Paige was in, there was a very good chance her sister was about to run headfirst into some serious trouble.
Chapter
7
Paige’s pulse was pounding with anger and trepidation as she steered her car along the darkened, windy road that led to Micah’s estate. Anger at her sisters for treating her like a child and for trying to take away the one guy she’d liked in ages. Trepidation over how Micah would receive her when she came knocking on his door just an hour after walking out on him. She gripped the steering wheel, watching carefully for landmarks on the side of the road. Having only been to Micah’s house once, she wasn’t entirely certain of where she was going and she hoped she wouldn’t get lost. That was the last thing she needed after everything else that had happened that night. “Thank you!” Paige said aloud when she saw an ornate mailbox she recognized.
Her nerves calmed the slightest bit once she knew she was on the right road. The steeper the hill became, the more her put-putting car struggled, and by the time Paige got to the gates outside Micah’s house, she had her foot to the floor just to keep the clunker running. She pulled up next to the little silver box Micah had used to enter the grounds earlier and put her car into park. “Now what?” she whispered, glancing up at the very unwelcoming gates.
She looked at the box and noticed there was a flat, circular button just next to the slot for Micah’s entry card. It was worth a shot. Maybe there was a hidden microphone and speaker and Micah would buzz her in just like at an apartment building. She rolled down her window, pressed the button, and waited for something to happen. And waited. “Come on,” Paige muttered, shivering in the rapidly cooling air.
Suddenly there was a quiet beeping noise, and then the gates clanged open just as they had earlier that night. Paige’s heart hit her throat at the unexpected noise, and for a moment she didn’t move. This was odd, wasn’t it? With all that security, why would Micah just have the gates open when someone rang? Still, she wasn’t just going to sit there. She put the car in drive and slammed on the gas, hoping to get her car to make it up the last little hill to Micah’s house.
A few minutes later, she pulled to a stop in front of the mansion and took a deep breath. “Just don’t let him still be mad,” she said quietly.
She climbed out of the car, dropping her keys into her purse, and looked up at the house. Micah was standing in the open front doorway.
“You came back,” he said, grinning. He hadn’t changed out of his suit, and Paige was certain she’d never seen a more welcoming sight in her life.
“I did,” Paige replied with a small smile. “The emergency was apparently imaginary,” she said, walking around the front of her car and up the few steps to the door. “I’m sorry about running out on you before,” she said, smiling up at him. “It won’t happen again.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Micah said with a sexy smile.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders, and Paige relished the warmth the gesture afforded her. Together they strolled back into the mansion. Micah paused to close the door behind them, and locked it.
“How did you know it was me?” Paige asked as they walked through the foyer.
“At the gate?” Micah asked. “Security cameras.”
“Wow. You really are Batman,” Paige joked.
Micah smirked and squeezed her shoulder. “Something like that.”
“So . . . how about that tour of the garden?” Paige asked, tilting her head to look up at him when they entered the library.
Micah’s face positively lit up at the suggestion, his blue eyes dancing. “I’m glad you asked,” he said. He pulled away from her and took a long, black coat from a coatrack in the corner. Then he placed it over her shoulders and took her hand.
“Thank you,” Paige said, touched by his gentlemanly manners.
Oh, yeah, he’s a demon. Right, Paige thought sarcastically, pulling the warm coat closer to her as Micah opened the back door. She wished Piper and Phoebe could see them now—could see the way Micah treated her. She looked up at him and smiled as she stepped over the threshold onto the patio that bordered the garden. I have nothing to worry about, she thought. Nothing at all.
Micah closed the door behind them, and Paige took a few steps across the patio, expecting him to join her. When he didn’t, she turned around to see where he’d gone. He was standing with his hand on the brass doorknob, his eyes closed and his head tipped forward. “Is everything okay?” Paige asked, concerned. He looked as if he may be ill.
But Micah raised his head, opened his eyes, and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine,” he said, shaking off whatever it was. He walked over to her and took her hand. “I can’t wait to give you the tour.”
Paige smiled as they strolled off the patio and onto the grass. There was a small, gurgling fountain in the center of a square that was surrounded by perfectly trimmed hedges. Paige looked down into the clear water as they passed by and saw that the floor of the fountain was made up of tiny aqua blue tiles, each centered by a gold circle. The rippling water made the colors shift and twist in an almost mesmerizing dance. Micah tugged on her hand, and she followed him to the far end of the lawn and through a break in the hedge.
Her mouth opened in silent wonder as she took in the next garden. It was almost like walking from room to room in a house. This area was also bordered by the hedge, but it was much bigger and it was dotted with stone benches and flowering bushes more beautiful than any Paige had ever seen.
“What are these?” Paige asked, reaching out to cup the bulb of a fat red flower in her palm.
“That’s a rose,” Micah replied.
“No. It can’t be,” Paige said. She leaned forward to smell the flower and sure enough, it smelled just like a rose. “I had no idea they could grow so huge,” she said.
“My gardener is a hybrid expert,” Micah explained as they wove their way through the garden, admiring the other flowers. “These blooms are all genetically engineered. He’s come up with some amazing things.”
“It’s incredible,” Paige said. How was it possible that in addition to all of Micah’s other amazing qualities, he was also a flower expert? This guy could keep me in fresh-cut bouquets for the rest of my life.
Micah walked her around the hedge at the end of the garden, and Paige was surprised to see a small, stone house, almost covered with flowering weeds, set back in the corner of another hedge wall. “What’s that?” she asked.
“A supply shed, mostly,” Micah said. “But there’s also a powder room in there so that my guests don’t have to walk all the way back to the house to use the facilities.”
“Thoughtful touch,” Paige said with a smile.
They came around another corner and left the hedges behind. The last garden was bordered by the brick wall that ran around all of Micah’s grounds, but this garden was immense. There were huge trees growing along the wall to Paige’s left, their gnarled roots pressing under the bricks and out the other side. In the far corner, a tiny man-made pond with a running waterfall was surrounded by another small, stone patio. Two chaise longues and a glass table with a retractable umbrella and four cushioned chairs were placed near the pond.
“I guess this is where you come to get that perfect tan of yours,” Paige said.
“I don’t have a lot of downtime, but when I do, this is where you’ll find me,” Micah replied.
“I think that a guy like you should make more time for himself,” Paige said lightly as they turned and walked back through the hedges and past the toolshed.
“Do you? For what?” Micah asked.
“For relaxing,” Paige said, pulling away from him and sitting down on one of the stone benches in the flower garden. She raised her shoulders and blinked up at him flirtatiously. “For . . . patting yourself on the back for all your good works.”
Micah laughed and sat down next to her, reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face. Paige’s skin tingled at his touch and she could suddenly feel her heart beating as if it were the only thing in the world to feel.
“For . . . spending as much time as possible with your new girlfriend?” she said hopefully.
Micah leaned toward her, causing her pulse to race wildly, and reached over her shoulder to pluck a single red rose from the bush that grew next to the bench. He handed it to her, and she brought the beautiful flower slowly to her nose, gazing at him the whole time.
“That’s the first good reason I’ve heard,” he said, his voice deep.
Nearly trembling, Paige lowered the rose and Micah slipped his hand behind her neck, pulling her to him. Her eyes fluttered closed just before their lips met in a kiss like none other Paige had felt before. She felt it in her fingertips, her toes, her ears, her head, her heart. It seemed as if Micah was wrapping her up in the warmth of his feelings for her and cradling her to him. By the time he finally released her, she was floating somewhere near the moon.
“Well? What do you think?” Micah asked, gazing down at her.
“About what?” Paige said, feeling almost drunk. She could barely open her eyes, and her head was swimming.
“About the garden,” Micah asked, running his fingertips along her cheekbone.
“I think it’s incredible,” she replied, blinking a few times to try to knock herself out of her giddy trance. “I think I need to win the lottery so I can get myself a place just like this,” she added.
“Sorry,” Micah said. “It’s one of a kind. But you are going to have plenty of time to enjoy it.”
“Really? Does that mean you’re definitely hoping to see me more often?” she asked coyly, smiling up at him.
“A lot more often,” he responded, his blue eyes penetrating.
He leaned forward again and put his lips to Paige’s forehead, giving her a firm, lingering kiss. Then he pulled away and smiled at her almost sadly. At that moment Paige suddenly knew that there was much more to Micah Grant than met the eye. He had secrets, just like everyone did, and she wanted more than anything to know everything about him.
He’s seen so much sadness, Paige realized. And he’s such a kind, giving person. How could Piper and Phoebe ever have thought he was evil?
Micah pressed his hands into his thighs and stood, and Paige rose to follow him back into the house. As enchanted as she was by the garden, and as swept away as she was by Micah himself, she was ready to get inside and away from the cold. But she’d only taken one step when Micah turned to her and held out his hand. “You have to stay,” he said firmly.
“What do you mean?” Paige asked, confused. Was he going to get something and come back outside?
“You have to stay,” he repeated as if it were the most normal thing in the world to say. “This is your new home.”
He turned and walked through the hedge wall into the first garden, leaving Paige, who seemed to be stunned frozen, behind. A chill more violent than any she could have gotten from the cold rushed over her. What the hell is he talking about?
Finally Paige was able to get her feet to move and she rushed after Micah, her knees shaking. When she came through the hedge, he was already at the edge of the patio.
“Micah! What do you mean this is my new home?” she blurted, still not quite able to believe the words that were coming out of her own mouth.
He turned slowly and looked at her with a patient expression, as if he was addressing someone with only half a brain. “You’re going to stay here and be my love,” he said matter-of-factly. “You said you loved my garden. And so, you’ll stay in my garden.”
Suddenly, every instinct in Paige’s body was telling her to run. She could practically hear Piper and Phoebe screaming at her to get out of there as fast as her high heels could carry her. Micah was obviously not exactly sane.
“I’m going home now,” Paige said firmly, her heart beating like a frightened bird’s. She lifted her chin, trying to look unintimidated, and walked right past him. For a moment, she thought she was free. She thought he was just going to let her go. He certainly didn’t make a move to stop her. But just as Paige was starting to feel as if she’d dodged one serious, heat-seeking bullet, the strangest, most disturbing, most incomprehensible thing happened.
She walked into a wall. A wall that wasn’t there.
Steadying herself after being knocked back, and lifting her hand to an already-forming bump on her head, Paige looked around in confusion. No, she wasn’t insane. There wasn’t anything there. But she’d walked into something. She knew she had.
“What’s going on?” she shouted, whirling on Micah as hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.
“I told you,” he responded calmly. “You can’t leave.”
Panic seized Paige’s heart and she turned toward the patio again, steeling herself. But when she took a step, she once again hit something solid. Something invisible, but solid. She reached out a trembling hand and felt the air, but it wasn’t air at all. Her fingers felt as if they were running along a brick wall—a cold, grainy, completely impenetrable brick wall.
“No! This can’t be happening!” Paige said under her breath. The bump on her forehead started to throb intensely. She had to get out of there before any more harm came to her.
Paige turned on her heel and ran for the side of the house, but Micah’s brick wall—the real, visible one—ran right out from the corner of the mansion. It was at least ten feet high, and there was no way Paige could have climbed over it. Desperate, she stumbled along the wall, looking for an opening, but there was nothing. There was no way out.
Realizing she was actually trapped, that this nightmare was actually real, Paige turned and slowly walked back toward the patio, never taking her eyes off Micah. He simply stood there, hands in his pockets, watching her with a blank expression. His placid facade infuriated her.
“You can’t do this to me,” she said, struggling to keep the tears at bay. “You can’t keep me here.”
“It’s for your own good,” Micah said serenely. “For our own good.” He took a step toward her, and Paige forced herself to stand her ground and not back away. She didn’t want him to know how scared she was. Once he knew that, he’d have even more of an upper hand, if that were possible. “We were destined to be together Paige. Soon, you’ll grow to love me just as I have grown to love you.”
Paige was repulsed by the words that only moments ago she would have been elated to hear. For the first time she could see the coldness in Micah’s blue eyes. A steel-like coldness that made her shiver beneath his thick, wool coat. “You are Vandalus, aren’t you?” she said through her teeth. “You’re the demon my sisters warned me about.”
Micah’s face registered the same sorrow she’d seen moments before and had attributed to his deep, tortured soul. Paige had never felt so disgusted with herself. How could she have been so blind? He’d been planning this all along. He’d been planning to keep her prisoner. No wonder he’d been so hyped to get her into the garden.
“I’m hurt that you would think I am anything but a man who loves you,” Micah said.
Then he turned briskly and walked right through the invisible wall and into the library. Without giving herself a second to think, Paige threw herself at the spot he’d moved through and hit the wall so hard, she was tossed to the ground, her shoulder throbbing with pain. She watched as Micah walked over to the table in the library, picked up her bag, and pulled out her cell phone.
“No,” she said, scrambling to her feet. She pressed her hands up against the invisible wall desperately. “No!” she shouted.
She watched, her heart seized with helpless panic, as Micah brought the phone over to the glass door, placed it on the floor, and crushed it under his foot. His eyes never left hers.
“No!!!” Paige screamed, finally letting the tears spill over. “Don’t do this! Micah! Please don’t do this!”
But he simply turned away from her and switched off the light, leaving her in utter darkness, alone, cold, and with no hope of escape.
Chapter
8
Paige awoke the next morning to the sound of trilling birds and the soft, pink glow of the early-morning sky. She picked her head up from the cotton cover on the chaise longue in the back garden and a shot of white-hot pain blasted through her head. Tenderly, she touched the bump on her head and winced. “That’ll wake you up pretty quick,” she said under her breath as she groggily looked around. Her eyes were heavy. They stung from the tears she’d shed the night before, and it took a moment for her to focus. But when she did, she knew that nothing had changed. She was still in Micah’s garden. She was still alone. And no one knew where she was.
A breeze ruffled the leaves on the trees above and sent a cold shiver down Paige’s back. She pulled the wool coat she’d used as a blanket tighter around her shoulders, curling up into a fetal position.
“Why is this happening to me?” she whispered hoarsely to herself. Her voice was nearly gone from hours of fruitless screaming the night before. A fat tear squeezed from her eye and rolled across her temple into the cushion as she felt more sobs welling up in her breast.
How could I have been so stupid? she thought, the tears coming more quickly. She’d fallen in love with a demon. A clearly evil demon. Not a hot and cuddly one like Cole. She was such a blind, silly little girl.
