Chapter 61

“That’s a hell of a thing to say to me. I wanted Shaina to get better. I was the one who asked you to look at her in the first place. Her father had no money. Don’t forget that, Miah, while you’re so busy condemning me. And don’t think for one minute your precious Alexander has no ulterior motive when it comes to Shaina. His motive is you. He wants you and he’ll use anyone to get you. Is Alexander holding something over your head? Are you afraid of him? Is that what it is? You can tell me. I can help you. He can’t be so powerful we couldn’t fight him together.” Miah almost burst out laughing. Bert had no concept of what power really was. The two of them and an army could not defeat Alexander. 

“No, Bert. I’m not afraid of Alexander, but thank you for asking. I’m grateful you would want to help me.” “Why have you taken him back into your life without so much as a fight?” Bert demanded. 

“He just showed up on your doorstep and you let him in. Why? Why didn’t you take some time to get to know him again? Don’t you see what a mistake this is? I’m your friend and I can see him more clearly than you. He’s dangerous, Miah. I mean really dangerous. He’s a criminal of some sort. He reeks of it.” 

Miah shook her head wearily. “I don’t want to fight with you any more, Bert. I can assure you Alexander is no criminal. If the judge has information on him and is willing to allow Shaina to stay with him, you must accept that he is a good man. You know he’s no criminal. You’re just angry because I’ve allowed him back into my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do about Alexander, but it’s for me to decide. I’ve never deceived you, not once in our relationship. I never told you I loved you, I never committed to a relationship with you.” 

“You’ve always known how I felt. I haven’t changed. I’m sorry I’m jealous. Just spend some time with me.” His voice suddenly turned cajoling, appeasing. 

“Come home with me. Spend the night.” Bert bent over her, his mouth hovering close. His face was suddenly filled with a kind of crafty, greedy lust, his eyes flat and unfamiliar. Miah’s heart slammed in alarm. It was all she could do not to jerk away from him. She was very aware of his suddenly strong grip on her upper arms as he drew her body into his. He seemed different somehow, a stranger, not at all like the Bert she thought she knew. 

Could she have been so wrong? Had she been so desperate for companionship that she had overlooked his true character? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t in Miah to make a scene and it was ingrained in her to act human at all times. She stood very still, like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, he coughed, both hands going to his throat as he began to choke. His eyes glazed with instant alarm. “What’s wrong?” Miah deliberately touched his arm to read what was happening in his body. Was it Alexander? She didn’t feel the surge of power his presence should cause, but he was an ancient. She had no real idea of his true power. 

All she could tell was that Bert’s airway was blocked. She couldn’t tell what was wrong. His throat seemed swollen, almost as if he was having an allergic reaction to something. Bert went limp, his eyes rolled back in his head, and his knees buckled so that he began to topple to the floor. Miah easily caught him with preternatural strength, easing him to the floor, reaching to open his shirt, frantically seeking to find if his airway was open.

 “Alexander!” She reached for him almost automatically.

 “Help me.” He was there instantly in her mind, a soothing calm in the eye of the storm, assessing the situation. Miah was attempting to breathe for Bert, but no air could make it through his passageway. When she tried to enter his body using pure energy and light, there was some obstruction she could not pass. Alexander was grateful that she had suspected him only fleetingly, had turned instantly to him for aid. She was beginning to trust him far more than she realized. “Luther, I know you are there.” 

Alexander was very calm. “You are killing this man. Let him be.” 

“You do not fight your own battles.” It was a taunt, a reprimand. Miah renewed her efforts to enter Bert’s body to heal him, but the obstruction was like a brick wall. Sharing Alexander’s mind enabled her to “hear” the exchange between the twin brothers. “Who is this man that you do not remove him when he causes you such annoyance? You have grown soft, Alexander. You expect to hoard these two women when you cannot even destroy your enemies?” The voice was beautiful. So beautiful that Miah had to try to block it out. It was compelling without the demon even trying to make it so. 

She was frightened to think what power he wielded so easily. “Hurry, Alexander.” She whispered it on their own private mental path. Bert had been without air for far too long. At once she heard the soft, beautiful laughter echoing in her mind. “She is begging for the life of this worthless human. Your woman, begging for the life of another male. What does that mean, brother? You cannot even keep your woman.” It was shocking to discover that the private path used between lifemates had been so easily invaded by the demon. It was unheard of. 

Her heart began to beat loudly. She felt very vulnerable and she was desperate now to save Bert. Alexander, however, remained as calm as ever, completely unruffled. 

“Keep this between the two of us, Luther. You are becoming rather tedious with these displays. Showing off for women is beneath you. Are you so afraid, then, that I am not paying enough attention to you? I will come to you at once if that is your desire.” He was searching for a path to locate the demon. All at once, Bert coughed and choked, gasping for breath. Miah felt the unmistakable ripple of power. It filled the spaces around her, vibrated in the air, and then it was gone. She shuddered, sitting back on her heels beside Bert, her hand on his shoulder, her large dark eyes anxious. “Should I call someone?”

 “Water,” he croaked, his voice strangled and hoarse. His hands groped their way to his neck rather weakly. Miah could feel Alexander’s frustration as he realized that once again the demon had slipped away before he could pinpoint his exact location. Since there was nothing she could do to help Alexander, she hurried to find a cup of water for Bert, nearly spilling it as she helped him into a semi-sitting position. “It was Alexander,” he accused, his voice rasping. 

“I felt his hands on my throat strangling me.” 

“Bert, it was not Alexander. He is nowhere near this hospital. You were choking. I cleared your airway so you could breathe.” She made the suggestion calmly and clearly. Bert’s eyes flashed at her. 

“It was Alexander. I even smelled him. It was his hands around my throat and he tried to murder me. I saw him. I know I did and you’re trying to cover up for him.” “There is no use trying to persuade him otherwise, Miah.” Alexander said it softly, matter-of-factly, not bothered by Bert’s opinion of him. “Luther is far too powerful for you to overcome the compulsion he has buried in this man. I have seen him destroy an entire army.

 When we hunted together he often ordered a demon to rid the world of its existence using only his voice and it was done without a fight. The demon ended his existence without so much as a struggle. You know demons will do anything to continue their life, yet Luther is able to control them with only his voice. You have no idea of his power. 

Allow Bert to think what he wishes. I will have established a perfect alibi with the judge. It will not be hard to do so.” Miah climbed slowly to her feet, turning her full attention to the problem at hand. “You may think anything you wish, Bert, but remember when you accuse Alexander of this terrible crime, you are also accusing me of aiding him by my denial. I was here with you, I helped you. What motive would I have for lying to you?” Bert shook his head, rubbing his sore throat and neck. 

“I know he’s evil, Miah, and I know you have to do as he tells you. I know you wouldn’t want me hurt. He’s making you say and do the things you’re doing. You’re afraid of him, aren’t you? You probably did save my life, but you’re covering up for him because you’re afraid. If you’d just tell me what he’s holding over your head, I could help you.” Miah sighed, swept a hand through her long silken hair impatiently. 

“I thought you knew me, Bert. Really knew me. If I was afraid of Alexander and thought him capable of outright murder, if he was threatening me in some way, even with so trivial a thing as blackmail, do you think for one moment I would expose Shaina to such a person? Never. I could never, under any circumstances, be persuaded or induced to place her in jeopardy. If you know nothing else about me, you should know that. And if Alexander had tried to strangle you, you would be dead. I would not be able to fight him off, nor would anything induce me to protect him if he had attempted to murder you.”

 “I don’t know what he’s done to you, but you can expect a visit from the authorities, because I intend to press charges against him.” Bert massaged his neck and throat, coughing several times. 

“Do whatever you think you have to do, Bert,” she said softly. “Obviously you think me capable of being an accomplice to murder.” Regally, she turned and swept down the hall toward the double doors, leaving Bert to stumble unsteadily to his feet by himself. ”I do not know where Luther is, Miah.” Alexander’s voice was as calm as ever but she was beginning to know him well enough to hear he was worried.