Soft strains of opera music filled the room. Cameron seemed incapable of working without strong melodies and resonating vocals. My first and last encounter with him had been in London where he'd helped mend Kael's injuries. Brief and strange, the encounter had given me little reason to think of him until now.

Blinking, I tried to focus against the fog in my brain, the fog that had started shortly after medicine had been forced into my arm. Kael had held my arm out while Cameron injected some drug into my veins. Moments later I couldn't communicate, could hardly process what they said to me. Even my head resisted supporting its own weight.

"Almost done, beautiful."

Cameron glanced up at me with one of his broad smiles. Inappropriate for the setting, his grin stayed fixed when he looked back at his work.

My lips wouldn't move and allow me to respond. The music had reached a swell and the soprano's vibrato pounded in my head long after it subsided. This was like a nightmare set to music, one without an end.

His face came down in my line of sight. Without his smiles, he would be a convincing older Kael. The hazel eyes and bone structure were almost a perfect match.

His lips were moving. Shaking my head against the ringing in my ears, I closed my eyes and succumbed to the sleep that my mind craved. But it wasn't sleep that came. Aware but unable to reopen my eyes, a heaviness sank into my subconscious.

The sound of my name pulled me back into the room. Cameron stooped over me, smiling broadly.

"There we go," he said, eyes dancing across my face. "She's awake now."

Even though my ears were functioning, my head fell back against the pillow. Nausea swelled in my stomach as Gideon's face came into view.

His voice was gravelly. "Will she be alright?"

"No more walking on her own," Cameron said. He focused on packing up his things. "But getting out of bed once or twice a day would do her good."

"How? You saw her -"

"With support of course." Cameron chuckled. "Surely someone can spare ten minutes to get her around the room. She can't stay in bed. She's got enough ailing her without adding pneumonia to the list."

Gideon looked down at me, thoughtful.

"Alright?" Cameron pressed.

Gideon mumbled something in reply.

Cameron smirked and walked away.

Odd as he was, the door closing behind him was an unwelcome sound. Alone in the room with Gideon, I watched as he studied the floor beside my bed and paced, two small steps at a time each way.

There were so many questions I could ask, so many accusations I wanted to fling. I had done it before, when I'd first met Gideon on the bridge in London. Accusing him of abandoning and trying to kill me then didn't seem nearly as appropriate as it did now.

When he stopped pacing, he lifted his hand to run it down his scared cheek. Something metal in his palm caught the light. It seemed familiar somehow. A silver cuff. Needles climbed up my spine.

The piece played idly between his fingers as he fought some internal battle. Glaring eyes found where I rested in the bed and searched mine. As I'd tried with Kael, I must be smart and strategic when talking to this man. He wanted something from me or gained something without me. Either way, finding his favor again was the only way I'd survive.

"You're probably wondering why you're here," Gideon said finally and cleared his throat. "I hardly know... Well, Kael's right. You're alive because it's what I wanted. He knew it. He kept you alive because of me."

Not knowing how to respond, I looked down at the large white bandage across my mid section. Something about the piece of metal in his hand bothered me, but I pushed it aside. Answers were what I needed now and he seemed capable of giving them. If I waited, he would probably go on, explain what he was thinking.

As I'd hoped, after a few seconds of silence, he proceeded. This time more agitated, he used the cuff to gesture at me while he spoke.

"The truth is, you're a risk and liability, Caraleena. You always have been. I thought I could protect you, hide you." He said with a growl, "You should never have been born."

The knife like pain that twisted in my chest wasn't from my injury. Anything he said shouldn't affect me so much. I shouldn't care about his opinions. But as my father, his sharp words stung. Wincing, I pushed back into my pillow.

"Why?" I managed a soft whisper.

"A south African diamond heiress and Lord Harper? The very idea was crazy." Thick brows shot up. "There's history there you do not understand, but it should never have happened. I knew better. Ava deceived me and like I fool I fell for her wiles."

"I don't understand." My voice cracked.

"He says you'll be deceptive like your mother. That you'll manipulate me, use my affection as a weapon against me." He pointed at me accusingly with the bangle.

"Who says? Kael?"

Gideon shook his head. "Luther. And he's someone I have to trust."

Stepping forward, he took my arm in an iron grasp. Though the drugs were wearing off, I was powerless to fight him. I watched in horror as he pressed the silver cuff against my skin. The piece clicked shut around my wrist, digging into my flesh at the base of my thumb.

Crying out, I tried to pull away, but I was too weak. Suddenly I remembered. The last time I had seen a man with one of these, Kael had killed him with a small trigger on a signet ring. Foaming at the mouth and writhing, it was one of the worst deaths I'd seen.

There was no similar ring on Gideon's fingers. And as I looked for it, Gideon let go of my arm.

"You know what this is?" he asked.

Shaking my head, I fumbled with the cuff. It was fixed to my wrist, impossible to remove without tearing flesh with it. I felt the inside of the metal disappear into my skin. A small trail of blood started from under the cuff and travelled up my arm.

Suddenly Gideon gasped and clasped a hand over his mouth. His changed demeanour startled me. Frozen, I watched as he backed away, his face ashen as if he'd seen a ghost.

"No, no, no!" He shouted and swore. "You said to protect myself, but this? This is too much. We have to take it off her."

Someone else was in the room. Pulse racing, my head swung left and right, but when no one came into sight, I looked back at Gideon.

Wild eyes searched the space beside him. Both hands reached up and ran through his hair. The man had transformed into a nervous wreck, perspiring and cursing at the nothingness beside him. In the blue light of evening, he looked even more intense, as if he would explode if his agitation didn't subside.

"We have to get her out of here. It isn't safe. She shouldn't be here. Why? Why do you ask this of me?"

Panting, he dropped his hold on his head and turned his crazed eyes to the side. It was as if someone was speaking to him, requiring his full attention.

When a brief interlude had passed, he turned back to me, tight lipped. His voice sounded different, distant. "You're right, Luther. We have to kill her."

Both fists dropped to his side and relaxed. Even his eyes lost their crazed focus and softened. Slowly, his head dropped to the side and fell back. A loud crack sounded with the stretch. His slow exhale was the only breath in the room. My lungs constricted in terror.

Unable to move or defend myself, I twisted my hands into the sheets on either side of me and watched in horror as he approached. All the stories I'd heard about my father had been true. In the brief glimpse I'd had of him on that bridge in London, I hadn't seen the potential for this. Crazy as his reasons were for abandoning me as a child, he hadn't spoken to voices in his head or obeyed their commands. But now I saw who he truly was. There would be no reasoning with him. The man coming toward me was insane.

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Things are going from bad to worse for Harper. How will she get out of this one?? Sorry for the sporadic posting but I'll try to get better at keeping up on here!  More next week... :)

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