She was still unconvinced. “But… she could do so much better.”

Daniel laughed. “I won’t argue with that.”

CHAPTER 24

V

al’s huge double fridge was much better stocked than Arnie’s. In fact, it was much better stocked than the average restaurant’s. It looked like she was planning to feed a dozen more guests than those she already had in residence – though she apparently had not been apprised of Alex’s and Daniel’s existence until moments before they arrived.

The incongruity bothered Alex a little, but not enough to deter her from the bowl of grapes. She felt like she hadn’t eaten anything fresh in weeks, though it really hadn’t been so very long. The ranch seemed months ago. She could barely wrap her head around how short the time actually was.

Alex sat on one of the pure white, ultramodern bar stools. It wasn’t terribly comfortable.

Daniel was humming with pleasure as he examined the accoutrements. “Now, this is a kitchen,” he murmured. He started sorting through the lower drawers, evaluating the pots and pans available.

“Making ourselves right at home, are we?”

Daniel jerked upright. Alex paused with a grape halfway to her mouth.

Val came into the room laughing, still in the brief kimono. “Relax. All this stuff is here for you. I don’t really use this room.”

“Um, thank you,” Daniel said.

She shrugged. “Kevin paid for it. So, you like to cook?”

“I dabble.”

“He’s being modest,” Alex told her. “He’s a five-star chef.”

Val smiled warmly at Daniel as she stretched her whole torso across the island toward him so her chin nearly touched the marble. “Well, that’s nice. I’ve never had a live-in chef before. It sounds… fun.”

Alex wondered how Val was able to load so many different implications into one common word.

“Er, I suppose so,” Daniel said, flushing a little. “Where is Kevin?”

“Walking the dog.”

Val turned her face toward Alex, and Alex braced for more aggression.

“I asked Kevin about you. Kevin says you tortured him.” Val jerked her head toward Daniel.

“Ah, well, technically, that’s correct. It was a case of mistaken identity, though.”

Val’s eyes glowed with interest. “What did you do? Did you burn him?”

“What? No, no… Um, I used injectable chemical treatments. I find them more effective, and they don’t leave scars.”

“Hmm.” Val rolled her body sideways along the marble so she was turned to Daniel again, then pillowed her head against her arm. The kimono was partially dislodged by this maneuver, and Alex imagined his view was quite interesting. He stood awkwardly, one hand on the refrigerator door.

“Was it really painful?” Val demanded.

“Beyond anything I’d ever imagined,” Daniel admitted.

Val seemed fascinated. “Did you scream? Did you beg? Did you writhe?”

Daniel couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “All of the above, I believe. Oh, and I cried like a baby as well.” Still smiling, he seemed suddenly comfortable; he turned back to the fridge and started rummaging.

Val sighed. “I really wish I could have seen that.”

“You’re into torture?” Alex asked, hiding her concern. Of course Kevin would move them in with a true sadist.

“Not torture per se, but it’s so intoxicating, isn’t it? That kind of power?”

“I guess I’ve never looked at it quite that way…”

Val cocked her head, looking at Alex with undisguised interest. “Isn’t everything about power?”

Alex thought about it for a moment. “Not in my experience. Back when that was my job, honestly – it sounds naive now, even to me – I was really just trying to save people. There was always a lot hanging in the balance. It was stressful.”

Val considered that, pursing her lips. “That does sound naive.”

Alex shrugged.

“It never gave you a rush? Being in control?” Val’s wide lapis eyes bored into her.

Alex wondered if people felt this way in a psychiatrist’s office – this compulsion to speak. Or maybe it was more like being shackled to Alex’s own table. “I mean… maybe. I’m not a very dangerous person on the surface. I guess there were times that I appreciated the… respect.”

Val nodded. “Of course you did. Tell me, have you ever tortured a woman?”

“Twice… well, once and a half.”

“Explain.”

Daniel’s head was leaning back as he adjusted the flame under the stovetop grill; he was paying close attention. Alex hated talking about this in front of him.

“I didn’t actually have to do anything to the first girl. She was confessing before she was even strapped to the table. She didn’t belong in my lab anyway – any normal interrogation would have gotten the same results. Poor kid.”

“What was she confessing to?”

“A terrorist cell was trying to coerce some suicide bombers in New York. They’d kidnap someone’s family back in Iran – in this case, her parents – and kill the hostages if the subject wouldn’t do as directed. The NSA had it under control before any of the bombs were detonated, but they lost several of the hostages.” She sighed. “It’s always messy with terrorists.”