Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [104]
"There are a lot of things we can do in that amount of time, princess," he said, a husky note in his voice.
"Like what?" she asked breathlessly.
"Use your imagination."
* * *
David felt himself sliding into sleep. The familiar dream welcomed him home.
He was walking through the long dark alley, hearing footsteps coming closer. There were eyes following him, watching him, or maybe it was the dragon's eyes. They glowed in the night, two jade points of light from thousands of years ago. Jasmine's dragon. He had to get back to her. She was the only one who understood. Why couldn't he get to her? Why didn't the alley end? Was it always this long, this narrow? He heard voices hushed, then growing louder, one especially cold and shrill -- Victoria? She stepped in front of him, and something flashed in her hand. A knife? A gun?
"I know what you did, David. You betrayed me. You ruined our name. You hurt your daughter. You must pay."
The gun was pointed straight at his heart. It exploded. He jerked, feeling the shock, the pain, the knowledge that he had really screwed up this time.
"Mr. Hathaway. Mr. Hathaway?"
He blinked as a bright light blinded him. Was this it? The light that would lead him straight to heaven? No, he probably wasn't headed there. Not after the way he'd lived.
"Mr. Hathaway. Wake up. You're dreaming." The hand on his shoulder was firm.
He opened his eyes, looking into the concerned face of the nurse who'd been hired by Victoria to babysit him
"Are you all right?" she asked him. "You screamed bloody murder a minute ago."
"I'm fine." He put a hand on his chest, feeling as if Victoria really had shot him. But there was no bullet hole, no blood, no pain. It was just a nightmare. She didn't know. She couldn't know. He'd never said a word, and Jasmine certainly wouldn't have told her.
Jasmine. She'd been on his mind since he'd woken up. She must have heard the news of his attack. She was probably worried.
"Can I get you anything, Mr. Hathaway?" the nurse asked.
"Yes," he said huskily. "Could you get me a soda from the cafeteria downstairs?"
"There's water right here."
"I'm tired of water. I want a Coke." And he wanted her to leave him alone for a few minutes so he could call Jasmine. Maybe Jasmine could tell him why he'd gone to Chinatown. He didn't know why he couldn't remember anything since Christmas, which according to Paige was a month earlier. Why had his brain cut off the last few weeks? What was his mind hiding?
"All right. I'll get it for you. Shall I have the security guard stand inside the door?"
"No, you shall not," he said grumpily. "I'm fine. Go. And take your time."
She did as he asked, and he was blessedly alone. Thank goodness. He wasn't used to having anyone around twenty-four hours a day, and even though it hadn't been that long, he was already tired of the constant attendance of nurses. He wanted to go home, to his own room, where he could sort things out.
Reaching for the phone, he dialed Jasmine's number, hoping she was home. She always told him not to call or come by, but he needed to talk to her.
The phone rang three times, then her voice came over the line. "Hello?"
"It's me," he said, relieved that she was there.
"David?" she asked in wonder. "Are you all right?"
"They told me I was assaulted in an alley near your apartment, that I was in a coma for a few days."
"You don't remember?"
"I wish I could." Silence followed his words. "Why did I come to see you?"
"You showed me the dragon."
"The dragon I bought for Elizabeth's birthday?"
"No, David, it was the dragon from my dreams. Someone brought it to your store to have it appraised. You showed it to me. I held it in my hands." Her voice wavered. "I believe now that it was part of that set, the one we read about, the one with the curse on first daughters. And I touched it. I released the curse on my own daughter, on our child."
His brain was still too foggy to follow her reasoning. He knew about the dragon, of course. It was important to Jasmine. "Are you sure the dragon