"How about a real one?" his mother said from the doorway, her eyes sparkling with humor. "But first, come and eat your supper."

After their late supper, Howard went back to his room to check his e-mail. Angus had sent a message, demanding that he and Phil return to New York immediately. The mission in Mexico wasn't faring well, so Angus and Emma needed to go there and help out. That would leave Romatech and the school without security. Howard and Phil were supposed to report to the school by tomorrow night no later than ten o'clock.

Howard paced about his room, considering his options. The guys in Mexico were his friends. He couldn't remain here if it jeopardized their mission. He also harbored strong protective instincts toward Tino and Sofia. He couldn't leave them and the other children at the academy unguarded. And then there was the Payback game he was playing. The s.h.i.t was about to hit Rhett's fan, and it might be better if he was far away when it happened. That way, Rhett might think one of his other enemies was responsible.

A few hours later, Dougal came up from the bas.e.m.e.nt, a bottle of synthetic blood clutched in his mechanical hand.

"Angus left an urgent message on my phone." He looked at Howard and Phil. "I have to teleport ye back tonight."

Howard nodded. He'd already said his good-byes to his mother and grandfather. As long as he had his laptop with him, he could continue the game against Rhett.

"I understand." He swung his packed duffel bag over his shoulder. "Let's go."

Chapter Five

Dark and creepy. Elsa Bjornberg eyed the forest that hugged the winding two-lane road. For the last hour that she'd been driving, the forest had been getting thicker. Darker. Creepier.

A shiver crept down her spine. "This house is in the middle of nowhere."

Alastair's only response was a light snore. Jet lag had caught up with him, and he'd fallen asleep two hours ago. Still, she was glad he was there in the pa.s.senger seat and she wasn't alone. In a dark, creepy forest.

For the hundredth time, she glanced at the GPS that came with the rental car. It claimed she was right on target. Then why was she feeling so uneasy?

Another shiver skittered across her skin, raising the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. She turned on the heat. Ever since they'd entered the forest, she'd become increasingly on edge. Her nerves tingled, as if she expected something to happen around the next bend.

She glanced in the rearview mirror and gasped when a shadowy form moved across the road. Her heart lurched, then settled back down as she realized it was just a deer. Thank G.o.d it had jumped onto the road behind the car and not in front.

With a tightened grip on the steering wheel, she glanced again at the rearview mirror. What the h.e.l.l? There was a whole herd of deer in the road. Looking at her.

Her heart thudded in her chest. Too much caffeine. That had to be it. She glanced at the huge cup of coffee in the cup holder. She'd gulped it down to make sure she stayed awake.

It had been a horribly long day, starting with their flight from London to New York City, a train ride to White Plains, and then a rental car for the trip to the foothills of the Adirondacks. They should have spent the night in Albany. They were both exhausted, but for some strange reason, the owner of the house had insisted on meeting them at ten o'clock tonight, so they had pressed on to make the appointment.

She'd felt fine for the first part of the drive. She loved to travel and see new places, and the Hudson Valley had been lovely. But then the sun had set, and they'd left the main road to enter a forest that seemed endless. She hadn't pa.s.sed another car in over an hour.

The road curved back and forth around the foothills, like a dark ribbon that had caught her and was pulling her deeper and deeper into the forest. Definitely dark and creepy, but oddly enough, she felt more excited than afraid. She felt... compelled.

She drove up a steep hill, cresting it just as the nearly full moon emerged from clouds. Moonbeams shot out, illuminating the forest before her as if an artist had painted the treetops with luminous silver. Her breath caught, and her foot lifted off the accelerator. For just a second, it felt as if time stretched out, as endless and ancient as the woods.

It was beautiful. More than beautiful. It was ... home. home.

She shook her head. Sleep deprivation was making her imagine things. She'd never lived in a dark and creepy forest. She'd always been a city girl.

Alastair stirred in the pa.s.senger seat. "Sorry, luv. Didn't mean to conk out on you." He rubbed a hand over his face. "It's b.l.o.o.d.y hot in here."

"Sorry." She turned off the heat. "The forest was giving me the w.i.l.l.i.e.s."

He peered out the side window. "Blimey. Where the h.e.l.l are we?"

Elsa smiled to herself. Whenever Alastair was half asleep his c.o.c.kney accent slipped through. But as he became more awake, he sounded increasingly like Mr. Darcy. "The town of Cranville should be coming up soon. Then it's another ten miles to the house."

"Excellent." Alastair stretched. "Perhaps the town will have an inn."

"You know, it might be hard to get supplies out here in the middle of nowhere."

"It could prove difficult, I give you that. But so far, all of our shows have taken place in metropolitan areas. I believe it would behoove us to try a different locale."

Elsa's mouth twitched. He was now in full Darcy mode. He'd probably want to stop in Cranville for tea and crumpets. "Well, if it would behoove us, then we'd better do it. I haven't been behooved in years."

He snorted. "Naughty wench. Ah, I see lights ahead."

She slowed the car as they entered the town of Cranville. Most of the businesses were closed for the night.

"Aha!" Alastair peered out his window. "An inn. Of sorts. And it has vacancies. A bit rustic looking, but I've seen worse." He turned to face front and blinked. "Where did the town go?"

"That was it."

"Blimey." He cleared his throat. "I daresay this location will be a challenge."

With a smile, she nodded. She was used to challenges. It had been a challenge to work with Alastair at first. He was slim and fine-boned and, to be honest, prettier than her. The wardrobe department loved him because he looked so dapper and elegant in a designer suit. With her, they highlighted her size and shape, usually with shorts that displayed her long legs and tight T-shirts that hugged her chest. Short-sleeved T-shirts, since they always made sure that the strange red birthmark on her shoulder was covered.

Alastair's sandy hair was always perfectly cut and groomed, while her long hair was so wild that the makeup artists had surrendered in despair and pulled it back into a ponytail. The end result: Alastair looked like he traveled in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, and she looked like she'd arrived in an old pickup truck.

Even Alastair's movements were graceful, while she felt huge and c.u.mbersome. At six foot two, she was three inches taller than Alastair. Four inches taller than Oskar. In the very first episode of International Home Wreckers, International Home Wreckers, the writers gave her the nickname Amazon Ellie. the writers gave her the nickname Amazon Ellie.

It had hurt. But she had smiled and done her job. After all, where on earth could she get a better job than this? Traveling around the world, transforming ruined old houses into masterpieces- it was a dream come true.

The show's producers loved the irony that the big, tough guy on the show was the girl. That's why they had hired her. For the first time in her life, her size had worked to her advantage. She was a lucky girl. A very large and lucky girl.

She sighed. Would there ever be a time in her life when she didn't feel large? Didn't feel like her entire ident.i.ty centered on her size? Even the fan mail she received came from other large women who praised her, not for her building skills or talented woodwork but for being bold enough to show off her size. As if she had any choice? No diet on earth could make her shorter.

After another five minutes of driving, the GPS system guided her to take the next left. She turned onto an even narrower road. The forest crowded in, thicker than ever. Darker. Creepier.

Three minutes later, she turned right onto a gravel road. Tiny pebbles pinged against the underside of the car, and she slowed to a crawl.

"I think we'll have to surface this driveway." Alastair leaned forward as they came around a bend and the forest stopped. "There it is!"

Elsa's breath caught. It was larger than she'd expected. And even more beautiful than the photo the owner had e-mailed them. "It's magnificent."

The two-story gatehouse sat at the end of a circular drive. The forest had been cleared around it, but the yard was overgrown and wild.

"Look at the cupola on top." Alastair grinned. "I love it! It reminds me of Monticello."

"Yes." Elsa nodded, smiling. "It's very ... stately. And elegant." She pulled to a stop parallel to the house and pointed at the floodlights on each end. "They have a generator. That's good."

Alastair peered out his window. "Redbrick, colonial Federalist style. We've done just about every architectural style but that one."

"And it would behoove us to do something different," she added with a wry smile.

"Precisely. We need variety." He unbuckled his seat belt. "I can't wait to see the interior. When is the owner supposed to arrive?"

Elsa glanced at the clock before turning the car off. "We have ten minutes."

He opened his car door. "I need to make a pit stop in the woods, if you catch my drift, and then I'll take a look around." He grabbed a flashlight, then stepped out, his feet crunching in the gravel. "Text me when the owner arrives. What was her name again?"

"Shanna Draganesti. Doesn't it seem odd that she wanted to meet us at night?"

Alastair leaned over to look at Elsa. "I don't care, as long as she lets us do this house. I love it!" He shut the car door, then jogged toward the side of the house and disappeared around the corner.

Elsa surveyed the house, noting the simple, but elegant, symmetry. It was definitely a gem, a hidden treasure out here in the middle of nowhere.

She took a deep breath and rotated her tired shoulders. What an endless day. And an endless forest. Her gaze drifted to the woods. Who would live way out here? Were the owners antisocial? Or hiding something?

A movement caught her eye. A deer had slipped from the forest and was enjoying the thick gra.s.s in the overgrown yard. Another deer joined him. And another. And another till there was easily a dozen.

They lifted their heads in unison and looked at her.

"Sheesh." With a shudder, she turned her attention back to the house. It was bigger than she'd expected for a gatehouse. A bas.e.m.e.nt, two floors, and an attic. Red brick with white shutters. Four white columns outlined the semicircular porch in front, and a round white cupola crowned the roof. The floodlights didn't quite reach the center of the house, leaving the area around the front door in shadow.

Even if the interior was a disaster area, it wouldn't deter her and the guys. The house had beautiful bones. Once it was fleshed out, it would be absolutely stunning.

Headlights flashed as a car entered the circular driveway. The owner was right on time.

She watched in the rearview mirror as the car pulled to a stop behind her. With the glare from the headlights, she couldn't make out the driver inside. The car engine and lights turned off. The driver side door opened.

No one came out. Some movement nearby caught her attention. The small herd of deer was scattering into the woods.

When she heard the car door slam shut, she glanced once again at the rearview mirror. Still no one there. Strange.

She grabbed her cell phone from where she'd left it on the console. Alastair needed to get back here quick.

A knock on her window made her jump, and the cell phone tumbled into her lap.

"Sorry!" A blond woman stood by her car window. "Didn't mean to startle you."

Elsa caught her breath. Where had this lady come from so quickly?

"I'm Shanna Draganesti, but please call me Shanna." She grinned. "I'm so glad you're here! I'm a big fan!"

"Thank you." Elsa grabbed her handbag from the backseat floor, slipped her cell phone inside, then opened the door slowly while Shanna moved out of the way. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Elsa Bjornberg."

"Oh, I know." Shanna's eyes widened as Elsa climbed out of the car. "Wow. You must be over six foot."

Elsa gritted her teeth and shut the door. Yes, I'm freakishly large. I'm so tall I occasionally suffer from alt.i.tude sickness. Yes, I'm freakishly large. I'm so tall I occasionally suffer from alt.i.tude sickness. "I'm six foot two." "I'm six foot two."

Shanna's eyes lit up. "You're perfect!"

Huh? That wasn't the usual response. Elsa hitched her handbag onto her shoulder. "Thanks. By the way, Alastair is here, too. He's taking a look around. He's very excited about renovating your house. I am, too. We think it has enormous potential." That wasn't the usual response. Elsa hitched her handbag onto her shoulder. "Thanks. By the way, Alastair is here, too. He's taking a look around. He's very excited about renovating your house. I am, too. We think it has enormous potential."

"Oh." Shanna's smile looked strained. "That's nice."

Another odd reaction. Owners were usually bouncing with joy at this point. Elsa motioned toward the house. "Can we take a look inside?"

"Of course." Shanna glanced at her watch, then down the driveway.

"h.e.l.lo," Alastair called out as he approached. "You must be Mrs. Draganesti?"

Shanna spun around to greet him. "Oh, my. It's Big Al." She shook his hand. "I'm a big fan of your show. Please call me Shanna."

"Delighted to meet you, Shanna." Alastair turned off his flashlight. "I just finished a quick exterior inspection, and I must say I absolutely adore this house. I can't wait to start work on it!"

Shanna gave him a weak smile. "Well, you might change your mind once you see the inside." She dug in her handbag and removed a set of old keys.

Alastair gave Elsa a questioning look, and she shrugged. The owner seemed to be having second thoughts about them working on her house.

Shanna climbed the steps to the front porch. "I'm afraid the inside is a disaster. The electricity and plumbing don't work, and I think there are some birds living in the attic."

"Those are fairly common problems with an old house," Elsa a.s.sured her. "We're accustomed to completely redoing the wiring and plumbing."

"And Oskar loves trapping birds," Alastair added with a smile.

"I see." Shanna unlocked the door, and it creaked open. "I have some extra flashlights here." She reached inside a basket by the door and handed one to Elsa, then took another for herself.

Alastair clicked his on and gasped. "Good Lord, Ellie, look at the staircase! It's magnificent."

"Wow." She moved forward, running her flashlight beam up the elegant curve of the staircase.

"Look at that!" Alastair aimed his flashlight straight up at the cupola. "Stunning, absolutely stunning."

"And this is a gatehouse?" Elsa turned to Shanna. "There must be a really spectacular main house somewhere near by."

Shanna winced. "Well, yes. There's a mansion about three miles down the road. But it's a very private school, and under no circ.u.mstances can its existence be made public."

That amount of secrecy seemed a bit odd. Elsa exchanged a look with Alastair. "There would be no need to ever mention the school on our show."

"But it would be interesting to see the mansion," Alastair murmured.

"No!" Shanna shook her head. "No one can be allowed anywhere near it. It has ... troubled children. Juvenile delinquents. It wouldn't be safe for you to go there."