CHAPTER EIGHT
Abigail brought a forkful of noodles to her mouth but found she had no appetite. She was eating dinner alone as Lorne had a meeting with a client. Despite his club being inoperable, he still saw clients from time to time. She glanced at the clock, it was nearly nine.
He'd be home soon. She cleaned up the table she was sitting at and put her carton of Chinese food in the refrigerator. She was about to turn around and go upstairs when the doorbell buzzed. It could be him now. She had decided upon a decision and needed to tell him. She pressed the button and the door opened.
" Hello?" she called when no one came in. Then a figure stepped into the club, wearing a hood over his or her head. " Can I…help you?" she asked ,figuring it must be one of Lorne's clients. The hood completely covered the visitor's face.
" Is Krevlornswath here?" asked the visitor. Abigail could not tell if it was male or female. The voice was low and gravely.
" Who?" she asked then remembered it was Lorne's full name. " Oh you mean Lorne. No, he had an appointment. Are you a client? You can leave a message or wait even. He shouldn't be too far away."
" No it is fine. I will come back later."
" All right." She said and the mysterious figure turned and left silently.
Strange.
" Hello?" Lorne called out, " Anyone home?" the lobby was dark, silent and empty. Fred and Gunn were still away, so Wesley and Angel must be out on a case. He had wanted to meet his client here, it was a more suitable place to meet than his damaged club. His client was late, very late.
Annoyed, he decided to give it a miss. If a client wanted him to read him, he could have at least showed up on time. He reached for his hat to leave.
He watched from the shadows, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror. So this was Lorne, the guy Abigail was seeing…a demon? What was she thinking? Could she love that thing? What was wrong with her? He squared his shoulders and stepped from the shadows.
Lorne turned when he heard footsteps behind him. But before he could greet the visitor, he saw a hand lashing out and everything went dark.
It was nearly eight thirty. Abigail was getting worried. She knew he was meeting the client at the hotel, so perhaps she should go looking for him. She grabbed her coat and left.
She caught a taxi to the hotel and noticed the place seemed dark. She paid the cabbie before hurrying towards the front door. She opened it and stopped in her tracks. Lorne was tied to a chair, not unconscious but had a gash on his forehead and his lip was bleeding.
" Lorne, are you ok?" she exclaimed. " Who did this to you?" she hurried towards him but just as she was about to untie her, when someone grabbed her around the waist and pressed a knife to her throat. " I've been waiting for you." Jeffrey whispered into her ear.
" Jeffrey…why?" she gasped as the blade was pressed harder against her throat.
" He set this whole meeting up." Lorne answered for him, " Pretending to be a client to lure me here. He must have known you'd come looking for me."
" Shut up you flighty thing!" Jeffrey growled, punching him in the jaw, making Abigail jump.
" Leave him alone! This has nothing to do with him." She pleaded.
" Oh it does. I know all about you two. You've been seeing this demon for weeks now."
" You…you've been following me?"
" Day and night sweetheart. There is nothing you can hide from me now. When I learned this Lorne guy was actually a demon I had to see for myself. How can you?"
She crossed her arms, " His appearance does not bother me. It's what's underneath that matters." She glanced at Lorne who was now getting a bruise on the left side of his face.
" And more important, I love him." She declared, knowing this would make Jeffrey furious.
His face went red, " I'll teach you bitch." He whispered and still holding onto Abigail, he reached for an axe that had been sitting on the counter.
" Did you know the most efficient way to kill a demon is to behead him?" he asked.
She nodded, her heart thumping. Surely he wouldn't?
He handed her the axe, " This will teach you to love a demon. Behead him."
" No," she said, her eyes filling with tears.
" It's okay sweetie, just do as his says." Lorne said. She leaned over and stroked his face.
" I don't want to kill you."
" He will kill you instead." Lorne replied, " There's no doubt about it."
" Lorne-"
" Just know this-I love you." Lorne said, looking straight into her eyes. She nodded and kissed him. She felt herself being yanked away again.
" Do it now Abigail." Jeffrey warned. There was no way she could tackle him either. He was taller and much stronger.
She closed her eyes and lifted the axe, " I'm sorry." She whispered before swinging it. There was a loud thwack and a dull thud as the head landed on the floor. She dropped the axe as Jeffrey tied her hands together. She could not look at Lorne now-or what was left of him. She sobbed as Jeffrey pushed her towards the exit, " There. That wasn't so hard was it?"
" Where are we going?"
" Back to my motel room. I've been staying at Shady Pines Motel. We're catching a flight back home to Washington."
" I'm not going with you."
" Oh but you are. Your demon boyfriend is dead…you got no job. What else is there for you? We're going back to Washington DC to start our new life."
" Washington?"
" That's where I've been living since we broke up baby."
" I still got my stuff in my apartment. I need to get some clothes and stuff-" she was stalling.
" You don't have your apartment. Not anymore." He said and pushed her towards the door, " Now get moving. We don't want to miss our flight do we?"
