He checked his phone. “We can head there now.”
Alexander was at the curb, waiting outside the Suburban with his arms folded across his chest. When we approached, I watched his eyes immediately travel the length of my body. There was no heat in his gaze, and I knew it wasn’t meant to be sexual. He was checking for the injuries he’d seen on me previously. He nodded in approval and opened the back door for me.
The whole ride there I worried the material of my skirt between my anxious fingers. Nicholas noticed and placed a hand over mine, threading our fingers together. His grip was firm and warm, and I took strength from it.
Once we arrived at Parliament, the trip up to the courtrooms passed by in a blur. Many vampires stopped to talk to Nicholas, but he waved them all off as he ushered me through the halls with a gentle hand on the small of my back.
We reached the courtroom marked with the number three again and Nicholas asked me to wait in the hall. He stepped through the tall wooden doors and I was left alone with my thoughts.
I knew Massimo was on the other side. The vampire who’d beaten and left me beneath silver to burn for a whole twenty-four hours. I let my anger at him fill me, replacing the worry and dread. I had nothing to fear now. He was in there, being restrained by guards. He couldn’t get to me and he couldn’t hurt me.
I stiffened my spine and clenched my hands into fists. I’d go in there, look him right in the eye, and condemn him in front of the board. He wouldn’t be able to kill again.
My friend would be safe.
My foster family would be safe.
I’d be safe.
Nicholas poked his head through the door and held out a hand for me. I placed my palm in his and let him pull me into the courtroom.
The large room was as full as last time, the pews almost overflowing with curious vampires there to see the show. We walked down the center aisle, and as we reached the front, I got my first look at Massimo.
His back was turned to us, but when the swinging half-door creaked loudly, his head whipped around. I stopped in my tracks as he leveled me with a glare. For one split second, I was back in that apartment, staring into his black eyes, seeing him for the murderous psychopath he was.
I shook myself and squared my shoulders, remembering my pep talk in the hallway. My chin jutted out and I walked past him, not bothering to look his way again. I made my way over to the table I’d sat at last time and took a seat, still facing forward.
Mr. Sutherland was sitting front and center again, and he raised his eyes from his notes as Nicholas took his seat beside me.
“Ms. Wilkinson, it is good to see you again, but I regret the circumstances. On behalf of Parliament, I’d like to extend our deepest apologies for what you endured while in the care of Mr. Romano.”
I nodded. After hearing Nicholas’ explanation of what he’d do if he’d been the one to rule over this case, I couldn’t find it in me to hold anything against them. This was all on Massimo.
“We asked for your presence today,” he continued, “so we could hear your side of the story and put this case to rest. I hate to ask you to recall something I’m sure brings you pain, but would you be so kind as to tell the court what happened after Mr. Romano took you into his custody?”
I rose from my seat and my eyes found Nicholas’. His entire attention was on me and his hand came up to grasp mine. I squeezed it tightly as I turned to the board and recounted everything that happened from the time we left Parliament until Nicholas found me in that apartment.
I relayed every word he’d said and every kick he’d landed. I told them about the silver blanket he’d had waiting for me and how long he’d left me under it. Shocked gasps and cries left the mouths of the audience as I recounted the worst night of my life. The whole time I managed to hold back my tears and keep my spine stiff. I was proud of that if nothing else.
When I was done telling my story, I sat back down and cradled Nicholas’ hand in my lap. He hadn’t let go once, occasionally squeezing my fingers when I came to a particularly difficult part of my speech.
“I should have killed you, you worthless puttana,” Massimo growled from across the room.
Nicholas leapt from his seat, and before I could react, he was in front of Massimo, his fist cocked back and flying forward to connect with his face. Massimo’s nose gushed bright red blood, his eyes dazed.
“You will never speak to her again,” Nicholas growled menacingly. “You won’t ever lay eyes on her again. I’ll make sure of it.”
Before Massimo could respond, Nicholas was back by my side, leading me out of the courtroom as Sutherland banged his gavel and called for order. I stopped short and looked up at Nicholas.
“I want to stay and hear the verdict,” I said.
He smiled grimly and led me over to the table we’d vacated. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Massimo’s face was still bleeding, but I couldn’t muster an ounce of sympathy. He’d only gotten a fraction of what he’d subjected me to.
Once the room had quieted down again, Sutherland said, “The board and I will take a brief recess and return with a final decision.”
I watched as the robed men filed out of the room.
Nicholas and I sat there quietly, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I was relieved this nightmare was almost over. The board just needed to come back with a verdict I could live with. Something that would allow me to sleep during the day and not worry for my safety. A verdict that would allow me to not have to look over my shoulder every minute of every day. I just wanted to be free of him. To be able to start my life with Nicholas.
Within minutes, the board came streaming out of the room and I sat up straighter in my seat.
That was fast.
I hoped that was a good thing.
Sutherland took his place and immediately spoke up. “The crimes Mr. Romano has committed are atrocious. The board is disgusted by his lack of respect for human and vampire life alike.” He looked down at his notes and then at Massimo. “For the murder of Maria and Roberto Lopez, the board finds you guilty and hereby sentences you to one hundred years for each.”
They must have been the poor couple I’d found in the closet. My heart broke for the lives that were cut short. I was glad Massimo would be punished for their deaths. Two hundred years might seem like a lot to a human, but to a vampire as old as Massimo must have been, it was hardly anything.
“As for the assault of Charlotte Wakefield, the board finds you guilty with a punishment of fifty years.”
I sent a silent thank you to the court for finding justice for my friend.
“As for the charge of assaulting, detaining, and the torturing with silver of Adrienne Wilkinson, the court finds you guilty. The sentence for that crime is 500 years. The first one hundred of which will be spent dry.” Sutherland banged his gavel in the shocked silent room. “Court is dismissed.”
In my periphery, I watched Massimo’s jaw drop at the verdict.
Massimo would be imprisoned for 750 years.
That thought played on repeat through my head. I wouldn’t have to worry about my maker turned torturer for centuries. For the first time since he snatched me off the street on that fateful night, I was completely free of him.
But what did “dry” mean?
As if reading my thoughts, Nicholas leaned over and whispered, “He will spend the first one hundred years of his sentence without being allowed to drink blood.” I turned wide eyes toward Nicholas. I couldn’t imagine such a fate. “It’s more lenient than he deserves. I would have staked him to the rooftop and let him meet the dawn.”
We heard a commotion and looked to see Massimo being hauled away. Before he was pulled through a doorway I assumed led to holding cells, he turned back and with eyes full of hatred he said, “You’ll regret this.”
I shivered at his words, the tone of them deadly serious. Nicholas wrapped an arm around my shoulders, hauling me from the courtroom and then quickly out of the building. Once we were on the stre
et out front, he placed his hands on my upper arms and caught my eyes with his.
“He’s going away for a long time, Adrienne. You don’t have to worry about him anymore. He can’t hurt you,” he reminded me.
I nodded and gave myself a little shake. I wouldn’t let Massimo’s words get to me. They were just the desperate words of a man who’d lost and was facing a very long, horrible punishment for his deeds.
I looked up at Nicholas’ concerned gaze and gave him a genuine smile. “I’m okay,” I assured him.
He smiled back and slid his hands down to grasp mine. “Are you ready to go home?”
My answering smile chased away the fear and doubt I still held onto. “Home, home?”
Nicholas nodded. “Our home.”
I couldn’t stop the goofy grin that spread across my face. “More than ready.”
He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the SUV, my laughter ringing out on the city sidewalk. Nicholas gently placed me in the back of the Suburban and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Without another word, he walked around to the other side and got in.
“Take us home, please, Alexander,” Nicholas said.
We kept quiet on the ride home, wrapped in each other’s arms and lost in our own thoughts. I couldn’t believe the threat of Massimo was finally gone. We’d be able to live our lives, not always on the run or in hiding from the crazed vampire.
I wondered what I’d do with my life now I was free to have one. Where would my place be in this world? What would I do now with an eternity stretched before me?
We pulled up to our building, and both eagerly exited the car. When we made it up to our apartment, we both exhaled simultaneously. We were home. Finally.
It was only a few minutes later that there was a knock at the door.
“Were you expecting someone?” I asked Nicholas.
He shook his head and walked to the door cautiously. Logically we knew that the threat of Massimo had been eradicated, but how long would it be before we felt that in our hearts? How long until every odd sound or unexpected visitor stopped making our hearts race with trepidation?
I was standing behind Nicholas when he opened the door to a human dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit. The nametag on his chest read “Sam”.
“Got a delivery here,” he said with a heavy Brooklyn accent.
“Delivery?” Nicholas asked, perplexed.
The man looked down at a slip he held in his hands. “Yeah, says here we’re deliverin’ a sofa to Adrienne Wilkinson.”
I laughed out loud and pushed past Nicholas to open the door wider.
“Of course! Sorry about that. We weren’t expecting you today. Come in,” I said.
He waved to someone behind him and then scooted out of the way as a large, plastic-wrapped sofa was wheeled in by another man in a blue jumpsuit.
“Where do ya want it?” the second one asked us.
We pointed toward the living room and followed him. He set it down gently and turned to ask, “You want us to take the old one? Price includes free haul away.”
I spoke up before Nicholas could. “Yes! Please.”
I looked sheepishly at Nicholas, who was just shaking his head good-naturedly. Damned if I wasn’t happy to get rid of that rock-like couch of pain.
The two men loaded up Nicholas’ white leather sofa and wheeled it to the door. I signed for the delivery quickly and they were gone.
When I walked back into the living room, I found Nicholas had already unwrapped and repositioned our new sofa. He looked up at me questioningly.
“Yellow?”
I laughed at the note of apprehension in his voice.
“Yes, yellow,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “This place needs some color in it. I thought this was a good place to start.”
“When did you do this?”
“While we were up at the training facility,” I said as I made a circuit around the overstuffed sofa. “Bea let me use her laptop.”
“Speaking of the training facility,” Nicholas began and then waited until I looked up. “I was thinking we could go back for a few days. We technically never got to finish your training, and I thought it would be nice to get out of the city. Get some fresh air,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I think that’s a great idea!”
He looked down at his shoes and then back up at me. “I thought it would be a nice setting for our bonding too. If that’s still what you want.”
His voice was hesitant and unsure, and it broke my heart. My feet ate up the distance between us and I launched myself into his arms. He caught me with a laugh as I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“I’ll always want you,” I said.
His eyes were molten as he held me quietly for a few moments. Finally, his lips tilted up into a mischievous grin.
“Do you still have that red swimsuit?”
I laughed out loud and Nicholas fused his lips to mine, swallowing my happiness and engulfing me in flames. I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, wrapped around each other, but time didn’t matter anymore. We had forever stretching out before us.
Epilogue
I smelled him before I saw him. Even after all these years, he carried my scent.
“Sire,” he whispered.
I nodded once and Ivan spun around to slide a single finger between the UV bars of my cell. It was all that would fit, but it was enough.
Rage filled my system as I dropped to my knees like a peasant. I shuffled forward until I was as close as I could get to the edge of my cage without being burnt. I reached out and took my progeny’s finger in my mouth, puncturing the tip and sucking down his blood as fast as I could.
This was what I’d been reduced to.
No better than a mangey dog on the street, begging for scraps.
The rage that never seemed to die flared to life again as I swallowed as much blood as time would allow.
The ridiculous court system had sentenced me to a God-awful amount of time in this prison. A sentence I had no intention of finishing.
But worse, they’d decreed that I should be denied blood for a century. Allowed to lay to waste as the years passed and my hunger slowly drove me mad.
Too bad for them, my reach was much farther than they ever could have imagined.
A door closed somewhere off in the distance, and we both froze for a moment. I pulled my mouth from Ivan’s finger and straightened up as he retreated from my cell.
No one knew of our connection. Or that I’d been the one to change him into a vampire so many years ago, but that worked in our favor.
That meant no one would suspect he’d been secretly feeding me for weeks.
That meant no one knew my strength hadn’t waned.
That meant no one would anticipate my next move.
Because I wasn’t staying in this hell hole for much longer. I was getting the fuck out of there and I was going back home to Italia.
But first, I needed to retrieve that ungrateful bitch I’d sired.
Want more from the Changed universe?
Read on for the first chapter of book two Blood Claimed!
Blood Claimed
Chapter 1
Charlotte
“Hey, Charlotte! What are you doing back here?”
I blinked slowly and my vision cleared, like there’d been some kind of film in my eyes preventing me from seeing clearly. But now that I could, I realized I was in the bodega down the street from my apartment.
Strange.
“Charlotte?”
I shook my head and met the concerned gaze of the shop owner, Mrs. Petrovsky. “I’m… fine…” I said slowly, not entirely telling the truth. At that moment, I didn’t really know what I was, but fine wasn’t it.
“Did you forget something earlier?” the kind middle-aged woman asked.
“Earlier?” I felt like an idiot, but nothing was adding up. And my head was so foggy. Like I’d just woken up from a month-long nap.
“Ye
s, dear. You were here earlier for your weekly groceries. I didn’t think I’d see you again until next Monday.”
Monday.
Right.
It was my grocery day. I’d come in earlier after spending the morning packing my dorm room. The semester had just ended. I’d taken the last of my finals, and now all I had to do was move out by the end of the week.
But what brought me back here?
In fact, I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing before I got here either. It was murky and filled with holes, but something was tugging on my thoughts. Some memory. Some event. Something important that happened today.
I took a deep breath and tried to start from the beginning. I’d woken up, had breakfast, gone shopping, come home to pack, and then… what? I wracked my brain as fragments of images sailed through my thoughts, none of them making sense. None of them adding up to a bigger picture.
Finally, all at once, it hit me.
Adrienne!
My roommate of four years had finally shown up after being completely M.I.A. for days. I’d been calling, emailing, even sending her messages on social media. Anything I could think of to get in touch with her.
Adrienne Wilkinson was an independent woman who’d had an upbringing almost as tragic as mine, but she’d never just disappeared like that before. I’d been so worried I’d gone to campus safety to report her missing. When that led nowhere, I’d tried the police, but all they’d promised to do was contact her family. Which I’d already done.
So, when she showed up at our dorm room today, knocking instead of just letting herself in with her key, I knew something was up. Problem was, I was so relieved to see her I hadn’t bothered asking questions. And then everything sort of went fuzzy.
Was Adrienne still in our room?
No. I think she left. Or was it me who left? Why would I leave when I had a million unanswered questions for her?
And where had she been all that time? Did she say? I searched my scrambled thoughts again but couldn’t find even a hint of a memory that explained her absence. But, while I’d been looking for that piece of the puzzle, another recollection surged to the forefront.
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