Invidious Betrayal

by Shea Swain

  “Will it hurt the baby?”

  Just like a good mother, her only concern is for our child. Ian shook his head. “No.”

  Aria touched her small pouch of a belly and lovingly smoothed her hands over it. “But you’re still worried he’ll be like you?”

  “Even without the serum he gave you, I’m positive the baby will be like me. Whatever is in that serum is also in my DNA.”

  “I have no worries about that Ian. We’ll love our child and raise him to be kind and honest. That’s all any parent can do.” She smiled again, then her eyes widened. “When Jasper took me, I was so scared.” Ian tensed. “But he didn’t try to hurt me like before. He was…he was gentle. He told me he was going to get me some help.” Aria’s eyes glossed over. “I was so scared I’d never see you again. That he was going to hurt the baby.” She took a calming breath. “Why aren’t they trying to kill me now?”

  It scorched Ian’s soul that Aria had been, and still was scared. “I don’t know yet, but I’m going to find out.” Ian wondered about that himself, but getting her well was his main concern. She was looking better and feeling better according to her, so now he can find out what the hell was going on. He listened to both her and the baby’s heart. Satisfied, Ian kissed her brow and silently thanked God. “I’m going to have to leave you for a little while. But I will be back soon.”

  He could tell that, for whatever reason, both Vincent and Jasper wanted Aria safe now. That gave him little comfort, but he didn’t want to talk in front of Aria in case the discussion revealed something awful about him or the child. No, Ian had to confront his uncle alone, but first he took his beat up cell phone out and dialed Aria’s parents. They had all suffered these past months with worry, but since they now had some sort of stay of execution, Aria and her parents should be able to hear each other’s voices again.

  He listened as Aria spoke to her father first, but not with his enhanced hearing. He didn’t want to invade her privacy. From her responses, Ian could tell the man was very worried about their safety. She explained that they had been living with Ian’s grandparents for the past few months. Mr. Cole must have asked Aria if they had any more trouble because she said that they hadn’t had any since leaving home and that they would be coming back soon.

  He understood why she’d lied.

  The conversation with her mother was more related to Ian and Aria as a couple. Aria told her mother that she loved him. For Aria to declare her love for him to her mother was an honor. Mrs. Cole must have mentioned the baby because Aria looked at her stomach. Aria told her mother that she’d been right and that he had indeed come around; that made him laugh. Mrs. Cole had seen from the beginning what they hadn’t—they were destined to be together. After Aria expressed her love and confirmed Ian’s cell number, she called the Morels.

  While she explained to the Morels in more detail than Ian had when he’d called about her disappearance from the hospital and told them that they shouldn’t worry, Ian kissed her forehead then stood. It was time he and his uncle talked.

  Before Ian stepped into the hallway he reached out with his enhanced hearing. Two men stood outside the door. He stepped outside the room and quickly recognized both of them. Harper and Brandon were Vincent’s personal guards that Jasper often loaned him. Brandon didn’t look at him, so Ian knew better than to acknowledge him. He knew there were cameras throughout the facility and he couldn’t risk Vincent or Jasper knowing that they had become friends. Not now with Aria and him in hostile territory.

  Ian chose to address Harper and Brandon as a unit to convey how much Aria meant to him. “If something happens to her, no one leaves here alive.”

  Harper nodded and smirked, “Yes, sir.”

  Brandon slowly nodded, but said nothing.

  As Ian walked toward his uncle’s office, he felt some of his anxiety about leaving Aria fade. He was still on edge, but he was sure Brandon would help keep her safe. Though he didn’t take Vincent for the murdering type a few months ago, he knew better now; but he knew that as long as Aria carried a Howl heir she was safe. On the other hand Ian knew Jasper to be a psychopathic soldier of fortune. Having a friend like Brandon here was comforting.

  Jasper growled as he punched in the security code to the room he’d dubbed the Observation Deck and stood at the dome shaped desk. The two men watching the security feeds received the silent ‘fuckoff’ his body language radiated. They stood and left the room without saying a word. They wouldn’t say a word because he’d trained all of these men himself. His men weren’t the pathetic wanna-be gangsters Vincent surrounded himself with. His men were soldiers—disciplined and well-trained—and they obeyed commands given by him and only him. That’s why Vincent had had to hire his own little muscle squad to handle the dirty work when Jasper wasn’t around.

  Jasper sat in the swivel chair and slid up to the monitors. He pulled out the keyboard and typed in his admin code and soon sound filled the room from every one of the micro-phoned cameras in the building. With a few more strokes of the keyboard, he had muted all but one of the microphones and transformed the dozens of images on the monitors to one.

  The image was that of the girl’s room. Ian and Vincent were in the room at present. Jasper glared at the monitors. His brows were furrowed, his lips tight and his eyes narrowed. He wanted to kill Ian Howl. It wouldn’t be a quick death either. He was going to enjoy wringing the life out of the spoiled, silver-spoon-fed, pretty son of a bitch.

  On the monitor, Vincent gave Ian some kind of eye exam. The kid looked wired. If he hurt the girl…hurt his chance to have a child of his own, Jasper wouldn’t give a shit about Vincent’s feelings for Ian. The arm of the chair Jasper sat in began to crack under the pressure of his grip. He took several deep breaths then went back to listening in again.

  The girl was talking to her family now and to Jasper’s surprise she wasn’t crying or trying to get rescued. She hadn’t begged or cried when he entered her room in the hospital either. All she’d done was asked him if he’d harmed Ian.

  He admired that kind of strength, and he was pretty sure if she had been healthy she would have fought him until the end. She was spirited, all fire and passion, he was sure of that too. Aria was beautiful, and he wasn’t able to get the feel of her soft skin out of his head. He would definitely enjoy breeding with her.

  Jasper shook the thoughts of his reward out of his head and watched as Ian left the room and stepped into the hallway. He needed to know how the kid had acquired so many neat tricks. There was room for only one badass on this mountain and that was him.

  Vincent’s office was Ian’s destination. Jasper pulled up the internet and logged into his private security system. He clicked on an icon and the monitors in front of him flickered as images from the hidden micro-cameras inside Vincent’s office came into focus. Vincent had no idea his office had been bugged and normally Jasper had no interest in eavesdropping on Vincent, but he was a man that the government paid to find answers then kill the source. Old habits die hard and Jasper always wanted the upper hand.

  Jasper sat back and smiled as he tuned in.

  IAN SAT IN A CHAIR across from Vincent with a large desk between them. As a kid he remembered being in this office and thinking that it was the greatest place in the world, with its feel of an underground secret hideout and all the sleek, clean furnishings. Now he just wanted to be done with this place and everyone linked to it.

  Vincent offered him a drink, but Ian waved it away. “All I want is for you to tell me what you did to me and why. I also want to know why you were trying to kill Aria, and why don’t you want her dead now?”

  “Fair enough,” Vincent said after he sipped his drink then sat it on the desk. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Me,” Ian growled, “start with me, and leave nothing out.”

  Vincent took in an exaggerated breath then exhaled. “Your father asked for my help, and I gave it. He and your mother wanted a baby but they couldn’t go about it the tradit
ional way. I agreed to help them. At first, the pregnancy was normal. You and your mother were fine, then in her third month you began extracting more of her nutrients at such an alarming rate that her body began to slowly die. At first, we were all stumped as to what was happening, but then I realized what she needed, what you needed. I’d created a drug to treat and reconstruct dead or dying tissue. You needed that serum.”

  “So you injected a helpless woman and fetus with your experimental drug?”

  “I swear that I had never once injected your mother with Syn-Beta until she became ill. After you were born I continued to inject you because you needed it to survive, and the benefits outweighed any minor side effects. Syn-Beta is the basic formula that I’m trying to get approved for public use. It is virtually harmless, but the patient requires a booster shot monthly. I trust the serum completely and use it on myself.

  “You weren’t a normal fetus. I had to inject your mother so her body could live through the assault you were doing to it.” Vincent rubbed his hair back. “When your mother died, I felt responsible. If I had never agreed to help Victor when he came to me, she might be alive today,” Vincent said, shaking his head. “There is no data to suggest that Syn-Beta was the cause of her death, but I would give her the serum all over again to make sure you lived. I don’t believe it was the Syn-Beta that killed her. I created a stronger strain from your DNA. That’s what I give Jasper. I call it Syn-Beta2. I’m told that you have firsthand experience of his enhanced strength and speed.”

  Ian felt a slow burn when he recalled some of his experiences with Jasper, up to and including the ones today.

  “Even though your DNA was the basis of Syn2, I only detected intellectual changes in you while you were growing up. You didn’t show any evidence of the strength and speed Jasper and I have. I figured any physical enhancements would manifest later, but instead of gaining enhanced physical abilities you became ill. Thankfully your body recovered, but still you showed no signs of enhanced strength or speed, though you did have an impressive immune system. I don’t know what triggered this”—he waved his hands out toward Ian—“in you, but the power you have is amazing. The fact that you feel the way you do about the girl…and that she’s pregnant at all is amazing. I’ll need to get some samples and do some testing—”

  “You’re not touching me,” Ian warned. He wasn’t going to let his uncle touch either of them if he could help it. “How does Aria fit into all this and why would you want to frame me for murder? I’m your nephew, your brother’s son.” Ian reasoned. “No matter what he feels about me being responsible for my mother’s death how do you think he would feel about his son facing a murder trial?” As soon as he’d asked the question, the puzzle pieces came together for Ian. “You weren’t just going to frame me for murder. You were going to blackmail my father, demand his cooperation for my freedom.”

  “For humanity,” Vincent said defensively. “Can you imagine how many people my hard work can help? But the lawmakers and religious groups want to dictate what is morally right and wrong, and all the while the world’s diseased and disabled suffer.”

  “Spare me the sales pitch.” Ian shook his head. “I’ve heard it before, one life to save many. The funny thing is that no matter whose saying it, the words still sound crazy.” Ian was sick of looking at the man he once admired. “Me working here and the celebration party where I met Aria were just to set me up. You didn’t want me around anymore than my own father wants me around.” His words were more statement of fact than a question. “I guess I should be use to being unwanted by the Howl men.” Ian leaned forward. His elbows rested on his knees and he sunk his forehead in his palms.

  Vincent stood and paced behind his desk. After several quiet minutes, he gripped the back of his chair, his face a mask of anguish. “That’s not true, Ian. I did—I do want you working here. You don’t understand. One of the serum’s side effects is that your emotions dwindle away, eventually leaving just a shell of your former self behind. Only the people you cared for prior to using the drug maintain a faded spot in your heart, and even that love feels hollow at times. As a child you seemed to have a lack of emotion already and I assumed you were affected just as Jasper and I were. I have always loved you, Ian, despite the effects of the serum. We will always have a special bond. You, your father, and Jas are the only people in this world I care for.”

  “Clearly you have no idea what love is because what you claim you feel for me isn’t it. Does my father take the serum too?”

  “No. He wanted a child for his wife, and I made that possible. He knew nothing of the serum. I would have never given it to Noemi if you hadn’t had it in your system already. You needed it to survive. When I agreed to help them, I never imagined that you would need it.” Vincent pulled his chair out and sat back down. He looked stressed, a shell of the imposing, strong, larger-than-life man Ian had grown to adore and respect.

  Awesome. That meant his father was truly heartless. He only wanted a child for his wife. I think I’ve got the gist of it now, though some things still aren’t adding up, he thought as he rubbed his head for clarity. Vincent and Marroe both said they never injected his mother until she got sick. That she needed the serum. If that were the case then…

  Vincent’s earlier words replayed in his head. “I swear that I had never once injected your mother with Syn-Beta until she became ill.” Vincent had stated, “you were not a normal fetus.”

  It all made sense now. Ian’s hand lifted from his head. “Why did my father ask for your help to conceive a child?” Ian asked through gritted teeth. Vincent’s face paled. He gave Ian a regretful look as if he knew what Ian was thinking. “Why the hell did he come to you and not go to a fertility specialist?” Ian asked again.

  “Ian,” Vincent said pleadingly.

  Ian couldn’t breathe. He could feel his blood coursing through his veins. His pulse quickened and he began to pant. “Why did he come to you?” His words came out almost as a whisper. The items on Vincent’s desk began to rattle.

  “You have to understand that your father loved your mother desperately and he wanted to give her what she wanted. He would have done anything to make her happy.”

  “Why?” he yelled. The items on the desk flew out randomly.

  “Because,” Vincent sighed, “Victor had been diagnosed with cancer a few years before you were born. The cancer treatments had made him sterile.”

  Ian stood, but his feet barely cooperated. He stumbled back, but caught himself. His chest felt tight. His lungs refused to work on their own. A wave of nausea hit him hard, but he swallowed the bile.

  Vincent was on his feet and reaching to help him, but Ian swatted his hands away. He didn’t want the man to ever touch him again. But Vincent was persistent and Ian had to send a pulse of energy at him to push him back.

  A cry of grief left Ian’s lungs in a rush as he fell to his knees. The painful call seemed to echo through the entire building, causing a few of Jasper’s men to rush into the room to check on him.

  “Everything’s fine,” Vincent told them with a wave of his hand.

  Ian didn’t see the men leave as he sat on the floor clutching his head.

  “Your father and I are identical twins. Your mother wanted a piece of him inside her child, so that you were half of both of them. We all agreed to never tell anyone that you were my—”

  “He never loved me because I wasn’t his biological son. It all makes so much sense now,” Ian whispered. “And you”—Ian looked at Vincent accusingly—“you never told her you were using an experimental serum on yourself and that it might affect her child’s development.”

  “I wanted to help them.”

  “But you said the serum made you sterile,” Ian said, confused.

  “It does…eventually, after constant use. It was something I discovered too late.”

  “How could you be so callous? How could you play with a woman’s dreams, my mother’s dreams that way?”

  “I wanted to h
elp them!” Vincent yelled the words this time.

  Ian cursed. “Don’t! Don’t you dare pretend that you fathered me just to help them. I was just an experiment to you.” He got to his feet and rubbed his head, pounding his palm against his temple several times.

  “Ian, please try to understand,” Vincent said, as he moved toward him again.

  With a raise of his hand, Ian froze Vincent in place and then he looked at Vincent, really looked at him for what seemed like the first time. Never had he thought that his father and uncle were that similar. Yeah, they were identical, but they were so different in many ways that he never saw the stark resemblance. Now as he looked at his uncle, frozen in front of him, he realized they were exactly the same. Aside from the physical, their careers meant more to them than anything else. They were both hard and emotionless men, and they knew nothing of love.

  “When Aria is rested, we’re leaving. Don’t try to stop us.” With that Ian released Vincent from his pose.

  “You can’t take her in the condition she’s in. I can help her Ian,” Vincent begged.

  Ian walked toward the door and didn’t look back. “Don’t you dare try to stop us.”

  “She carrying my grandson, Ian,” Vincent called out. “I’m your father. We’re family, and though I may have made some mistakes that cannot be undone, we can get past them. Family, Ian. I know now how important it is.”

  Ian said nothing as he left the office.

  Aria stroked the top of Ian’s head that was nestled next to her thigh. His black hair made her hand look paler than what it was. It was so soft and she wondered if the baby would inherit the dark satin locks. She gently slid her fingers over the crown of his head, down his forehead, and along his jaw. Aria didn’t want to disturb him but the need to touch him was too strong. She didn’t think that the driving need to be near him, with him, would ever be satisfied, and she could only hope that he would always feel as she did.