Taken For His Own

by Tara Fox Hall

  “Elle, that’s not a word you should use,” I said, trying desperately to think of words to use that would discourage and not encourage.

  “Why not? Theo said it.”

  Theo kept looking out the window, only now he looked very guilty. Well, he was her father. It was time to start being one.

  “Theo will tell you why it’s not appropriate, Elle,” I said pointedly.

  “Why can’t I say it if you said it?” Elle asked him.

  “Because, um...” he said, grasping at straws. He looked at me desperately.

  I returned his gaze, waiting. I wasn’t helping him. I’d been after everyone to watch their language around her, and now he’d taught her to swear the first time he spent any time with her.

  Danial was amused, but managed to keep a straight face.

  “Why?” Elle repeated, folding her arms across her chest and pinning him with her eyes.

  “Because,” Theo said finally “it isn’t a good word. Crap is a better word to use, Elle.”

  With that analogy, I was glad he hadn’t taught her to say the F-word instead.

  “Will you use the word crap instead?” Theo said, looking down at her. “For me?”

  “Do I use it the same?” Elle asked him.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I’d better go,” Elle said. Then to make her point, she looked at her watch, said “Crap!” and ran out the door.

  Danial immediately roared with laughter, and I chuckled.

  “It wasn’t funny!” Theo said, irritated. “It slipped out, and then she wanted to know what it meant, and when I told her what it meant she wanted to know why I was using that word to express frustration. I was trying to explain—”

  Danial and I had tears coming out of our eyes, we were laughing so hard. With difficulty, I reined it in.

  “It’s okay, Theo,” I said, wiping my eyes. “It’s not any worse than the time Elle caught Danial coming out of the shower and wanted to know why his body looked different than mine.”

  “Not my finest moment,” Danial admitted, a smile on his face. “But with children come embarrassing moments.” He cast his eyes to Theo, his smile fading. “You haven’t asked, so I assume that you know Elle prefers to stay here and live with me.”

  “Sar indicated that she would,” Theo said reluctantly, sitting down beside us. “But I expect her to come and stay with us on occasion. I’m hoping there will come a time when she might want to live with us.”

  “That time might come,” Danial said slowly. “But you must accept that it also might not.” He got up and crossed the room, then turned to face us. “As for her staying with you and Sar, I advise you to leave that until she’s more comfortable with you. It goes without saying you are both welcome to visit her anytime she isn’t sleeping, eating, or being schooled. At Elle’s agreement, of course.”

  I’d dreaded this moment, knowing Danial’s protectiveness. “That’s all fine,” I said quickly, not looking at Theo. “We all want what’s best for Elle. I’m happy she’s accepted Theo. After her reactions to most other strange men, it’s like a miracle.”

  “I agree,” Theo said stiffly. “Were you able to set up any interviews?”

  “The interviews are set up for next week,” Danial replied. “We’ve got one coming on Wednesday and the other two on Thursday.”

  “I’ll be here,” Theo said. “I assume that if you’re not traveling I’ll be working days?”

  “For now,” Danial said, glancing at me. “Terian is thinking about leaving.”

  “That’s just great!” Theo exploded. “We’ll have to hire them all, regardless of whether they’re a good fit—”

  “It’s okay,” I said calmly, putting my hand on Theo’s shoulder. “Terian said he wouldn’t leave us unprotected. You have time to make a good choice.”

  “Or so he said,” Danial added. “That probably depends on how many more people he has to kill himself.”

  Theo gave Danial a dark look. “I need today and tonight to sleep. I’ll be back here early tomorrow to work on tightening defenses.”

  “Good. Sar, what days are you coming in?” Danial asked.

  “What days do you need me most? I need to straighten out my house and get some planting done, but I’m flexible.”

  “Come in with Theo tomorrow and Friday,” Danial said. “Then maybe every other day? So long as the work gets done, it doesn’t matter to me. But I want you either here with Theo or else with at least two of the foxes at your house.”

  “That sounds fine,” I said, giving him a smile.

  “You aren’t the only ones needing sleep,” Danial said, coming to hug me goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He drew back a little, then paused. Quickly, he darted in and kissed my cheek. “Be safe.”

  My first impulse had been to kiss him, too. Old habits die hard. “I will. Goodbye.”

  Danial went into his bedroom and closed the door.

  Theo moved for the door. “I’ll meet you out there.”

  “Ghost! Darkness!” I called. Both dogs came running.

  Theo was already in the truck waiting by the time I came out with the dogs.

  “Sar, are you okay to drive?”

  Shit. I’d forgotten we had two vehicles. “I’m okay. Give me a minute.”

  I got into my truck with the dogs, started the truck and then followed Theo home.

  * * * *

  I woke up when Theo’s hands slipped up from behind me to cup my breasts, squeezing gently.

  “How are you this fine morning?”

  “Much better. You?”

  “Rested. And I took care of the pets already.” He pulled me close for a passionate kiss.

  * * * *

  At seven, Theo said grudgingly, “We need to get going. I should be there by eight.”

  Making a Herculean effort, we managed to make it to Danial’s by eight a.m. Theo headed to the fox compound, and I went up to Danial’s office.

  I’d been gone only a few weeks, but the work had piled up. By noon, I’d prepared a list for Danial of all the calls he needed to return, filed the stack of paperwork needing filing, called back the people who needed information I could provide and straightened out his desktop. Handling email would have to wait until afternoon.

  Terian’s desk was neat. Knowing all the time he spent in his lab, I was curious if he’d ever really used it, other than to return calls. Danial had always treated him with respect, but Terian had been more of a guard and less of a friend and partner in business. Maybe if Theo hadn’t returned, their friendship would have progressed...

  The office phone rang, startling me.

  “Solutions, Inc.” I answered. “This is Sarelle. How can I help you?”

  “That depends on your enthusiasm,” a velvety voice said.

  “Good Morning, Devlin,” I said pleasantly, recognizing his tone.

  He didn’t reply, and the silence stretched.

  “What is it?” I said, trying to be nice.

  “I need to speak to Danial obviously,” Devlin said, drawing out the words slowly.

  Could he be any more annoying? “He’s sleeping. Do you want me to wake him?”

  “Sar, you must have returned to brainlessness in the two days since I saw you. I know Danial’s sleeping. I should be sleeping, too, but instead I’m having a tiresome conversation. Now go wake him up.”

  “I’ll get him,” I said pleasantly, restraining my urge to kill him. I punched the hold button before he could say anything else and then brought the phone downstairs to Danial’s door.

  “What is it?” he said in a sleep-filled voice, as I put my hand up to knock.

  “Devlin, for you,” I said.

  “Tell him I’ll call him back,” Danial said, muffled.

  “He said it was an emergency,” I said hesitantly.

  Danial swore, then came to the door in his robe a few seconds later. “Wait here, please,” he asked, taking the phone. He shut the door.

  He must want m
e to take the phone upstairs when he was done. I settled into a nearby chair and waited. As the minutes passed, I tried hard not to ease back into the softness of the cushions that were calling me.

  The next thing I knew, Danial was nudging me awake.

  “Sar,” he said softly, sitting down beside me. “You should have stayed home if you were that tired.”

  “I’m okay,” I said, shaking myself. I stood. “Do you want me to take the phone back upstairs?”

  “Yes,” he said, “And then come back down here to me.”

  I did as he asked. When I was again sitting beside him, he spoke.

  “I apologize for Devlin. He’s in a foul mood.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, standing. “I’m used to taxing clients—”

  “Are you so eager to escape my presence?” Danial said softly.

  “I’m uneasy,” I admitted, sitting down in a chair across from him. “It’s hard for me not to touch you casually. Things are going so well I don’t want to cause problems.”

  “No touch you could give me would be unwelcome,” Danial said with a smile. “But my intent was not to seduce you, just to ease your mind about that werebear who’s going to interview with us.”

  “Go on.”

  “I mentioned to Devlin last night via voicemail that I was thinking of hiring Brian, requesting any feedback Devlin had on his performance. Dev called back this morning to say Brian was green, but he should be a good fit here. The general idea was that Brian wasn’t bloodthirsty enough, so Devlin was encouraging him to find other work.”

  “Why is it always about violence with him?” I said with a grimace. “Does he really want everyone who works for him to be like he is?”

  “Simply put, yes,” Danial said. “Some of that is from having so many enemies, which I understand much better as a Vampire Ruler. The rest is just control—Devlin likes controlling people. He wants to know that no matter what he asks his people to do, that they’ll do it, without question or hesitation. Knowing Dev, Brian’s lucky he’s managed to retain his job this long.”

  The night Devlin had attacked my home, his bears hadn’t cared that I was being taken against my will, or that they were smashing up my house. I shivered, thinking of the worse damage they would had done if Devlin had ordered it.

  “In the course of the conversation I asked Devlin if he knew an Alphonse,” Danial continued. “He said he only knew one, Sar, a notorious gang lord based in Washington, DC. This guy has a lot of money from his dealings and acts respectable, but underneath the veneer of civility, it’s all corruption, fraud and racketeering.”

  Not a surprise he was based in Washington then.

  “Devlin asked where you could possibly have run into him. I said we didn’t know.”

  “Danial, I’ve racked my brain over this. I can’t remember meeting him at all. I was never introduced to an Alphonse—”

  Then it suddenly hit me. It was true I had never been introduced to an Alphonse or even to an Al. But not all the men who’d shown an interest in me had told me their names.

  Danial was instantly crouching before me. “Sar, what is it?”

  “What color eyes does this man have?” I said slowly. “Are they hazel?”

  “Devlin didn’t say. Why?”

  “That night in Switzerland, Samuel rescued me from a man with hazel eyes who didn’t want to take no for an answer. I always assumed he followed me and Tawny to the hotel from the café down the street. But maybe he was staying there himself. He never said his name—”

  “That was Al?” Danial said, furious. “Your insult to him was being faithful to me?”

  “It must have been him,” I said, shivering. “Samuel embarrassed him, sent him running. For a man used to power, that probably infuriated him. Al couldn’t punish Samuel; he’s too powerful and well protected. But I’m not.”

  “You are ... protected by me, Sar. I’m powerful, and this hunting of you is going to stop.”

  Danial had been going to say I was his and had caught himself at the last moment. I managed a small smile.

  “Go get the phone again if you would, please,” Danial said. “I’ll call Devlin back and tell him what you’ve said. He can help arrange a meeting between Al and me to get this settled.”

  “That would be a relief,” I said, standing up and heading for the stairs. “We have enough to worry about.”

  “Sar, don’t forget the funeral is tonight for Demetri,” Danial called after me. “Sunset.”

  “Terian told me it was at noon,” I said, stopping and turning toward him.

  “Yes, but I wanted to attend,” Danial said. “They pushed it to tonight so I could.”

  “I’ll have to go and let the dogs out,” I said, trying not to sound put out about it. I wasn’t irritated, as it was only right that Danial be able to attend. The change of time just meant an extra trip home and back.

  “Make sure then that Terian or Theo goes with you. Or maybe I should send one of the foxes to walk them. It would be easier.”

  “No,” I said, returning and handing him the phone. “They’re all grieving. I’ll get Theo or Terian to go with me.”

  “As you will.” He took it into his bedroom.

  Feeling hungry, I went into the kitchen and made myself some soup and toast. After eating, I headed back upstairs to work on the email. After three hours, I was close to done.

  Danial’s business was mostly done over the Internet—despite him not having a website for Solutions, Inc.—which made for a lot of emails. I printed the most lucrative looking jobs and left them in a neat pile for Danial to review. The others I made a quick written list of, stressing the main information given for each, to see if they were of interest to him.

  As always, there were a few pleas for revenge and justice, which I’d starred and left for last. They weren’t subtle: one woman came right out and wrote in her email that she wanted a mercenary to find her daughter’s killer. All these I responded to, saying we did just corporate work, and we were sorry we couldn’t help them. But when I finished the replies, I forwarded all the starred emails onto Devlin’s e-mail address, marked a question mark in the subject field. If he wanted the jobs, he would contact them directly.

  Regrettably, as always, there was some hate mail, too. Most of it was simplistic, like the vengeful man who’d lost his job after Danial caught him using company money to take his mistress—i.e., secretary—on trips and buy her expensive presents. Now he was jobless, his wife had left him, and he was probably going to lose custody of his children. His long email was full of self-pity and anger. Instead of replying to tell him he’d brought it on himself, I just printed the email out and put it in the hate mail file. Danial kept an ongoing record of anyone who threatened to harm him, his reasoning being in case an attempt was made on his life, it was better to have a ready list of possible suspects.

  I checked the clock and saw it was nearly four. Time to grab Theo and head for home.

  I walked to the fox compound, enjoying the beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everything was wonderfully green and alive. The dogwood trees that poked out here and there on the forest’s edge were beginning to bloom. The first trilliums were out, their white and purple heads peeking out of the forest floor.

  When I arrived at the fox compound, there was no one in their common room, a large open room with a fireplace at one end. A few groups of couches and chairs were scattered here and there, with decorative plants. Most of them were likely below resting after coming off the night shift. Most bedrooms were in the basement, with a few—like Theo’s once had been—on the main floor.

  Elle suddenly ran into the room, chased by a shrieking Aran Jr. She evaded him, narrowly missing a houseplant and darted right into my arms.

  “Mom!”

  “There you are,” I said, hugging here. “I figured you were sleeping in this morning.”

  “I got done with classes early. Bill says I’m making great progress.”
>
  “Good,” I said. “We—”

  Aran grabbed hold of Elle. “You’re it!” He shrieked with joy and then ran. Elle chased him out of the room, where they almost knocked over Cia.

  “Hey you!” Cia said, grabbing him up. Aran Jr. shrieked again, laughing and wiggling.

  “Hi, Cia,” I said.

  Her face broke into a smile. “Hi,” she said, then turned to Elle. “Why don’t you take Aran Jr. and put him down for his nap now?”

  “Okay,” Elle said happily, and she led him away.

  “She had lunch with me and Jr.,” Cia said haltingly. “Danial said to get her used to that, so she wouldn’t miss you as much.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said guiltily. “I never meant—”

  “Whatever you meant, you’re not going to be living here now,” Cia finished gently. “I’m going to miss you, but I’m not going to condemn you. Theo being alive was a shock to us all.”

  “I needed to see him,” I said. “I couldn’t not go to him once I found out he was alive.”

  “I’m just glad he’s back. The attack earlier this week scared me. Now,” she said, a gleam in her eye, “Tell me all the sordid details.”

  I laughed and told her about going to Wyoming and finding Theo, mentioning Aspen.

  “Sar, you had to know he was going to find someone,” Cia said, looking at me like I was naive. “Even if it was just physical.”

  “It wasn’t,” I said. “They were going to move in together.”

  “But he chose you,” Cia said firmly. “Why are you even upset?”

  “He was happy, Cia. Was I right to drag him back to all this?”

  “It doesn’t matter if it was right. It matters that he wanted to come. He married you almost immediately, and it was his idea. How romantic,” she said, sighing.

  “It was,” I said proudly. “It was almost magical.”

  “Has Danial spoken to you privately?” Cia asked.

  “About what?”

  “About you and him. It’s obvious he’s come to terms with you leaving, but all of us foxes are worried—both about him and about how this threesome is going to work.”

  “He seems to be taking things well. But even if Theo hadn’t been found, I would have most likely had to go away for the summer on Dr. Stephen Camlyn’s orders. I was turning vampire, Cia.”