In the Shadow of Angels: The Guardian Series 1

by Savage, Fanny Lee

  “I am too excited to eat!” She stands, taking both our glasses of wine, and walks from the room. Everyone rises from their seats and follows her down the hall into the large parlor where I had met them shortly before.

  Claudette sits down on a silken settee and pats the space next to her. I sit as she indicates, squeezing into the small seat. Henri and Aydin settle across from us, it is hard not to stare at Aydin, I can feel his eyes move over my face as we sit down.

  “You look so much like your mother. The resemblance is almost unsettling,” Aydin says and sips at the clear liquid in his glass. I haven’t seen my mother for so long, I wonder how time has aged her. If her hair is streaked with gray and the years have added lines to her lovely face as they had Daddy. “Thank goodness you didn’t get your father’s looks,” Aydin winks. I grin and glance down at my hands. It is weird to think these people know my family.

  “I understand you are the Head of Security,” I say to Aydin. “How long have you worked for Ashur?”

  “For many years. He took me in young, I was...” Aydin stands and moves toward the fireplace, his brows knitted, searching for the right word. “... his companion.”

  Abigail always told me she could tell what I was thinking, just by looking at me. I wear my thoughts on my face, always betraying me. Companion brings up images of Ashur and Aydin that suggests my mother’s wedding vows are still intact. I can practically hear gay men cheering around the world.

  “Aydin, you are so old fashioned,” Claudette laughs. “Aydin is family, Charlotte. Ashur treats him as his own son. We call him Head of Security only because he likes the title.”

  “I work full time to keep Ashur’s estate, and Henry’s research secure.” Aydin’s gaze returns to mine. “Ashur began my security training young.”

  “I imagine, your work is very stressful. Keeping the chateau secure and free of snooping scientists,” I say and almost grimace. That came out snarkier than intended.

  “Yes, it can be.” He rests his elbow on the arm of his chair and brings his fingers to his mouth. I see his teeth as he starts biting on the tips of his fingers. He looks annoyed... no... he is annoyed.

  Holy crap. I’ve already managed to piss him off and we’ve only just met.

  Claudette starts with small talk, but I am having a hard time concentrating. As she talks her hands reach out and touch Henri’s arm, or graze over his hand, possessive. The movements leave me uneasy, they are almost inappropriate, and completely unnecessary. The conversation moves from the landscape in Florida to the French Alps around us. I try to keep myself in the flow, acting like the photographer I am supposed to be, but Aydin is too distracting. All he does is sit off to the side, occasionally sipping his drink, in between nibbling on the tips of his fingers. One by one, like he’s warning them to remain to themselves. His eyes keep finding mine and right before I glance away, I catch a smirk, the corner of his mouth turning slightly down.

  “It’s almost two am, I don’t know how you are still awake,” Henri says suddenly.

  Claudette stands and pulls me into another embrace. “We shall give you the tour tomorrow.”

  “That would be lovely,” I say and turn to Aydin, who nods his head before Henri leads me from the room.

  We walk back through the maze of halls to my room. Once there, he leads me to the bed, before shutting the terrace doors, and turning on the bedside light.

  “Tomorrow, I’ll show you around the chateau. I have to take care of a few things, but will be free all afternoon,” He smiles, kisses my forehead and is gone.

  I strip the dress over my head, and not bothering to find something to wear, climb into the plush bed. My mind drifts over the events of the evening, thinking of Claudette and her seductive beauty. Henri doesn’t try to hide that he still has feelings for me, the idea is exciting and confusing. I think of his kiss, his mouth. Familiar and new at the same time.

  Aydin forces himself to the forefront of my mind, his dark features and light eyes. He is unsettling, the way I can read him. He is the first person I have come across that I don’t have to touch to feel his emotions. The thoughts of Aydin stay with me, taking front and center until sleep finally takes over.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sunlight shines through a crack in the curtains, hitting my face. I open my eyes and for a few minutes, lie confused. It is the second morning I have woken up in an unfamiliar room. My brain clears and I remember the night before. Claudette and Aydin. My arrival at the chateau. Henri.

  Abigail.

  I sit upright and swing my feet over the bed. My room is dimly lit except for the thin line of sun peaking through. My new phone says that it’s past noon; I can’t believe I slept so late. My head pounds like I had too much wine, a familiar sensation. The muscles in my legs and arms ache and I try to stretch to relieve the tension.

  A hot soak in the large tub provides some relief, though my head is still foggy. I lie in the bubbles, piecing the events of the last few days together. It as the first time in days I have had the time to even think. My life is surreal; somehow I’ve ended up in a castle in France. Though maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. I always hoped Henri or Abigail would resurface. I knew, in reality, they always would.

  A soft knock on the bathroom door startles me. “Can I come in?” Henri’s voice comes from the other side.

  “Um,” I look down at the bubbles and panic. Before I can respond, the door opens and Henri walks in; he was never good at listening. Memories of summers in the woods spring up. Playing in the lake near our home, sun hitting our small bodies as we ran through the sprinklers in the backyard garden. The three of us, soaking wet, screaming and laughing.

  “I heard you in the bath,” Henri says and leans against the long counter. “I was hoping for no bubbles.”

  “You’re lucky there are bubbles.” I can’t help but laugh at his devilish grin.

  Henri’s face tells me he thinks otherwise. “I wanted to show you around the chateau a bit. Thought you’d like to see the gardens.”

  “I’d like that,” I say and point to the towel hanging next to him. He turns his back to me so I can stand and cover myself. I step from the bath and look up to see his is watching me in the floor to ceiling mirror that lines the wall. My eyes meet his and a smile touches the corners of his mouth. A deep blush covers my face. “You, Henri, are a cad.”

  “Are you implying that I have other than honorable intentions, Charlotte?” He turns and walks toward me. My heart starts to pound.

  “That is exactly what I’m implying.”

  Henri leans in and brushed a kiss over my cheek. My entire body heats.

  “Good,” he says quietly. “My thoughts would more than likely make those cheeks of yours blush further.”

  Before I can respond, he turns and walks from the room.

  -----------

  I dress in a pair of khaki shorts and low cut tank top. Once again, not for Henri’s benefit. My hair is still wet, and I bring it back in a high ponytail before I make my way down the red corridor to the landing. My camera hangs from my neck, ready to go.

  Large suited men point me in the direction of the kitchen, where I find Henri sitting at a long center island, a plate of food in front of him. A buffet lines the counter, the smell making my stomach growl. I had barely eaten the night before, much less the past few days. When he sees me, he stands and starts to pile food on a plate before placing it next to him.

  “I figured I’d start with showing you the dungeons,” Henri says.

  “Oh, lovely,” I say, almost choking on my food.

  “We call it the dungeons. That is what the lower levels used to be. Ashur converted them into offices years ago. My lab is down there, along with the main security room.”

  “You’re going to show me your mad-scientist lab?”

  “I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  Henri takes both of our empty plates and washes them in the sink. “Nanny taught you well,” I say.

  “Na
nny didn’t teach anything. It was either you did what she said or you suffered the consequence,” he says. “If I didn’t wash these dishes, somehow she would know and fly all the way here to make sure I did.”

  When Nanny told us to do something we did it, no matter how old we were. The woman was terrifying one minute, then wrapped you up in her strong arms and loved you to pieces the next. She once told us that she had spies all around the main house of the plantation. We believed her. If one of us didn't do as she asked, she would somehow know and she’d give us her knowing look. No words were spoken.

  Henri leads me toward the back of the castle. We walk past several large closed doors to a small narrow stairwell.

  “The servants used these passages so guests wouldn’t see the maids. My great-grandfather used to sneak women through the stairwells in the middle of the night.”

  “That must be where you get it,” I tease.

  “I’m pretty sure being a cad isn’t an inherited trait,” Henri smiles, and grabs my hand as we walk.

  The stairwell is small, almost claustrophobic, the walls a rough, moist stone. Dim lights hang from the landings, casting creepy shadows, and barely any light down the flights of stairs. We descend several stories and I count three landings before we stop at the bottom room. Why don't they have an elevator?

  A metal door, with a thick opaque glass opening, stands in the center of the square room. Henri slips a key card from his pocket and runs it through a small box on the wall next to the door. A light buzz sounds and the door clicks open.

  “You have a lock on the basement door?” Disbelief seeps into my words, I can’t help it. My skin is practically crawling.

  “How else do you expect me to keep you locked down here?”

  The door opens into a long hallway. Florescent bulbs run down the length. Doors line each side, before ending at large metal double doors that stand propped open. The familiar scent of antiseptic cleaner tingles my nose. We walk to a door on the right of the hall, and Henri uses his key card to open it.

  The room is large, the floor covered in gleaming white tiles. A desk and computer sit off to the side. Long white counters with machines I have never seen before stand in the center, a large computer monitor hanging overhead. Microscopes and other small devices I can’t identify sit on top. Small white refrigerators sit against the far wall with keypads on the face. A set of glass tubes nestled in a tray complete the look. The only things missing are a few caged monkeys, screaming and rattling the bars, and beakers bubbling with different colored liquids.

  “This is where you work?” I ask. I stand in the doorway, in complete shock. There is no hiding it. Henri is the very last person I can picture standing in the lab. Sure he’s really smart, but wow. “Do you wear a lab coat too?”

  Henri pulls me in and closes the door, then points behind me. I turn and sure enough, a white coat hangs on a rack at the back of the door.

  “That is pretty sexy, Henri.”

  “This is where I have spent most of the last few years,” he says, smiling at my remark.

  “So this is where you made your discovery? The one that has all these dangerous people scampering about?”

  “The Organization,” he says.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “The group. They are called the Organization.”

  “Really?” The Organization. How unoriginal. I glance around the room. “Mind explaining now, what it is you are up to?”

  Henri sighs and walks toward the counter. He leans against the edge, facing me. He seems to be contemplating what to say, choosing his next words carefully. “I discovered something that could potentially help thousands of people.”

  “OK,” I say.

  “Sick people.”

  “I’m all about mystery and intrigue, Henri, but that’s a pretty vague statement.”

  “A potential cure, Charlotte,” he says. “For many different diseases.”

  My face must show my thoughts. Something that more than likely resembles I think he is full of it.

  “It’s unbelievable, I know. But, with Stephan’s help, we could create a medicine that would be more powerful than any other the world has ever seen.”

  “What does Daddy have to do with it?” I ask, too sharply. Daddy focuses on gene modification. Disease resistant plants, tomatoes that don’t freeze. That kind of weird science.

  “With the work he has done over the years, we could create a very potent gene therapy.”

  “I thought gene therapy was still experimental?”

  “There have been significant breakthroughs in the science over the years,” he says.

  I put two and two together. My father tweaks genes, Henri looks for the whatever it is he looks for in genes. “What carries the gene that you found?”

  “If I tell you, I will have to kill you,” Henri smiles coyly and pushes himself from the counter. He walks to the door and opens it, “Come, I’ll show you the control room.”

  “Henri, you can’t just tell me that and not answer my question.”

  “That is all I can say. Don’t feel bad. No one here knows exactly what I’ve found either,” Henri says. He stops in front of the large double doors at the end of the hall and waits for me to catch up. “Now, do you understand why these people want my research?”

  I nod. The ramifications of what he said are tremendous. I know nothing of gene therapy, only that the results are not guaranteed. But Henri seems to think, what he found will have results that can cure a lot of people. Information like this would make a lot of money. Loads. So much money, it could lead an Organization to use any means to get to Henri. Unfortunately, that any means, Henri thinks, is me.

  “And this is why a small family winery needs security,” I say.

  “And you need security.”

  “Mr. Thanos needs to speak with you, Sir.” Lance appears in the open double doors. I almost jump out of my skin, stifling a scream. The man makes no sound when he moves. Lance wears a bluish gray suit that enhances his dark skin and strange light eyes. He turns and walks away, just as quickly as he had appeared.

  Henri leads me through the doors into a large open space. Charcoal carpeting, and dark wood paneling muffle the sounds of fingers typing on keyboards. A few men and women in suits sit at a series of desks in the center. Monitors rest in front of each of them, creating a circle. The entire back wall of the room houses large screens, the pictures in clear color. Henri walks through a side door, leaving me standing in the center of what I’m guessing is the control room. I walk to the back wall and the monitors.

  The main entry, the long corridors, and even the red-carpeted hall to my room is spread out in front of me. On the screens, a few men in suits mill about, or stand in doorways. The housekeepers walk carrying various items. Someone is in the kitchen I had sat in before with Henri, picking at the food on the counter.

  My stomach twists. Are you kidding me? The entire chateau is under video surveillance. Like I’m not freaked out enough. My eyes move to the other screens. Some show the outside parameter from various angles. There are several screens that display the inside of what appears to be a warehouse. Tall metal cylinders stand in a large concrete room; a line of wooden tables running down the center.

  Aydin enters the room and walks up behind me. His electric charge ripples through the space. I am surprised the video’s didn’t distort and go out, with his presence.

  “You can see every room in the chateau,” I say.

  “Yes.”

  “It seems excessive,” I say, trying to control my breathing.

  “I would hardly call it excessive, Miss Charlotte. I take every measure to make sure my family is secure,” Aydin tells me.

  I turn to look at him. He is in another suit, this one a steel gray, matching his eyes and deep blue tie. His hair is tousled, like he has spent the morning running his fingers through it. With a hand in his pocket, he looks like he stepped from fashion magazine. The kind where all the models look forlorn or angry. He�
��s almost too handsome, except he’s so thin. I can’t help but think he is on the arrogant side, well aware of his extreme looks and the effect he has on probably every woman that comes in contact with him. Unfortunately, I happen to be one of them.

  “Where are the cameras?” I ask.

  “They are hidden.”

  “Where?”

  “Various decor items, some are in the crown molding. Everywhere.”

  “That is a lot of cameras.”

  “Yes,” Aydin nods.

  My eyes wander over him. His is extremely tall, at least six and a half feet.The legs of the slacks hug his body. The muscles in his thighs are visible, long and lean, athletic looking. Everything about him is hard, smooth and somehow feral. I wonder if what they say about tall, thin men is true.

  “Would you you like to see my equipment?”

  “What?” My eyes shoot back up to where they should have been. Aydin is staring at me straight faced. A blush creeps into my cheeks.

  “Would you like to see how the cameras work?” Aydin points to a small desk and a bunch of electronic equipment.

  I bite my lip closing my mouth.

  “Grab the joystick,” he says, and my brain goes there. Right back to junior high.

  Oh no. This is awful. His face is completely serious, and he points to a small joystick attached to a large keyboard. A small choking sound comes from my throat. I walk over and wrap my fingers around the device.

  “Rub your thumb over the top.”

  Oh, holy hell. I do as instructed. The screens change and one starts to zoom in.

  “See, now you can control and move it, right where you need it.”

  “I see,” I say, and let go. I can’t look at him. If I do, I’ll start to crack up. He’s moved too close, making my cheeks burn. This is terrible. I’m like a hormonal teen.

  “Now, I’ve shown you mine, you show me yours.”

  “What?” My eyes meet his and see the corner of his mouth turning down. Is he stifling a smile?

  “Your camera,” Aydin says and points to the Nikon around my neck. I laugh, loud, and flush like a school girl.