by Hall, K R
After ensuring Alana was all right, Victor broke down in sobs that shook his whole body. Alana sat up and pulled him into her embrace. Together, they cried for all that had happened to them, both separately and as a couple. When finally both settled down, Victor pulled away and cupped her face in his hands.
“I love you, Alana,” Victor whispered.
“I know you do, and I love you, too,” Alana said as new tears filled her eyes. “I… I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”
“I never would have stopped looking for you, never,” he swore. “Did he hurt you?”
She placed her fingers over his mouth. “No, they didn’t do anything like that to me. There were two men. After they originally took me, they didn’t lay hands on me. The leader used electricity to shock me, but that was as brutal as he got with me.”
“I’m not leaving you alone ever again. Not for one minute,” Victor swore.
“We were all so worried about you. Thank God you are here and safe,” Edith said as she stood in the doorway next to Walter.
The worried family gathered and expressed their gratefulness Alana was safe. They sat in silence as she relayed what had happened and how she escaped and came to find Victor.
“I wandered for a while until I found a house a ways outside of town. I knocked and asked for a ride. They were kind enough to bring me into town, but I had them drop me off when I started to feel Victor.
“I knew we had to be close for the link to start working again, so I just followed that until I found him.” Alana looked at Victor and felt another wave of love crash over her.
Victor pulled her close again, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“I think it’s time to leave them alone,” said Dorin.
“Yes, of course, you’re right, Dorin,” Irini said, motioning to Adelaide to follow.
“I love you, sweetheart. Your father and I will see you tomorrow. Unless you need me, I’ll come as soon as you need me, okay,” said Edith.
“Thank you, Mom. I love you, too,” said Alana.
She watched as everyone left the room before she looked back at Victor. She was crying before she knew it and she clutched herself to Victor when he hugged her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“You’re crying because you are safe. Everything is going to be alright now, Alana, everything’s going to be just fine,” said Victor. “I should’ve taken better care of you. I didn’t do right by you as your mate. I let somebody take you from me.”
“You did the best you could. You were away when they came for me,” Alana said. “This is no one’s fault except for the people that took me.”
Alana placed her hand over his cheek and looked into his eyes. “I know you have suffered, too. I kept thinking that you would be rescuing me soon. When I saw that I could fit through that bathroom window, I knew I had to take the chance.”
“Let’s get some rest and tomorrow I will take you home,” Victor promised.
~ ~ ~
Victor, Alana, and everyone else left the hotel early in the morning to head back home. The search party had found Alana’s scent trail after describing the house she found help at and followed it back to the kidnappers’ hideout. The party descended upon them immediately during the night and locked them in the basement of Victor’s home.
Alana watched as Victor shifted into his strigoi and made his way down to the basement where her captors were being held in a cell. She didn’t follow him. She had no desire to watch. Besides, she had a special test she needed to take.
There was only one way in and out of the basement and the windows near the ceiling were too small for anyone other than a child to escape through. So, the men were well and truly trapped as the angry strigoi made his way to them.
He descended the stairs quickly and found his prey standing in a corner with their hands up in front of them in surrender. Their eyes were large and filled with fear, but the sight only spurred the strigoi’s anger on further. He lowered his body into an attack position and launched himself across the room. Suddenly, he was frozen in midair and no longer in his strigoi form.
“Your fears will not benefit your situation,” a strange woman’s voice spoke to Victor.
Startled, Victor looked up to see an elderly woman with long, silver hair streaked with red. Her eyes were enchanting; one being green, the other blue. Something about her made Victor feel calm. The woman was warm and inviting. Looking around, he could tell that he was still in the basement, but the kidnappers had vanished.
“Pardon me, but do I know you?” Victor asked. “What have you done to my prisoners? How did you get inside? Magnus said that nothing could get through his wards.”
The old woman shook her head and began to explain. “The kidnappers are no longer any of your concern. No, you don’t know me, not really. I am not of this time; therefore, wards can’t stop me. I have come to guide you. My words will chill you and are not as you have prayed to hear; you must nevertheless listen.”
“Please, tell me what I can do for you,” Victor said.
“I’ve journeyed to visit with you for an important purpose. I have most valuable information of your fate and that of your mate,” she explained as she smiled. “Killing these men is not wise. You have something far more menacing to be on the watch for.”
She reached out her hand and took Victor’s and placed a vial with a piece of paper and an amulet tied to its lid.
“What is this?” Victor asked, confusion written all over his face.
“I see things and I know of a fate that you must avoid. You and your mate are in danger,” the woman answered.
“What is this danger? Why has Magnus not been made aware of this?” Victor asked.
The old woman gave him an indulgent smile as she would a child and continued. “For a man with such powers, your naïveté will cost you your mate. I am your only warning. Upon the stroke of midnight, in four days, tragedy is to befall you both. If I reveal more to you, there will be no hope. Heed what I tell you, believe me, and follow my instructions to the letter.”
“Very well. Please continue,” Victor said.
“When your mate comes to you, know she is in danger. You must hang the amulet around her neck and have her drink this potion. It is her only hope. Once you have done that, you must immediately recite the spell on the paper to protect her from further attacks,” the old woman said.
“Take me very seriously. If you don’t listen or if you seek to prevent her tragedy, then you will have failed you both. If you don’t follow my exact instructions, she will die one mortal death, but you will each relive her death each night of your life until you die.”
“Is there any way Alana can be spared this tragedy and pain?” Victor asked. “I beg you; my heart is breaking at this prophecy.”
The old woman hung her head before answering with sadness in her voice. “I am sorry, but the fates have declared that Alana needs to go through this. I have done all that I can to ease her suffering. Remember to place the amulet first then have her drink the potion. Once she has drunk the last drop, recite the spell.”
With that, she was gone. Victor knew she meant what she said and she was right. Allowing Alana to suffer after everything she had been through already was almost unbearable. Suffering a little is minimal compared to the act of losing her altogether. He would have to listen and obey the old woman. With agony in his heart, he put the vial, amulet and spell into his breast pocket and went back to his home. He desperately needed to be with Alana.
Four days seemed so long, yet not enough time.
Chapter 19
Months when ago, when Christian met Chloe for the first time, he got the feeling that he would have to get rid of her one day. He researched ways to kill keshalyi and discovered that if he fed Chloe cake made with a powdered snake and the hair of cats and hellhounds, a keshalyi would die.
He didn’t think that he would ever be able to trick Chloe into eating the cake. He
researched deeper. Salt! He would offer Chloe sweet tea made with salt instead of sugar. According to what he’d read, all that’s needed is a sip and she would be incapacitated.
It wasn’t all that hard to meet with Chloe and for the two of them to plot; Victor never paid Christian much attention unless it was work-related so it was as simple as the two of them meeting in his home or even the office after hours.
Christian realized how easy Chloe would be to manipulate the only time they ever met at her house. The fae had Victor’s picture everywhere. Christian clearly had not been meant to see it, but she’d had some sort of breakdown and thrashed her house. She’d called him to meet, screaming about how she was going to make Alana pay after being thrown out of a dinner party.
Getting her to kidnap Alana was easier than he thought it would be. A mention about how devastated and easily comforted Victor would be here, a mention of Alana’s blood there, and a sudden remembrance of the existence of the Death Squad had sealed the deal.
She ranted and raved when it failed, but Christian liked her being off-balance. It meant he could control her. As long as he could control her, he could use her to weaken Victor.
Christian was already in his office waiting for the arrival of Chloe. He smirked as he saw her walk in. Now it looked like the research and her being unstable were going to come in handy.
“Welcome, Chloe. Please have a seat,” Christian said.
“What do you want, Christian,” Chloe said, wanting him to get to the point.
“Would you care for a glass of iced tea?” Christian asked as Chloe took a seat.
“Yes, please.”
He rose from behind his desk and poured the salted iced tea in two glasses.
“Chloe, I know you are loyal to Victor and want Alana dead. I don’t care about Alana. She means nothing to me. Victor, on the other hand, needs to be held accountable for wiping out most of my family when he brought the plague with him,” Christian said as he handed her one of the salted iced teas. Then he went back and sat behind his desk.
Chloe couldn’t believe what he was saying. She felt betrayed. He said he would help kill Alana but leave Victor safe. She was furious.
“How can you do this to me? You know how important Victor is to me,” Chloe said ignoring the tea.
“I’ve explained to you before that Victor must be punished for killing most of my family.”
“It’s not like he set out to kill your family. He did not know he was a carrier.”
“Ignorance is no excuse. I have vowed as my family has for generations to seek out and destroy the person responsible for the deaths.”
Before he could say more, Chloe pulled out a gun and shot him point-blank in his chest several times. She sat there dumbfounded when he didn’t even flinch. No blood could be seen coming out of the bullet holes.
“I knew I couldn’t trust you, Chloe,” Christian laughed. “You look surprised. Did I forget to tell you that regular bullets can’t kill me? It’s amazing what one can find online.”
“But…” Chloe began.
“You can get anything if the price is right. I found a witch in New Orleans who practices black magic and, for a tidy sum, she cast a spell on an amulet that I wear.”
Looking behind her, Christian said, “Take care of her.”
Chloe felt someone grabbing her arms and began to drag her out the door.
“You can’t do this to me!” she yelled.
“You should have drunk your tea, Chloe. Now, my men will have to force you to drink it,” Christian said.
Chloe knew from the look on his face that she wasn’t long for this world.
Chapter 20
Ladinas sat down across from Victor in the den.
“What’s up?” Victor asked.
“Yesterday, I received an anonymous phone call from a man who told me he had intimate knowledge of who the shooter is,” Ladinas said.
“Any idea who the caller is?”
“Not the slightest. He was using a burner phone.”
“What did the man want from you?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Five million.”
“Damn, too much. Did you counter?”
“I tried to get him down to a million, but he wouldn’t budge. I told him I needed time to talk to you and to liquidate some assets to raise funds,” Ladinas said. “I am trying to buy us some time to find him.”
“And this was this morning?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“I need a drink. Want one?”
“Yeah.”
“By the way,” Victor said pouring scotch neat. “You did the right thing.”
~ ~ ~
Victor looked out the window of his office building. He’d needed to come in briefly for some files and make arrangements for the massive sum Bryant demanded. Movement off to the left caught his eye.
Two men— human by their movement— were carrying a long something wrapped in a cloth. As far as Victor knew, no one in the building was replacing any furniture or anything, but it’s not like they needed his permission to do so.
As he turned back to his desk, the men tossed the object into the back of a pickup. With the solid thump of it landing on the truck bed, the cloth moved and Victor got a glance of Chloe’s face.
~ ~ ~
Ladinas joined Alana and Victor for dinner. A simple meal of foie gras, Dover sole, and crème brûlée. They were relaxing in the living room when Ladinas’ cellphone rang. He left the room. When he returned, he told Alana and Victor about the call.
“That was my anonymous caller. He is willing to go down to two million,” Ladinas said.
“I can get the two million easily. I assume small bills,” Victor said.
“Yes. I will rendezvous with him sometime tomorrow and he promises all will be revealed.”
“I guess all we can do is wait,” Victor said.
“I’m afraid so,” Ladinas said. “I was able to record the call. There were some background noises that I am going to see if I can identify. Maybe we can gain something helpful.”
“Please be careful and keep me informed,” Victor said as Ladinas left.
“Victor, I have been trying for three days to try to find a way to tell you this, but things just never seem to be right,” Alana said after she heard the door shut.
“I’m so sorry, dragă. I agree things have been rather crazy lately around here. What is it that you would like to tell me?”
“A few days ago, I took a pregnancy test... Victor, I’m pregnant! We’re going to be parents!” Alana gushed.
“Oh, wow! Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. After the home test came back positive, I went and saw a doctor to confirm it.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world dragă!” Victor scooped her up and kissed her deeply, overjoyed at the thought of him being a father.
~ ~ ~
Victor was working in his home office when his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” Ladinas said.
“Good afternoon, Ladinas. I hope all went well.”
“Better than I anticipated,” Ladinas said.
“Was he cooperative?”
“I met him an hour ago in the auto salvage yard on Silvia Street,” Ladinas said.
“Not likely to be seen by someone in an auto parts yard.”
“He was very cooperative. He told me his name and that I could tell you,” Ladinas said.
“Who is he?”
“His name is Bryant McAllester. He is Christian Woodard’s former private investigator.”
“I don’t recognize his name.”
“Christian hired him to hire your shooter. This all has to do with Christian’s family grudge that goes way back to when our family arrived in this country.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Victor scoffed. “How can we trust Bryant? Why suddenly come forward?”
>
“Bryant was fine with locating you and the research, but he drew the line when Christian told him to hire a shifter to take you out.”
“Couldn’t have been too hard of a line if he is asking for millions.”
“True,” Ladinas said as he sent an email with the photo of Bryant McAllester to Victor. “You’re kidding me! This is crazy. I need you to dig into both men.”
“Already on it, little bro,” Ladinas said just before ending the call.
What is Bryant’s motive in all of this?
~ ~ ~
Christian learned that Bryant had told the Marinescu brothers what he had been doing. He met Bryant at a restaurant in Plymouth for dinner.
“Please, excuse me for a moment; I’d like to wash my hands before we eat,” Bryant said.
“Of course.”
Christian waited a moment before he followed him down the hallway to the men’s room. As he walked into the men’s room, he pulled the latex gloves out of his pocket and put them on. He heard a toilet flushing. That’s when he noticed the door to the last stall was closed. He took the gun from his waistband and attached the silencer. He rapped on the stall door.
“Occupied.”
Christian recognized Bryant’s voice and kicked the door open.
“What the hell?” Bryant said.
Christian pointed the gun at him.
“Hands on your head.”
Bryant looked terrified and placed his hands on his head as directed.
“Open your mouth.”
“Please don’t! I will give you whatever you want,” Bryant begged.
Christian whacked him across the face with the gun. Bryant opened his mouth. Christian cocked the gun, inserted its barrel into the open mouth, and pulled the trigger.
Bryant’s brains exploded against the wall behind him and he slumped to the side. Christian took Bryant’s hand and wrapped it around the gun after he removed the silencer. He backed out of the stall, pulled the door shut, and with a penknife from his pants pocket, he lowered the inside latch into place. He washed his hands thoroughly and made sure that none of Bryant stuck to him. He walked out of the men’s room and the restaurant.