by R M Taylor
“Just one is missing now, while you were all meeting the team found four locked up with Kathy and Stacy, apparently the guy that had been stalking them was also responsible for kidnapping the others and locked them all up in their hotel room. They’re scared to bits but physically ok. I think they need some time to recover, they’ve been traumatised by all of this. I will go visit when things calm down here. A pay rise or bonus would also go down well for them too I reckon” Isla laughed.
She had met Kathy and Stacy at work a few times when she came to his club. They all got along well. She was right about both, he and Joseph had paid for the hotel room to keep the girls safe when that guy called John was stalking them, which technically was above and beyond their role but they both believed in standing by their staff. Loyal staff were worth their weight in gold, if a staff member needed help they were there. It promoted a good dedicated team, they all gave 100% and their staff turnover was surprisingly low. He and Joseph were right to have helped, the stalker guy was involved with Vesike.
“What about Isobel? Someone said she was involved and she’s not answering her phone. What happened?” Isla asked nervously.
“It’s a long story sweetheart, but yes Isobel was involved with the guy we’re looking for, turns out she wanted to leave the coven and join his. She’s done some things that…... she behaved….…. she’s…... Isla it’s complicated and I don’t want to upset you. Your mother made some bad choices and she will have to be punished. Lina and the council will decide” Aris closed his eyes, they were burning with the need to sleep.
“I get it Dad, I thought as much, things people were saying are right then. She will get what she deserves. She’s not a nice person Dad” Isla said quietly.
“I never wanted you to see that part of her. But you’re old enough to make your own judgements, I always encouraged you to make your own mind up” Aris said.
He then described briefly what had happened, and told her about Lucrezia, and Marius, and how Vesike fit in.
“Sounds like a mess, I want to meet Lucrezia, we need to talk properly but you sound exhausted Dad, go to bed and we can talk later. I love you” Isla said.
“I love you too sweetheart, sleep well” Aris ended the call and sat in silence for a moment with his eyes closed.
“Are you ok?” Lucy asked, “I heard you talking, how did Isla take it?”
“Fine considering, she knows what Isobel is like, better than anyone I think. Isobel doesn’t deserve a daughter as wonderful as Isla. I’m just sad for her, she should have a better mother than Isobel. Isobel just isn’t a nurturer, she’s too narcissistic and can’t stand someone else having the limelight. I usually always tell Isla the way it is, for most things, but I struggled this time. Couldn’t find the words, it was too sad, too awful” Aris sighed and rubbed his eyes again. Lucy sat close next to him on the sofa.
“You’re exhausted, and you need to sleep. Things will be clearer in the morning, come on let’s go to bed” Lucy touched his hand and he looked up at her.
“I can sleep on the sofa…” Aris began but Lucy cut him off as he stood.
“You don’t have to, I would like it if you slept next to me. It wasn’t your fault, Marius told me he spiked my mum’s drink with Anandaine, a massive dose of it. No vampire could have kept control Aris, it’s a powerful chemical. You weren’t lucid at the time, you were out of it. It’s not your fault. You may have been the weapon of choice, but it was Marius behind it. He killed her, not you, he’s the murderer” Lucy stroked his cheek as he took it all in.
“Isobel said that too, but I didn’t want to believe it in case she was lying”
He leaned his face into her hand and kissed her wrist where her pulse point was. He loved doing that. Then ran his hands up her arm and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m still more sorry than I can explain, but it helps, at least it explains things” He said.
“He is responsible for so much pain, it makes me furious. Earlier on my dragon wanted out. She really liked the idea of burning everything, I think she has rage issues” Lucy chuckled.
“She has just the right amount of issues. She’s beautiful, and strong and fierce. Like everything about you. You’re amazing. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about you. Not one thing” He kissed her lightly on her lips, and then trailed small kisses up her jaw to below her ear. A low rumble began in her chest, very quiet but there, and he realised it was her dragon communicating her happiness at his assessment of her. He made her happy. He smiled and stood up, still holding her. It was easy to lift her up, she was tiny compared to him. They were both exhausted and needed sleep, but they were having round two later.
“I really like you” She said quietly as he laid her on the bed.
“I really like you too” He was so relieved she said that, it was killing him things had turned out the way they had. He smiled and kissed her softly, then snuggled in to spoon her. In seconds they were asleep, the demands of fatigue finally heard.
Chapter 39
Lucy woke from a deep sleep, she blinked and stretched, trying to get her bearings in the dark room. Aris was still asleep next to her, his face relaxed and peaceful in sleep. Good grief he was gorgeous, why did guys always have the longest thickest eyelashes? It was so unfair. She took a deep breath and lay for a few seconds enjoying the quiet, her dragon was content, and her chest began making that quiet rumble again, and despite everything that had happened in the last 24 hours she felt safe and secure in this building with Aris next to her. Which was pretty ridiculous given the facts.
She wondered what happened last night after she left the meeting and whether Isobel survived. She had a feeling her days were numbered, but Isla should have a chance to say goodbye if they decided to execute her. As for Marius, she had no idea where to even start. The guy had kids, and they already lost their mum when their father killed her yesterday. She had no idea of their age, but she grew up without a mother, that was painful enough and she never had a chance to know her. They did, so she couldn’t imagine recovering from that. What a mess.
Aris began stirring beside her, and she rose to go answer the call of nature. She started a bath, it was massive and could fit them both, she had been eyeing it since yesterday. Totally needed one at home. If she could go back that is, who the hell knows when that would be. Were people still after her? Who would be in charge since they had Marius? She had no idea how the organisation worked, but she had a feeling that she would be running from Marius for the rest of her life if he lived. Would it be like cutting the head off a Hydra? Cut one off but many others remained? There was always someone waiting to take over, like a second in command, right? That’s how it worked in films after all. Fuck, she had no idea. She climbed into the massive bath. She could do with a stool, being short had its drawbacks. She had deliberately run it red hot, despite her shower last night/early this morning she still felt grubby, recent events had gotten under her skin and she felt almost tainted.
She had pinched a spare toothbrush and razor off Aris last night and she went to work on her legs, there was something comforting about grooming yourself when you felt low. She heard Aris moving around outside the bathroom, then heard him talking to someone, probably Isla. She should call her friends, she had bridges to mend there. She really had pushed them all away when she was hurting, it wasn’t fair. It didn’t take a therapist to figure it was because she was afraid of them rejecting her or of them leaving her. Self-preservation worked against you sometimes, she should have been pulling them in close and leaning on them for support. That just didn’t come naturally to her, she was used to being self-sufficient. As a child she was taking herself home and cooking her own meals from an early age. She made her own 13th birthday cake, her first period she just dealt with on her own by buying products with the meagre pocket money she received occasionally, she pushed herself in school, there was never anyone at parents evening or school plays. It wa
s on her, always. Even when she lived with Connor she took the lead whenever decisions were to be made. It was simply her default position.
It looked like her bath with Aris wasn’t to be. He was still on the phone, so she got out and dressed. Taking her own phone, she turned it on and saw 17 messages from Althea, Susana and Toni. Bless them, they were great friends. She fired off a long message to all three, briefly explaining she was safe right now but a lot of shit was happening. She told them where she was staying and who with. Hopefully that would placate them, she felt suddenly homesick for her friends, which was odd for her. She wondered if it would be safe for them to come here, or if she could meet them. Dragon suggested talking through the computer. Ah helpful, yes there was numerous ways they could do that. Clever dragon. She received a barrage of texts all at once.
You can stay with me? Is the coven safe? I can come to you? - Susie
Lucy you had us scared stupid when you stopped responding. I rang the police, they checked your house out but did nothing else. I can pick you up? Stay with me, or I can stay with you? -Toni
I want Marius returned. Your friends are alive now, but who knows how long that will be pretty girl. We bring your friends and do an exchange. Behave yourself and no-one gets hurt. 8pm at The Mark Hotel, since you know where this is already. No-one shifts, and no-one fights, we all walk away. If you refuse, be prepared for what will happen I will not hold back. Vesike. - Althea
She shot out of the bedroom, interrupting Aris on the phone. After hanging up, he read the message, then read it again. It was 4pm, and getting dark already, they had four hours to do something.
“Aris, we need to speak to Lina, now!”
Chapter 40
He was going to kill Vesike Vatin. Lucy was frantic over Althea and Connor, fight or breakup aside, they were still her friends, and she was still loyal. Vesike still wanted Marius back, so that must mean he needed him still. Despite them all knowing his end game, he still wanted him. So maybe he still thought they had a chance of taking the coven. Not surprisingly he didn’t ask for Isobel, it stood to reason a man like Vesike would happily throw an accomplice under the bus. He didn’t believe for one second that they would do a civilised swap. Even in public, it would only take one person to look at someone the wrong way and it would all kick off. He and Lucy were back in the council meeting room with Lina and the others, the air was tense with anticipation and everyone at the table seemed on edge.
“I have sent Dante, Anna and Bernice to the hotel already, they will be doing a sweep of the place before we go there. I have no doubt that Vesike will be there already, although his coven only has 22 members due to the problems they have had since we left, we cannot assume he will not be accompanied by formidable defenders. He could hire enforcers, we cannot afford any casualties with this, there are too many bystanders that could get hurt and the High Court will not hold back punishment just because we are being blackmailed. I have already contacted them and explained the situation and some High Court enforcers are on the way to assist us. He has gone too far; his scheming and deception will be exposed. Part of me would like to confront him directly, I feel a bit like a child tattling on another child in the schoolyard going to the High Court, but we need to be transparent and be blameless here. Vesike is slippery, he manipulates and contorts things to ensure he is seen in the best light. We need to show them what he is like, so they will be the ones to deal with him” Lina explained.
“He is overdue a taste of his own medicine, we should deal with him ourselves, involving the High Court is like inviting in a government agency, everyone gets wrapped up in red tape and paperwork and nothing happens fast!” Said Eric.
“We cannot circumvent the due process in this case Eric. Remember we must be blameless or we risk so much of our current privileges being revoked. The High Court likes our coven up to now, and we get a huge amount of leeway with business permits, taxes, and the annual reviews barely even look at us. These may seem insignificant right now, but it will impact us hard if we fall out of their good graces. The whole point of the High Court is law enforcement and public relations. If we break the laws they will punish us right along with Vesike” Will explained.
“Can we wait until the enforcers arrive and let them deal with it?” Sarah asked quietly.
“They may not be here in time, Vesike will not hesitate to hurt Lucy’s friends if we do not arrive on time. We will meet Vesike with Marius, we will appear to be doing the exchange, but we must contain them in the hotel. Hopefully Dante will have secured the hotel already, but with no idea of who he is working with Vesike we have no idea of numbers” Lina said.
“What about Mya? Could she not help? Aris?” Sarah asked.
“We cannot involve Mya, she works for the High Court as a teacher and she trains the enforcers, she is a friend of Aris, it is unfair, and she could get punished for helping us” Will answered “We just need to take our enforcers and some of the council, keep the numbers small to reduce the likelihood of violence. We can keep the enforcers outside surrounding the hotel while we take Marius in”
“If some vampires strong in influencing can deal with staff and the guests we can seal off the bar and keep us isolated while this happens. If I take in Marius with Aris and Lina, then we can try and talk this out a bit, try and keep things from escalating into a fight. We’re all adults, we have to avoid violence, people have already died” Lucy said.
“That sounds like a plan, but I 100% guarantee there will be blood spilled. You are dealing with vampires here Lucrezia, we like to get bloody” Eric said with cold smile.
“What’s the endgame? What do we want to happen here? Because I’m all for avoiding our people getting hurt but I can’t help but think us taking Marius and Vesike out will solve most of these problems. Once they’re gone we can let the High Court deal with the remainder of their coven. No more threat to Lucy, her friends, and no more problems from Vesike. He’s due some pain for all of this. Handing it all over to the High Court feels wrong and anticlimactic. They deserve to be punished, and so does Isobel” Aris said what most of the vampires felt inside. The problem with a central governing body is that any action takes too long and too much bureaucracy involves too many people. Lina should make a judgment based on all the facts and the council’s input. That kept the decision making quick and punishment would happen swiftly. Hell, even waiting for a small council to reach a consensus was too time consuming. He wanted swift justice, not talking around a table having a debate about what they were going to do. Too many opinions mean too much time talking.
“I agree” said Eric at the same time as Elle and Will and three others.
They were interrupted by one of the security officers entering the room.
“My apologies Lina, but there is a lady downstairs demanding to speak to Lucrezia Delarossa. Her name is Susana Wilcox, and she claims to be a friend” She said.
“Susie? Susie is here? Oh, my goodness is she ok?” Lucy jumped from her seat and went to the door. Lina nodded her consent to her going downstairs to see Susana, and Aris was at her back as she followed the security officer to the lift. There was no way he would let her out of his sight right now. The woman gave her an encouraging smile as the doors closed. He was glad his people were being friendly to her, he was highly aware of how much blame could be sent her way if people refused to believe Isobel’s betrayal. The ride down seemed to take much longer than he knew it took, he freaking hated elevators. Seconds later they were at ground level, the elevator was top of the range, and was very quick. Once the doors opened, Lucrezia bounded out towards the woman standing at the reception desk between two security guards. She was about Lucy’s age he guessed, and she was a buxom red-head with big blue eyes that were rimmed in tears and wide with worry. She was dressed in a security uniform. Confused, he watched as they embraced and talked, and tried to be patient for the answers to the questions he wanted to ask.
Chapter 41
“Are you ok? Why are you here? I told
you I’m fine right now, there’s just a whole load of complicated stuff going on” Lucy asked through Susi’s hair as she held her tight in a bear hug. Susi was shaking and continued to wipe tears from her cheeks as they hugged.
“I was followed, I was texting you while walking back to my place and then realised I was being watched, the hair on my neck stood on end, I just knew. As I turned, someone tried to grab me, but I changed and flew away, but I lost my bag and phone and, so I couldn’t go back home. I just flew straight here, I don’t even have clothes, I just panicked and flew. My poor raven is exhausted, I can’t stop shaking. I haven’t let her out in so long, changing back was painful after flying so long. Gave these guys a fright when I arrived, naked and all panicked” Susi laughed and threw an apology back at the two guys watching from the desk.
“I’m so sorry you’re involved Susi, come upstairs and I’ll explain it all” Lucy looked at Aris for confirmation that it was ok, and as he nodded she relaxed and exhaled the nervous breath she was holding.
“This is Aris, Aris this is Susana” Lucy made the introductions and Aris and Susi shook hands and made with the polite smiles. They all took the elevator, Lucy explaining very quickly what had happened so far. Susana was horrified and went pale when she learned about Althea and Connor.
“Why haven’t you told me any of this? Luce I’m always there for you, why didn’t you trust me with this? It would have been better if you had told me at least some things so I could be more observant. So, all of us could be! Being elusive and keeping this to yourself has been worse than if you had just told us everything!” Susana stared at the elevator doors and Lucy could hear the anger in her words. She had called this so wrong, Susi was right, but it was only with hindsight that she knew that, if she were honest it was also because she didn’t want to face it.
“I know that now. But at the time it felt like the right thing to do. I’m sorry Susi, but you’re here now. We’re safe for now, and soon we will have Althea and Connor back” Lucy said.