by T. S. Ryder
"This is not comforting her, Adam," Lena shouted, grabbing a book off the nightstand to start pummeling him. Adam grabbed a pillow and warded off her blows, backing away from her. Wanda wanted to jump in between them but didn't think it was a good idea. Lena smacked him hard, causing the book's spine to crack. "How dare you do this to her? Taking advantage of her when she's emotionally vulnerable?"
Wait… Lena was talking about her. Wanda's jaw dropped. "He didn't take advantage of me!"
"I can see what happened."
"No, you can't. I initiated things." Wanda scrambled between them, holding out one hand while the other kept the blanket clutched to her chest. "I initiated it, and when I wanted to stop, Adam did. He didn't even ask for an explanation. He just stopped."
Lena froze. She stared at Wanda for a moment, then turned to Adam. He eyed his mother warily, still holding the pillow as a shield. A faint pink flush rose in Lena's cheeks, and a mortified look came over her face. She dropped the book and pressed both her hands to her mouth.
"Oh, my… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have known you'd be better than that. To think the worst of my own son." She flinched. "I just passed the room and I could smell…"
Wanda's face lit up like a traffic light. She could smell that from out in the hall? Vampires! She hefted the blankets up a little higher. "Well, you shouldn't have come barging in my room anyway. If I wanted to be with Adam, that's our business, not yours."
Lena shook her head. "I am so sorry."
"Mother, perhaps you should wait outside so Wanda and I can dress." Adam's voice had a hard edge to it, though his expression was blank. That might have been worse than the anger.
Lena flinched. "Yes… Yes, of course. I'm sorry."
She started for the door, but before she got there, Christopher strode in. Wanda muttered a few choice words under her breath. Did this family have no sense of personal boundaries? What was it with them walking in without knocking? The younger vampire glanced briefly at her, but her lack of clothing elicited no response. He looked tense and worried. His cuticles were picked down so far that his fingers were bloody.
"Adam I need to talk to you."
"It can wait," Adam replied shortly. "First I have to discuss boundaries with our mother. And apparently you. Get out. Wanda and I—"
"This can't wait," Christopher interrupted. He clenched his hands. "This is important. I'm in deep trouble. Deep, deep trouble. I should have told you about it before, but I… I need help."
Lena put her hand on her younger son's arm. "Help with what?"
He looked torn for a moment, then shook his head resolutely. "I can't tell you. Not right now. Adam. Please. I need you."
Wanda glanced at the king. Christopher certainly appeared to be sincere, but she didn't know him well enough to make up her mind. Adam's eyes were narrowed, but after a few minutes that stretched on agonizingly, he nodded.
"Go wait for me in my study. I'll be there right away."
Relief broke over Christopher's face. He glanced at Wanda again before turning on his heel and leaving. Lena followed him out, though if she was going to insist he tell her what was going on, Wanda didn't know. She turned to Adam, who stared after his family with a concerned expression.
"Hey." She touched his hand. "What's this about?"
"I don't know. But I'd better find out." He dressed quickly and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "I'll see you later."
Chapter Nine – Adam
Christopher was alone in his study when Adam strode in. Good. As much as he loved his mother, it was clear that Christopher wasn't going to talk unless it was alone. This saved a lot of hassle trying to get Lena to leave so that his brother would spill on whatever it was he was in deep trouble about.
Shutting the door behind him, Adam faced Christopher with a frown. His brother looked anxious. His skin was paler than usual, with dark circles under his eyes and a slightly sallow tint to his complexion. If vampires could be sick, then Adam would have thought his brother had the plague. Maybe he was sick. Or he'd lied, and was on drugs.
"What's this about, Christopher?"
"You remember that we talked about me owing Jonas money?"
Not off to a great start. "Of course."
"Well… you remember me saying it had nothing to do with drugs?"
Adam stiffened. His eyes flashed.
Christopher flinched as he looked at his brother. "I'm not on drugs. I'm not that stupid. But… my debt to Jonas was a little deeper than I led you to believe. I owed him almost five hundred thousand. I know, I'm an idiot, but he offered me a way to pay it back without getting you involved. He wanted me to bring some heroin back from Cabo. But… the shipment was destroyed. Almost two million dollars' worth street value."
Adam's hands clenched. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep himself under control, but was rapidly losing that battle. What had his brother been thinking? Christopher wasn't dumb – at least, Adam hadn't thought he was until now.
"He said that Wanda knows things about his operation. Things that will get him thrown in jail. He threatened to come after me if you do anything. I just don't know what to do. I know that nothing I say will stop you from going after him if he's into drugs or if he did anything to Wanda, but there has to be a way to leave me out of it. At least let me pay—"
"Leave you out of it?" Adam exploded. He slammed both hands onto his desk. "You smuggle two million dollars' worth of drugs into my kingdom and you expect me to leave you out of it?"
"Adam—"
"You're lucky if I don't have you thrown into the dungeons right now. How could you be so stupid and reckless? What were you getting out of it? I have bailed you out time and time again. What made you think that a stupid five hundred thousand dollars was going to make a difference? I would have given it to you. But now, not only are you a criminal, you have put me in a compromised situation."
Christopher ground his teeth together. "I know. And I am sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it." Adam sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. "Jonas is doing more than just dealing drugs, although that is bad enough. He is buying girls from their parents and keeping them as slaves."
His brother's already-pale face paled further. He swallowed and opened his mouth, but Adam didn't want to listen to his excuses.
"I am going to organize a raid, arrest him and his vampires, and free those humans. And I want you to be ready to testify against him. Maybe I'll be able to lighten your sentence if you do that, but you are still going to jail."
"I know. I know, okay. I'm going to jail." Christopher's hands shook. "I'll go. I'll testify against him, and I will go to jail without complaint. I will do news broadcasts and say I deserve it and I stand by your decision to prosecute me. But please. Please, give me the money to pay him back first."
Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Please!"
"No." Adam pointed at the door. "You can either turn yourself in at the dungeons or I'll get someone up here to arrest you."
Christopher stared at him for a long moment, his expression turning from disbelief to acceptance. His shoulders hunched as he headed for the door. There, he glanced back. "I'm sorry, Adam. I really am."
"It's not the right time for that."
The king turned towards his window, ignoring his brother. Anger rolled through him, but he forced it aside. Christopher had made his choices, and now he was going to have to live with the consequences. It was going to break Lena's heart, but he couldn't make exceptions. Not even for his little brother. Once he started doing that, then everything he fought so hard for would start falling apart.
Once he had himself back under control, he returned to Wanda's room. The door was opened, and Wanda and Lena stood inside. Adam hesitated, not knowing if he should tell his mother what had occurred or if he should just let it wait.
No, it couldn't wait. She deserved to hear it from him, not somebody else. "Mother. I need to tell you something."
Lena turned to him.
Seeing his expression, her face paled. "Is it Christopher?"
"He's… gotten himself into trouble. He owes Jonas two million dollars for losing a shipment of heroin. I'm going to have to have him arrested. But first, I am going after Jonas."
His mother swayed on the spot, but Wanda came to him, holding her arms out. He gratefully accepted her embrace. Putting Christopher in prison… it was not a task he was looking forward to. In the meantime, though, he had to concentrate on Jonas. The vampire had gotten away with too much for too long.
"I'm sorry about your brother," she whispered.
Adam sighed. "Me, too. But what's done is done. I just wish he had come to me, instead of… But I have to go. The sooner I get Jonas behind bars, the better."
Wanda nodded, though she seemed reluctant to release him. "Come home quickly."
He brushed a finger across her jaw. "I will."
***
It wasn't until he was in his armored van, driving with a dozen of his best soldiers to arrest Jonas, that the first trickling of doubt started to sink into his mind. Christopher's insistence on paying back the other vampire before he was arrested was strange. More strange was how he looked like he hadn't been sleeping or drinking. There had to be something else going on. Why else would Christopher be so desperate?
Adam's brow furrowed. Had he let his anger get the best of him once again? He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed Christopher. He didn't answer. Adam doubted that he had actually turned himself in to be arrested, but it was as equally unlikely that he wanted to talk to his big brother at the moment. The king called Lena instead.
"Is everything okay?" she answered, worry thick in her voice.
"Yes. We're just heading out right now." Adam glanced out the window as the sprawling, immaculate yard around the palace faded to the first houses. It would take an hour to get to Jonas' property. It might give the other vampire time to flee, but not enough for him to hide all the evidence. "I need you to talk to Christopher."
He heard the doubt in Lena's voice when she spoke. "What about?"
"Why he did what he did. I can't shake the feeling there's more to the story than he told me… than I let him tell me."
"Okay. I'll talk to him."
"Thanks." Adam hung up and leaned back in the seat. Whatever Christopher was going through was going to have to wait, but, hopefully, Lena could get through to him.
Maybe there was a way to protect his brother in the end after all.
Chapter Ten – Wanda
Wanda's heart thudded in her chest as she raced through the palace halls. She had just received a phone call from Christopher, telling her to meet him in the garage. Something had happened to Adam, and he needed her right away. Images flashed through her mind of Adam hurt, bleeding, Jonas laughing over his dying body. Part of her wanted to run and hide, to pretend that everything was going to be okay. But she wasn't going to get any more information until she got to him.
The king's brother waited for her at the entrance to the garage. He paced in circles, clearly distressed about Adam's wellbeing. Dread filled Wanda and she rushed to him, grasping his hand when she got close enough.
"What is it?" she demanded. "What happened?"
"Adam's fine," Christopher assured her. He grasped her elbow and herded her towards a car. "There's just been a… development. It's going to be okay, though. He's going to be okay."
His assurances did nothing for Wanda's nerves. Probably because he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. She hurried into the passenger seat of a sleek Chevrolet, feet tapping against the floor anxiously as she waited for Christopher. He held his phone to his ear as he rounded the car, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Buckle up," he told her when he slid behind the driver's seat.
Wanda waited for him to start talking as they pulled out of the garage, but he was silent, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, his gaze steadily ahead. He was so nervous… Clearly, something horrible had happened to Adam. Why wouldn't he tell her the truth?
"What happened?" Wanda asked eventually, unable to hold it in any longer. "You said that Adam needed me."
"Yeah. I did. I don't think you understand just how deeply he feels for you, Wanda. I don't even think he knows how much he feels for you." Christopher's shoulders sagged. "I have never seen him this way before. So concerned for someone who isn't himself."
"Then you don't know him," Wanda shot back. "Everything he's done, he's done for other people. He wants people to be safe and healthy and not have to kill like he has."
Christopher grunted. He glanced at her. There was a look in his eye… Guilt? Wanda twisted her hands in her lap. What did he have to feel guilty about?
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know that you don't deserve this. Any of this. But if Adam has done everything for others, then I guess I'm the one who does everything for myself. There isn't any other way. If he had only just given me the money—" He cut himself off and shook his head. "But of course he didn't. Maybe if I had told him the truth. But if I had done that—"
"What are you talking about?" Wanda demanded. Fear tingled in her fingertips, but she refused to allow it to cow her. "Where are you taking me, really?"
Christopher was silent for a long moment. He sighed. "When you were with Jonas, did you know a girl named Melissa?"
"Melissa?" Wanda knew her. She was a dark-skinned beauty that Jonas saved for his most special missions. Just before Wanda was taken to Adam, there were rumors that she had picked up a boyfriend outside the house. Something Jonas strictly forbade. "Wh-why are you asking about her?"
"Because I met her in Cabo, and we… we fell in love. Jonas agreed to free her if I could deliver a bunch of drugs for him, but I failed. Now the price of Melissa's freedom is two million dollars. Or something worth even more."
The dread already building in Wanda's body solidified, squeezing her insides until they felt like so much mush. She couldn't breathe. She knew where this was going. "You mean me. Because Adam… Because with me, Jonas can bargain… blackmail. He'll use me against Adam."
"If I don't hand you over, Jonas will kill Melissa."
"Adam is on his way to Jonas' house right now. You can't—"
"We planned for this. Ever since Jonas gave you to Adam, he's been waiting for Adam to come after him. I really am sorry."
"No," Wanda whimpered.
What would Jonas do to her to get at Adam? What use was a hostage if he handed her back over? She would be separated from Adam forever and remain in Jonas's clutches… The thought made her want to vomit. She thought she had finally escaped that beast. But now it seemed like she would have no escape.
"I have to protect the woman I love."
"There has to be another way. Please, Christopher. Don't do this."
Christopher swallowed hard. "He won't hurt you. You're worthless to him dead. But Melissa? If I don't do what he says, he will kill her. I can't live with that."
"And what about Adam?" she asked. "What about him?"
"I know he'll kill me for this. But Melissa is worth it. Please, try to understand. I love her. I haven't loved anybody since I lost my wife when I was human. I can't let another person I love die because of me."
She yanked off her seatbelt. If she couldn't get away, she'd jump from the car. Christopher saw what she was doing, and grabbed her firmly by the wrist. She yanked away, but his grip was too tight. When she unlocked the door, Christopher yanked her over, pulling her half onto his lap, arm tight around her waist.
"No!" Wanda screeched, trying to yank the steering wheel around. Even one-handed, Christopher was too strong. "Please, you don't know what he'll do to me."
"He won't hurt you. He's not suicidal, and if he hurts you, he's got nothing against Adam."
Wanda jabbed her fingers at Christopher's eyes. He slammed her back into her seat, then grabbed her by the collar and all but threw her into the back. Her hand slammed against the window and she cried out, black spots waving be
fore her eyes. The locks back here weren't accessible; she tried to scramble back to the front, but Christopher threw out an arm and stopped her.
"He will get you back, one way or another," he mumbled, still sounding like he was trying to convince himself. "He'll save you. Tell him… Tell him I'm sorry."
"I'm not doing anything for you," Wanda hissed. "You selfish, horrible—"
"I'm doing it for Melissa. And what about you? If you had told Adam about the other girls that Jonas has as prisoners before this, then he could have dealt with him long ago! You call me selfish for trying to save the woman I love? What about you, who escaped his clutches and then did nothing to stop him?"
Wanda froze. All her excuses flitted through her mind, but in the end, she could do nothing to deny it. She had been selfish, horribly selfish. It was her fault that those girls were still in Jonas's clutches. Yes, she had told Adam about them, but only after weeks of being free.
How many of them prayed that she would come back to save them?
She sat huddled in the back for the rest of the trip. She wanted to plead or bargain or scheme, to find some way that Christopher could still save Melissa without handing her over, but nothing she thought of would work. Even if she did come up with a plan, she was certain Christopher wouldn't listen. He was too focused on saving Melissa. Any deviation from the plan he had been given by Jonas would put her in danger.
When they pulled into the garage of a large two-story house on the opposite side of town from the palace to find Jonas waiting for them with a dozen guards, Wanda nearly threw up. This was what she had been dreading more than anything, and it had happened. Her heart palpitated, hands trembled, and every cell in her body felt like it was frozen. She didn't even fight against Christopher when he dragged her out of the car and passed her over to Jonas.
The familiar bruising grip made Wanda whimper. She wanted to punch or spit at him, but her survival instincts kicked in and she couldn't make herself do anything but stand there, staring at him.
Jonas grinned at her. "Finally, I have something that I can use against His Royal Majesty. Who knew that a pitiful little human would do the trick?"
