He smiled warmly at her. “Do you mind if I sit for a while?” he asked, as he gestured to the couch next to her.
“No, that’s fine,” she smiled weakly, feeling very uncomfortable with the man who was supposed to be her father.
Patrick sat down, trying to figure out what to say next. “I’m sorry I was not around for you when you were young,” he said quietly.
Hannah shrugged. “It’s not like you really had a choice in the matter, right?”
Patrick laughed. “A choice? No, I was not given a choice either time I was sealed inside the tomb. I do regret what happened with your mother. I’m not proud of how I acted toward the end.” He stopped talking and watched her. “Are you all right?” he asked her finally. She hadn’t spoken a word in a few minutes.
“I guess. I mean, I really don’t know what to say to you. I know that you’re my father, but I don’t know you at all. It is hard hearing you talk about a mother I never knew. The only parents I’ve ever known are gone forever because of this Valdus person. I’m a bit lost and a lot confused.” Patrick nodded, wanting to comfort her; but afraid to try.
“I’m also a little bit afraid of you,” she said almost too softly for him to hear.
“Afraid of me? Why would you be afraid of me?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
She looked at him pointedly. “Really? You really have no idea how I could be afraid of you? The way everyone talks about you makes me afraid of you. You’re like this crazy man who does what he wants and doesn’t care who gets hurt. I don’t want to be one of the people who gets hurt.”
“I would never hurt you, Hannah. I’ve thought of nothing, but you, these past fourteen years. You are the reason I chose to leave the tomb, this time.”
The emotion in his voice caught her off guard. “You need to give me more than just a few days to get used to the idea of you being my dad. This hasn’t exactly been a stellar year for me, parent-wise; so just let me figure this out.”
Patrick nodded and stood up. “Very well, I will give you as much time as you need. Just know that I love you.” He kissed her cheek and walked back to his room. Hannah sat still for a few minutes, trying to absorb the conversation before going to find Jilly.
“Honey, he loves you; he really does. I don’t think he means to pressure you at all. He just has a hard time being patient,” Jilly said reassuringly to Hannah as she rubbed her arm.
William nodded. “I agree. My brother may be a lot of things, but he’s not a liar. If he says he loves you, he loves you. He just doesn’t have the best social skills.”
Hannah smiled. “I’m betting that being locked in a tomb by himself didn’t help that.”
“You’re probably right,” William said with a sigh.
“Oh no, don’t you start feeling guilty about that, again,” Jilly scolded. “I have had enough guilt and worry to last me three lifetimes, in the past few months. I don’t want to worry or think about anything bad on this plane trip.”
William smiled at her. “And when we land in Germany? Does this no worrying still apply?”
“No, I’m going to resume my worry once we land. I just wanted a stress-free flight.”
Hannah laughed. “Sorry to bring in the worry, then.”
“Oh, honey, don’t worry about it. Besides, that was more of a scold for Will.”
“I’m going to go and read, again. I’ll see you guys later,” Hannah said as she left the room.
“Bye, sweetie, enjoy your book,” Jilly said. She frowned at William, “Why did he have to do that? This trip is already difficult enough without him trying to stir up everything with Hannah.”
“I know; but as I said before, he’s not one for social graces. He just knows that he loves her and he wants a relationship with her.”
“For Pete’s sake, he’s not mentally challenged, William. He should know enough to leave her alone for awhile.”
He laughed. “I’m sure he does, now. God save the man who gets on the wrong side of a teenage girl.”
Jilly laughed and smacked him on the arm. “I love you,” she said and kissed him.
“I love you, too, my darling. Would you like me to show you just how much?” he said with a sly grin.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Jilly said coyly as she rolled over onto her back. William licked his lips as he lowered himself on top of her, preparing to devour her lips. A moment later, they heard a knock at the door. Jilly sighed and scooted out from under William.
“Come in,” she said.
Caroline opened the door a crack and peered in. “Are you guys decent?”
Jilly laughed. “I wouldn’t have said come in if we weren’t. Now get your butt in here, already.”
Caroline opened the door the rest of the way and plopped down on the bed. “I’m bored. What are you guys doing?” Jilly quirked an eyebrow at her and smiled. “Sorry, should I come back?”
“No, you’re fine. The mood is ruined, anyway. I think we’re going to watch a movie or something, if you want to join us. Will, scoot over so Car can lay down, too.” She shoved at William’s legs. He laughed and obliged them by scooting over.
“Thanks,” Caroline said with a smile.
“What should we watch?” Jilly asked as she went to the cabinet to look at what they had. After some debate, they finally settled on Friends with Benefits. They all got comfortable and settled in to watch it.
The plane landed in Germany and they all gathered what they needed, as the plane taxied on the tarmac. Nikolai and Katya were waiting for them in another of his black SUV’s.
“Does he have those in every country?” Jilly asked with a laugh, as they exited the plane.
“You joke, but he probably does,” William replied. They were all ushered into the waiting SUVs, quickly.
“We’re meeting Greggor at his office,” Nikolai said.
“Where’s Sabine?” Patrick asked.
“She’s remaining on the plane for this stop. I’m hoping to be back in the air, tonight,” Nikolai responded.
Patrick nodded. “The sooner we find Valdus, the happier I’ll be.”
“I spoke with Greggor this morning and he seems to think he knows what the plans are for,” Nikoali said.
“I’ll be happy to know what it is and how we can stop it from being built,” William said.
“How far is it to his office from here?” Caroline asked.
“Not far, maybe twenty minutes,” Katya replied.
Everyone rode the rest of the way in silence, lost in thought. They pulled up in front of a huge building that looked like it was made out of glass.
“He works on the top floor,” Nikoali said as they walked into the building. Nikolai spoke with the front desk attendant and they were all given visitor badges and directed to the elevators. Nikolai pushed the button for the top floor and they rode the elevator up.
Greggor was waiting for them when the door opened. He embraced both Nikolai and Katya. “It’s good to see you, my friends.”
Jilly studied him as he spoke with Nikolai and Katya. He was short with a sandy blond crew cut and small glasses.
“Greggor, these are our friends: William, Jilly, Hannah, Caroline, and Patrick,” Nikolai introduced, as he gestured to the group.
Greggor shook everyone’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with a thick German accent. “Come, come. I’ve got a lot to show you.” He led them to a giant desk cluttered with papers and pencils. “These plans you sent me had me vexed for a while. I’ve never seen anything like them before. But I’ve got a handle on them, now. This is a device designed to extract something from someone. The what and who, I do not know.”
William leaned over the desk to study the plans more closely. “I can see that now. Do you know if it’s been built, yet?”
Greggor shook his head. “I’ve put some feelers out to the people who would normally handle this, but I’ve not come up with anything. I’m working on something that can reverse the effects of the device.
It’s still in the early stages of development.”
Nikolai smiled. “I appreciate you asking around. I know this could get you into trouble.”
Greggor waved off his thank you. “It was nothing you wouldn’t have done for me. Now, if you find this thing already built, I can help you dismantle it.”
Nikolai nodded, “Thank you, Greggor. If and when we find this thing, you’ll be the first we call. Again, thank you for taking time out of your day to meet with us.” After they all said their goodbyes, they filed back into the elevator.
“I don’t like the sound of this machine,” Caroline said.
“I know. It’s not a pleasant sounding device, is it?” Jilly replied.
“Let’s just hope that Valdus hasn’t built it, yet,” William said, and everyone lapsed into silence.
Jilly looked out the window of the plane just after takeoff. She was worried. The thought of Valdus possessing a machine like the one Greggor had described terrified her.
“Are you okay?” William asked as he sat down next to her.
“Yeah, I’m just nervous about the machine and what Valdus wants it for,” she said with a sigh.
“I thought the rule of air travel was no worrying,” he said with a hint of a smile.
“I know. I told myself the exact same thing before you came over; but my brain won’t listen to me.”
William kissed her. “I love you, but you know that you’re slightly crazy, right?”
“I do. I’ve known it for years. So, what’s our plan of attack once we land?” Jilly’s face was serious.
“Sabine will contact Valdus and set up a meeting. She’s going to tell him she’s gotten all of the items he requested. We’ll go from there, I guess.”
“Aren’t you worried about facing him?”
“I’m slightly nervous, but I wouldn’t call it worried. I’ve never met him before so he’s an unknown commodity.”
Jilly snuggled into William’s shoulder and tried not to worry for the rest of the flight. She was unsuccessful, of course; she ended up thinking about all of the things that could possibly go wrong. The most horrifying of all of the terrible thoughts was losing Hannah and Caroline to Valdus. That was something Jilly would never let happen.
“You don’t seem like you’re trying very hard to relax, love,” William whispered into Jilly’s ear.
“I can’t turn my mind off,” Jilly said.
“We still have about an hour before we land. I can think of something that would take your mind off of this,” William said with a wicked grin.
“William!” Jilly hissed into his ear. “We can’t do that right now. There are tons of other people on the plane with us.”
“Look around, Jill. Everyone else is in the other rooms, as well.” Jilly looked around, realizing he was right. She let him pull her up from the seat and lead her back to their room. Once the door was closed and locked, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her; slowly building the tension until she felt like she would burn from the inside out. He lifted her shirt over her head and kissed down her collarbone to the swell of her breasts, inhaling her scent until he was drunk from it.
“You have the most amazing skin. It’s so soft; especially here,” he whispered into the side of her breast as pressed his lips against it.
“If you keep doing that, I may just lose my mind,” Jilly purred.
“Mmm, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” he asked as he moved on to the other one.
They were interrupted by a knock and Caroline’s voice, “Jill?”
“For the love of all that is good and holy, go away!” Jilly screamed. She heard her sister laugh.
“You two enjoy yourselves,” Caroline said as she walked away.
“Now, where were we?” William asked.
“I believe I was about to relieve you of your pants,” Jilly said with a seductive glint in her eye.
“I like the sound of that,” William said as he stripped off his shirt and pants. Jilly trailed her hands over the planes of his chest and down his stomach, pressing feather light kisses as she went. She finally shoved him back on the bed and climbed on top of him, letting her hair cover them like a curtain. When they finally joined together, Jilly could feel her power shimmering below the surface, calling to William’s.
Caroline was smiling when she went back into her room with Patrick. He, however, was anything but happy.
“Will you stop pouting? Hannah will come around eventually. You need to give her some time,” Caroline scolded.
Patrick made a face. “I am not pouting.”
“If you aren’t pouting, then what are you doing?”
Patrick sighed. “I am merely thinking about what my life would have been like if Hannah’s mom had never sealed me back into the tomb. You are obviously my match; but I wonder what would have happened with Angeline, when I met you.”
“That, my darling, is a weird thing to think about,” Caroline said with a laugh.
“I wasn’t just thinking about that. I was also thinking about what Hannah was like as a child. I missed so much with her, I don’t want to miss out on anymore of her life.”
Caroline smiled and sat down next to him on the bed. “Oh honey, you won’t miss out on anything. You’ll still be there for her. She’s just confused right now. Try and put yourself in her shoes for a moment. She’s lost her whole family this year to horrible spirits. Then, she was on the run by herself in a foreign country being chased by the same spirits. That’s a lot for an adult to go through, not to mention a teenager. She’s fragile, and she’s just starting to really come to life, again. I know that you love her. She knows that now, too. Just be there to protect her and show her that you’re not what everyone thinks you are. You won me over, didn’t you?” Caroline kissed his cheek, smoothing a lock of his wavy hair out of his eyes.
“Thank you for loving me. I know that choosing me wasn’t exactly easy for you, but I’m so incredibly lucky that you did. I hope she’ll see in me what you do. I’m not a monster.”
“I know you aren’t. And now that you have Jilly somewhat on your side, Hannah will know that too; just don’t go doing anything crazy on this trip.”
Patrick shook his head. “I never set out to do some-thing crazy; but crazy seems to find me, nonetheless.”
“I’ll try and keep you out of trouble then,” Caroline said and kissed him.
The plane landed in Romania and they all gathered on the tarmac to decide what they were going to do, first. It was late in the evening, closing in on 11:00 P.M., and everyone was tired from both flights.
“Sabine should contact Valdus and set up a meeting with him for tomorrow,” Patrick said.
“I agree,” William added. Patrick raised an eyebrow, surprised that his brother agreed with him.
“Let’s just get to the house and then we’ll worry about all of that,” Jilly said.
Patrick shook his head. “I think it should be now. If you want to go to the house, go.”
Nikolai and William stepped away to discuss matters further. “Okay, Nikolai and Liam will go with the women to my house and Patrick and I will go with Sabine,” William said when they came back. Jilly looked like she wanted to protest, but William shook his head.
Sabine was standing a ways back laughing at them. “All I need is a phone. This isn’t the dark ages. We don’t have to storm his castle.” William handed her a phone and she punched in a few numbers.
“Harding? It’s Sabine. Tell him I have the items he requested. I’ll find him tomorrow evening at sunset.” She didn’t wait for a response before hanging up. “It’s done,” she said as she handed William his phone. “Now, can we go to this house you keep talking about?”
Liam, who had been quiet for most of the trip, finally spoke up. “When will we look for Maggie?”
“Liam, how stupid are you? When we find Valdus, we’ll find your precious Maggie,” Sabine said with a sneer.
“Don’t be rude, Sabine. It’s not flattering,” Patric
k chided.
“She does have a point, Liam. Valdus most likely will have Maggie with him; so just be patient,” Nikolai said in a reassuring voice. They all piled into the waiting cars and took off for the house. It was too dark to really see much of anything outside. Jilly had no idea which direction they were even heading. The house wasn’t far away, though; and before too long, they pulled up in front of an enormous house.
“Whose house is this?” Hannah asked.
“Mine,” William said.
Jilly whirled around to look at him. “You never told me you had a house in Romania.”
He laughed. “I have houses all over. I haven’t told you about even half of them, yet.”
Jilly shook her head and laughed, “I guess you learn something new every day.” As soon as they approached, the doors flew open and an army of servants came out to take care of the luggage.
“Will you require dinner, sir?” A tall grey haired servant asked William, who in turn looked around at the group to see if they were hungry. They nodded, so he turned back and said, “yes.” They followed the man into the house and Jilly’s jaw dropped at how opulent the house was. There was a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the massive entryway, the light glittering off the stones and making rainbows on the walls.
“Is the rest of the house like this?” Caroline asked, in awe of the splendor before her.
“I think so. I haven’t really been here in ages. I gave the decorator free reign to do as she pleased a few years back,” William replied.
“I can’t wait to see the rooms,” Jilly said with a giggle.
“If you will follow me, I will show each of you to your rooms,” the grey haired butler said, as he walked further into the house. “The bedrooms are on the second floor, the kitchen and dining room are through that door on your left, and the library is to your left.” He led them through the house to the grand staircase. All of the furniture they passed was extravagant, to say the least, done in gold and deep reds. All of the drapes looked like they were made of flowing blood, with a sheer quality to them.
Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) Page 21
