Degrees of Wrong

by Anna Scarlett

  about Ryon’s nose, but he really shouldn’t be using that leg so extensively just

  yet—”

  “What about breathing, love? Are you sorry for breathing too? Put two

  women in a room and they’ll conjure up all sorts of nonsense…”

  “Well, I don’t hear you taking any responsibility here, your majesty,” I scolded. Also, I elbowed him in the gut. “It’s not like I punched Ryon in the nose, or knocked over a china pitcher—”

  “Busted it over his brother’s head,” his mother interjected.

  “You busted it over his head? A china pitcher?”

  “It was the closest thing. He was biting my leg. Have you ever been bitten in

  the leg? It doesn’t exactly tickle.”

  Lillian clasped her hands together. “Oh. Speaking of Ryon, he’s on his way

  here this very minute. When he heard Elyse was here, he jumped a plane and—”

  “I’m going to murder him,” Nicoli drawled. “Don’t think I haven’t been

  reading the news, Mother.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You of all people should know better than to pay

  attention to those useless tabloids, Nicoli.”

  “Yes,” he agreed, “but the tabloids tend to be true when it comes to him.”

  I looked askance at Nicoli. He rolled his eyes and scooted closer to me. “I’ve

  been reading headlines such as ‘Most Eligible Bachelor Taken?’ or ‘Ryon Seeks

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  Ring’ or ‘Younger Marek to Wed’. It appears my brother has been openly

  shopping for an engagement ring.”

  “You can’t be serious. For me?”

  “Is there any other woman in the universe?”

  I tried to pinch him, but he scooted away, grinning.

  “Here we go,” Dr. Folsom called from the door. She held two syringes in her

  hand as she approached us. Nicoli eyed her warily.

  “Afraid of needles?” I asked.

  “I was thinking of asking her for both doses, love. I need to regain some

  strength before my brother gets here.”

  I giggled, but it occurred to me that he wasn’t joking.

  Despite their heaviness, my eyes had no choice but to open with the sunlight

  streaming in the room. I reached beside me in the massive bed and ascertained

  that Nicoli was no longer there. Disappointed, I began to sit up. And froze.

  General Marek had dragged over one of the ornate chairs from the sitting

  area by the large window. He was now seated in it a few feet from the bed,

  dressed in his night clothes, which were covered up by his long, burgundy robe.

  I wondered how long he had been there.

  “So,” he said quietly. “The lioness awakens.”

  I swallowed and finished sitting up. I glanced beside me in the bed to see if

  maybe Nicoli was still there and had just scooted away from me. He wasn’t. I

  was alone in the room with the secretary-general.

  Seeing my action, he said, “I sent him to his own room last night. He needed

  the sleep as much as you did, but it became clear that he wouldn’t rest while you were ill.”

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  It seemed appropriate to swallow again.

  He leaned closer, resting his elbows on his knees. He never took his eyes off

  me.

  “I wonder what the world looks like from behind those pretty eyes of yours,

  Dr. Morgan.” He gave me a pensive look. “What, do you just wake up in the

  morning and say, ‘I think I’ll overtake a small country today,’ or ‘I wonder if

  there’s a long-standing government policy that needs subverting?’ For instance,

  what could you possibly be thinking right now?”

  Unfortunately, it sounded like he actually wanted me to answer that last one,

  like he genuinely wanted to know the answer to it.

  I cleared my throat, but as always, it didn’t help. “I…I was thinking about

  what I would do if you lunged at me right now,” I admitted.

  He chuckled. “Oh? And what did you decide?”

  “I decided I have a few options,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

  “Such as?”

  The first one would be to try to escape, of course. I considered his pressure

  points a distant option. Also, I could gouge his eyes. Still, my first option was the only one that wouldn’t get me a prison sentence. “I’d rather not say.”

  He chuckled again, and I could see that his amusement was authentic. “Well,

  young lady, I will promise not to lunge at you, if you promise to talk with me for a bit. Just me and you. A frank discussion.”

  I nodded—I at least owed him that much.

  He sat back in the chair. “So. Let me clarify a few details. Please interrupt if

  you find my recollection of things is inaccurate.”

  I didn’t protest.

  “You saved my youngest son’s life and limb, ruined my oldest son’s

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  between them that might be irreversible. You turned my wife against me before

  actually meeting her. You found the cure to the Black Death using my funds, my equipment, my general assistance, and then you used it to force my hand in the most monumental political upheaval in UN history. Then, I find that you

  completely bluffed me out of my own self-credibility. Have I got it right?”

  Technically. “Technically.”

  “So, young lady, it would seem that you owe me a favor.”

  That was unexpected. But undeniably true. I nodded.

  “All I ask is that you stay away from Nicoli.” He held up his hand when he

  saw the protest at my lips. “No, no. I see you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not

  asking that you stay away from my son indefinitely. However, as the dissolution

  of his engagement has not been made public, I don’t feel it would be prudent for

  the two of you to be seen together. I know that my son would refuse my request,

  but I felt perhaps you would be more levelheaded about it, out of respect for the young lady and her family.”

  Staying away from Nicoli was not my specialty. “How long?”

  “I have left the decision up to them as to when they will announce it

  publicly. Since my family is the offending party, it was the least I could do.” He shrugged.

  “Nicoli won’t agree to this.”

  “That’s where you come into play, Dr. Morgan. You’ll simply have to turn

  away his advances until this little issue can be tucked into bed.”

  So, Nicoli was no longer engaged, and I still had to stay away from him? It was the definition of injustice.

  “You should have just arrested me then,” I snapped. “That would have been

  easier for everyone involved. Your son is not easily dissuaded.” Didn’t he know

  this? For the love of…

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  “But you can do it. If you can do everything I just accused you of, then you can deflect the advances of my son for just a little while longer.” He stood to

  leave. “Do we have a deal, Dr. Morgan?”

  We didn’t, not yet. I pointed at him. “You—you threatened to torture me!” I

  felt it was an appropriate time to bring it up, since I appeared so indebted to him at the moment.

  He waved in dismissal. “I was bluffing. Surely you can relate to the concept,

 
Dr. Morgan. Now, do we have a deal?”

  “I have to stay away from Nicoli right now, but eventually I can have him?”

  “Yes. Is it worth it?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Dr. Morgan.” He

  stalked out of the room, dragging his slippered feet.

  Later, when I confessed to Nicoli what I’d done, he was furious. Then he

  smiled, and devilishly at that. “I didn’t agree to this idiocy.” He grinned. “So I can do whatever I want. It will simply be up to you to stop me.”

  I groaned against his lips.

  I tossed. I turned. I tried reading. I took a hot shower. I drank some warm

  milk. And I still couldn’t sleep.

  I stared up at the huge canopy above me, eyes wide with wakefulness. This

  had been my room since my arrival at the Marek home. It was lovely. And

  lonely.

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  The events of the past two weeks replayed over and over in my mind.

  General Marek hadn’t spoken to me since that morning of our negotiations

  regarding his son. It occurred to me that he might have actually encouraged

  Inga’s family to take their time in announcing it publicly. It would be the worst form of punishment for my crimes against him, in my opinion. And since he

  chose to remain so aloof, I wondered if he still might be planning to murder me

  in my sleep. But that’s not what kept me awake.

  I had gotten my way with the council. General Marek had miraculously

  persuaded them that the tremendous display of generosity by the United

  Nations would only serve to strengthen their ties and swell their ranks. Nicoli

  had tried to bore me with the details, but I insisted it didn’t matter, as long as the outcome had been what I’d wanted. He’d assured me that it had. Still, my victory

  didn’t keep me from my slumber tonight.

  Ryon had never shown up with an engagement ring. No one reported him

  missing, either. I concluded that either Nicoli knew where he was, or he knew

  where his body could be found. Right now, I didn’t care. It wasn’t keeping me

  awake.

  I flipped to my other side and tried twirling my hair with my index finger

  like I used to do when I was a little girl. It only served to irritate me—it got stuck more than it twirled. I gave up. I knew what I had to do.

  And the general wasn’t going to be happy.

  I threw the covers off, slid into my slippers and shut the door softly behind

  me. I tiptoed down the hall despite the plush carpeting and stopped at a door

  about half a mile down from mine.

  I eased it open. “Nicoli?” I whispered into the room. “Are you awake?”

  “Nope,” he answered loudly.

  “Shhh!” I told him. He chuckled.

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  When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see him in the bed, stretched

  out on his back with his hands tucked behind his head. The moonlight revealed

  that he wasn’t wearing a shirt—and that he was wide awake, also.

  I edged the door shut behind me. “Can I sleep in here tonight? I have to

  wake up in four hours, and I swear I can’t even keep my eyes shut. I have to get

  some sleep or I’ll be a babbling idiot tomorrow.” I choked back the fear.

  “You came to my bed to sleep?” He snorted. “I’m insulted.” Still, he was already holding the blankets open.

  I kicked off my slippers and padded over to him.

  “What are you so worried about, love? You’re twice as intelligent as anyone

  on the guest list for tomorrow.”

  “Oh, I doubt that, Nicoli. We’re talking about the elite of the WHO here,” I

  scolded.

  The time had come for me to present my findings to the world, or rather, the

  World Health Organization. So, to an audience of five hundred of the most

  advanced of my peers in science and medicine, I would relay in detail the steps I took in finding the cure and deliver the happy news that ninety-eight percent of

  the preliminary human tests had been successful. Then, I would have to field

  questions from my mentors.

  And something told me I would have to talk too.

  I snuggled closer to him, found him under the covers. I wiggled and

  squirmed to get comfortable. As I scooted my rear up to his side, I could hear a

  frustrated growl that would have been much louder had it not been muffled into

  the pillow he held against his face.

  “For the love of God, Elyse,” he hissed. “Is it that difficult to hold still? Don’t you care that I’m not going to sleep with you in my bed?”

  “We’ve slept in the same bed before.” I yawned.

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  “Yes, but at the time I was taking particular care not to scare you off. And

  besides, the admiral and Dr. Folsom were just upstairs. It was less than private

  circumstances, love. But now, there’s no one to hear us—”

  I ignored the ignited flame as it spread—well, all over. I couldn’t overstep

  my bounds with Nicoli’s father, not now that I was so close to having everything

  I hadn’t dared to want. Close enough that I would get up and leave, resign

  myself to a sleepless night. It was like a starving person trading one more meal

  so they could have the rest of their life to feel full. “You know your father has surveillance all over this place. And I made an agreement with him.”

  “You don’t think that agreement is sort of shot to hell now that you’re

  nestled up against me in my bed?”

  “No. He knows I just need the sleep. He knows that if I don’t get sleep, he

  doesn’t get his presentation tomorrow. That, if he doesn’t let me stay, I might

  refuse to cooperate any further.” I said this more for the general’s sake than

  Nicoli’s, because I knew he was indeed watching me. And surely the Secretary-

  General of the United Nations could pick up on not-so-subtle hints.

  Nicoli had some tip-offs of his own. “He’d better steer clear of me tomorrow.

  If he even looks in my direction, I’m going to snap his neck. Of all the

  hypocritical things…”

  He might have said more, but I was already asleep.

  “I’m going to kill the bastard who invented buttons,” he growled against my

  lips.

  I giggled and swatted his hand away from my blouse. “That man has long

  been dead, Nicoli.”

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  I tried to pull free from his grasp, but he pressed me to him more tightly. The

  light streamed in from the huge arched window as he struggled to keep me on

  his lap in the window seat of the vast library of the Marek home. We both knew

  we would be interrupted soon. Unfailingly, whenever we got too intimate,

  whenever our contact became less than platonic, we were interrupted. It was

  almost eerie.

  “Well, I’m going to kill the guy who brought them back into style.” He

  entwined his hands in my hair for further grip.

  “That very well may have been your brother. He seems to be a trendsetter,” I

  told him, trying to wrench free from his grasp. Well, trying to look like I was trying to wrench free from his grasp.

  “No. My brother would never condone such a hindrance on a
woman’s

  attire.”

  I laughed as he drew me closer.

  Someone cleared their throat at the door. “Er, excuse me, Dr. Morgan,” called

  the silly manservant with white gloves. “Your convoy is here.”

  Nicoli groaned against my throat as I tried to push him away. “It’s time to

  go,” I hissed. “I need to put more lipstick on, and you need to wipe some off.”

  He rolled his eyes. “How does he do it?” He raked his hand through his hair.

  “Every single time…”

  “Are you sure it’s him? What if it’s your mother?” I asked, mortified.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s enamored with you.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “But nothing. It’s him. Better run along, love. He’s everywhere!” He made

  the face of a crazy person, and then grinned.

  “You’re not coming with me?” I squeaked.

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  “I’ll be there. I need to make sure everything’s in line for this evening. I need to make sure satellites haven’t been reset to orbit toward our dinner table.”

  I laughed. He was taking me to dinner tonight, but where he wouldn’t say.

  He assured me it would be somewhere private, some place on the planet to

  which his father didn’t have access. As I allowed the white-gloved spectacle to

  lead me from the room, I doubted such a place existed. Still, I shivered with the possibility of what we could do if it did.

  He led me to the front of the house, where a collection of six black sports

  utility vehicles lined the driveway, their tires just a smidgeon taller than me. He opened the door to the one in front of us.

  I glanced around. “Where is Dr. Folsom?” She would be attending my

  conference today too, and I had hoped she would ride with me, if only to help

  soothe my nerves.

  He gestured toward a vehicle in the front, which was already pulling out of

  the brick-paved circle. I would have to make do on my own, then. Silently, I

  fumed at Nicoli for leaving me in my moment of need. I lifted myself onto the

  leather seat, and the manservant shut the door for me.

  I started when I saw Ryon Marek sitting across from me, grinning.

  He made a sour face. “Your lipstick is still a little smeared.”

  The vehicle lurched forward, and I found it was too late to responsibly kick

  him out. I endeavored to fix my lipstick again, ignoring him.