Rainer had been wealthy, even then. He’d had a large house and many servants. And a wife. There were pictures of the two of them; their wedding, he looking dashing in a fitted tuxedo, his wife looking at him like all her dreams had come true. Some of the papers had pictures of them attending this gala or that party. An announcement of the birth of their son. An announcement of his death.
Then his wife’s death. And the murder investigation. There were so many details. Servants who came forward and said that Rainer and his wife had been having a great deal of marital problems; accusations that he was cheating on her. Those servants suddenly retracted all their statements right around the same time as the police dropped the case.
Angelina leaned on her elbows, digging her hands in her hair. It was true. Rainer had been married and his wife died. The newspapers were inflammatory, all but condemning him for murdering her, but the official cause was suicide. Given the era in history and the way things were today even, she could only imagine that were it not true, they’d be saying those things about Rainer anyway…
But what it if was true?
With a grunt of anger and worry, Angelina closed the book. She put it back where it had been, gathered up the toys she’d laid down for Tommy and gathered him up. He pointed at the diaper bag.
“Mommy, my hunny.”
“You’re hungry?”
“Yeah. Snack!”
Angelina sighed as she put him back in the stroller. “Would you like grapes or carrots?”
“Candy.”
“No.” Angelina shook her head. “No candy. Grapes or carrots.”
Tommy scowled a moment, then perked up. “Cheese?”
Angelina had to laugh as she kissed his head. “Grapes or carrots.”
“Oh. Grapes.” Tommy sighed, heavily kicking his feet. Angelina pulled out the grapes and gave them to him. “Let’s go home, shall we?”
She was distracted and nervous all the way back to their apartment. If it was true that Rainer’s wife had committed suicide, shouldn’t that have been something that he brought up when she was asking him about his past? Anybody could look up that sort of information. There were only a few vague references on the internet, but it wasn’t like it was difficult to go to the library. Why hadn’t he told her?
And if he had killed her and got off free?
A shiver rolled down her spine. He hadn’t tried to call. Hadn’t tried to contact her in any way; when she thought of the threat she had left him with, it made her stomach knot in guilt. But she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him about it just yet.
What if it was true? What if he had killed his wife? She had no doubt that, even if it were true, he’d be able to talk his way out of it. He’d convince her it was a mistake. That she did commit suicide. He’d be able to make her trust him implicitly… But she needed to be able to decide this before she talked to him. If it was true that he’d killed Jennifer, then she needed to keep him away from Tommy. And herself. She didn’t want to be killed by the person she loved.
When she got back to her apartment, she was surprised to see Morticia standing outside her door. The lovely vampire smiled at her, smoothing down her tight black shirt.
“Ah, Miss Williams. I was just about to call you.”
Angelina pushed Tommy to a stop next to her door and frowned. “Hello, Morticia. I didn’t expect to see you here today… Why are you here?”
Morticia gave her a charming smile. “Perhaps it would be best if we could speak inside?”
Angelina continued to frown, confused as to why Morticia was here. Perhaps she had heard about what Marcus had told her and had her own thing to say about the situation with Rainer? Angelina unlocked her apartment and welcomed Morticia in. Tommy had fallen asleep on the ride back here, so Angelina left him in the stroller for now, putting him in the little nook between the couch and the wall and putting on the breaks, just in case.
She turned back to Morticia to find the vampire woman sitting on the couch. Her long, slender fingers were clasped over her knees and a perfect, tight smile was on her lips.
“Would you like anything to drink?”
Morticia laughed softly. “No, thank you.”
“Alright.” Angelina seated herself next to Morticia. “So what’s this about? Why are you here?”
“It’s quite simple, really. I’m here to watch over little Tommy.”
What was she talking about? Angelina’s frown deepened. She remembered Morticia’s warning from the party, that if she approached the kingdoms it could very well end up with Tommy being taken away from her. Worry started to eat away at her insides. Had Morticia brought knowledge of Tommy to the other vampires and had they decided that Angelina was an unfit mother?
“That’s very kind of you.” Her voice quivered, no matter how much she tried to stop it. “But it’s really not necessary. I have a daycare and a handful of babysitters when I’m not here—”
“You misunderstand. You’re not going to be here.”
“What are you…?” Angelina’s blood ran cold. “What are you talking about? Are you here to kill me?”
“I’m not, no.”
Angelina sensed a presence behind her just in time to jump to her feet before arms banded around her like steel. A hand slapped over her mouth, cutting off her scream. Morticia watched, perfectly poised, although there was a look in her eye Angelina didn’t quite understand.
Nor did she care. She elbowed the person who grabbed her in the stomach. A male voice grunted in her ear and the arms slackened just enough for Angelina to tear herself away. She jumped to where the stroller was, her only thought that she needed to get Tommy out of here. She started to scream, but her legs got tangled on something—she only realized later that Morticia had stuck one of her legs out and tripped her—and she fell with a thud.
Someone strong and heavy fell over her. A hand shoved in her mouth; she bit down hard. The man cried out with pain, but did not release her. Rough hands grasped her and turned her over; the vampire looming over her was huge. He pinned her down, his hand still over her mouth. A knife flashed somewhere behind him.
Tears of fear blurred her vision as she fought against him; she scratched his face and tried to wiggle away, but then a second set of hands grasped her wrists and pressed her hand into the floor. Other hands grabbed her legs and pinned them down, too. Her mind whirled, no coherent thought forming, just a nameless fear.
“Stop struggling,” the vampire over her ordered, and she recognized the voice as Marcus’. “I know what you’re thinking and rest assured, we are not here to molest you. We’re here to abduct you.”
And what could she look forward to after she was abducted?
“Now,” Marcus continued, pressing his hand tighter to her mouth. “If you don’t stop struggling and come with us quietly, we’ll have to change our plans. Instead of abducting you and leaving your son here under Morticia’s care, I’ll cut you open and leave your body here with your son screaming and crying until someone finds you.”
Her heart seized inside of her. She went limp and twisted her head as best as she could. Morticia had taken Tommy from his stroller and was patting his back. He was still asleep, thank God, but it wouldn’t stay that way if she wasn’t quiet. Her eyes turned back to Marcus, and he must have seen that she was no longer going to fight. He released her and rolled off her. There were two other vampires with them, and they let her go as well.
Marcus smiled as he extended a hand. “I understand your fear, Miss Williams. But so long as Rainer pays the ransom, you need not fear. And don’t worry about Tommy. Morticia here has raised almost twenty children, she knows what she’s doing.”
“And he will not be harmed,” Morticia assured her. “No matter what else happens. He’s one of us, after all.”
Angelina opened her mouth but closed it again. She got to her feet, trembling as her stomach swirled with nausea. She clenched her hands at her sides for a moment before she made herself look Morticia in the eye. “His b
edtime is between eight thirty and nine. He usually sleeps pretty soundly through the night. He gets a nap… and no electronics. His favorites books are by his bed.”
Morticia didn’t respond to that. Marcus rolled his eyes, snorted and tapped on her shoulder. Angelina felt like she was about to get ripped apart, but she turned and walked with him out of her apartment. There was no telling what might happen to Tommy if she didn’t cooperate.
“Leave your phone here,” Marcus ordered.
Silently, she obeyed.
Soon, far too soon, she was in a car and driving away. Angelina wrapped her arms around herself, her head bent, and feeling like everything was tearing apart inside of her. Should she have fought more? What if they had been lying? What if Tommy was in danger?
“Why?” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Yes. Why? Why are you doing this?”
Marcus hummed under his breath as he stretched out on the seat beside her. “Well, to put it quite frankly, it’s because I want to be king. You see, Rainer and the other rich jerks aren’t the only ones in the running. The Elders thought that they needed some sort of everyman involved, for appearance’s sake, and chose me. It’s not common knowledge.”
This was over the kingship? “But what does it have to do with me?”
“It’s quite simple. I know I’m not going to win this. Even if I was able to sway the people to my side, the Elders would never permit a nobody like me to sit on the throne. So, instead, I’m helping someone else on the throne. And then once they name me their heir…” Marcus drew a finger across his throat. “Then I can be king. In the meantime, though…”
Angelina stared at him, not understanding.
Marcus sighed. “Rainer is popular among the Starlight citizens. In large part due to you. They like the idea of a more integrated society, with human technologies and conveniences to be widely available. And Rainer, well, he can do that. Plus, he’s rich and knows how to play the game, so he’s popular with the Elders, too.”
“And so you kidnap me… why? How will abducting me make Rainer less popular?”
“It won’t.” Marcus grinned toothily at her. “But it’s clear that he cares a great deal about you. Remember how Morticia mentioned a ransom?”
She nodded, starting to understand.
“If Rainer doesn’t withdraw his candidacy, then I’ll kill you.” Marcus smiled. “He still might be king with you dead, but I don’t think he’ll be able to function well. Not after the way he fell apart with Jenny. He’s an odd one… falling in love. But none of us are perfect, are we?”
***
When Rainer’s phone rang and he saw it was Angelina, his heart leapt. She had decided to give him a chance, to listen. He answered it eagerly. “Angel.”
But it wasn’t Angelina’s voice that came through. “I’m afraid she cannot come to the phone right now.”
Rainer’s heart sank. He knew that voice. “Morticia. What are you doing with Angelina’s phone?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple. You see, Marcus is working with one of your rivals to get you out of the kingship race, and he approached me about helping him. I like your little human, so I decided that I would agree, so I could help keep her from being killed. He wanted to frame you for her murder. I thought that was unnecessarily cruel.” A pause. “Don’t you think?”
Rage and fear warred in Rainer’s chest. He wanted to shout at her that he wasn’t going to be toyed with, but she had Angelina’s phone. Which meant, whether or not she was telling the truth, Angelina was in danger. So he tried to keep himself calm; he needed to know all the facts of the situation before he made any moves.
“Where is she?”
“I can’t tell you that. It would make the whole exercise moot. However,” Morticia sighed, “I can tell you where I am. I’m at her apartment, and I have her little boy with me. I thought you might want to come make sure he was alright yourself.”
Rainer grabbed his keys and headed for the door. “I’m on my way.”
***
Morticia had Tommy at the table, where he was eating some noodle soup and she was doodling in an art book, when Rainer entered the apartment. The vampire woman smiled at him as she softly shut her artbook and stood.
“That was quick. Break a few laws to get here?”
Tommy beamed at him. “Hi, Rainy! Where’s Mommy?”
Rainer quickly crossed the room and scooped him out of his high chair. “Hey, buddy. Are you okay?”
“Yup. Where’s Mommy?”
Rainer held him tightly as he turned a black glare on Morticia. She arched one manicured brow and smiled but said nothing. Rainer struggled to hold in his fury, not wanting to frighten Tommy. “Well? What about it? Where is Angelina?”
“I don’t know, I never asked Marcus where he planned to take her. I just know that she’s fine. Unless you don’t withdraw your bid to be king.” Morticia waved a hand lazily. “I’m sure you’ll get a call about that soon enough, though.”
“Rainy?” Tommy put his hands on Rainer’s cheeks. “Where is Mommy?”
“She’s at work,” Rainer bluffed. He didn’t want Tommy to be worried. His lie seemed to be satisfactory, though, because Tommy nodded once and kicked his feet to be let down again.
“My hunny.”
Rainer reluctantly put him back into the high chair and he promptly began to eat his noodles again. When he met Morticia’s gaze again, she smiled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him.”
“Except you won’t.”
Morticia’s smile faded.
Rainer pointed at the door. “You’re leaving. I will take care of Tommy.”
Angelina might not trust him after what Marcus told her, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that he wasn’t going to let Tommy out of his sight if he could help it. His heart pounded as he thought about Angelina out there, alone, frightened. It made him feel sick to his stomach. But if there was one thing he could do, it was take care of her son. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Tommy.
Morticia shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
She gathered up a few things and headed for the door. As her slender fingers wrapped around the doorknob, she stopped and turned back. “Just so you know, Marcus will kill her. He’s a slimy little man, and you can’t be too careful.”
Rainer stepped forward, opening his mouth furiously. But before he had a chance to say what was on his mind, Morticia had slipped out of the apartment. The door shut with a feel of finality, and Rainer slumped to a chair next to Tommy. The little boy continued to eat, unaware of just how drastically his life could be changing at this very moment.
But what could he do? Rainer dug his hands in his hair. Withdraw from the election. If that was what Marcus wanted, then what other choice did he have? Unless…
***
Judge Valerie Gilson stared at him with such an incredulous expression that Rainer would have laughed in any other situation. He sat there, waiting patiently.
It had quickly become clear to him that his apartment wasn’t set up for a toddler to be in, so he had moved everything from Angelina’s apartment to his own. It had been the first time he was actually inside of it; after he had gotten over his shock at the situation, he had despaired to see how his Angel was forced to live. When this was over, he was going to buy these god-awful apartments and completely renovate them—and keep on the same tenants with the same rental rates. Call it a present to Angelina.
Now, Valerie sat across from him at his kitchen table, a mug of coffee growing cold between her hands while she looked at him as though she was trying to decide whether he was joking or insane.
She cleared her throat and set her coffee aside. “So, what you’re saying is, you want me to check out police gear for you to go rescue the woman who is pretending to be your girlfriend from a political rival, who is threatening to kill her unless you withdraw from the vampire election deciding who will be t
he next king?”
“Yes.”
“You know that I can get into serious trouble for taking police equipment?”
Rainer nodded. “Which is why you need to have a backup plan on that one. Say I was blackmailing you or that you were acting in the best interest of human-vampire relationships. Something. You’re smart, you can figure it out.”
Valerie snorted as she shook her head. “Right. Because it’s that easy when internal investigations are aimed at you. I’m sorry. I like Angelina, I think she’s got a great style to her writing. But I am not going to break the law for you. What you need to do is go through the proper channels. Isn’t there some sort of vampire police system in place?”
“It’s controlled by the king and right now they’re only listening to the Elders. If I take this to them without proof, all I’ll do is get Angelina killed.”
“I’m sorry. But there is nothing I can do.” She started to stand.
Rainer sighed. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”
Valerie froze. “Come to what?”
“Remember how I suggested that you claim I blackmailed you or something?” He pulled a few papers from the file he’d put on the table next to him. “Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. So, you are going to get me what I want, or the country is going to know how you took a bribe from the head of a mafia family… and then what will happen to all the cases you’ve tried?”
Valerie’s jaw clenched. Fire burned in her eyes, but she sank back down in the chair. “What do you need?”
***
With the equipment that Rainer ‘borrowed’ from the police, he was able to track down the call when Marcus delivered the ransom. It was simple enough. Withdraw from the race and Angelina would be released.
Rainer had coldly told him that he needed to speak to Angelina; when Marcus refused, he simply said he would not withdraw until he had proof she was okay. With that, he had Marcus’ location and immediately went after him.
He found them in a dingy little hotel. Rainer crept in through a window in another room, then listened carefully until he heard Marcus’ voice. He raced along the hallway. His heart was hammering as he heard Angelina’s voice. Then, he kicked open the door. Splinters of wood went this way and that. He charged in, roaring—
In Bed with the Vampire: A Paranormal Romance (Shifter Dating Service Book 3) Page 11
