Chapter Fourteen
L ouis stood in front of Skylar, who was seated in a chair that was bolted to the floor. His hands were held down so he couldn’t leave the room, and as soon as he saw Louis he said, “I didn’t mean it.”
“You said enough when we tracked your location and rescued my mate Jerome. You’d drugged him, stripped him naked, had him held in a room he couldn’t escape from. You planned to harm him, hurt him, and then kill him and dispose of his body.” Louis paused and breathed deeply. He could feel his hands clench, his chest tightened and he took several seconds to relax. “Maxim. How long have you been one of his people?”
“I’m not. I only mentioned him because I was angry and scared.”
Louis arched an eyebrow. So it was going to be like that. As if Louis hadn’t been in the room, hearing everything Skylar screamed as they’d captured him. “I heard you. We all did, and we’re tracking your bank accounts, the properties you own and your movements over the past few days. We know you’ve been in contact with Maxim. We know you work with him. Make this easier for yourself and tell us the truth.”
Skylar shook his head. “I am telling you the truth. I said those things in the heat of the moment. I didn’t mean any of them.”
“Why did you take my mate?” The door opened behind him and Louis picked up on Gray’s scent. “Why take Jerome?”
Skylar worked his jaw from side to side, his eyes flickering between Louis and Gray. “I thought he’d do something like this. I have what we need to make him talk.”
“I’ll talk if I’m granted immunity.”
Louis coughed out a laugh. “Fuck no.”
Gray stepped forward. “I can grant you immunity. Tell us what you know.”
“I don’t agree to that.”
“Not your call to make, Louis. I’m in charge here so I can grant what he wants. I alone grant you immunity. Tell us about Maxim. Where is he? Where is his son? How long have you worked for him?”
“Why Jerome?” Louis added. “Why take my mate?”
“I was there in front of you the whole time. Years and you never wanted me.”
“We had a short relationship that fizzled out. You agreed to remain friends. There was nothing there between us anymore except friendship.”
“For you, maybe, but I cared about you. I waited for you to appreciate what you had with me but then you showed up with him? A human? How is a human better than me? I’m vampire. We’re so much better than them. You lowered yourself to be with a human. They are only worth drinking from and fucking. That’s it. Vampires are stronger, smarter, better. How can you not see that?”
“He’s my mate. My other half. I’ve known him for years. I’ve waited for him. I’m lucky to have him in my life.”
“Pfft. Like fuck you are. He’s pathetic, a weakness. He can’t even defend himself from attack. I had to rein my strength in when dealing with him in case I accidentally hurt him. He couldn’t do shit when I was there. He only cried and tried to reach out to you. He would never have escaped if you hadn’t arrived. We’d both be somewhere else and you would have never found us.”
“You took him for what? Because he had Louis and you couldn’t? Or did you plan to take him to Maxim and use him as bait?”
“What does it matter? It’s not going to happen now, is it? You fuckers ruined it. I was going to have some fun with him then dump him used and broken. Leave him with Maxim to finish the job and you would have been searching for him. Once he was dead I would have been here to help you get over his loss. I would have helped you pick up the pieces. Me, your friend, the one who should have been your mate.”
Louis looked at Gray and shook his head. What the fuck? Skylar had to have a screw loose. It didn’t make sense. They knew Skylar had taken Jerome, so how would he have been able to help Louis put his life back together if Jerome had died? Skylar would be here, in this room, being questioned.
“So you took Jerome, planned to use and abuse him then discard him for Maxim to do whatever he wanted with him.”
Skylar shrugged. “Until you ruined my plans.”
“You sound like the bad guy from that cartoon with the dog detective.”
“He sounds unhinged.” Louis ignored Skylar’s outburst. “Where is Maxim? If you were going to leave my mate with Maxim, that means you know where he is. Where is he?”
“I have no idea what you mean. I don’t know where he is. He moves around. He’s never in the same place for too long in case you find him.”
“So how would you arrange to meet him if you don’t know where he is? A number? An email, maybe?”
“Don’t know.”
“You do know, and don’t forget I—that’s me—promised you immunity if you co-operate. You seem to have forgotten that, so answer the questions or you face the full punishment of our people for your crimes.”
“An email.” Skylar narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “I send an email then wait for one of his men to respond.”
“We need that email address. What is it?” Gray pulled out his phone and stood waiting. “I need it.”
Skylar growled and muttered the address. “There, now you have it. I want out. I want money and a new name and location. No one is to follow me there.”
“What about Jerome?”
“What about him? He wasn’t part of the deal unless you’re going to let me at his hole. Bet it’s nice if you keep going back to it. I know how much you like fucking and with me you don’t have to hold yourself back. You can use your vampire strength as you hold me down and fuck me the way we both remember.”
“I can’t believe you were that hard up you fucked him.” Gray put his phone away. “I’d rather fuck a pencil sharpener.”
“It was one of those things you try to forget.”
“You bastard! We had a good thing going and you walked away. Look at me. Men fall over themselves to be with me.”
Louis did take a good look. Skylar was attractive with his short black hair and light blue eyes. Shame it was only skin deep. The rot was all the way through to the core. “I thought you were nice too, once. Now I see you for who you truly are. I think I’ll need a good scrub when I get home.”
“I will never let you keep Jerome. I will find him and take him and you’ll spend the rest of your miserable life searching for him. I will fuck him as many times as I want and let Maxim’s men take a turn as well. He’ll be our toy to use and abuse. See how much a human body can take. How much his ass can take as we fuck him till he bleeds.”
“So nice.” Gray stepped forward, grabbed Skylar’s head and snapped his neck.
“You gave him full immunity.”
“Shame he didn’t know only the council can do that.”
“Still he was a perpetrator to a crime and may have had more information.”
“Key’s already in their system.” Gray shrugged. “His whiny voice was grating on my nerves.” Turning to face Louis, Gray said, “We both know he wanted Jerome. He would have never let you two live a peaceful life. If he left here, he would have plotted and schemed to grab Jerome again. You would constantly be watching over your shoulder. And forget about Jerome finishing his degree. That would have to stop because we wouldn’t be able to guarantee his safety, especially during the day. He’s better off dead or I could have left him alive and made sure Maxim found him. How do you think Maxim would treat him after he’d fucked up the way he has done?” Gray kicked Skylar’s foot. “Maybe I should have left him alive. He’s a traitor and that’s treason. What is the penalty for treason?”
“Death,” Louis murmured. Yes, he’d wanted Skylar to suffer, wanted him to know pain. He hadn’t expected Gray to end his life the way he had. Louis had wanted longer with him, to ask more questions, to try and figure out why Skylar had turned against them, but now he would never know.
“He was dead the second he placed his hands on Jerome. He just didn’t know it. He was one of Maxim’s men and he was jealous of your mating to Jerome. A human who Maxim and his people hate. Go home. I’ll deal with this. Key is working his magic so we’ll have answers soon enough. Maybe enough that we can find Maxim and end this once and for all. It would be nice to go to bed knowing he was behind bars, or better yet, dead.”
Louis had to agree with Gray where Maxim was concerned. He was a constant thorn in their sides because they didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. All they knew was that he was out there and more than likely plotting something.
“Let me know if you need me for anything.”
“A statement, but I’ll get that later. Go home to your mate.”
Louis left and walked into his bedroom, watching Jerome sleep. He’d almost lost his mate before they’d had the chance to build a future together. Skylar. The betrayal dug deep; hurt in a way he hadn’t anticipated. He’d never noticed how Skylar felt about him. They’d had their fling, a few months together, then decided to be friends, but that was years ago. Before Jerome was even born. Had Skylar hoped they’d get back together all that time? Once Jerome was on the scene, he would have known he would never be with Louis again.
Sighing softly, Louis had a quick shower then crawled into bed with Jerome and held him in his arms. “Okay?” Jerome murmured softly.
“He told us what we needed to know. He’s never going to bother you again.”
“Or you.” Jerome blinked up at him, his eyes barely open.
“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I only wanted to hold you.”
“You can hold me whenever you want.” Jerome cuddled closer, closing his eyes. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me too.”
Louis held Jerome, listening to his breathing as it evened out. Asleep, Louis could look at Jerome, see the marks on his face, the bruises developing and he was glad Skylar was dead. His mate would’ve been in constant danger if Skylar was still alive. But it also saddened Louis. They had been friends, had been lovers once and he now had to question how much of that had been a lie. Skylar had wanted him back, but at what cost? Jerome’s life? Selling him and other vampires out to Maxim? How many secrets had he passed on? How many vampires had gone missing or died because of Skylar? It made Louis sick thinking about it.
At least Gray and Key were digging into Skylar. They’d leave no stone unturned. They would find everything they could and put it all together and present it to the council. Security would have to change as well. There was no doubt in Louis’ mind that Skylar had told Maxim everything he could about how they operated. Gray would be pissed about that but Louis knew he would already be in the process of changing everything he could.
Jerome snuggled closer. “Go to sleep,” he mumbled.
Kissing his forehead, Louis settled and closed his eyes. He could deal with the aftermath when he woke.