CHAPTER 10
Almost five months. That’s how long it had passed since the last time Brian was seen or heard from. For Bart and his children, but also for Martino, Luca, and everyone else who loved and respected the librarian, each day without him stretched into an eternity void of warmth, happiness, meaning, and beauty.
For those who knew Brian, his sudden absence was inexplicable: it was like the man got tired of everything and everyone, and just vanished into thin air. There was no indication in his behavior that he intended to leave everything behind and go someplace where no one could find him, where he could be left alone.
And anyway, Brian wasn’t the kind of man who wanted to be left alone; on the contrary, he loved to be surrounded by people and books, loved to help, teach, and give advice to anyone who needed it. The man lived for all those things, they were part of who he was, and none of the plights he endured could change him, no wound inflicted on him, not even the black wing of death could stop him from sacrificing himself to keep those around him safe.
It happened so suddenly, and it left all those who knew him empty and devastated. Not even now, after almost five months after Brian went missing, his loved ones couldn’t get used to the thought that he just decided to abandon everything and everyone, leaving like that without an explanation, without a single word of goodbye.
It happened on a Friday afternoon, a little after the lunch break. Brian, Bart, and their children were supposed to go to Reardon’s and Edwin’s for the weekend, and Jamie, the assistant librarian, volunteered to cover the last couple of hours of the working day, so that their boss could leave earlier. Grateful, he messaged Bart, letting him know about the little change of plans, then got behind the wheel and left The Base.
A few hours later, a somewhat worried Bart called Jamie, asking them where Brian’s phone was, because he didn’t get an answer to any of the numerous calls he gave him and messages he sent over the last hour or so. The assistant librarian’s answer froze his blood, and he knew instantly that something terribly wrong happened.
Another hour later, Bart, Luca, Malaspina, and Tanner found Brian’s car pulled over on the side of the road, halfway from home. The phone was on the passenger’s seat, where the man usually put it when he was alone in the vehicle, and there were no signs of forced entry, which suggested he left the vehicle on his own free will.
Brian’s wallet, with all his credit cards, ID, driver’s license, and a couple of hundred dollars in cash, was also on the passenger’s seat, which excluded the theory of a robbery gone wrong. Although the discovery was a relief, especially for Bart, the mystery surrounding the librarian’s disappearance got thicker.
The Mafia guards and those patrolling around and inside The Base searched every square inch of the town and its surroundings. They didn’t leave a single stone unturned, but it was to no avail. Baldassare personally interrogated each and every member of his informant network, but no one could tell him anything.
With each day that passed, the hope of finding out something, anything, about Brian’s fate got dimmer. It would have taken a miracle for him to come back to The Base, alive and well, but everybody knew miracles only rarely happened, and, at that point, no one expected one, anyway; they abandoned hope almost altogether.
For Bart, it was worse. On one hand, he didn’t have solid proof his husband was dead, so he couldn’t start to grieve for him properly and talk to the children, help them get used to the idea that their papa is not around anymore. On the other hand, he didn’t know with certitude if the love of his life was alive, either.
At some point, days became blurred, started to look the same, empty of colors and feelings, dull, grey, but at least, the pain started to become bearable. Although they didn’t smile, the children didn’t cry themselves to sleep, either, and started to say the word papa more often, and without shedding tears every time they did.
And it was, of course, Luca, who, on the outside, looked calm and composed, but, on the inside, he was day in and day out ravaged by the emotions which never stopped storming inside him since the day Brian vanished in thin air. He hugged and kissed Martino with a hunger and despair he never felt before, not even when their lives were in constant danger, and they didn’t know if they would have lived to see the next day.
Master is not dead , Luca told himself every time he showered or changed his clothes, and his gaze was falling on the pocket watch tattoo. If you die, I die, were the words he and Brian told each other so many times, especially in the afterglow of an orgasm, but never, since his Dominant went missing, did the Sicilian feel like he was robbed of his life.
And one day, almost five months after Brian went missing, first thing in the morning, Luca got a call from Doctor Alasdair. The Sicilian didn’t suspect anything; most likely, just another of those reminders to get myself checked, he thought as he was answering the call. However, something was telling him that it was way too early for a simple reminder; it must be something more serious, the man continued his internal monologue.
“Hello, Doc.” Luca started. “Look, I know I should have checked things a while ago, but my schedule was hectic and the mornings are always busy, so please, can I come in the afternoon? If it doesn't mess up your schedule, that is.”
“Hello to you, too.” Doctor Alasdair’s voice was shaky, which was quite unusual for someone like him, always in control, always prepared to give the not-so-good news to his patients. “No, you can’t come in the afternoon, I need you here right now.”
“I’ll be there, but can you please tell me what’s wrong?” Luca swallowed hard a few times. “With what happened lately, you can’t blame me for wanting to be prepared.”
“Ask Malaspina or another guard to drive, you won’t be able to, when you’ll leave the clinic after.” There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line, then Alasdair continued. “Bart will be here, too. It’s all I can tell you for now, you’ll find out more as soon as you decide to drag your ass over here.”
About an hour later, Luca was in a hospital room, staring in disbelief at a very frightened, visibly pregnant Brian, cowering in a corner, arms protectively wrapped around his belly. “Sir, talk to me, please.” The Sicilian extended a hand and tentatively caressed the librarian’s long strands. “Talk to your husband, he loves you, and is very worried about you. Please.”
Brian looked between his sub and husband, eyes brimming with tears. “I'm pregnant, and you know what can happen. They knew I'd die first and they used that against me.”
“We’ll take good care of you and the baby. Doc Alasdair, me, and your husband…the two of you are safe now, I promise.” Luca spoke softly, making great efforts to keep his emotions under control. “The people who did this to you…who are they?”
“Donna Fabrizia.” Brian answered in a whispered voice, like he was afraid the evil woman could hear him. “This belongs to her.” He dug his hand into the pocket of his tattered jeans and extracted an emerald ring he put in his lover’s hand. “Show it to Graziela.”
“I will.” Luca’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “But I know this ring very well, too, and if she denies seeing it, she’ll have to answer before The Council for hiding a criminal.”
“Please, take care, that woman…” Fear and horror invaded Brian’s eyes. “You don’t know what she is capable of. I thought I knew, but I was wrong. She hurt you before, and will do it again.”
“Not this time, or ever again.” Luca spoke in a determined-filled voice. “This woman is nothing to me anymore, I’ll bring her before The Council for harming one of The Ten.” His tone softened. “Let your husband and Doc Stark take care of you and the baby, leave the rest to me and Baldassare.”
“You heard your wise friend.” Doctor Alasdair hid his emotions under a grin. “The results from the tests arrived, both you and the little one are in good health. Of course, your advanced age, of almost forty, could pose some risks and problems, but I emailed Uncle Rayne, at the Institute, and he’ll supervise you personally, so…”
“I’m here, too, babe, to take care of you and the little one.” Bart tentatively caressed his husband’s baby bump, then swallowed hard a few times. “Did you…um…think about a name?”
“Actually, I did.” Brian’s voice was serene, a bit far away, even. “Doc performed an ultrasound and said it’s a girl, so I’m going to name her Zelda.”
“I love it!” Bart exclaimed, clapping his hands like a little boy. “It’s a name fit for a princess, and she’ll be treated like one.”
For Brian, the next days passed in a haze of blood tests and sessions of questions and answers with Doctor Stark, who needed to know as many things as possible about the substance the librarian was injected with and for how long. Unfortunately, the man wasn’t a very reliable source of information, as the memories about the time he spent in captivity were still blurred.
However, after a time, the pictures in Brian’s head became clear, and the snippets of conversations made sense, so he could put together the film of the kidnapping and what followed after that, frame by frame. What resulted was a horror movie having that unhinged, evil woman as script writer and director.
The drug, Brian told Alasdair a few days later, wasn’t meant to harm the baby, on the contrary; Donna Fabrizia wanted the fetus to develop normally, so the librarian would want to keep the baby, even if he knew carrying a pregnancy to full term could kill him. However, since he fought hard with her henchmen every time they came to restrain him, so his rapist could have his way with him, they had to keep him subdued.
Doctor Stark kept Brian in the hospital for a week, administering him the antidote for the drug via IV, then told him he needed to be under close observation for another seven days. Although those who developed the treatment made sure it would produce no side effects, they couldn’t predict all the possible scenarios, Alasdair explained, so he preferred to have the patient there, so he could quickly intervene if the necessity would arise.
To the doctor’s shock and disbelief, Brian agreed without complaining about boss Elias and principal Peyton firing a librarian who took more days off than anyone else, even if that was doctor’s order. The man didn’t protest when Alasdair suggested he should work less and rest more; even said he planned to ask his employers to reduce his working hours.
Even at home, Brian did everything he was told, taking Bart, Luca, and Martino by surprise. He ate, slept or would lay in bed reading, took the vitamins prescribed by the doctor, and did everything by the book. Almost nothing was left from the ever-worrying librarian, which made those around him suspect he was up to something. Making them wonder what the reason behind sudden, almost complete change was.
Indeed, Bart, Luca, Martino, and all the others were right: Brian had a plan. He wanted to carry the pregnancy to full term and bring a healthy baby girl into the world, and he was going to do his damnedest to make sure that would happen, no matter what it would involve. Donna Fabrizia planned to use his love for children like a weapon, and kill him with it, but he was going to beat the evil woman at her own game.
Just wait and see, old hag, just wait and see , the librarian thought, smiling and caressing the baby bump.