Chapter Eighteen #2
“Most of them were just warehouses or alternate homes. But there are a couple I don't recognise. Roxie, could you bring up the image of the old Neolithic Mansion and the old bank?” Dara stood and wandered over to the screen. "I definitely haven't seen these two before."
Roxie waffled through the history of the mansion, images of the inside of the building flashing in rapid succession. Memories exploded in my mind. Walking down the hallways, down stone steps. The grating of the heavy metal doors.
The basement...
I jumped up from Byron and ran to the corner of the room where there was a bin.
I threw up the contents of my stomach, bile burning my throat and tears stinging my eyes.
Byron was next to me in an instant, his hands rubbing soothing circles on my back.
My whole body shuddered as the memories resurfaced and I threw up again, dry heaving when there was nothing left in my stomach.
When I'd finally finished, a wet wipe and a bottle of water appeared in front of me. Byron sat next to me on the floor, his legs wide open and he pulled me into his lap, his hand trailing up and down the length of my spine.
"Sorry," I grumbled to the room.
"Don't be," Damyr said. "It's okay. Do you want to leave while we go through the rest of this?"
I shook my head. "I'm good. I'm still getting pieces of my memory back and that building was where it all happened."
God, I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Throwing up in front of all these people had sucked.
Damyr nodded once. "Then let's continue. Roxie. Tell us about the mansion."
Roxie's nails started clicking down the line again and more information about the property filled the screen.
"Okay, the Elwood Mansion has been purchased several times over its history.
All by holding companies connected to Lawler.
It looks like Lawler was involved in the original design of it, which is probably why the blueprints look a bit hinky. "
"Hinky?" Vlad asked, his hand raised in confusion.
Roxie's furious typing paused for a moment. "Yeah, you know, kind of kooky. Like something doesn’t sit right."
"No way 'hinky' is a real word," Vlad scoffed, his large shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
"Don't you mock me. It's totally a real word.
Anyway, when you look at the blueprints and then images of the actual building, it seems like some of the rooms don't quite line up.
Windows aren't where they're supposed to be and the overall size of the building doesn’t seem to match.
Makes me wonder if there are extra rooms built in the place. "
"I think there are," I added, my voice quiet and unsteady. "I remember a large portrait that used to swing open in one of the downstairs rooms and there was a small, soundproofed room in there. Father used to put me in there when I refused to go to the basement."
Byron's hands squeezed my hips, his fingers sinking into them hard enough that I flinched. "I'm going to kill him."
"I'm sorry, Wilder. I didn't know." Dara looked like she was going to throw up herself. "I didn't know any of this."
I wondered whether she'd suffered under his hands as well, or whether I was the lucky one. But that was a conversation for another time. It was bad enough trawling through my traumatic history without adding hers to the mix too.
I shrugged one shoulder. "It is what it is."
"No," she replied fiercely. "I should have done more, and I should have done it sooner."
"You weren't to know. Father was good at keeping secrets." Other memories swirled in my mind and I pushed them away. Now wasn't the right time to start filtering through them all.
"Are there any local properties that belong to any of his shell companies," Aleksey asked, getting us back on track.
The man still scared the shit out of me.
He was just so angry looking all the time, like he was wrong word away from slicing everyone's head off.
Byron was scary because he was sinisterly calm, but Aleksey radiated barely restrained wrath.
"There are two. A warehouse down in the shipping district and an apartment in the old financial district." Roxie put the locations up on the board and Byron hummed low by my ear.
"That warehouse is near where I found the wendigo," he said. "Can't be a coincidence."
He didn't believe in coincidences.
Damyr turned to look at him. "Go and check out the warehouse. See if you can find any link to the wendigo and the people who were keeping him. Vlad?"
“Yes, boss,” he replied, his spine instantly straightening.
"Take Aleksey and scope out the other property. Roxie?"
"Yes, mighty king," she replied overly enthusiastic.
I snorted. She really was something else.
"Have you and Bishop managed to get anything off those laptops yet?"
"No," she snapped. "And it's pissing me off. There must be something on there because there is a stupid amount of encryption on there. Bishop is currently working on it, but I’ve been putting the package together on Lawler. We will be back on it later today."
"Good," Damyr said. "Let me know if there is any progress."
"If?" she huffed. "I'm going to break that code whether it likes it or not."
Then she clicked off the line, and the screen turned black. Byron's phone buzzed in his pocket beneath my ass, making me jump.
"That'll be Roxie sending us the info packet on Lawler," Byron whispered by my ear.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to jump."
He pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought my gaze to his. "Stop apologising, baby. You don't need to."
I nodded, unable to find the words to reply. It was such a knee-jerk reaction, to apologise, that it was going to take more than Byron telling me not to, to rid me of the habit.
"Let's call that the end of the meeting," Damyr said as he rose from his chair. "Byron, let me know what you find. Wilder, may I have a quick word?"
My breath hitched as fear spiked in my veins. Byron must have sensed it because he held me closer and wouldn't let me go when I tried to stand.
"Byron, I just want a word with him. I'm not going to steal him away," Damyr said, amusement lacing his tone.
"Good, because if it came down to it, I’d kill you for him."
Damyr's eyebrows shot up and he pursed his lips. "Noted."
I pressed a kiss against Byron's lips and smiled at him. "Thank you."
He frowned at me. "For what?"
"For being you, I guess."
He brushed the hair from my forehead. "Baby, I’d prefer not to kill my family, but I would if I had to. If it came down to you or them, I’d chose you every time."
"You won't ever have to do that for me." I kissed him again, just because I could. "I might let you kill Acheron though. I could live without him."
Byron chuckled and let me go. My legs were a little unsteady when I walked over to Damyr and I could feel Byron's stare burning a hole in my back.
“Come with me,” Damyr said as he pointed towards a door and led me into a separate room.
I gave Byron a reassuring smile over my shoulder and followed Damyr, hoping he wasn’t about to do something that would cause Byron to get a little twitchy. Pretty sure that would set him off on a murder rampage.
The door closed behind me with a soft thud and my anxiety spiked as Damyr hit me with his piercing stare.
“Are you alright, Wilder?” His voice was soft and low, a soothing tone that eased my worry a little.
“Ha,” I barked. “Not even close but I think I’m getting there.”
“I know that Byron is a lot but if you need—”
“Let me stop you right there, Damyr,” I interrupted, my confidence building despite interrupting one of the most powerful vampires I’d ever met.
“I am fully aware of how intense and possessive Byron is, but I’m still choosing him.
We’ve not quite figured everything out, and yes, he’s a pain in the ass and he can be a complete dick.
He’s also protective of me, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but he’s also sweet and thoughtful. ”
“Alright,” Damyr replied, holding his hands up placatingly. “I just wanted to make sure. Whether you realised it, you have become a valuable part of this team. I know you’re a Rowan, but you will have a place with us for as long as you need.”
My heart swelled at his words. I had a place here? “I thought you barely tolerated me.”
Damyr smiled fondly. “To be honest, when your sister said she was sending you to us to help with the Silas Situation, I wasn’t best pleased. But then, I’d only known you as the troublemaker who rubbed Acheron the wrong way.”
“I still rub Acheron the wrong way.”
He laughed, a low and breathy sound full of amusement. “Yes, but I’ve come to know you better and my Benji is very fond of you.”
His eyes warmed at the mention of his husband, and it was clear he was very deeply in love.
“I worry that it won’t be enough for him. That I won’t be enough,” I said, my confession loud in the small room.
Damyr stepped closer and pressed a hand on my shoulder.
“If it helps, I’ve never seen Byron this way.
He seems… besotted. In only the way a psychopath can be.
You’re a full-blown obsession for him. Part of me worries it will be too much for you, but I think that’s where Bishop comes in.
He balances Byron in a way that I could never understand. ”
“What do you mean?”
He pursed his lips and cocked his head to one side, deep in thought for a moment.
“He used to watch his twin on his phone when they were separated. I always knew when he’d be going to physically see him because he’d get twitchier.
More agitated. He’d go away for a week, and when he came back, he’d be his usual calm self.
I know he can be volatile and impulsive.
” His eyes dropped to the tattoo on my neck.
“But I think he cares deeply about things that matter to him. You matter to him; just make sure you don’t get lost in his obsession somewhere.
I’ll be here if you ever need anything, Wilder. You have my word.”
I nodded, too stunned to reply. The ground felt unsteady beneath my feet. Like the world had shifted without me even noticing. Suddenly, I’d gone from having nothing to having a protector, and a place I’d truly belonged. I hadn’t even noticed that it had happened.
“Thank you, Damyr. That means more than I could ever say.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his smile soft and welcoming.
He’d changed a lot in the time I’d known him and I knew that was because of Benji.
They’d found each other at the right time, and they’d become the best versions of themselves together.
Perhaps that’s what Byron and I would do for each other.