Chapter 10 #2
“Who the hell are they? Also, why would they be after either of us?”
I returned to the main level of the house.
As I entered the study, it looked like someone had busted the door down.
Splintered wood lay scattered across the floor.
Parts of the doorframe were still hanging off the hinges.
I ran from the room, entering the foyer, and I saw Maddox standing next to the door.
“Joslyn, we will find her,” Maddox said with a serious expression on his face.
“Who fucking has her, Maddox!?” I yelled at the imposing-looking vampire that I now saw quite differently thanks to my grandfather.
“Well, I guess we know she’s got the balls for the job,” Maddox said to Ronan with a grin.
“From what I have been told, it’s Alexander that made the call.
I’ll be honest with you, Joslyn; I called him when she went missing the first time to make sure it wasn’t him.
Most vampires wouldn’t have taken her to begin with, so I figured he had something to do with it.
He didn’t, but apparently, he thought it sounded like a wonderful idea.
I’m sorry; I don’t know what else to say.
I’m not certain why he wants her, though. ”
“What is the motive? If you had to guess?”
“I am going to assume that they heard of your grandfather’s death and figured it would be relatively easy to get rid of the next in line. Unfortunately, they are correct—for now—until you make a decision and we can turn the tables,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Still doesn’t tell me who they are. At this very moment, my pain-in-the-ass cousin is missing because someone has taken her yet again, and what I do know is that in order to find her we need to figure out WHERE IN THE FUCK THEY ARE! Can we do that? Maddox? Ronan?”
“Yes. I am going to make a few phone calls, but we are going to have to wait this out in order for my guys to get the information we need.” Maddox took his phone from his pocket as he walked toward the living room.
“I am going to call me connections and see if anyone else ’as ’ad any incidents in deir area, and if so, do dey ’ave any information.” Ronan took off toward the kitchen. I went to change and pack a bag. I wanted to be ready to go when we got a lead on Charlotte.
Once I got to my room, I quickly showered and got dressed.
Throwing some casual clothing—mostly jeans and tees—into a bag with underwear and socks, I moved to the bathroom to get a few toiletries and added them in.
I threw my hair up in a hair tie and headed down to the first floor to see if either of the guys made any headway.
I entered the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. Ronan came in the back door from the patio.
“We need to talk. Ye can either be open to dis or ye can choose to pass. But ye do need to make a decision, and ye need to make a decision now.” He was very serious, and it was written all over his face.
“There are tings I need to say, and I can’t say dem to ye unless ye are going to take over.
If ye aren’t, den I need to relocate ye to a safe place and simply come get ye once everyting ’as been ’andled. ”
I wasn’t sure if I could walk away at this point.
I felt like I had an obligation to my grandfather and to my cousin.
She counted on me more than I wanted, but I couldn’t change that.
This has always been the dynamic in our relationship.
I’m the levelheaded one that tends to weigh all the options before I react.
Charlotte, on the other hand, always jumps into situations headfirst without ever actually finding out how deep they are before it’s too late.
“I’m in. From where I’m sitting, it would appear as though this was meant for me and me alone. I don’t think it’s some greater calling bullshit, but I trust my grandfather.” My mind was made up. I was just hoping I didn’t end up regretting my decision.
“Okay, well, den let’s grab some coffee and a seat because we ’ave a lot to cover. Maddox! She’s in; let’s get dis shit in gear.” He hollered to the vampire in the next room.
A few minutes later, we were sitting at the table, gearing up for the most important conversation of my life.
I picked up a joint from the table in front of me and lit it, taking a long drag and holding it.
I needed to be as relaxed as possible for this conversation; of that, I was sure.
I exhaled the smoke and looked at Ronan. I offered him the joint.
“Okay, start talking,” I said as he took it from my fingers.
“Okay, here it goes. Ray was de head of an organization dat was created a very long time ago.
Dis organization was set up as a connection between ‘umans and ‘umanoid cryptids. Dis connection was essential for a great number of reasons, one being dat if every ‘uman on de face of de planet was aware of de existence of cryptids, dey would simply ‘unt dem to de point of extinction. Dis could lead to people wanting to study dem in as many ways as possible. It’s dangerous for dem and for us. Us, because den dey would feel de need to be on guard at all times, which means dey feel threatened, and dey are de apex predator. So, ye see ’ow dis whole ting can get quite messy, and it simply works better dis way.”
“That seems straight-forward for the most part; just a little far-fetched. At least for most people, the last week has made me a believer for sure.”
“Our kind didn’t want to constantly live in fear. For instance, the witch trials; more innocent people would die than guilty ones. We are stronger, faster, just as smart, but we are greatly outnumbered and aren’t out here running on bloodlust.” Maddox added as he passed me the joint.
“So, the humans that knew in the beginning and the cryptids that were good and didn’t want to rule the world or watch it burn, banded together. The humans help us to keep our existence shrouded in mystery, and we take care of any rogue cryptids that decide they have a darker agenda.”
“Well, that seems like it may benefit humans more than cryptids. There aren’t any other reasons?” I asked Maddox, genuinely curious.
“Those are the main reasons. It’s all about self-preservation for everyone.
Besides, I don’t think anyone is really ready to see what it looks like when evil rules the world.
The world is ugly enough already without absolute evil running around unchecked.
We need to preserve the humanity that we have left for everyone’s sake. ”
“By ye taking over for Ray, ye ’ave control of a lot of tings.
Ye command an army of warriors of all races.
Ye ’ave people dat are trained to do very specific tasks and ones dat can perform many.
Ye ’ave boundless resources and further reach dan ye could imagine.
Right now, is about de immediate future, not de later what ifs. ”
“An army? Resources? I’m not the president, Ronan.”
“Pretty damn close. Ye are privy to way better intel, dat I can promise.”
“Okay, then who are you? The Vice President?” I said, looking at Ronan. “Who are you?” I asked, looking at Maddox.
“I would probably be the Secretary of Defense, or the head of the Secret Service,” Maddox said, laughing at me.
“Oh, so you are the person who is supposed to protect me?” I said, motioning toward my entire body. “Or the person who advises me on how to protect other people?”
“I am the person that you call if you need something handled. I can do far more, but yes, I will protect you,” he said, motioning to my entire body. I blushed, my candor backfiring on me.
“Ye don’t need to worry about protecting ’er, I ’ave dat part covered,” Ronan interrupted.
“You can be the bodyguard. I am the lethal weapon she has in her back pocket. We are not the same. I respect you, Ronan, but we have very different roles. I am whatever she needs me to be, regardless of your feelings on the matter.”
As he spoke, it was apparent that this was a statement that wasn’t up for debate.
His size alone made him very menacing. He had a very dark demeanor; he was quiet except when the situation required him not to be.
His muscles were very pronounced, no matter the clothing he wore.
I felt safe. Very safe. I looked Maddox in the eyes, and he simply nodded.
“Whatever you need,” he said, holding my gaze.
This was quite possibly the sexiest man I had ever seen in my life, and my body was sending me all kinds of signals.
Good thing I wasn’t an animal; I may have started humping his leg.
He knew exactly how he was looking at me, and the intensity was on the verge of turning me as red as a tomato.
Guys that looked like him tended to be more of a headache than they were worth.
Even though I was quite sure that Ronan had no idea what I was thinking, I still felt guilty for the images that were running through my mind.
I needed to escape his gaze, and lower my temperature. I stood up from the table and went to the fridge, grabbing a beer from the bottom shelf. As I turned around, Ronan was standing there. I held the beer out to him.
“He’s pretty intense, huh?” he said, taking the beer from my hand.
“He doesn’t bother me at all. It’s funny.
His presence puts me at ease. I’m sorry if you don’t like that answer.
” I reached back into the fridge and grabbed two more bottles.
I went up on my toes and pressed my lips to Ronan’s.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous.” I made my way back to the dining room and handed Maddox a beer. “Do vampires even drink beer? Can you?”