AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tell me,” he repeated.
I heaved a breath. “I will. But first, how’s Mom? She in New York?”
“She was.” His dark eyes warmed like they always did at the mention of my mother. “She left for Baltimore earlier tonight.”
“She’s okay? She’s not worried about me? Or Rafe?”
“She’s fine. I told her you’d decided to extend your stay in Syria for a few weeks. She was disappointed, but she understood. And we told her that Rafe was away on syndicate business.”
“Good.” I swallowed thickly. “That’s good.”
My mom was all right. My brothers were all right.
And my faith in my father had been justified.
“Okay. So…” I looked up and to the right, not sure where to begin.
“Start in Paris,” he suggested. “We lost you after you reached Charles de Gaulle. I flew to Paris a few hours after I received the photo, but by then the trail had gone cold. I didn’t track you down until that weekend, and I suspect that was only because Moreau wanted me to find you.”
“He did,” Ridley confirmed.
“Okay,” I said again, and launched into the story, glossing over Ridley’s role in it—no sense in stirring up trouble—except the parts where she’d snuck me food and blood-wine, and later, how she’d let me drink her own blood when I was dying of silver poisoning.
Father turned that assessing stare on her.
My vampire stirred. Hopefully, her actions after I’d been kidnapped would tip the balance in her favor. If not, I’d make him accept her. The two of us were a package deal.
Father looked at me again. I held his gaze, making it clear that to get to her, he’d have to go through me first.
He gave a small nod, and I continued talking.
I’d reached the part where Moreau’s people had told me Father had been in Paris but had left without attempting to free me. I spoke calmly, but my anger must’ve been evident because he pressed his lips together.
“I couldn’t,” he said. “I had to let it play out. I wasn’t sure where Leo de Froulay stood in all this.”
“So this wasn’t one of your fucking tests?”
“No.” He looked at me like I had my head up my ass. “I had to let them show their hand. And by the time I was ready to make a move, you’d left Moreau’s lair.”
Behind me, Ridley stirred. “I can tell you that de Froulay had nothing to do with Zaq’s kidnapping. In fact, he hired me to spy on Moreau because he suspected something was up.”
“Ah,” said my dad. “That’s what I believed, but I wasn’t sure, especially when I almost got caught in Philippe’s trap.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. “The sonuvabitch tried to trap you?”
“The second time I was in Paris, yes.” He gave a small, cool smile. “The men he sent are in their final graves.”
“Moreau wanted you to try and rescue Zaq,” said Ridley. “You would’ve been accused of entering his lair without permission.”
“That’s what I suspected,” Father said. “Philippe thinks he is so clever, but he’s wrong. In fact, he’s distressingly predictable.” He looked back at me. “I’m sorry, Zaquiel. I took too long, and then it was too late.”
I gulped. My father never apologized. Ever.
Ridley moved restively. “He almost died.”
Father exhaled. “I had faulty intel that sent me back to America. I was told that you’d escaped and were on your way back to New York. I returned to Paris as soon as I realized you must still be there, but by then, you’d left Moreau’s lair and the trail had gone cold. I had people watching for you at the airports, but they missed you.”
“Because I didn’t want them to see me,” I admitted.
