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Nigel brushed his hair away from his face. His eyes seemed much kinder than they had when we began. "Two more questions, Josephine. Do you think Derek would have killed you and do you think his accomplice will try again if we do not investigate?"
"Yes to them both. If not for Stefan and Lukas, I'd be dead. And whomever wants me dead will likely try again," I answered honestly. It would just be a matter of time until my father tried something. He was hell bent on power and control. In his eyes, if he couldn’t control me I needed to be eliminated.
During my entire questioning, I'd noticed that Amir, Nigel and Lenora had scribbled notes throughout my testimony. Adolfo and Sofia sat and listened with obvious disdain at my recollections of the events. Derek has been on the Council with them for many years and their loyalty was with him, not some half-human oddity like myself. Their body language made that crystal clear.
"Thank you, Josephine. Please make yourself comfortable in the sitting room next door. We need to speak to the others and attend to vampire issues." Nigel looked down to his portfolio and adjusted his papers, refusing to make further eye contact with me.
My frustration level had hit its peak. I basically had to follow their rules, but was excluded from the ‘real’ issues. “That’s it? I relive every horrible detail of the day Derek almost killed me and I don’t even get to stay while the others tell you what happened?”
Nigel didn’t look up as he continued to write. “No. What we are going to discuss is sensitive information. You are too new to this life to understand. Stefan will join you shortly.”
Dropping Stefan’s hand, I headed to the door. I was reaching for the doorknob when the bond between us opened wide and his thoughts spilled into mine. “I will be out soon. I will keep our connection open, Josephine. Stay close.”
He flooded me with his love and adoration. I could feel his emotion as strongly as I felt my own love for him. “I love you. Be careful, Stefan.”
With that final thought, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, closing it quietly behind me. Stopping to lean against the wall, I drew in a deep, calming breath. Thanks to my odd tie with Stefan and our bond, I was aware of everything he was feeling in the back of my mind. I was thankful he’d purposely left his thoughts open to me. It was the only relief I had as I waited for him to finish and come back to me.
Digging through my purse, I found my phone and typed out a quick text to Nikolaus. I knew he was probably worried about what was going on.
My fingers flew across the screen. ‘My testimony is finished. Waiting for the others. Will send news soon.’
“It is such a shame we haven’t had time to chat, my dear.”
Chapter 8
The Ties that Bind Us Can Hurt Us the Most
Quickly tucking my phone into the pocket of my leather jacket, my head popped up at the sound of my birth father’s voice. I hadn’t seen him since the day in the art gallery weeks ago. Dressed smartly, his bright red hair was cut short and styled smoothly. His oily smile never reached his sparkling green eyes.
Nothing had changed. He was still the same evil bastard he’d always been.
“I’ve been busy trying to stay alive,” I retorted. Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I tilted my head to the side and returned his unfeeling smile. “But I’m sure you know all about that, don’t you Daddy?”
Kian didn’t react visibly to my biting sarcasm. His smile never changed, but his eyes lost a little of their gleam.
“Of course, Josephine. I listened in to your testimony before the Council. It must have been quite a harrowing ordeal for you to have endured. I wanted to come here to personally thank Stefan for his assistance in saving your life,” Kian stated. He adjusted his burgundy pocket square and slipped his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.
Stunned into silence, I could only stare at my Kian like he’d suddenly grown two heads. Did he honestly think I was so gullible that I’d buy his hollow display of concern for my welfare?
“Now you want to thank Stefan for saving me? Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” I questioned. Pushing away from the wall, I began to circle my father slowly. “Why would you want to thank him, Kian? After all, you never wanted us to be together. For once in your life, be honest. I know it’ll be a stretch, but try.”
His smile finally disappeared. His mouth set into a threadlike line as he watched me slowly circle him. “Why would you say such a thing? I only wish for you to be happy. It pained me to find out of your impending marriage through your Council testimony.”
Snorting sarcastically, my eyes never left his face. I was watching for any reaction, preparing myself to attempt to use my shield if necessary and hoping like hell it would work on him. Attempting to keep my voice neutral, my anger at his continued lies churned in my stomach. “Did you think I was going to call you up and invite you over to celebrate? Really, Kian. You’re smarter than this. And save the whole ‘you only wish for me to be happy’ crap for someone that might buy it. If you were so worried about my happiness, why did you send Stefan on a different wild goose chase whenever he came close to finding me? You sent him off to do the Board and Council’s dirty work and had him kill innocent vampires, Kian. Why?”
“I think you have been given the wrong information, Josephine. Those are heavy accusations you are accusing me of committing. You should be careful saying such things. The wrong person might think you have a vendetta or an agenda of sorts. Things such as this are looked upon as treason in our world,” Kian threatened, his smooth voice lowering slightly. He shot a quick glance down the hallway. He was either planning his escape or checking for possible witnesses. More than likely, he was doing both.
I stepped closer to him, so close our noses almost touched. My eyebrow raised in contempt as I lowered my voice. “Our world? I’m excluded from the Council meeting because I’m not vampire enough for them. And the last time I checked, I’m just as much human as I am a vampire. Until I totally make the change, I don’t have to abide by your rules, Kian. What I find interesting is that you brought up the subject of an agenda. I know you sent Derek to bring me back here to you. Derek took it upon himself to almost kill me, but he was there to do your dirty work, wasn’t he? You knew either way, Stefan would go berserk in his attempts to find me or avenge me, either trying to kill or killing you. And then you’d have him killed. Problem solved in a neat little package. It’s too bad Stefan and I had already bonded unknowingly. He could hear me calling for him from miles away. He ruined your plans.”
“Josephine…”
“No, I get to talk. You get to listen,” I muttered harshly. “But it didn’t work, did it? Your little plan backfired and you lost your little boy toy in the process. You had quite the history with Derek, didn’t you? He was your lover and had been for many years. Did you know that Stefan ripped him apart, piece by piece until he was nothing but bloody ash on my kitchen floor? I should offer you my condolences, but to be honest with you, I just don’t care about you or how you feel.”
His cool facade slipped as his mouth gaped open, the anger in his eyes apparent as he looked warily at me. He was waiting for me to continue.
“You see, I’ve been doing my research too. I know everything, Kian. I know what you’ve done to Stefan for the last 20 years. I know about your past with Derek, the mysterious retirement of the other two Board members. Hell, I even know what you did to all of my half-siblings, Kian. When they didn’t fit your purpose, you fucking tortured them like rats in a lab. Do you have any sort of conscience or soul left inside the shell of the man you pretend to be? Or is it all just a game to you?”
He leaned in and grabbed my shoulders. His face twisted into a grimace as he shook me slightly. In an instant, my mind flew back to the vision of my father with my mother in this same pose. His snarling voice brought me back to the present. “You. You think you know me, yet you know absolutely nothing. NOTHING!”
