The Unholy Trinity IV- The Story Continues

Chapter Twenty

Lucian:

            Sleep was a pointless endeavor. Lying in bed beside his wife, Lucian could only stare at the ceiling and think about his son. From the way she and Griffin tossed and turned beside him, he knew they weren’t much better off than him. They may have managed to drift into sleep, but their dreams were haunted by the events of the day.

            Neither Fallon nor Griffin said so, but this was Lucian’s fault. Even without the note to tell them the sins of the father were being visited on the son, Lucian knew this was his fault. Fallon wanted to check on the baby before they made love last night, and it was Lucian who stopped her. He was the one to tell her the baby was fine. If he’d only let her check on Marshall, they might not be in this situation now. They’d already have their son back, and this would be nothing more than a bad dream.

            I need a drink, Lucian thought.

            Heaving a sigh, he rose from bed to pull on the jeans he’d tossed onto the floor a few hours ago. He thought about skipping the shirt, but he didn’t want to risk anyone seeing his scars. A shirt and jeans were about all he had in him though. The rest wasn’t necessary anyway.

            Not wanting to wake his wife and his brother, Lucian vanished from their room. When he reappeared in the study moments later, he found he wasn’t the only who needed a drink. Simeon sat in his chair, staring into the fire as he held a glass of what was no doubt cognac in a lazy grip.

            “Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone else to be in here,” Lucian said. “I’ll go.”

            “You don’t have to go, son. Stay and have a drink with me,” Simeon suggested.

            Lucian’s cringe was automatic. Eight years he’d known the truth, but he still hated being reminded Simeon was his father. Lucian didn’t leave though. Instead, he poured himself a brandy and took a seat in the chair opposite Simeon. For a moment, neither man spoke. Each sat staring at the other, sizing one another up.

            Simeon tipped his glass to his lips and took a small sip. “I can see something’s on your mind. Perhaps it would save both us a great deal of time and trouble if you’d just share it with me.”

            “I need you to do something for me,” Lucian said.

            “All you have to do is ask,” Simeon said. “Anything that’s in my power to give you will be yours.”

            “I want you to look me in the eyes and give me your word you didn’t play a part in my son’s abduction,” Lucian said, and a small smile flickered across Simeon’s lips. “Why is that funny?”

            “It’s not,” Simeon assured him. “The way you speak sometimes reminds me of myself. When we first began dating, your mother used to tease me about it. Once, she even challenged me to go an entire day speaking like what she called a normal guy instead of some fourteenth century romance novel hero.”

            Lucian turned his gaze to the fire. He didn’t want to take this stroll down memory lane with Simeon. As much as he longed to know about his mother and what kind of woman she’d been, he couldn’t let his guard down. Hearing about the loving, almost normal relationship between his parents made it too hard to keep up the anger he desperately need to hold on to.

            “As to your question about Marshall, I didn’t play any part in his abduction, at least not one I intended,” Simeon said.