Rise of a Queen

Chapter 35

    "Most of us were still clearing away dead bodies in the lot but I sent a small group to check on your family. When they arrived, they called me to report that the men Dustin originally sent had been killed. Toby and your father were being held captive in the house by mercenaries working for the Council." Eli explained slowly while he monitored my descent into cold terror. He quickly added, "But we were able to infiltrate and rescue. No casualties on our side, and your family is fine besides a few bruises."

    Relief slammed into my heart and made it race much faster than before, "Oh thank God, thank you God! So they're alright?"

    Eli nodded, "Toby is doing really well, he's a sweet kid. Your father on the other hand is – excuse my disrespect – an obnoxious asshole and a terrible guest. I can't imagine what he must be like at a hotel."

    Confusion blatantly manifested on my face, "My father? Terrible guest? What are you talking about?"

    Eli jabbed a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the back half of the warehouse, "I just mean he has been whining since he got here. It's rather annoying actually, you would think he would be a little more grateful since we saved his ass-"

    "Wait, you don't mean ... you didn't ..." This icy horror was far greater than when I faced Rosen, or even the Count, "Are you telling me ..." My luck can't be that bad, it can't be that bad. Fate can't hate me that much, "You brought him here?"

    I wouldn't have believed it from the mouth of anyone, not in a million years. If anyone else on this earth had told me such a preposterous tale, I would have declared them absolutely insane. I would have sent them to the nuthouse. I would have laughed in their face and mocked their intelligence for fabricating such a ludicrous idea.

    But I couldn't do any of those things, because it wasn't just anyone who spoke these absurdities to me. It was Eli.

    And he nodded.

    My stomach dropped, "You brought him here?! The man who was hellbent on incarcerating Dustin, going so far as to fake a statement on my behalf to push for an arrest, is currently sitting in the Tribe compound? Did you fall off your motorcycle a few too many times, Eli? Why the hell did you bring him here?"

    Eli jumped away from the door with his hands held up and out in surrender, "This is what I was talking about when I said you shouldn't decapitate me. We had to bring them here! After what happened at the compound, I was afraid the Council would send more mercenaries and we couldn't ensure your family's safety being so far away. The only way to protect them was to bring them here where we could keep a better watch over them."

    I had my hands in my hair, "This is going to give him everything he needs for a conviction. As if the Council wasn't bad enough, now my father is going to seek a warrant for-"

    "Let's go talk to him."

    Could this get any worse? I turned, very slowly, towards Dustin, "What did you just say?"

    "I said, let's go talk to him." Dustin chirped. He was already on his feet searching for a shirt to put on, "I owe him a long and grueling conversation for whacking me with a frying pan during our last encounter."

    "No. Hell no, are you crazy?" I exclaimed.

    Dustin found a shirt and yanked it on. Then slid out of his sweatpants, stood for a moment in only a pair of boxers, then wiggled into a pair of dark jeans, "Not crazy at all, love."

    As he was heading towards Eli, I jumped in front of him and planted a hand against his chest to stop him, "This is a horrible, awful idea. My father wants to lock you away, forever, in a jail cell. Remember? He is not going to voluntarily talk to you after being kidnapped from his home and brought to a gang hangout where his arch enemy has been living out of the law's reach."