In the A/N of the last chapter, I asked you if you'd like to read an interview with Adrian. Some of you showed interest so I'll write one and post it in the Dogs, Bats & Monkeys Series: EXTRAS book.
Do you have any questions for him?
If you want to ask Adrian anything, write your questions in the comments of this chapter before Sunday, June 17 (ten days from now). They could be about Peter, how Adrian got Bear, about Adrian and Alec, about Adrian's favorite drink - whatever. If you want to know, ask, and I'll make sure he replies without giving any big spoilers.
"I've been summoned too," Vika complained when I picked up the phone. "Hi, by the way."
"Hey." I sat on my couch, phone in hand. "So Bolek wants to see you too, huh? Do you know when the old bat will be back in America?"
"He will be back when he's finished with his work in Europe," my cousin replied, imitating perfectly Adam's I'm-only-half-paying-attention-to-you-but-don't-argue-with-me tone. It had been the lawyer, I was sure, who had called her to bring her the grim news. Grandfather wasn't in the habit of making calls when he could simply order someone to do them for him. After all, why bother talking to your family when you could afford not to?
"I asked for a more specific date," she went on, a blender turning on somewhere in the background. Vika made a pause, during which she must've moved, because the noise receded, "And got 'about a week, maybe two from now'. Want to pretend we suddenly caught a deadly and extremely contagious virus?"
"He'll probably have us locked up in isolation and talk to us through a speaker while we watch his pretty, thousand-year old face on a huge screen, mounted to the wall. And then, in a few months, when he decides we've had enough punishment, he'd let us out and berate us on trying to lie to almighty him."
"Good point. Think we can infect him with a deadly virus?"
"Hmmm." I stretched, then brought the phone back to my ear. "That sounds much more tempting. I'm sure we can find something on the black market."
Vika laughed and I heard someone asking her in French what was so funny. My cousin replied with 'nothing' - again in French - and that someone talked no more. I suspected it was that model - I was pretty sure her name was Marie - that Vika was sort of dating and had gone with to France a few months ago.
"It would be great if we can get away with that," my cousin said.
"We'll do the world good, if we get rid of Bolek. Oh, no, wait: doing good is bad for my rep."
"And we wouldn't want to ruin your rep," she teased.
"Nope. Guess we'll have to put up with grandpa."
Luca jumped on the couch and rubbed himself against me. I reached out to pet him, but he scurried off and hopped on the piano stool. Once on that small stage, he began to pointedly groom himself as if saying 'I graced you with a touch, now I need to get clean'.
"Speaking of your bad guy rep: any news about the murder?"
I stood up and went to the glass double doors that led to the terrace - a space big enough for four lounge chairs, a table, two large umbrellas, a swimming pool and a whole bunch of large, potted plants of different kinds out of which I could only name the palm trees.
"No news," I said as I watched the pool from behind the glass. The setting sun reflected on the water, making it shimmer, but I'd always preferred the reflection of the moon instead of sunrays. "Too soon, I guess."
"Aren't you worried?" Vika asked.
"Didn't do it," I replied, the image of Simon smiling drowsily on his back on the bed flashing through my mind.
Why would I?
"Innocent people have gone to jail before," she noted.
I snorted.
Innocent.
This might be the first time the word actually applied to me.
"Look, how about..." She started, but just then my doorbell rand. "Police?"
I moved away from the glass doors, across my living room and towards the front door of the penthouse. Luca hopped off the stool and joined me just as I opened the door and was met by a pair of very angry, bright blue eyes.
"Not the police," I replied into the phone. "Just a rather gruff tiny uncle."
Vika chuckled.
"Tell Kennedy I said hi." And with that she ended the call just as the boy in question walked in uninvited.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Uncle Kennedy?" I asked, closing the door and depositing my phone on a corner table next to it. "Vika says 'hi', by the way."
"You are not answering your phone," he said, arms crossed over his chest.
"I often don't answer my phone when Everett is calling."
As Kennedy himself hadn't phoned me, I was sure he was angry at me for ignoring his beloved older brother, a.k.a. my dear ol' dad. With a huge age difference between them, the boy with the black t-shirt who stood before me was actually a few years younger than me. In his early teens, he was still more impressive than my plain father.
Maybe it was the color of his eyes - bright blue, like a husky's - or maybe it was the fire in them.
"We heard you got taken in for questioning yesterday," he said.
"That I did," I replied, heading for the sitting area.
"For murder," he added. I sprawled on the couch and he took the sofa. Luca sat on the floor between us, his head shifting from my face to Kennedy's and back again, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Yep," I confirmed.
"And you didn't think to call us? Or pick up your phone when Everett called?"
"Nope."
"Callum had to ask his Sentinel friends what was going on so we'd have some information about you."
"Ah. And how is the Detective doing? Getting better with his Gift?"
"Don't change the topic." Bright blue eyes narrowed at me. "Everett was worried sick."
"And yet you are here and he's not," I pointed out. "How did you get in here anyway?"
"I said I was visiting a resident."
"No, no, no, no." I leaned forward so I'd be closer to him. "When you pass by the front desk, they ask you who you are visiting, then call that person to make sure. Nobody phoned me about you."
"Fine!" He sighed, leaning back in the sofa, a playful twinkle in his eyes. "I snuck in."
"So much for security. And I'm paying a fortune for this place." I waved a hand around to show off the penthouse. "And how did you get to town?"
"Had a couple of friends drive me," he explained. "I just told them it was to help Everett and not to tell him about it, and here we are. Well, I'm here. They are waiting in the parking lot."
"And how do you plan to help your dear eldest brother now that you are here?"
"I'll just make you call him."
I laughed, falling back on the couch.
"Make me? Oh, Uncle Kennedy, you say the funniest things."
"I mean it, Alec," he replied calmly, which made me wonder what was up with his attitude. There was no challenge in his tone, no warning. Why so tranquil?
"And how do you plan to do that?" I asked half-sitting, half-lounging.
"I'll just remind you that if you are being an ass - well, more of an ass than usual - Everett won't allow you to visit Ollie."
The small smirk I'd had on my face vanished.
Ollie. Of course. I knew that showing interest in that pup would make people take advantage of my weakness for him.
"And it's a good time to visit him," the little devil went on. "Both Ollie and Lisa have a fever and that's why Everett stayed at home."
"So he prefers his pureblood shifter family over his halfbreed son." I stretched and tried to put the smirk back on my face. "What else is new?"
"That, or maybe my brother trust his older son to take care of himself, while Everett himself is taking care of his younger son."
"Everett doesn't trust me," I shot out at once.
He didn't miss a beat: "Have you given him a reason to?"
This time I smiled for real.
"And a point goes to Uncle Kennedy," I admitted.
He grinned at me. "So when are you going to call him?"
"Well..." When was I? Now that I knew Ollie was sick, I did want to call my father, but I hated to admit that to my uncle or anyone else for that matter. There was no point in denying I'd phone though, and Kennedy knew that.
"As soon as I see you off." I got up and headed for the door. "Isn't it your bedtime anyway? The sun has set."
"Very funny." He rolled his eyes. "I'm staying over at Billy's tonight and his parents will be late so I have plenty of time to get back and no one will be the wiser."
"I take it you are not telling Everett you were here?"
"Would you?"
"I might mention it to him." I shrugged.
"Then I might mention to him how easy it was to get you to do what I wanted just because I said the word 'Ollie'."
It was my turn to glare at him. I opened the door and said a single word - 'out'.
"Good night to you too." He grinned once again as he got into the hallway and turned to wave first at me, then at Luca who was still sitting in the same spot, watching us.
I slammed the door in Kennedy's face, half-annoyed with the boy, half-amused that he didn't think much of me, yet he used one of my favorite 'negotiation' techniques - blackmail.
I grabbed my phone and went through the double glass doors that led to the terrace. Once outside, I looked at the pale moon reflecting on the water.
The drive to Woodville was only an hour and a half, maybe two, so Kennedy would probably be at his friend's house before midnight and as per his delicate suggestion, I wouldn't tell Everett that he'd been here. The Bullets probably - and by that I meant definitely - didn't want their youngsters to go for a drive to another town without parental supervision and especially in the evening.
I looked back to the water. It was much darker now even with the automatic lights coming to life as soon as I'd stepped out.
There was the urge to jump in.
Clothes and phone be damned, and just jump.
Have the water surround me and drown out the sounds that came from the street several floors below. I wasn't sure a human would be able to hear them, but I did. And it would be quiet inside the pool.
So what that I couldn't swim?
There was a shallow side, I could just walk to it and get out.
But whenever I jumped, it was at the deep end. There was a certain grim charm in having something so near me that could kill me. Just one step, and I'd be into the water...
The phone rang in my hand and I tilted the screen so I could see it.
Seems like I don't have to phone my father.
He was calling me.
I think this is the first chapter in which we don't have Alec and Adrian or one of them thinking about the other. What did you think of it?
Are you happy to see - even briefly - Kennedy?
I know he's one of the most fan-loved characters in the series.
What do you think of his 'negotiation approach'?
What about the relationship between Vika and Alec?
Please support this chapter with a VOTE if you enjoy it and have a great time wattpadding!
Looking forward to your questions for Adrian!
PS: Alec was only exaggerating about Bolek being a thousand years old. Dayers don't actually live that long.