The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series (169 page)

There was a grim silence. “But the baby is fine?”

“They’re monitoring both of them.”

She could hear him take a breath. “Beatrice, I am glad that your friend is being cared for. If you have any concerns about human doctors or the hospital, you need only call my people. It pains me that she was not able to walk the streets of my city in safety. I hope you know… this
will
be dealt with, I assure you.”

She picked up a vase and threw it into the fireplace, reveling in the crash. “You bet your ass it’s going to be dealt with, Emil!”

There was a long pause over the line before he spoke in a cool voice. “I’m going to ask something of you, and you’re not going to like it.”

Her fangs cut her lower lip. “What?”

“I want you to stay away from the castle tonight.”

Her jaw dropped. “
What
?”

“I know what you are feeling now. I know someone has attacked a valued member of your household, but I am asking you to stay away.” Beatrice tried to quell the roaring in her ears so she could listen to Emil’s crisp voice. “I can turn this against her, Beatrice. Donatella is furious. I am in shock that she would go to this extreme. This was very foolish of Livia, and I can use this to paint her in a very bad light, but
not
if the court is focused on your reaction.”

“I want that bitch to die!” Beatrice screamed across the room. “I will kill her for this!”

Emil’s voice was suddenly hard and sharp. “And that would be very foolish. You know this.”

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself and focus on more than her own rage.

Matt had been frantic, but Angela had called from the hospital to let her know that Dez was awake and talking. She had told the police the details of the attack, which brought Beatrice back to the reason she had called Emil in the first place. He was still speaking.

“Stay in the city tonight. Take care of your friend. Let me bring this in front of the court without the distraction of your rivalry with Livia. The vampires of Rome know better than to attack tourists. It is bad for everyone and risks exposing us all.”

“Do you think she even cares about that anymore?”

“I do not know. That, in itself, is disturbing.” Emil paused again. “This will look very bad for her, but you must stay in the city and let the focus shift to her and her actions. Or Lorenzo’s. I think this sounds more like him than her. He has proven himself to be quite rash. Let me take care of this. Do you agree?”

She took a deep breath and tried to think about taking care of her family. “Fine.”

“Is there anything else I can do? Any help my human staff can give you right now?”

“Yes. My nephew was arrested. He speaks some Italian, but we’ve told him never to talk to the police. Matt would usually take care of it, but—”

“Your head of security must take care of his wife. Let me handle this. The police will be no problem. What is the boy’s name?”

Her heart ached when she thought about Ben. Dez said she thought he might have killed one of the men. She said he had stabbed both to protect her. “His name is Ben. Benjamin Vecchio. He’s only sixteen, Emil. He was protecting her, and he was… he was covered in blood, so the police thought—”

“Do not concern yourself. He will be out of police custody in a matter of hours at the most. I’ll have my men take him to the hospital.”

She closed her eyes in relief. “Thank you. I will—
we
will owe you a favor.”

“And I’ll be sure to collect when the time is appropriate, which is not now. This attack has the potential to expose all of us to scrutiny. Let my people take care of this. I will call you when I know more.”

“Thank you.”

“Good-bye, Beatrice. Be well.”

She hung up the phone and sat on the couch. It was late afternoon and the house that was usually filled with life was utterly and completely silent. No Dez. No Ben. Matt was at the hospital with Angela. Tenzin was wherever the Chinese delegation was staying. Ziri was… somewhere. Lucien was sleeping, completely unaware of what had transpired only hours before. It would be hours before the sun set.

She took advantage of the empty house and screamed at the top of her lungs. Beatrice wanted her husband. She wanted her friends. And she was completely cut off from the outside world as she waited for a call back from Emil with news about Ben.

She was tempted to walk down to the basement so she could punch the stone walls, but there were no phone connections there.

So she sat. She paced. She glared at the thin line of light she could see around the heavy shutters that covered the windows. She ached with rage and frustration. She suddenly remembered something Lucien had talked about just the day before.

“I think I offended God.”

Beatrice had frowned. “What? How?”

“By drinking from Rada. Trying to conquer the bloodlust.”

“How would that offend God?”

“Perhaps we are meant to struggle against it. Perhaps…”

“What?”

“There is a price, isn’t there? There has to be. Strength. Immortality. Wisdom… it must have a price.”

“What kind of god would demand a price of blood?”

“It is not blood He demands. It is humility. The knowledge that even as powerful as we are, we will never be gods.”

As powerful as they were…

Beatrice didn’t feel powerful. She felt helpless.

The phone rang.

“Yes?”

“Your nephew will be on his way to the hospital shortly. They were trying to interrogate him, but he refused to speak. That is a very clever boy you have. And very skilled. It appears he took out two of Livia’s human staff. They found one of the men dead at the scene. The other my people are attempting to track down. There was an impressive amount of blood in the alley. The police were trying to contact the U.S. Embassy when my contact intervened.”

So, Ben
had
killed one of their attackers. Possibly both. The thought both satisfied and pained her at the same time. “Who do we need to pay, Emil? I want this to disappear.”

She heard him give a quiet laugh. “Don’t be absurd. It is my responsibility that the boy had to use force to defend himself on our streets. Do not think of repaying me with money.”

“You’re not responsible for everything that happens on the streets of Rome.”

There was silence over the line. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Thank you.”

“Stay away from the castle tonight. Take care of your people. I will have my head of security coordinate with Mr. Kirby regarding his wife’s protection.”

“I won’t forget this.”

“Neither will I.”

He hung up the phone and Beatrice immediately dialed the number Tenzin had given her weeks before. She hadn’t wanted to call until she had more information. A polite voice answered in Mandarin, and she asked for her friend. She heard a rustling as the phone was switched to the echoing quality of the speakerphone.

“Who is calling me?”

“It’s me, Tenzin.”

There was a long pause. “What is wrong? What has happened?”

Beatrice blinked back tears. “Um… Dez and Ben were attacked today. Ben killed one, maybe both, of the men that attacked them, but Dez is in the hospital. The doctors say she’s stable.”

“What does that mean? Dez is all right? What about the baby?”

“Stable means she’s not bleeding anymore. It looks like the baby’s going to be okay. I don’t know that much, but—”

“Where is Benjamin?”

She cleared her throat. “I contacted Emil Conti’s people. He’s out of police custody now and on the way to the hospital.”

There was a long silence on the phone.

“He killed one of the men who attacked them?”

“Yes. Maybe… maybe both. There was a lot of blood at the scene and—”

“Where was it?”

She frowned. “Where?”

“Yes! Where did this happen?”

“Near the train station. Why—“

“I will take care of this. I’ll find you at the hospital later.”

And Tenzin hung up the phone.

Beatrice arrived at the hospital a half an hour after the sun set. She struggled to control her fangs amidst the smell of blood that permeated the building. The sour antiseptic smell helped. Dez had been put in a private room at Matt’s insistence, and she could see two armed guards standing outside. They were probably Emil’s men. They nodded at her respectfully as she entered the room.

There were lines and IVs and monitors beeping, but her friend was smiling and flowers filled the room. Matt was sitting next to her, looking quietly furious and Dez was patting his hand and speaking in a low voice. She turned when Beatrice entered.

“B, I’m fine. Look.” She pointed to the monitors. “The baby’s fine. Told you growing a human was my superpower. I must have a uterus of steel. And the doctors have been awesome. And both my heroes are with me now. No one is allowed to freak out.”

Beatrice had barely noticed a pale Ben sitting in a corner of the room. He lifted his hand in a small wave, but didn’t attempt a smile. He was staring at Dez like there was no one else in the room.

She halted and pushed back the bloody tears of relief she couldn’t let herself cry. “You’re awesome, Dez. I’ve told you a thousand times.”

“Good.” The small woman in the hospital bed looked around the room with a glare. “Now tell everyone to take a chill pill and let me sleep. And this is no one’s fault but my own. Ben warned me it was a bad idea, and I went ahead anyway.”

Matt growled at her. “Dez—”

“Don’t even start again. I know you’re pissed at me and everyone is freaked out, but I’m fine.” She looked around the room at all of them. “I am fine. The baby’s fine. And if I’m going to have to sit my ass in a hospital bed for the next month or so, at least I’m in Italy. I’m betting the hospital food is way better here.”

“Dez, I just…” Beatrice gave up and walked over to her best friend, being careful not to jostle the network of wires and tubes that were attached to her. “I was so scared for you,” she whispered.

Matt spoke in a low voice. “Beatrice, I want to talk to you.”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief in her pocket. “Right.”

“In the hall. Ben?” Matt stood and pointed to the chair he was vacating. Ben jumped up and went to sit beside Dez. Matt patted Ben on the shoulder before he walked out of the room.

Dez looked at her with worried eyes. “Don’t be mad at each other. He was really worried, B. He was pretty frantic.”

“I deserve anything he throws at me.” She patted Dez’s hand and stood.

Matt was pacing in a small waiting room down the hall. He didn’t even glance up when she entered.

“If she didn’t have to be in the hospital for the next month, I’d have her ass on a plane and out of here so fast your head would spin, Beatrice De Novo.”

“I know. I would, too.”

“
Don’t
!” He spun on her. “I know she’s your friend, but that is my
wife
! Do you understand me? My wife and my child and no amount of money or friendship or loyalty is worth the kind of hell that she has been put through, no matter how much she’s trying to play the cheerful fucking patient right now!”

“Matt, I know. I would never,
ever
put her or the baby in danger. You know this.”

He kept pacing, glaring at the ground. “Conti’s people are on her until the baby is born. After the baby is here and the doctor gives the okay to travel, we are out of here. I don’t care what you need or where Giovanni is. Do you get that, B? We’re out of here. She is my priority, and I will
not
have her in danger again. Thank God Ben was there. And just so you know, when we go, I’m taking him, too. He doesn’t need to get mixed up in this any more than he is. He already… he had to—”

“
I know.”
She walked toward him. “You’re not getting any arguments from me, Matt. I wish we’d sent all of you back weeks ago.”

He was still pacing, but she could see his reason returning. “Conti knows what happened? I’m assuming, since his men brought Ben back and his people have been stationed out there for the last few hours. His human security guy left me a message, but I haven’t called him back yet.”

“He knows. And Tenzin knows. I called them both. They all know how much Dez means to me. How important she is.”

Matt paused in his pacing and looked up at her. His arms were still crossed, but she saw the anguish in his eyes.

“She’s my life, B. She’s
everything
. I can’t… Nothing can happen to her, do you get that?”

Beatrice nodded and walked over to him. Finally, he reached his arms out and embraced her.

“I get it, Matt. Trust me, I get it.”

Ben watched over Dez as she drifted to sleep. The nurse had just come in to give her some medicine that was supposed to kill the pain. The goons at the door had checked over the nurse’s badge like they were the Secret Service or something. He thought that was good.

The doctors all said she was going to be fine, but Ben still watched all the monitors and took note of any unusual jump or extra beep. He had liked hearing the tiny thrum of the baby’s heartbeat when they brought in the machine to check. It sounded kind of fast to him, but it made Dez smile, so he thought that fast was probably okay. Her face was swollen and both of her eyes were black. She was all covered up, but he knew she had bruises on her legs, abdomen, and even her chest. It made him sick to even think about it.