CHAPTER TEN

I n some ways, the call from the commander was a blessing. What would have happened between him and Sofia if they hadn’t been interrupted? Ah, fuck, he knew exactly what would have happened.

If not tonight, then eventually.

It wasn’t like him to have such a lack of control. Maybe it was because she was so broken inside, and he felt responsible for slowly putting her back together again. When Sofia had said she trusted him, he’d felt like the goddamn king of the world.

But he knew it wasn’t that simple.

Or maybe it was because she was hot as hell.

Keep lying to yourself, idiot.

Lance pushed open the door and walked into the ops room. Looking around him, he tried to suppress his grin. Everyone, except Craig, looked like someone had kicked their dog.

“Hey,” he said, planting himself in the closest chair and lifting his ankle onto his knee.

“Good of you all to drag yourselves off whatever female you were...actually, where the fuck is Tom?” Vincent hollered.

“Here, Your Majesty!” Tom shouted as he plowed into the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

“Fuck you. I’m mated. I’m not all over some female,” Brayden pointed out.

And cue the brotherly bickering.

“Yeah, same. But for fuck’s sake, let’s stay focused, yeah?” Craig said, glancing at the king. “With all due respect, Your Majesty.”

Vincent waved his hand, all carry on.

“Team, we have multiple reports of missing vampires from a section of town, and we believe this is serious enough to escalate.”

Lance glanced down at his watch. It was pushing 3:00 a.m., so he had no doubt all the females were less than happy their males weren’t on top of them, including the twins he’d left with Kurt and Marcus.

By the looks of their disheveled hair, he would put money on the fact the two males had had to make quick excuses to exit and would be lucky if they got to go back for seconds.

“Craig is right. We need to investigate this today, especially given the situation we find ourselves in, with the vampire race being outed, so to speak,” Brayden added.

“While we might have taken control of most of the narrative,” the king continued, “not everyone has bought into it.”

Lance dropped his leg and leaned forward. “You think humans have captured these vampires? Who would have the strength?”

Craig leaned his arm against the wall and nodded. “Yeah, we do. The rebellion is severely disabled right now, and the information the red team brought back tonight all points toward this being a human threat.”

“Well, fuck,” Tom said.

“How? Like Lancelot said, no human would be strong enough to physically incapacitate a vampire,” Marcus rightly asked, then added, “Unless it was a fucking strong dude and a young female.”

They all cringed at the thought. It had happened before, but not en masse.

“That we don’t know,” Brayden answered. “Which is why we need to get more information, and fast. The numbers are adding up, which is fucking concerning.”

As soon as there had been the technology to do so, the Moretti empire had created a system for vampires around the globe to report issues. Free calling numbers, emails, and now a chatbot on their messenger app that their techno guys in the United States monitored.

With remote offices around the world set up where large amounts of vampires resided, they were able to send out teams for all number of reasons, missing vampires being one, though it wasn’t common.

“Red team is off shift, so I want Tom and Kurt out with the green team, and Lance, you and I are going to speak to the female,” Craig instructed.

“I’ll be joining,” Brayden said, shooting a look at Lance.

“Marcus, work with the on-site team and let me know what you find online,” Craig finished.

A chorus of roger that s sounded, and everyone began to move like a well-oiled machine. They had worked together for centuries, and to say they knew each other very well was an understatement. Which was why he was getting a few sideway glances when he didn’t jump up immediately with his usual vigor.

“You good?”

“We keep having this conversation,” Lance snapped at the commander.

“You want to have a different one?” Craig growled.

“Nope.” He wasn’t a fucking idiot.

Usually.

“Good,” Craig said, holding his stare. “Go get the girl and bring her to the interrogation room. We’ll meet you there in ten minutes.”

He nodded and walked out.

Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.

SOFIA WALKED ALONG the hallway beside Lance.

He hadn’t told her very much about what was happening, just that Prince Moretti and the commander had some questions for her. But he seemed tense and angry. Quite different from how he’d left her no more than an hour ago.

“Are you mad? About what happened?”

Lance slowed down and looked at her.

“What? No. Shit, no. Don’t...let’s talk about that later.” He took her arm, guiding her in. “As I said, answer their questions honestly and then I’ll get you safely back to your room.”

Sofia nodded, hoping it would be that simple.

When they entered the room, the two males were already there. Both of them were huge; two of the biggest vampires she’d ever seen. Power rolled off them in waves. She’d felt this same feeling when she’d met Lance, but this was a whole other level of power. And yet she felt no attraction to either of them. What Sofia did feel was intimidation, which was clearly their goal.

Taking slow, shallow breaths, she tried to remain calm.

“You will not be harmed. Please, sit.” The male she recognized as the tall, dark, and handsome (Read, damn sexy) Prince Moretti indicated a chair.

She accepted it and sat down.

The other male simply crossed his arms and glared at her. There was no question he was the commander of the Moretti Royal Army. Known for being a tough and powerful vampire, she hadn’t expected his good looks and startling green eyes.

“How are your new accommodations?” Craig asked, finally sitting down beside the prince.

“They are fine, thank you.”

“It is not our usual practice to offer prisoners a suite,” he said, glancing at Lance. “But it appears you have a guardian angel of sorts.”

Sofia simply nodded and waited as Craig held her eyes, distrust pouring out of him. And she didn’t blame him.

“You have shared a lot of information with SLC De Luca recently.”

It wasn’t a question, so she again stared back at him.

No one moved.

The tension in the room thickened, and she forced herself not to bite her lip. Instead, she listened for Lance’s breathing. She’d become used to it, and for some reason, it calmed her. What she heard instead was the thump, thump, thump of three highly trained and dangerous males.

If this had been a business meeting, she would have held her own. She was a strong and intelligent female. But the abundance of testosterone filling the air suddenly flashed her back to the moment when Stefano had cornered her, his big body panting, his heart pounding with the excitement of controlling her.

She closed her eyes as her resilience faltered and her body trembled. Her eyes flashed open as Lance stepped closer to her. She recognized his protective stance, and then he placed a hand on her shoulder. Instantly, her breathing calmed.

Craig watched them, his eyes narrowing, before he leaned back and gave her space, nodding to Lance, who sat down beside her.

The prince stood and grabbed a bottle of water from a refrigerator, handing it to her. “I meant it when I said you would not be harmed. We do not harm any vampires, and you have my word and that of the king’s on the matter.”

Sofia soaked up the warmth of Lance’s arm against hers and closed her eyes for a moment.

“What happened to you is inexcusable,” the prince continued. “You have our continued protection.”

“But I am your enemy,” she said without thinking. “You are likely to take my head.”

It had just fallen out. As if they need reminding .

If she was attempting to negotiate her way out of this, her strategy needed some adjusting. Right now, all she felt was fear and intimidation despite the prince’s best and, what appeared to be, genuine efforts to comfort her.

“Well, that is up to the king. For now, you have our protection, and we would like to know why you have been our enemy,” the prince said. “Because I’ll be honest with you, Sofia. I have been observing you for weeks, and you seem like a kind and intelligent woman.”

He had?

“Tell me how you got involved with such a vile and dangerous male?”

He’d been watching her? Of course he had. They all had. She was their prisoner and the most senior member of Stefano’s team they’d ever gotten near of. If she were them, she would do anything and everything to extract information out of her.

Had Lance been playing good cop with her?

She glanced at the enormous male opposite her. Was Craig to be bad cop?

Regardless of what their intentions were, she did believe she was safe. For now. As intimidating and powerful as they were, she did not believe these males would do what Stefano had done to her. Not in a million years.

“We’ve read your transcripts and see you’ve given us data, dates, and information, but no explanation about why you were part of the rebellion,” Brayden repeated.

A shiver ran through her body, and beside her, she felt Lance twitch. Without thinking, her eyes darted to his. When their eyes met, he saw Sofia’s fear, and wasn’t able to stop himself from reacting. Emotion filled his eyes moments before he closed them. Then he opened them and looked at his leaders.

“Well, fucking, well. This is one big fucking furry fuck up then, isn’t it?” the commander said, throwing his arms in the air.

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed loudly, adjusting his body protectively in front of her.

“Not here. Not right now,” Brayden instructed, his voice calm but full of authority.

“And look, she doesn’t know,” Craig said, groaning and shaking his head as he looked at her.

About what?

Brayden ran a hand through his hair and slapped it on the table. “Neither does he, so let’s move on, for fuck’s sake.”

Craig glared at the prince, which surprised her. Sofia didn’t know what was happening. She turned to Lance with questioning eyes, and he looked ready to kill someone. When his eyes dropped to hers, they softened.

“Wha—?”

“Just answer his questions, and let’s get out of here,” Lance said angrily.

“Where do you think you’re going to go, Lancelot? To fucking Disneyland on a date?” Craig spat out.

Lancelot?

“Okay, time out.” Brayden stood and pointed to Craig. “You. Out!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

When the prince said nothing, the enormous vampire kicked out his chair and stormed out of the room.

Sofia held her breath and realized she had cowered at Lance’s side. He placed a hand on her lower back.

“Jesus. You okay?” Lance asked.

Sofia nodded. Straightening, she ran her hands down her jumpsuit and then turned to the prince, who was staring at her.

“I think you better start talking. Tell me your story—all of it—from the beginning because it’s obvious I have some very tough decisions to make,” he said, glancing at Lance.

Sofia wasn’t sure what he meant, but she understood one thing clearly.

Her life depended on this.

So she held nothing back. Why would you when your neck was on the line?

In some ways, it was cathartic, even with Lance beside her, tense and cursing. When she’d reached the part where Stefano abused her, she had kept it relatively brief, but not hidden anything.

She told the prince she’d had no reason to fear Stefano. Her father knew him and trusted him, so why would she not? Not until the moment the boardroom door had closed. Then fear had raced throughout her body.

“It wasn’t until afterward that I questioned everything I’d ever been told. I know that sounds naive, but you need to understand the level of propaganda we were exposed to. I had been brainwashed with it all my life. They make the royal family out to be practically terrorists.”

“Royal family” being the prince in front of you, Sofia, you fool.

“And do you still believe that?”

“Nothing I’ve seen while I’ve been here supports anything I was taught,” she said. “You have treated me with care and respect. I hate what I have done.”

And she meant it. Tears ran down her face.

She had been responsible for the deaths of innocent vampires, not that it had been her intention.

“I was told your castles were only inhabited by a skeleton staff, and that the C-4 would be placed in another part of the property. To scare you, not to cause harm. My job was to monitor them and manage the technicians,” Sofia said. “It appears they were given a different instruction than I was.”

Brayden sighed.

“Then I was raped. I was trying to figure out how to leave, but at the time it didn’t feel so straightforward,” she continued. “My family would have been shamed, my father disappointed in me, and they would have likely disowned me.”

The prince raised an eyebrow. “Where are they now? Why has your father not petitioned my brother for your release?”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t know.”

“Not even your mother?”

“I know!” she cried. “Perhaps they are already ashamed of me. I deserve nothing less than to lose my head.”

Behind her, the chair groaned. She turned and saw the fury on Lance’s face. “You must hate me.” She dropped her head to the table as a hand landed on her back.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Sofia,” Brayden spoke up. “Did you stop to think your parents are not here because they are part of the problem?”

She lifted her head.

“If what you are saying is true, then you have been used and manipulated your entire life. Brainwashed. Let me ask you one more question.”

She nodded, tears rolling over her cheeks, shame flooding her.

“If you walked out of here right now, a free female, would you go to your family? Would you go back to the rebellion?”

Sofia knew without an ounce of doubt she would never return to her old life.

“No. Never,” she answered firmly, shaking her head. “It would mean turning my back on my family, but how can I ever face them knowing everything they’ve told me is a lie. My own mother. My papà !”

Brayden leaned forward. “If you told your father what Stefano has done to you, do you think he would stand by you?”

That was about the moment she lost it. Tears poured out of her as she cried like a baby. She lowered her head into her hands, hiccuping while snot poured out of her nose. “N-no, no, I do not,” she cried.

“Motherfucker,” Lance mumbled beside her, gripping the arm of her chair. She heard it crack.

Brayden stared at her for a long moment before standing. “Take her back to her room. Both of you rest. Lance, the king and I will speak with you at sundown.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the door closed, Sofia turned and, without hesitation, Lance pulled her into his arms.

“Jesus,” was all he said as he held her tight.