Bella Vita (60 page)

“
Then I'll just walk around
outside.” She rose from her seat.

“
Thank you, Issy. I know
this is trying. You'll have a little more freedom as soon as we
solve Jack's murder.” I stood as well.

“
I know. Don't worry about
it. I'll catch you later... for an early dinner, maybe we can watch
a movie together tonight?” It touched me that she was finally
reaching out for me.

“
Of course. I'll have the
kitchen make some pizza and we can munch while we watch.” I beamed
at her.

“
Later then.” She walked
out.

I made the calls to the kitchen, and to have
the media room prepared for us. I wanted her to have an awesome
evening. I wasn't sure if I should have all the romance films
removed from the collection, but decided against it.

“
Darl, you worry too much.”
Leland's words startled me.

“
What? Why? I don't want
her to hurt.” I looked at him sharply.

“
She's healing. She'll
always have that ache. But she doesn't have the memories of his
death anymore. She'll be fine. I don't think she needs eggshells,
she needs her mates to help remind her to live.” He shrugged and
stepped back into the shadows.

“
Hey, you butt, get back in
here. No fading out... I know those passages better than you do.” I
tried to make it sound authoritative, but I was
laughing.

“
Yes, ya do. What can I do
for you?” His eyes were smiling.

“
Do you wanna be there
tonight? I know you guys are getting friendly... maybe she would be
calmer with me if you were there.” I really worried that she hated
me.

“
Em, she loves you. She's
thankful for what you've done for her. But she doesn't feel like
she fits anymore. I think you two should hang out. I'm always
around when you need me, darl.” He smiled and walked back to the
hidden passage.

“
Fine.” I huffed out to the
empty room.

I spent most of the day dealing with small
problems that needed immediate attention from the vampire
community. It was the kind of day where you wish everyone would
take their petty problems and shove them where the sun doesn't
shine.

At four forty-five, I was done for the day.
I didn't care what else happened, I was going to hang out with
Issy. My mood lifted as I walked into the media room and found
pizza set out and a whole delicious collection of junk food and
soda.

Wonderful.
I sighed blissfully.

The door creaked open and Leland stepped in.
His face was slightly flushed from running and there was panic in
his eyes.

Damn, fucking shit.
I blew out a breath.

“
What's wrong?” I marched
over to him.

“
She's gone! Isabella is
gone!” He was shouting at me and pacing all over like she would
appear if he checked under the tables.

“
What the hell do you mean
'she's gone'? Gone like she left or gone like she's been taken!” I
shouted at him.

“
I believe she's been
taken.” His voice was solemn.

“
Shit! Go get Georgie,
Harold, and Derrick,
now
!” I ordered him.

Dominic! Michael!
I sent out the shout in one.

Mia
bella
, what's wrong?
Dom's voice was calm.

Em, something's
wrong?
Mike's was worried.

I shared the connection between all of us as
I explained what had happened.

I just got her back! I
can't lose her now!
Dominic was
furious.

Emma, I think it was my
people. There is a tension that appeared suddenly. They can't hold
a tribune without Acacia and me. I'll find out. I'll let you
know.
He broke away from us.

Dom, we're going to do
everything we can. Leland, the Boys, and Derrick just stepped in,
we'll trace what we can here. I'll let you know things as I find
them. I think you need to come home.
I
didn't know what to say.

I've already sent a message
to have the plane prepared. I'll be there by ten tonight.
He shut me out.

“
Okay, boys, tell me what
you know.” I sat down.

“
Your Majesty, we lost
track of her around four o'clock. I thought she ducked us and was
hiding out in the garden somewhere. It's my fault.” Georgie hung
his head.

“
You weren't on duty
anyways, don't blame yourself, Georgie. We'll find her. It's been
an hour since she was last seen.” I took a breath.

“
All the security tapes
during that time went down. But we have trackers out there trying
to figure out what or who took her.” Derrick's voice was
calm.

“
What do you know, Em?”
Leland dropped all pretense of me being above anyone.

“
Mike thinks it might have
been the wolves. He's checking and will get back to me. Dominic is
on his way and will be home before ten tonight.” I huffed out a
breath.

“
We have time. Don't fret,
Your Majesty.” Derrick bowed to me.

“
Thank you, Derrick. You're
all free to go... if I hear that the wolves have her, I'll let you
know.” I just sat and looked down at my hands, I just couldn't see
how this could end well.

It took an hour, but by then I knew that the
wolves had her. Our trackers confirmed the presence of unknown
wolves just as Mike was making contact.

Dammit, Michael. What the
devil will happen now?
I tried to restrain
myself.

She'll be held prisoner
until the next full moon, then she'll have a tribunal. I don't see
that going well, Em. I can't force my people to let her go without
having the real murderer.
He sounded drawn
out and without hope.

Then we'll find the damn
murderer. Where will the tribunal be? And don't try and tell me
that it's a wolf thing- we'll be there, period.
Anger filled my body.

I'd never even think of it,
Em. It'll be done in the basement of the school. It's more like a
huge cavern. I want you to know that once you're in, it'll be hard
to protect you. You'll have to pick your party very
selectively.
I knew that I'd be risking my
life for Issy, again.

I want Dom, me, Leland,
Kelly if she'll go, and Issy's two bodyguards, oh and Derrick. Will
that be too large?
I was trying to cover
all my bases.

Your party of seven will be
granted access. Be safe and smart in your planning, Em. I've got to
go see to Isabella and to the tribunal.
He
left me to think.

The first thing I did was let everyone know
that the wolves had taken her. I had Leland call Kelly and see if
she could go. Derrick and the Boys were assigned to prepare what
we'd need and could conceal. The full moon was a day away- so we'd
have to move quickly.

Dom's flight arrived on time. By the time he
was back at the house, he looked like the angel of death. His hair
was standing up in sharp angles, he was wearing black cargo pants
loaded with weapons, and he had his battle vest on.

“
Dom, we don't leave until
tomorrow. Temptation will be too strong to go try to steal her
back. We will not cause more problems.” My voice was
final.

“
She's my sister and I will
not have her killed for a crime she didn't commit.” Rage roared
through him.

“
You'll calm down and think
this through.” I crossed my arms- I knew that Leland and Derrick
were in the shadows watching in case Dom lost control.

“
You are right. We need to
do this smart. I'm sorry,
mia
bella
.” He clasped into a nearby chair
like a deflated balloon.

“
We'll get her back, Dom.
You have to have faith. I've got everyone we can spare trying to
trace the witches. If we can't get a body to the wolves then we'll
present the evidence to them. If worst comes to worst, I'll take
Mike hostage.” My eyes flickered cold and hard.

“
Em, that's like an act of
treason. The wolves would never trust us again- if we lived to see
the next day.” I could feel the fear rolling off him.

“
Then let's hope it doesn't
come to that.” I stood and gave him a hug before I walked off to
get more gear together.

“
We can't look like we're
going in ready for war. The four of you can look like bodyguards,
but I'm positive any weapons that aren't hidden well, will be
taken. I've got my boots with the daggers in the tips... which also
have hidden niches for more, but I think they would check that. Do
we have any collapsible weapons?” My mind was running a hundred
miles per minute.

“
We have a short sword that
is created by putting two pins together. They're hairpins. We also
have a brooch of your house symbol that can leave an explosive
opinion. And a silver whip that is concealed in a bracelet. For
Master Dominic, we've retrofitted a pair of boots. Also, we've got
a belt buckle that becomes a double-ended dagger. He'll wear two
silver cuffs that can be expanded to protect his arms. We can't
cover him in jewelry, so he'll have to fall back on his skills.”
Derrick's voice was gruff.

“
Understood, old friend.”
Dom clapped him on the back.

I didn't ask what they'd carry or how they'd
hide it. I just knew they would.

“
I think it's time for us
to rest before we've to take that flight tomorrow, goodnight.” I
gathered my new toys and walked out of the room.

My night was plagued by images of those
closest to me being ripped to shreds by very angry werewolves. When
I woke in the late morning, my eyes were crusty and heavy. They
felt like a thin layer of slime had been spread across them like a
nice cheese spread. My entire body felt achy with fatigue.

Today's going to be a very
long day.
I dragged myself into a small
dining room where I was hoping to run into more of the group. I
wasn't disappointed.

The first thing I noticed was that everyone
seemed to be lacking their usual shine. The night hadn't been kind
to anyone. Derrick showed deep purple circles under his eyes. The
Boys seemed to be using each other to prop themselves up. Leland's
cocky face was pulled in worry and stress. My beautiful Dominic
looked like he had been hit by a truck. His hair was plastered down
from obvious night sweats, his eyes were dull with a need for
sleep, and he was missing his usual vitality.

“
Morning, troops.” I smiled
regardless of how I was feeling.

There was a mumble of recognition.

Yep, a very long
day.
I realized that I was going to have
to figure out how to breathe life back into these gents. I grabbed
a stack of coffee cups and set one in front of each person. I
poured the strongest coffee that the staff could brew for us. I
secretly dropped a few drops of werewolf blood into the mix. I knew
that it was what was best for the mission- opinions be
damned.

“
Drink up.” I toasted my
cup into the air and slugged back the black brew.

Each one did the same thing, and then looked
at me. I knew that they all knew there was wolf blood in the brew,
but they didn't say anything. I could see the effects of the poor
night begin to wear off. I got up and poured a second cup for each
one. I only had to stare down Dom about drinking it.

“
Eat something too. We have
to be strong and alert tonight. The tribunal should happen as the
moon rises, we land about six. We'll have a little time to do some
recon and figure out the possible exits in case things go bad.” I
bit into a nice piece of bacon.

“
Em, what do you think will
happen? You're closest to the wolves...” Derrick was trying to find
out any info I might have.

“
I've no clue about what
the trial will be like... I know that there is a quaint vamp hotel
on the school's protective inner ring- I planted it there. There's
a protective ring that's meant to challenge anyone from going into
their territory. I've requested that this be taken down while we're
there... I don't want the wolves to know about my hotel. The
school's an imposing building of old and new. I had no clue about
any underground caverns. We'll just have to take things as they go
and try to be as prepared for anything as possible.” I
shrugged.

“
Clearly they've magic on
their side, maybe they attacked Jack... maybe it's the wolves we
should've been fighting all along.” Leland piped up.

“
It's not the wolves that
are against us. The witches we're dealing with are trying to pin us
against each other... and, look, it seems to be working.” My look
was icy.

“
You're right, darl.
Sorry.” Leland looked down at his plate.

“
We'll not go in there
believing that the wolves are to blame for everything. They think
Issy killed their beloved Jack- they want her tried for it. We
would want the same thing if it had happened to us. Don't even try
to deny it.” I looked pointedly at each of them.

“
Sì, mia
bella
, that's correct.” Dom was lost to
his own thoughts as he spoke- his Italian accent colored his
words.