The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (40 page)

“Forgive my poor attempt at humor. It is how I often cope with tense situations. Mr. Augere is worried about you. I know you have had a terrible shock this evening. A rather traumatic event. He has asked me to talk to you and to see what can be done to help you.”

Jason felt confused.
What was really happening now?

“All I need is to go home. Tonight,” Jason stammered.

“But—you are already scheduled to leave tomorrow afternoon. You will be home fairly soon. I know I can’t speak from my own personal experience, Jason, but I can well imagine that all of this is something extremely out of the ordinary for you. A huge shock, to say the least. If I can do—”

“I need to go home. Right now. Not tomorrow.”

“Why the urgency?”

Jason could not look at him. Allen remained standing beside Jason for several moments. Then he sat down in the chair opposite.

“Mr. Augere tells me he tried to get you to talk to him,” Allen said softly.

Jason made no reply and continued to avoid his gaze.

“Jason…I know this has to be a lot for you to take in. No one meant for this to happen, I can assure you.” He paused. “I think the best thing right now is for us to sit and talk for a bit. Get things sorted out. I was just going to order some food for myself, and I would like you to join me. Even if you don’t feel like eating right now, some quiet company then. A strong drink perhaps and a cup of tea. Then you should try to get some sleep afterwards and you will be on your way home tomorrow.”

“You don’t need to do this,” Jason stated abruptly, still without eye contact.

“I don’t understand. Do—what, exactly?”

“Can’t you just let me go…I would not tell anyone. No one would believe me anyway. But I swear I won’t tell. Just let me leave. Just give me my passport.”

“Jason—we are concerned you may be experiencing a serious shock right now and that your judgment may not be the best. I ask you to give this a little time—”

“I just want to go home.”

“You
are
going home. I promise you. Tomorrow.”

“To my family. I just want to see my family again.”

A pleading tone in Jason’s voice got to Allen. It sounded anguished. This really was not good. Jason was in even worse shape than he had expected to find him.

Allen regarded him silently. He thought Jason looked simply terrified. He shuddered to think what Jason must have seen earlier this evening. He could only imagine the horror of it. No doubt he had feared for his life. Augere had not given a clear account of how bad it was. He often minimized or omitted details, probably especially with things like this. But the danger was past. Jason was far from there now. He just had to get past this. Probably the realization of Augere’s true nature was a contributing factor. No doubt, if Jason had not known of it sooner, he did now.

“You will be going home. Barely hours from now. Then, you could always—”

“I know you—and he”—Jason did not even glance in Augere’s direction—“think you can’t trust me. But please, I will not tell anyone about this. I just want to go home to my family. Right now. And I would not say anything.”

Allen gazed at him silently for several moments.

“I can see you are quite shaken up by all of this. I suspect you really are not thinking as clearly as you might be otherwise. A little irrational perhaps; impulsive maybe. Your safety is a big concern for us. In time—”

“I know you are here to make sure I don’t tell anyone.” Allen thought Jason sounded as if he could be near tears.

There was a long pause. “It is very important that you do not. Extremely important.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Jason, I—”

“You want to make sure I’ll stay silent. I know that’s why you are here…You don’t have to do this.”

“Do you think…someone is going to harm you?”

“Because of all that has happened, I know you think it’s necessary. But it isn’t, I swear. I won’t tell.”

“Mr. Augere’s privacy—and safety— is paramount. But your safety is extremely important to us also. Why would you think otherwise?”

“There is no reason you have to do this. I can be trusted. There is no reason for me to tell anyone, ever.”

Allen stared at him. The downcast eyes and the sad expression. The trembling fear. What was going on in his mind really?

“You have nothing to fear from me. Or Mr. Augere.”

Allen got up from his seat and walked over to Mr. Augere who waited near the door.

Empty words. To promote a false sense of safety
. Jason knew it wasn’t true.
Augere had already threatened him. Augere had already said he would have to be killed
.

Jason stared at the table in front of him. Augere’s words—and now Allen Genier’s— were replaying in his mind now.
Augere’s privacy was to be protected at all cost. I’m expendable. A sacrifice was to be made. Augere himself had made it clear
.

“Jason, tell me what else I can say or do to put your mind at ease. To help you right now.” Allen returned to Jason’s side.

“Let me go home to my family. Give me my passport. Right now. Trust me. I want to be done with this.”

“Well, we can’t let you leave on your own. It is not our policy to do that, and certainly not in such circumstances. You are clearly in a state…where you might…say or do something…anything, that might cause yourself harm or might jeopardize our wellbeing or that of Mr. Augere. We cannot allow that.”

“What are you going to do to me?”

Allen looked at him for several moments. He saw the fear in Jason’s eyes, heard it in his voice. “When you say—that you want to go home…are you talking about Boston, then? Or do you mean to say—home—to your home with your family?

“Yes. Yes. I just want to be with them right now.”

“I can imagine how difficult it must be to be going through something like this, so far from home, from all that is familiar to you. We sincerely want to help you. Are you asking to take some time off for a while? To be home with your family…for a few days? Weeks? Or a month maybe? And then continue on with your job as before?”

Allen wasn’t able to interpret the look Jason gave him.

“Because I would suggest that might be a good idea. Have a rest at home in familiar surroundings. Think things over and gain a new perspective. Come back to work then when you feel ready.”

To Jason the words seemed cruel and heartless. They surely had other plans for him.
I wish it were true…I don’t want it to end like this!

“Of course I can’t come back!”

Allen wasn’t expecting Jason’s vehement response and he gazed at him for several long moments.

“I don’t think you should make any long term decisions for yourself right now, Jason. I don’t think you are in the right frame of mind to do so. That is my opinion.”

Allen wasn’t certain that Jason was even hearing him.
What exactly was going through his mind? Just intense fear probably. Jason just needed some time to get over this. Some sleep and comfort and a feeling of safety right now would do him good. This was just a setback that could be reversed and put right again
.

Allen observed Jason taking a fearful glance in Augere’s direction. After a few moments he got up and went to Augere. They spoke quietly for several minutes. Several times Allen glanced over at Jason and nodded.

Their imagined conversation made Jason even more nervous. If only he could get away from both of them. Maybe get to a phone. Call the police. But what could he say to them? That he was held against his will. Why?
Because I know things I shouldn’t know
…after he had just promised he would not tell. They would find out he had lied about not telling anyone and then they would still end up killing him. He couldn’t risk getting the police involved unless he was well away from both of them, and he didn’t see how that was going to happen. If he went along and if they saw he would not attempt to tell anyone, maybe they would really let him go.

It appeared to Jason that Augere was talking at length to Allen.

Jason observed them with a worried expression.
This is it,
he guessed. A decision was being made about him. He imagined the dire outcome. They, and he, already knew what had to be done.

Augere was suddenly gone from the room. Jason had been nervously looking in their direction but still did not even see him leave and now he was alone with Allen.

“Jason—let me understand—you are requesting to go home to your family but just for a short spell—is that correct? To return home to Michigan but not for good, is that it?”

“Minnesota.”

“Yes, sorry. Minnesota.”

“YES! Yes, I want to go. I want to be done with this.” Jason paused a moment. “I know he will never let me leave though. Knowing what I know…”

Once again Allen heard the anguish in Jason’s voice.

“I am not exactly sure what you do know. It would probably make things a lot easier if you were just able to talk to him. He would speak frankly—he would answer your questions—”

Jason shook his head several times.

Allen sighed. “I guess I can understand.”
Maybe when the full realization sets in, and the truth comes to light, Augere might be the last being one would want to talk to
. “But I don’t think you are in a good frame of mind to make such far reaching decisions just now; I really don’t want you to feel forced to choose, either way, in such a hasty manner. You may not really want this to come to an end. To leave your employment right now, if I understand correctly. Because it seems like an extreme decision in the face of a temporary situation.”

Jason was ready to grab at any hope that would get him away from there. If saying he would be willing to leave his job would save his life—if those were the terms—then yes, he would take it. Anything, anything, if it would give him a chance to get away.
Just let me go!

“Okay, Jason, so what will happen now is this: I am going to order some food, and I will order for you also—whatever you like—”

The condemned man gets to choose
.

“—and then I am going to stay here with you tonight. Mr. Augere will be right outside. I’ll need to make some phone calls. I will make arrangements for us to fly together tomorrow. If, after we get back to the U.S. you see things differently you can decide what you want to do then. Does that seem like a fair agreement?”

Jason felt a new wave of panic take hold. His body ached from tension and he was already mentally and physically exhausted.

“Where will you be taking me?”

“Wherever you want to go. But a lot of that depends on you. I have to feel that you are safe to travel, and that you will continue to be safe where you end up.”

“He told you—to let me believe I could just leave?”

“I assure you. If that is your decision he won’t stop you. Things just happen sometimes. It can’t be helped. He understands that. He would not force someone to stay.”

“But he did! He forced me into my room. He physically held me here. He told me he could not let me leave! He said—”

“We just have to do what is necessary.”

That sealed it as far as Jason was concerned. If only he could call his family one last time. He felt close to weeping. How had he allowed himself to get involved in all of this? How could he have been so blind?

“Am I allowed to call anyone?” he asked hesitantly.

“I—could call someone for you. I’m afraid it has to be that way for now.”

Jason made no reply. As much as he wanted to hear their voices one last time, he did not want them to hear the fear and anguish in his voice. It would pain him, and them too much, to know there was nothing he, or they, could do to help his situation, even if they could not fully know what that situation was. He did not want his last contact with them to be filled with torment and fear. So, that was their plan. To let him believe he was going to be on his way home. He was less likely to put up a fight or try to escape then.

“I want to get you somewhere that you feel safe.” Allen hoped his voice conveyed reassurance.

Jason’s expression was one of despair. “I wish I could believe you.”

They would lure him somewhere with the pretense he would be safe. And then they would make sure he was never seen or heard from again
.

“He said he would kill me.” Jason thought he might as well acknowledge what they all knew already. A last desperate attempt to let them know they weren’t really pulling something over on him.

“Jason. I’m a practicing attorney in international law, licensed in both the U.S. and the UK. My family has been lawyers, financiers, and real estate brokers for many, many generations. I would not do something to intentionally jeopardize my career, or dishonor my family. I, and none of my family, have ever harmed anyone, and it is my intention to keep it that way. And as long as you don’t create a scene, Mr. Augere will keep it that way too.” He paused and waited for a comment from Jason. “It is important that you adhere to the confidentiality agreement. No one must know about Mr. Augere, ever. If you honor that, you have nothing to fear from him.”

Jason simply stared at him. The words were not enough to convince him he was going to be safe. He already knew what the outcome had to be.

Allen placed a call to the front desk. Yes, the food and beverages he had requested had arrived. He had briefly considered trying to slip something unseen into a beverage to help to get Jason to sleep, then thought better of it. Jason seemed paranoid enough as it was; if he saw or detected something in the drink it would only make matters worse. But there were so many details to take care of right now. Many arrangements to be made. He was going to have to call James and bring him up to date and enlist his help in making all of the necessary arrangements. James had a rapport with Jason. Maybe if James spoke to him…

“Jason, I have to call James in a little while. And I would like for you to speak with him. Will you do that?”

Jason’s expression was blank.

“The food and beverages are being sent up to the room now. After we eat something, how about if I help you pack?”

Jason looked at him for several moments. Then he got up and went into the bathroom, and closed the door.