132
An hour later Basil led us down the staircase back to the foyer and then turned left down another long hallway. The steps leading down to the basement were polished wood and they squeaked as we stepped on them. The first part of the basement was well lit and I could hear the whirr of an extraction fan and it smelled like bleach.
Inside another room, the man sat handcuffed to a chair, the hood still over his head. I could smell fear and it rolled from his pores like an overpowering cologne. The lighting was dim and Gideon stood to one side, dressed in another suit and I felt slightly underdressed in my jeans.
“Wake up prisoner,” the man to his left said as he pulled the hood from Kurt Greer's head.
“Ryder?” Kurt asked questioningly as his eyes found me.
“Morning Kurt, how are you feeling?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked angrily.
“I asked you for a name,” I told him.
“And I gave it to you!”
“Do you recognize this man?” I asked him and pointed to Gideon.
“No, I’ve never seen him before in my life,” Kurt answered.
“That’s the problem Kurt, this is Gideon Delanie,” I said.
Kurt’s face paled remarkably as he looked at Gideon and then it dawned on me. He had played me.
“You gave me Gideon’s name in the hopes that I’d make a reckless move and get myself killed,” I said and he lowered his eyes to the floor.
“Two birds, one stone,” Basil said.
“Who took Megan?” I asked him calmly.
“I don’t know,” he said and his whole demeanour made me believe him.
“We have time for you to figure it out,” I said and turned away from him.
“I’m sure a few hours in the hole will make him remember,” Gideon said and nodded to the second man.
They unlocked the handcuffs and dragged a screaming Kurt out of the room. I felt even more frustrated because I’d fallen for his lies. I was so eager to get a name that I took the first one he uttered as the truth.
Kurt was left in the hole, which turned out to be an actual hole in the ground with a metal latch, leaving him in complete silence and darkness for twelve hours. He squinted and groaned as they pulled him out of the darkness and cuffed him to the chair again.
“I want to know the name of every person you owe any kind of debt to,” I said to him.
“Water please,” he asked with a ragged voice.
Navaro, the man that had pulled the hood from Kurt’s head the first time, allowed him two sips before removing the bottle from his mouth. A few drops drippled down Kurt’s chin and I almost felt sorry for him.
“How’s your memory now?” I asked him.
“I’m going to need a pen and paper,” he said after a few minutes.
“How many people do you owe money to?” I asked him.
“A lot,” he said sounding defeated.
“Let’s get some dinner while Kurt compiles his list, I hear they’ve made some sort of roast for tonight’s feast,” Basil said.
“I don’t need to explain to you what will happen if this list is a load of bullshit right?” I asked Kurt.
“No, you’ve made your point very clear,” he said with disgust.
“Good.”
Basil and I left the basement and headed upstairs. “We might need to feed him at some point,” Basil said.
“Probably,” I said and Basil chuckled.
We could hear voices coming from the drawing room and Elio gave me a look when we stepped inside. Gideon had his hand on another man’s shoulder, younger than him but bearing a striking resemblance.
“Ah here he is now. This is Ryder and this is my son, Phillipe, and his fiancé, Jennifer,” Gideon said with a smile.
“My father is in awe of you,” Phillipe said as we gripped hands and shook.
“I highly doubt that, your father is a man worthy of awe,” I said as he smiled.
“Hi Ryder, nice to meet you,” Jennifer said and looked at me pleading with her eyes.
“Same,” I said and wondered if she had already been dating Phillipe when she slept with me.
“My father tells me you’ve got quite the past,” Phillipe said.
“Gideon, are you revealing all my unit secrets here?” I asked and Gideon chuckled.
“I wasn’t happy when Felix announced his decision to join that unit but after watching you training with my men, I have to say I see the value in it,” Gideon said.
“You knew Felix?” Phillipe asked me.
“He was my best friend, my brother so to speak,” I said.
“I’m sorry, we all feel his loss,” he said.
“Ryder was the one that ultimately found his killers,” Gideon said.
“I had help from Basil and Elio and a few other friends,” I said.
“Always so modest, Ryder took on twenty vampires to get to the man that had orchestrated the ambush,” Basil said.
“So what brings you to Mexico?” Phillipe asked.
“Basil brought him to introduce Ryder to me since I’ve always wanted to meet him,” Gideon said casually.
“I hope your time here is as relaxing for you as it is for us,” Phillipe said.
“I’m sure it will be,” I said.
We all looked towards the door as another voice filtered through it and Gideon smiled at the feminine sound. “Victoria has arrived.”
“Basil! Elio! I had no idea you two were visiting!” Victoria squealed as she hugged them both.
“Always wonderful to see you Victoria,” Basil said as he kissed her hand.
“And who is this?” she asked as she looked at me.
“This is Ryder Grey,” Elio said.
“The Ryder Grey?” she asked.
“Is there another one?” I asked and she laughed lightly.
“You never told me how good looking our hero is,” she said.
“Victoria!” Gideon said.
“Hi Daddy,” she said sweetly.
“Ryder is our guest here, please refrain from making him feel uncomfortable,” Phillipe said as he smiled at her.
“It’s not like I asked him if he’s single or what room he’s sleeping in,” she remarked and Elio and Basil laughed out loud at her remark.
“Please excuse my daughter, she also has no filter,” Gideon said.
“At least she didn’t ask about my underwear preferences,” I said and everyone laughed.
“Now there’s a thought,” she said.
We all headed to the dining room and Victoria placed herself next to me at the table. Dinner lasted almost three hours and it felt oddly comfortable. Kurt asked for me a few times during the night but I let him stew and worry about his predicament until the next day.
Kurt’s body was weak, he passed out too soon for my liking and he didn’t really have any answers. We’d been at it for a week with no results and I was beyond frustrated. I skipped most dinners and stood outside his cell and watched him.
“Ryder …”
“Give me what I want,” I said to Kurt.
“I don’t know who took her,” he said softly, his voice sounding like a man who had given up.
“I don’t care who I have to kill but I will get to the bottom of this,” I said to him.
“You’re so high and mighty because you killed a Sire for his lair that the thought never crossed your mind that it might be your fault,” Kurt spat out.
“And you’d give anything for that statement to be true,” I said.
“You were never good enough for her.”
“No, you were never good enough for her. You abandoned her, not me,” I said calmly.
“At least she’s free now,” he said and turned his back to me.
I left the basement and slammed the door behind me. I had never before hated, but I did hate him. I already carried the burden of blame, because I could’ve saved her. We’d have been married now and happy.
Another week went by and Kurt had managed to kill himself. I was so furious that I had almost killed the guard. We had nothing, no leads and no answers and the failure to find answers were killing me. I would leave Mexico the following day and go back to Oklahoma City to get my truck from Tank. I had no idea what to do next but it was time that I went back home and be the Sire my lair expected me to be.
“Grey,” I answered my phone just as I reached the dining room.
“You need to get your ass to Chicago. The Elders need to see you,” Lucas said.
“Why?”
“You’ve really fucking done it this time Ry. Elder offices, Friday night, eight pm,” he said and ended the call.
“Everything all right?” Basil asked me.
“It seems I’m needed in Chicago. Gideon, thank you for your hospitality, I’ll keep in contact about our mutual friend,” I said.
“Of course, I’m sure we will have plenty to discuss in a few days’ time,” Gideon said.
Gideon had offered the use of his jet to me and I had gladly accepted. I had no idea what was going on but I had a feeling that it had something to do with the missing Kurt, especially since I got the call from Lucas. I didn’t relish the fact that I would now have to tell Lucas that Kurt was dead and that I still had no answers.
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