Let Him Reign: An Underworld Romance (9 page)

…

Hope

After Eric leaves to get back to work, wherever that is, I go in search of the boys. I don't like letting them out of sight after last night, and now suspecting the same vampires murdered Eric's father and Brooke, I’m even more concerned. We're safer here than probably anywhere based on all the men with guns at the front gate, out in the yard, and at the door, but I still worry about Noah and Riley.

Walking down the hall, I see the familiar alcove. The one with a bookcase that leads to a small, secret room. I run my fingers over a few of the leather spines, thinking about how much I've changed since that night, Eric too. He doesn’t seem like the same, easy going, and cocky man from that night. And I'm no longer the happy-go-lucky girl with dreams and ambitions to get out of this town and start a career. Now I'm a mother, who struggled with extra waitressing shifts to earn enough money to make ends meet and became a whore when it wasn't enough.    

Taking a rain check on my own pity party, I keep going through the winding maze of the mansion and finally find the twins. Born premature and still small for their age, they look so damn tiny sitting in elegant high back chairs at a long formal cherry wood dining room table that can seat at least twenty. The older, white-haired man in a brown suit stands at the head of the table, reminding me of Alfred. I almost giggle when I think how fitting that is, remembering Eric dressed as Batman all those years ago.

No, I believe Eric said this man’s name is Charles.

"Have they been behaving, Charles?" I ask, and he blinks up at me in surprise, maybe because I remembered his name. Or more likely because he's not used to visitors as poor and lowly as us in their elegant mansion.

"Yes, ma'am. On their best behavior," he says with a friendly smile.

Riley’s dipping his cookie in a glass of milk so fancy it probably costs a week's pay. Noah’s breaking his cookie up into tiny pieces and tossing them in his glass. The relief of seeing them safe and happy is almost too much to handle. When the room spins around me I grab the back of the chair closest to me and take a seat. Stupid vampires.

"Is there anything I can get you, ma'am?" Charles asks.

"No thank you. I'm fine."

"Very well. Call if you need anything," he says before leaving us alone in the room.

"Mommy, why are we here?" Riley asks. "When can we go home?"

"I don't know. We're gonna stay here with Eric for a little while, you know, like a sleepover. I need you two to be on your best behavior. Be nice to everyone and be careful not to break anything, okay?"

They both nod their agreement.

"I want my cars. Where are my cars?" Noah asks, causing me to blink back tears.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I didn't have time to pack them. We'll get you some more soon, okay?"

"What do they have to play with here?" Riley asks.

Probably nothing. It doesn't look like this place has ever seen any children before. "I bet they have paper you can draw and write on. Maybe make some paper airplanes?"

"Yeah! I wanna make a plane!" Noah exclaims.

"Are you finished eating your snack?"

They both nod simultaneously and guzzle the rest of their milk like it's the best tasting thing in the world. It's probably regular whole milk. I usually have to water ours down a little to make it last longer. Taking their plates and glasses they follow me to the kitchen where I wash and dry the dishes before opening a few cabinets to figure out where to put them away.

In the hallway heading back toward the front door, I see Charles again. "Charles, would it be much trouble to get some paper for the boys? Any kind will do."

"Of course not. I'll be right back," he says before moving farther into the house and down a different hallway. I don't know if I'll ever find my way around the enormous structure.

Glancing around, I see the balcony and can't help but remember the night Batman watched me. I had no idea I'd end up back here less than five years later. I never expected to see Eric again, much less learn that he's Frederick Coughlin III, rich heir to who knows what exactly.

After Charles brings back a stack of copy paper the boys go to work building a whole squadron of planes in what Charles referred to as the sitting room. It looks like an extravagant living room to me, one with red velvet furniture trimmed in gold and what’s likely original oil paintings of lions and regal men and women hanging on the walls. At least it has a TV, albeit a huge, widescreen one mounted on the wall, so I let the boys put on Cartoon Network.

An hour or so later, two of the military looking men identical to the ones out front come into the room without a word. One goes to stand in front of the bay window while the other stands at attention in the doorway. Now that I think about it, they also look just like the men that came in with guns on that Halloween night.

"Um, are we under arrest?" I half-joke with them.

The younger man dressed in all black fatigues by the door smiles. "No, ma'am. Mr. Coughlin ordered us here as a heightened security measure."

"Is that a gun?" Riley asks as he walks up to the guard, pointing to his hip holster.

"Yes, little sir, it is. You know you shouldn't ever touch one because they're very dangerous, right?"

"Yes, sir," Riley replies, straightening his back to stand up taller and look tougher, at not much more than his grand total of three feet of height. "Do you know how to use it?"

"I do," the guard says, looking over at me with a grin in amusement. 

"Riley, let's leave the gentleman alone now."

"I want to fly my plane up high!" Noah whines. 

"Me, too, me, too!" Riley joins in.

"You guys think they could drop planes from the second story balcony?" I ask the guards.

"Sure, why not?" the door guy says with a shrug.

We collect their dozen or so planes and then they run up the staircase with me and the guards behind them. I get the feeling they'll be on us like white on rice while we're here. Do they think I'm a thief? That I'll steal something? Is that why they're supposed to keep an eye on us? The thought that Eric doesn't trust me stings, but what can I expect? When a whore randomly shows up at your door, looking for a place to stay with her kids that probably screams stereotypical gold digger.

The twins' planes start getting launched through the slats, and despite my constant shushing, the boys' squeals of delight get louder with each one as they watch them soar through the air before finally hitting the ground floor. When Eric wanders into the front room I worry we've been too loud. Then Noah's recently dropped plane swerves for a direct hit to the center of his chest.

I lean over the railing. "Oops. I'm so sorry, Eric."

"It's fine." He laughs. With everything going on earlier, I didn't have a chance to truly appreciate his gorgeousness through my tears. Today's the first time I've really seen his face without a mask or in a dark room. His wavy, chestnut colored hair is the same chin length it was years ago. With his smooth, chiseled jaw, lips made for kissing, and ocean blue eyes I could drown in, he's perfection. "They sound like they're having fun."

"Yeah, I've tried to tell them to keep it down, but it didn't work."

"Must get that from their mother," he jokes with a wide smile. I know that he's referring to the night we were hiding and he kept shushing me. Then he'd had to kiss me when it didn't work. Eric's unwavering gaze on me and his silence tells me he's likely thinking about that night, too, and what came after the kiss. The moment's broken when the doorbell chimes, echoing through the enormous house.

Eric moves forward to get it, but one of the downstairs guards jump in front of him and holds out an arm stopping his advance.

"They've already called from the gatehouse. It's just Courtney Sandbank," Eric explains with exasperation, hands on his hips.

The guard still proceeds toward the door and opens it himself, revealing a beautiful, young woman with long, blonde hair. She's wearing a white pant suit that doesn't seem to have a single wrinkle that I can see from upstairs. I instantly don't like her, and it has nothing to do with how elegant and majestic she seems. No, it's the way she's looking at Eric likes he's a double chocolate fudge brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, swirls of whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Pain that feels like shards of glass being stabbed into my chest take my breath away. Of course I'm jealous of her. She's the type of woman that a rich, gorgeous man like him deserves to be with, unlike me, the lowly whore that's taken over his home with two energetic little boys.

"Hi, Courtney," Eric says in greeting. It may just be my wishful thinking, but I swear he sounded annoyed.

"Eric, love, how are you?" she replies, sounding so fake I have to hold back my gag when she goes in for a kiss to his cheek. "I see you've added quite a bit of new security."

"Just precautionary," he says.

"Well, I came by to see if you're free for dinner."

"Ah," he starts and glances up at me which pulls the woman's attention to me as well. "We were planning on having dinner here tonight."

"Oh," she says, still sizing me up, causing two identical wrinkles of disgust to form between the eyebrows on her perfect face. "I didn't know you had…company."

"Yeah, ah, Hannah and her kids are friends that are in town visiting." Hannah? Did he tell her a wrong name on purpose?

"Well, I hate I drove all the way here to find out you're busy." She huffs like it's his fault for her just dropping in.

"Yeah, you could've called first and I would've told you," he replies, combing his fingers through his thick, sexy locks. "I guess you could stay and join us if you want."

Shit.

"I'd love to," she, unfortunately, says right away.

Double shit. Oh no, I wonder if she'll stay for dessert and have some of that double chocolate brownie she's eyeing. The thought makes me feel ill, especially when the two of them disappear down the hallway like he can't get her alone fast enough.

I stay miles away, worried about Kayla and completely distracted until dinner, dreading having to sit across from the woman I don't know if Eric's dating, screwing or whatever else with. It shouldn't matter since I know there's nothing between us except sex. Sex for money or now sex for room and board. But I owe him and will gladly give him anything he wants for returning my boys safely to me.     

The five of us sit down at the ridiculously long dining table and then Marjorie places salads and plates of food down in front of us, making me feel like I'm at a five star restaurant instead of someone's home. Not that I'd know what it's like to eat at a five star restaurant. I'm sure the uppity bitch across from me does, though.

"This looks great, Marjorie," I tell her, and she smiles when she takes a seat next to the prissy woman.

"It does. Thanks, Marjorie," Eric tells her.   

I reach over next to me and cut up Noah's beef tenderloin and then do the same for Riley. They both dig in and eat the meat but push the asparagus and pasta around with their forks. They don't even look twice at the salad bowl. My little carnivores. I can't really blame them for their pickiness with vegetables since they've been raised on sandwiches, Hamburger Helper, and take-out.

"At least try a bite of the asparagus and pasta," I tell them, and both of their noses simultaneously wrinkle in the same cute way.

"So how long are you staying, Hannah?" the woman asks. Courtney, maybe? I tried to forget her name. I feel the boys looking back and forth between us, probably wondering why she called me Hannah. Even though I'm Mommy to them, they've heard Kayla and other people call me Hope plenty of times.  

"Not long," I reply. "We're just passing through."

"Marjorie's got two rooms ready for you," Eric says.

"Thank you." I wonder if he intends for me to sleep there tonight since he has a visitor. I try really hard not to let the jealousy show on my face.

"If there's anything you need while you're here, just let Marjorie know. Her room is on the other side of the boys'."

"We really appreciate that," I tell him. "And I may need someone to grab some prescriptions from the pharmacy." The boys’ inhalers are low, and I don't like to wait until they're completely out before replacing them. I try not to feel guilty that they seem to breathe much easier here, in a spotless, mold free environment unlike our shitty little apartment.

"Sure, I'd be glad to go out and pick up anything you need," Marjorie says. "Oh, and, Mr. Coughlin, I hope you won't mind, but I went into the attic and found some of your childhood toys and put them in Noah and Riley's room," Marjorie says.

"Oh, wow, are you sure? These two can be somewhat...destructive," I warn.

"They'll be fine," Eric says, lifting his wine glass to his smiling lips.

"But don't you want to preserve them until you have your own little ones running around?" the bitch asks, causing Eric to almost choke.

"God no," he replies. It sounded like she expects those imaginary children sooner rather than later, and that'd she'll be their mother.

"But you don't have much time-" the woman starts, but Eric cuts her off.