Queen (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (97 page)

“What’s worrying you?” Marc asks softly and tries to hold me closer.

“I don’t want to feel jealous, but I do,” I say honestly and press a hand between our chests t
o give me some personal space.

“No worries. Whitt is a one woman kind of man,” he chuckles at his joke.

“I wasn’t referring to Whitt,” I grumble.

“Regina,” he grabs my hand and presses it on his shoulder and squeezes me tightly. “I’m n…-”

“Oh no,” I cut him off as I stare in horror at Ade.

She walks purposely through the crowded dance floor towards Katya. Her eyes are wild with insanity. I don’t bother stopping her. I run as fast as I can to the children. I grab for the tall, lithe towhead and yank her to my chest and cover her ears with my palms.

“You have to fuck every person in this group. I think you add a whole new level to being a whore.” Ade’s voice rings out clearly above the din of the band. Seconds later you could hear a pin drop as the band ceases to play. I don’t look because I yank all three twelve-year-olds to my chest and Niel holds Whitney back from going to her aunt’s defense. 

“Adelaide, leave!”
Katya’s sharp voice cuts through the deafening silence.

“You’re trying to get back at me by screwing my baby brother, you little bitch,” Ade hisses venomously. 

“Everything is your fault, Katya. I had a good life. I was going to be a Zeitler wife and make him lots of heirs. You messed that all up as you fucked your way through the population. I bet you begged Ray Hunter to rape you hoping to snag a Zeitler. I bet you have sex in front of that bastard daughter of yours.”

A sharp snap cuts off Adelaide’s tirade and I know that Katya lost her shit and hit her. I ignore everything around me. My son chases his furious cousin down and yanks her back to us as she struggles and hisses like a pissed off cat. I sense a scuffle behind me and the murmur of Whitt, Daniel, and Marcus, but my sole focus is Ava.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” I look into my son’s girlfriend’s eyes for the first time. The huge, watery gray orbs mirror her shock and sadness.

“I’m sorry that we had to meet like this,” I smooth her silky hair back and try to ignore the fact that she is an exact replica of Diane. I replace the image of Diane in my mind and cover it with Ezra. I tell myself she looks like Ezra and she’s sane like
Katya- recent events excluded.

“My name’s Regina and I’m Niel’s mom,” I say pleasant
ly and she relaxes in my arms.

“Hi,” she says shyly in the same tinkling voice of her grandmother’s. There is a twinge of something in it, but I refuse to name it evil. I don’t want to project my hatred of her bloodline onto her.

“You doing okay? You didn’t hear that,” I stare her in the eyes and will her to forget what she just heard her boyfriend’s aunt say about her mother.

“That woman who was being mean to my mom, she was my dad’s ex-girlfriend,” she glares at no one in particular and evilly smiles. “She won’t be an issue now that she did that with all these people watching.” The sinister giggle that erupts from her throat scares me to my core. 

I look at my son and then I close my eyes and pray.
Lord, please protect us from the union of my child and Ezra’s. If they ever have a child it will be a bad seed.  Please help them bring the goodness out of each other and not the evil. May God protect us all.
 

“Thank you, Regina,” Cort breathes in my ear and rubs my back.

“Dad,” Ava exclaims and runs into his arms.

“How’s my monster?” He says affectionately and hugs her.
Monster?
How appropriate.

I don’t watch them; I hold my son’s eyes and I try my damnedest to silently communicate with him. She’s young yet and can be directed. The less time she spends around Diane the better.

Niel nods at me and blushes. He’s seen it, that tainted part of her, and he recognizes it. I nod back letting him know I’m keeping an eye on both of them.

The band starts to play again and the party resumes as if nothing happened. Ella and Prissy grab Niel’s hands and pu
ll him into a three-way dance.

“Dance with me, Cort,” Ava chirps and he laughs, thoroughly charmed.

“I’m scared,” I whimper to the heat at my back.

“Me too,” Ezra s
ays and draws me into a dance.

“We have to keep an eye on them. I know she’s your daughter, but
you must recognize the signs.”

“I do. She’s only like that when someone threatens one of us. I feel like it will be a good thing. She won’t lash out because of anger and vengeance. But, yes, I do see it,” he says sadly.

“My son could be bad, too. He’s playing a dangerous game with his grandfather, and we’re his pawns,” I say hopelessly.

“I know one of the pawns is my daughter. Don’t worry, she knows it too. I overheard them talking. We have to have faith that our a
ctions will influence theirs.”

“That doesn’t comfort me much,
Ezra. We do very bad things…”

“But we do them for the right reasons,” he says softly and draws me closer to his chest. I feel cold to the depth of my soul. I hold him tightly not caring who witnesses it. We both need warmed.

“How’s Katya? What happened to Ade?” I whisper against his neck and he shudders.

“Daniel and Whitt escorted her from the premises. I’m sorry, Regina. I overheard them talking when they came back. I honestly don’t think Daniel was going to commit her or maybe Niel was influencing him not to, but her recent actions have given him no choice. He already called in the injunction.”

I silently cry trying not to remember her as the twelve-year-old girl who befriended me on my first day of school at Hillbrook, as she went after everyone who insulted me like a bulldog. 

“Marcus is punishing Katya for losing her control. He was disappointed that she allowed Adela
ide to influence her actions.”

“Nice way to sugarcoat that he’s fucking her again inside that house,” I hiss. I wipe my tears away promising myself never to shed another for Marcus.

“I’m sure he did. We know that’s how it goes, Regina. He’s back now, though,” Ezra whispers and I know Marc is headed our way.

“Excuse me. I need to speak with my husband,” I say as Marc puts that warm hand on the small of my back again. I ignore the comfort and keep talking, “I’m sure he’s upset.” 

Thirty-One

Now that everyone is outside I decide it’s time to go inside.  I look for Whitt everywhere and he’s nowhere to be found. It is a big house, though- nowhere near as large as Whittenhower Estates, but still a confusing mass of labyrinth-like hallways.

Daniel’s annoying voice spills from a cracked
doorway catching my attention.

“Niel, I can’t do anyth
ing else,” he says in a panic.

“You promised, but I bet you were going to do it a
nyway,” my son growls.

“You saw her. I only threatened it. I wasn’t actually going to do it. I didn’t want to piss you and Diane off. Whitt’s been on my ass constantly about it. Hell, your mother would have castrated me for it. I didn’t make Adelaide behave as she did. She’s been acting erratically for weeks. It isn’t safe for her or any of us. She has to go to WinterCrest.”

“I won’t sign the paper that commits my aunt. I just can’t do it,” Niel expresses.

“She is
a harm to herself and others. I worry that she’ll hurt Katya Waters. Do you want your future in-laws to turn you away because of your aunt.”

“Stop,” I call out as I enter the small sitting room. “You can’t put t
his on his shoulders, Daniel.”

“Regina, dammit!
This needs done!” Daniel shouts at me and pounds the desk just as I remember him doing all those years ago. Some habits you never break.

“What do you need?” I speak
calmly to defuse his tantrum.

“What?” He asks in shock and the
fight bleeds right out of him.

“Why does my son need to sign
the commitment paperwork?”

“I have power of attorney over her, but as a check and balance the judge put a stipulation that I needed another family member to sign as a witness.”

“I’ll do it,” I say without a shadow of a doubt.

“Mom!”
Niel yells at me.

“She’s not the same as she used to be. You don’t know how much she’s done lately, Niel. She needs help. I love her; I always have and I always will. You can trust that I feel this is for her best interests,” I say sadly an
d cover my face with my hands.

“What has she done that
was bad enough to deserve this?” He says in defeat and pounds his chest like his grandfather had the desktop. 

“She wouldn’t talk to me or let me help her. She helped get a rapist out on parole so he could torment Ava’s family. Ade sent their family threatening letters to frighten them. She released articles that were completely false and private. How about the scene she just pulled during the wedding reception. What more do you need? Do we wait for her to hurt someone or herself? If we wait
, we’ll be the ones to blame.”

I stare my son down and try to get him to see it from my point of view. I worry that for once I’m on the same side of Diane and Daniel, but they both love Ade as much as me. He closes his eyes and I watch thoughts rapidly flash across his face.

Niel slowly nods yes, and then Daniel pushes the paperwork to me. His signature is as fresh as the tears in his eyes. It really was just a threat; he’d never planned on doing it.

~
Regina Regal Whittenhower
I sign any hope of ever repairing my relationship with my best friend- the woman I’ve called sister for eighteen years. She will hate me now, but I’d rather her hate me than have her hate herself for doing the unthinkable.

I squat down and sob. I know I did the right thing but it doesn’t make the agony any less.

“Thank you,” Daniel mumbles. His voice cracks under the strain of emotion and stress.  He looks at me with respect. I still hate the bastard, but I’ve always understood what it meant to make impossible choices. Only the strong can make them because the weak run and hide, just as Grant did. It isn’t the first nor will it be the last hard decision I’ve had to make for those I love.

A thought crosses my mind that disturbs me: did Daniel harm Grant, because the man who stands before me looks like he’s incapable of harming his own flesh in blood, or did Grant harm himself to get out of making the impossible choices.

A high-pitched, blood-curdling scream pierces the air and I’m running before I have time to think. Katya- it was Katya.

I follow the deafening silence. I hear the band outside and the murmur of guests. The silen
ce followed the primal scream.

Intuition slows my feet as I walk down a hallway. Niel tries to pass me and I gr
ab his arm and turn to Daniel.

“I… Please do this for me, Daniel,” I plead. “I just know that neither of you should see this,” my breath hitches in my throat.

The blue eyes that are the Whittenhower signature widen in fright and I watch the emotions of the house settle over him. He feels it too. He closes his eyes and slides his back down the hallway wall.

“Son, your mother has to do this alone. Sit with me. I need you,” he pleads. “I need you. I
can’t do this again,” he sobs.

That mournful sound will never leave me. It’s the sound he made when he told me Grant was dead. No- no- this man did not kill his son- who did?

The manliness leaches out of my son and the child is left standing in terror. Niel folds his larger body into his grandfather’s lap and stares at me in shock.

I stand in the doorway and all thought escapes me. I can’t think or speak. My eyes refuse to bring the scene before me into clarity. My mind protects me from the truth. I stare at the red walls, carpet, and bedding, and they blur. I blink tears back to clear my vision and I regret it instantly.
Sound is loud and quiet at the same time; it’s as if I’m underwater. Time stills and speeds up. I know I’m surrounded by people. I recognize them, but my mind refuses to give me the information.

Slowly reality sharpens into clarity. Ezra, Marcus, and Cortez surround a man I don’t know, but my mind supplies the name Ray Hunter. All of them stare at me, and they may be calling my name, but I don’t know.

Katya lies on a blood-soaked bed. She’s partially conscious, but in shock. Her arm is bent at a strange angle, and blood runs in rivulets from her forehead and neck. I want to scream to the men demanding to know why no one is helping her. A man’s hand holds her uninjured one. I follow the hand and it leads me to the strong, broad back of my husband.

Whitt’s eyes are devoid of life as he stares at the floor. I stare where he’s looking and see nothing but red. I squint to make out what the lump is.
Red… red… and more red- wet and dripping red- blood.

“Ahhh…” I cry out and cover my mouth with the back of my hand. “No…no… no… no,” I repeat as the yellow blonde color emerges from the sea of red. As soon as I recognize one part of the whole it slowly coalesces into Adelaide.