“Moving is not enough,” Meryl said, and Marcus straightened in his chair.
“What are you talking about?”
Meryl crossed her legs at the knee and lazily bounced her leg as she smiled at him. Her long fingers were folded in her lap. “You know I have no problem with you, Marcus. You’re smart. You keep to yourself. And we both know that no matter how cute and tempting that new assistant of yours is, he will never discover the truth about you.”
A chill swept down Marcus’s spine at the thought of Ethan ever uncovering the fact that he was a vampire. He could clearly see the warmth and laughter dissolving from Ethan’s expression to be replaced with one of horror and hatred. He was a monster. A creature to be feared. He didn’t kill, but the strength and power to were at his fingertips. He could so easily drain his prey too much or snap a neck. He never wanted to see that fear in Ethan’s eyes. No, he could never know the truth.
“Then if I’m not your problem, why are you here?”
“Your family is my problem,” she bit out between clenched teeth. Her hands moved to tightly grip the leather-covered arms of the chair. “I would speak with Winter. He’s the only other logical, sensible one of your wretched clan, but he’s too hard to nail down. But you’re the eldest. Everyone knows that you’re the only one who can hope to keep that fucking hedonist in line.”
“Bel?”
“Rafe!” she snarled, slamming the palm of her right hand on the chair. “We can all do without Beltran’s silly experiments, giving vampires the stupid idea that we need to be cured. We’re not a goddamn disease. We’re an evolutionary breakthrough.” She sucked in a breath and sat back in her seat. “I’m talking about Rafe. He’s too brazen and careless. He’s fucking told people that he’s a vampire at that stupid nightclub of his. He’s admitted it!”
Hell, he needed a drink. Or just to throttle his little brother. But he didn’t let his frustration show. This conversation was nothing new. He’d gone before the Ministry time and time again to soothe ruffled feathers over Rafe’s newest antic. No one on the Ministry was amused with Rafe’s decision to “come out” to the world as a vampire. The only thing that saved Rafe’s neck was that no one believed him. Humans thought it was a joke, a publicity stunt to draw more people to his club.
“No one actually believes him. People think it’s just part of his act.”
“And what if someone starts believing him? What if he does something that removes all doubt that he’s a vampire?”
“He won’t,” Marcus snapped. He paused and clamped down his control over his voice. “He won’t. He’s having fun. Rafe won’t risk revealing our secret. The dangers are too great.”
“I think you’re giving your brother more brains than he truly has.”
Marcus said nothing, just glared at the vampire sitting next to him. If it had been nearly anyone else in that chair, he would have already tossed them out. But it wasn’t only that Meryl was older and stronger than him. Meryl also wielded influence. A few whispers in the right ears and the Varik clan could be in serious trouble. This visit was a courtesy. A final warning.
“I’ll speak with Rafe. Rein him in if it becomes necessary.”
Meryl narrowed her gaze on Marcus and leaned toward him. “We are beyond necessary with Rafe.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Meryl slowly reclined, settling against the leather cushion. Her hands were once again folded in her lap and she stared unblinking at him. “Sadly, this isn’t just about Rafe.”
A horrible uneasiness twisted in Marcus’s stomach, but he kept his face blank. He should have seen this coming. Rafe was the warm-up act. An easy target to get Marcus to agree to her demands. No, what Meryl was truly after was his mother.
“Julianna is insane,” Meryl said. There was no more mincing words or pretending that this could be a civil conversation.
“Meryl,” Marcus said in warning. He shifted forward in his seat, sliding to the edge, but a heavy hand came down on the back of his neck, squeezing. He’d gotten so wrapped up in the vampire in front of him that he’d forgotten the silent and deadly shadow also lurking in the room.
“Everyone knows it. The bitch should have been put down the moment she’d been reborn, but Aiden promised he could keep her under control. Why the European Ministry listened to Aiden’s request, I will never understand. I truly doubt they would have allowed it if they’d known he planned to turn her four children just to keep her under control.”
“Julianna Varik has not caused any problems recently. She is under control.”
“She’s a danger to everyone. Not just to the humans she feeds upon.”