Breathe Under Water - Shadows of the Night 1

Chapter 40

Dear readers,

I want to thank you all for staying with me and this story for so long. It's hard to believe, but this is the last chapter of book 1! If you like Anna's story, for it's hers as much as it's mine, I invite to come along and read the second book "Bathe in Fire, Shadows of the Night 2", which I'll begin to post in a short while. So, let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!

Lara

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Chapter 40

You just wait until Brown hears of this, Alexander! You won’t get away with it!

I found it, the smart answer I was looking for. Too late for him to actually hear, but hear from me he would.

I went into Brown’s office the following day, determined to let my boss know just what kind of scheming, psychopathic monster this so-called ally of his really was. Alexander clearly breached the terms of the deal he and Brown agreed upon.

It was illegal to force somebody into a master-slave-relationship. We both knew it. Alexander said it was going to be my word against his. So why hadn’t he already told Brown? Why didn’t he want him to know? Did he want him to know?

The only question that remains is: what will you do, Anna Johnson?

The words echoed in my mind, spun and whirled like leaves tossed up in the air. It was almost like he was daring me to tell, or not tell – the ultimate provocation.

Alexander was wrong. There was more than one question to be answered. The ultimate question was: Was this just another mind game within the bigger one, or was it real?

* * *

I sat down opposite my boss, waiting for him to go through the final details of the case. Dressed in a dark gray suit and tie, Brown leaned forward, staring at me for a few seconds. I stared back, too keyed up to be bothered by the fact that he didn’t talk.

“You really did it. Congratulations,” he said slowly.

I nodded mutely, doing another round of staring. The wheels inside, however, were turning. The fact that Brown refrained from the usual introductory overtures made me more than suspicious. Something was off.

“Did the Raven confess yet?” I finally said.

Brown shook his head gravely. “What we can say for sure, at this point in time, is that the faked amulets were reconstructed after a token Heron received from Antonio Cellini himself,” he said, before elaborating further.

Based on what Alexander stated during a meeting with Brown the night before – a meeting I had been unaware of, by the way, – Heron mentioned that the amulet he received had been nowhere to be found a few weeks ago. He also mentioned a visit to the royal estate of the Cellinis three months ago to Alexander.

“Heron’s human servant, Corine, abstracted one of the amulets from the private chambers of the royalty and managed to return it without anyone noticing,” Brown concluded.

I narrowed my eyes. So that was when they tampered with the amulets. It also meant that Alexander already made that connection the night after I was wounded. The ‘human-servant-Anna’ was left in the dark during the final tea party with the Cellinis, Heron, and Alexander. The vamps were aware of how the amulet was stolen and reproduced at that point in time, but, evidently, they were reluctant to share quality information with a human servant.

Go figure.

Brown leaned back and laced his fingers in front of him, elbows resting on the arm-rests of his office chair.