Chapter Nine – Adam
Christopher was alone in his study when Adam strode in. Good. As much as he loved his mother, it was clear that Christopher wasn't going to talk unless it was alone. This saved a lot of hassle trying to get Lena to leave so that his brother would spill on whatever it was he was in deep trouble about.
Shutting the door behind him, Adam faced Christopher with a frown. His brother looked anxious. His skin was paler than usual, with dark circles under his eyes and a slightly sallow tint to his complexion. If vampires could be sick, then Adam would have thought his brother had the plague. Maybe he was sick. Or he'd lied, and was on drugs.
"What's this about, Christopher?"
"You remember that we talked about me owing Jonas money?"
Not off to a great start. "Of course."
"Well… you remember me saying it had nothing to do with drugs?"
Adam stiffened. His eyes flashed.
Christopher flinched as he looked at his brother. "I'm not on drugs. I'm not that stupid. But… my debt to Jonas was a little deeper than I led you to believe. I owed him almost five hundred thousand. I know, I'm an idiot, but he offered me a way to pay it back without getting you involved. He wanted me to bring some heroin back from Cabo. But… the shipment was destroyed. Almost two million dollars' worth street value."
Adam's hands clenched. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep himself under control, but was rapidly losing that battle. What had his brother been thinking? Christopher wasn't dumb – at least, Adam hadn't thought he was until now.
"He said that Wanda knows things about his operation. Things that will get him thrown in jail. He threatened to come after me if you do anything. I just don't know what to do. I know that nothing I say will stop you from going after him if he's into drugs or if he did anything to Wanda, but there has to be a way to leave me out of it. At least let me pay—"
"Leave you out of it?" Adam exploded. He slammed both hands onto his desk. "You smuggle two million dollars' worth of drugs into my kingdom and you expect me to leave you out of it?"
"Adam—"
"You're lucky if I don't have you thrown into the dungeons right now. How could you be so stupid and reckless? What were you getting out of it? I have bailed you out time and time again. What made you think that a stupid five hundred thousand dollars was going to make a difference? I would have given it to you. But now, not only are you a criminal, you have put me in a compromised situation."
Christopher ground his teeth together. "I know. And I am sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it." Adam sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. "Jonas is doing more than just dealing drugs, although that is bad enough. He is buying girls from their parents and keeping them as slaves."
His brother's already-pale face paled further. He swallowed and opened his mouth, but Adam didn't want to listen to his excuses.
"I am going to organize a raid, arrest him and his vampires, and free those humans. And I want you to be ready to testify against him. Maybe I'll be able to lighten your sentence if you do that, but you are still going to jail."
"I know. I know, okay. I'm going to jail." Christopher's hands shook. "I'll go. I'll testify against him, and I will go to jail without complaint. I will do news broadcasts and say I deserve it and I stand by your decision to prosecute me. But please. Please, give me the money to pay him back first."
Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Please!"
"No." Adam pointed at the door. "You can either turn yourself in at the dungeons or I'll get someone up here to arrest you."
Christopher stared at him for a long moment, his expression turning from disbelief to acceptance. His shoulders hunched as he headed for the door. There, he glanced back. "I'm sorry, Adam. I really am."
"It's not the right time for that."
The king turned towards his window, ignoring his brother. Anger rolled through him, but he forced it aside. Christopher had made his choices, and now he was going to have to live with the consequences. It was going to break Lena's heart, but he couldn't make exceptions. Not even for his little brother. Once he started doing that, then everything he fought so hard for would start falling apart.
Once he had himself back under control, he returned to Wanda's room. The door was opened, and Wanda and Lena stood inside. Adam hesitated, not knowing if he should tell his mother what had occurred or if he should just let it wait.
No, it couldn't wait. She deserved to hear it from him, not somebody else. "Mother. I need to tell you something."
Lena turned to him. Seeing his expression, her face paled. "Is it Christopher?"
"He's… gotten himself into trouble. He owes Jonas two million dollars for losing a shipment of heroin. I'm going to have to have him arrested. But first, I am going after Jonas."
His mother swayed on the spot, but Wanda came to him, holding her arms out. He gratefully accepted her embrace. Putting Christopher in prison… it was not a task he was looking forward to. In the meantime, though, he had to concentrate on Jonas. The vampire had gotten away with too much for too long.
"I'm sorry about your brother," she whispered.
Adam sighed. "Me, too. But what's done is done. I just wish he had come to me, instead of… But I have to go. The sooner I get Jonas behind bars, the better."
Wanda nodded, though she seemed reluctant to release him. "Come home quickly."
He brushed a finger across her jaw. "I will."
***
It wasn't until he was in his armored van, driving with a dozen of his best soldiers to arrest Jonas, that the first trickling of doubt started to sink into his mind. Christopher's insistence on paying back the other vampire before he was arrested was strange. More strange was how he looked like he hadn't been sleeping or drinking. There had to be something else going on. Why else would Christopher be so desperate?
Adam's brow furrowed. Had he let his anger get the best of him once again? He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed Christopher. He didn't answer. Adam doubted that he had actually turned himself in to be arrested, but it was as equally unlikely that he wanted to talk to his big brother at the moment. The king called Lena instead.
"Is everything okay?" she answered, worry thick in her voice.
"Yes. We're just heading out right now." Adam glanced out the window as the sprawling, immaculate yard around the palace faded to the first houses. It would take an hour to get to Jonas' property. It might give the other vampire time to flee, but not enough for him to hide all the evidence. "I need you to talk to Christopher."
He heard the doubt in Lena's voice when she spoke. "What about?"
"Why he did what he did. I can't shake the feeling there's more to the story than he told me… than I let him tell me."
"Okay. I'll talk to him."
"Thanks." Adam hung up and leaned back in the seat. Whatever Christopher was going through was going to have to wait, but, hopefully, Lena could get through to him.
Maybe there was a way to protect his brother in the end after all.