Successors (15 page)

“Seriously, I’m getting a cramp in my neck."

"Oh, sorry." He released her.

"Call me whatever you want, just get the hell away from me.” She turned and ran before she was fully balanced. Her confused equilibrium shifted her off the midline, but she couldn’t stop it. She wobbled and fell against one of the cell doors.

Clawed fingers reached out, ripping at her hair, and drawing her dangerously close to hungry fangs. She screamed and the creature moved its vice grip to her throat.

Vince arrived and slammed his fist into the frail vampiric arm. The bones snapped and the creature wailed in pain. He helped her up and put an arm around her as he rushed her back to the elevator.

Once she was safely in the lift, she pulled away from him. He turned to her and looked her over. He lifted her chin to check her neck, but she ripped out of his grip.

"Get off me!"

He sighed. “Are you okay?”

“No! I almost got eaten by a vampire!”

“No, never would have happened.”

“Because I was with
you
?” she mocked. “None of that would have happened if I wasn’t with
you
to begin with.”

He huffed and leaned on the wall with her, his shoulder touching hers. “None of that would have happened, if you would have just given me your name," he pouted—if werewolves could pout. "Cori,” he added.

She couldn’t help but look at him. It was the first time she had heard her own name spoken to her in months. He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with unrestrained flirtation.

She looked forward to the doors, and tried not to encourage his behavior. “You shouldn’t have brought me down here.”

“I admit that wasn’t the best choice for our first date.”

“Date?” she scoffed and chuckled at his audacity. Who did he think he was? He was hot, no doubt, but heavy-handed was an understatement. Not to mention that ego.

He touched her arm, interrupting her internal evaluation of him. He trailed his finger down to her fisted palm and gently plucked at her fingers, begging for her to release her grip. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, refusing his childish endeavor.

Ever amused by her dissidence, he continued to tickle her clenched fingers. A smile crept onto her face, completely defying the long list of negatives she had just reminded herself of.

Surrendering to the game, she loosened her fingers and he pushed into her palm. His long fingers sinuated through hers.

Satisfied with his minor conquest, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze and leaned back on the wall with her. As pubescent as the contact was, she felt her stomach flip.

25

Vince led the way to Danato's office with her firmly in tow. He barged in, not bothering to knock. Danato looked up from his paperwork as they entered. Ethan was seated with his feet on the short file cabinet, reading one of the books in Danato’s substantial library. He did a double take at them, baffled at seeing them together.

“What did she do now?” Danato’s shoulders slumped in anticipation.

"What?" Cori scowled back at him.

“No, no, I’m fine.” Vince waved away his concerns. “I have someone to introduce to you.” He announced with a grin as he swung their conjoined hands playfully.

Ethan’s eyes shifted to their entwined fingers and he leered at Vince. She wondered if it would make him feel better to know that her hand wasn’t so much being held as it was being detained until further notice.

“We already know her,” Danato said dryly, not willing to play along.

“Do you know her name, though?” Vince taunted.

“She hasn’t told us.” Danato glanced at her, revealing some of his disappointment with that particular fact.

“Her name is… oh, blast, what’s the full version? I forgot it already. Cortney, Corrin.”

“Corinthia!” she finally said herself.

“Yes, that’s it, but we just call her Cori though, right?"

“Apparently, since you can’t remember it,” she muttered bitterly.

“I remembered it,” he whispered. “I just wanted you to say it yourself.”

“You told this fleabag your name?” Ethan snapped.

“Hey, sport, no need to share insult.” Vince tightened his grip and tugged her back, as if claiming her. He examined Ethan, gauging if he was a threat to his alpha-male status, but he must have found him to be harmless because he offered a contented smile before relaxing again.

“I’m not talking to you. I guess I’m talking to
Cori
.” Ethan slammed his book shut and stood. “You just tell this guy your name in one day, even though I’ve… we’ve known you for months?”

“I didn’t tell him,” she defended. “The reader told him.”

“Reader!” Danato stood so fast his chair slammed into the wall behind him.

“No, no, not her.” Vince chuckled and pulled her back again, but this time for protection. “Downstairs. Cleos.”
Danato came around his desk. He pushed Vince out of the way with one hand and drew her forward with the other. He looked over her neck, twisting her head this way and that. “There are marks here.” Danato pushed her head to one side and pointed out the cuts to Vince.

“Only scratches, she lost her balance.”

“Vince…” Danato’s chest puffed.

“Danato, it’s me.” He gestured to himself. “I can protect her. You know that,” Vince calmed him.

The two men faced off, silently bickering for the right to mount their white horses on her behalf. Meanwhile, her hand was stuck in one vice grip, and her face in another.

“Will both of you just LET ME GO!” she yelled and she was instantly released on both ends. They each looked at her a little sheepishly for their manhandling.

“Cori—” Vince started.

“Don’t!” She frowned at him. “Just leave me alone. I have work to do.” She glanced at Danato, but he didn’t say anything one way or another.

She didn’t give any of them a chance to respond. She walked out, slammed the door behind her, and started her day over again.

She collected her cleaning supplies from the part-time level and went to the animal level to start her work on the first tank. She was sure now she wouldn’t be finished before supper, and would likely be there into the evening. That wasn’t what bothered her about the day’s excursion, though.

The release of her name felt like a violation to her. She didn’t care that everyone knew her name, but it was yet another example of something that was just hers, taken away from her.

As she scrubbed the interior of the tank, she noticed Vince outside the tank rummaging in her cart. “Hey!” He turned around and smiled at her. He gloved up and climbed into the adjacent tank with a brush and bottle of cleaner in hand. Through the soapy glass of her tank and the fogged glass of his, she watched him start cleaning.

She was shocked by the gesture, but she had no intention of refusing it. She went back to cleaning and quickly developed a rhythm with her suds. As she watched his progress, she noticed that he was making fast work of his tank as well. If she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be racing her.

They didn’t speak the entire time they were working, but when they both climbed out of the finished tanks, shortly after five, she thanked him.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you today.” Vince tossed his gloves back onto her cart. “I thought I was being playful. Turns out I’m just a jerk.”

“I’m not embarrassed by my name. I just thought I wouldn’t be here long enough to share it. You know?” She pulled her gloves off with a snap.

“You got a better life out there, do you?” he asked, nodding his head to the proverbial
out there.

“Maybe not, but it would be nice to make sure.”

He nodded again. “You’ll come back to visit me sometime, won’t you? When you aren't busy.”

“That bored, huh?”

He smiled as he backed away from her. “That intrigued.” He turned around and headed back to his level without another word.

26

That night at dinner, Ethan was less than friendly. She tried to explain the events that transpired to release her name, but he eventually left the table with the excuse of studying. Danato had been fairly quiet through the meal and she eventually couldn’t take it.

“Okay, let’s have it. Where’s my lecture about hanging out with werewolves.”

Danato looked up at her from his third helping of mashed potatoes. “What?” he asked. “Vince? Oh, he’s okay. If the floor is closed, you can’t hang out with him, and if he goes on leave, you can’t go with him, but if you develop a friendship, I have no objections.” He poked his fork into his potatoes, but it froze at his mouth.

“I might object to any further relationship based on the burden of werewolf-associated issues.” He opened his mouth for the bite, but stopped again. “On the other hand, you’re young and I know you must be lonely, so, if a bond would develop, I could hardly object.”

She rattled her head, trying to make his words make sense. “Did you just give me permission to date a werewolf?”

Danato smiled warmly and took her hand. He pressed his lips to it for a sincere kiss. “I’m pleased my consent would play any part in your choice, but I have no intention of picking your suitors.”

“What about Ethan? Didn’t you have something in mind when you brought me here along with him?”

Danato frowned and cleared his throat. “I don’t know what I had in mind with you, but I certainly had no designs for your future when I did it.” He looked toward the balcony. “As much as I would like for Ethan to have a prospect for a wife, I know that love isn’t always as simple as proximity. If Ethan wants your love, he will have to earn it.” He looked back at her. “Just as any man would. He knows that, he would just prefer you wait for him while he does.”

She nodded. “So, no lecture? No yelling?”

“No.” He released her hand and pulled a small box from his pocket. He set it on the edge of the table next to her and pushed himself away from the table. “Goodnight…” He stood. “…Cori.”

She looked up at him. It was the first time he had used her name since he had heard it. Despite her objections to the revelation she did like hearing it. “Goodnight, Danato.” She offered him a small smile and he headed to his bedroom.

She looked down at the box and opened it. Inside she found her gold thumb ring. It had been reshaped and polished. It showed the fractures where it had been bent, but it was still hers.

27

On the main floor, down the east hallway and to the right, Danato led Ethan into a cavernous room. The room, and its lack of contents, took up the bulk of the main floor. It was designated as the gym, but it contained none of the modern equipment that Ethan associated with gyms. There was only a small section devoted to some over-used exercise equipment. A set of free weights, floor mats, and various punching bags made up the bulk of its repertoire.

The remainder of the so-called gym was empty. The white glossy floors were the same as the rest of the prison, but marked with red and yellow tape. At the far end of the room was a huge metal door, not unlike the type on an airplane hangar.

“This is the gym?” he asked, circling his attention back to Danato.

He hadn’t come in much past the front door. He just leaned against the wall observing Ethan. “It’s time to add weight lifting in with your calisthenics.”

Ethan waved his hand back to the empty space behind him. “Kind of big, isn’t it? Or do you have gymnastics tournaments in here too?”

A slight tinge of a smile crossed Danato’s face, but it was gone before he spoke. “Something like that.”

“What’s in there?” Ethan asked, moving toward the hangar door. Even as his feet moved closer, the grandiose nature of the door made him slow to a stop. He looked back at Danato for the answer.

“
The trainer,
” he answered
.

Ethan waited for more information but, as usual, the less said the better in Danato’s opinion. “Right.” He nodded as if he wasn’t confused. “So are we talking ‘King Kong’ or like a ‘Godzilla’?”

Danato’s brow creased. “I’m not sure either is accurate. You’ll need to build your muscles before you start using the trainer. You’ll work your muscles daily and cardio-agility twice a day between your studying.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?” Ethan asked. “Don’t I need some recovery time?”

“I have a special beverage that speeds up muscle repair.”

“Steroids?” Ethan asked, concerned.

“No, but it will speed things up. I’ll have it ready for you in my office each morning. I plan to release the trainer in a few months.” He nodded at the hangar. “You’ll need to be ready.”

Ethan looked back at the door. Without any further encouragement or threat, he picked up the first dumbbell he could lift and started curling.

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