Bound by Night(46)

Chuck’s pauses were really starting to piss her off.
Finally, he said, “Plausible deniability.”
Jesus. What were they doing in that place? “I need you to get Neriya out of there.” She looked over at Riker, who was watching her like he expected her to drop clues to her whereabouts or maybe just shout for help outright. “Now.”
“Nicole . . . that won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“The partners won’t allow it,” Chuck said, impatience leaking into his voice. Yes, it must be such a burden for her to ask for something as simple as releasing an illegally obtained vampire.#p#分页标题#e#
“What do you mean, they won’t allow it?” she snapped. “They have no choice. I’m giving an order.”
“That’s the thing. You don’t give orders anymore. You missed the meeting, Nicole.”
Unbelievable. “I missed the meeting because I was kidnapped. I think, given the circumstances, my inability to attend a board meeting can be overlooked.”
“It’s too late. They enacted code twelve-point— two-nine of the company bylaws.”
She swallowed. Hard. Her father had made surehis offspring retained full control in the event o f his death . . . unless said offspring was incompetent or unable to fulfill his or her role as CEO. In wh ich case, after a board hearing, the CEO could be stripped of that position, and his or her company shares would go to the next in line to inherit.
Which, in this case, was Chuck.
“So . . . you’re in charge now?”
His answer was a long time coming. “Yes.”
Anger lit her like a fuse, but right now, she was more concerned about her survival than her company.
“Then you can get the vampire out of the facility yourself, in order to make the trade for me.”
“I’m sorry, Nicole. I can’t.”
Her mind spun at his incomprehensible answer.
“You’re in control of the company. You can do whatever you want!”
“That’s where you’re wrong. This is a legal matter now. If I help you, I’ll risk the company and jail time.”
Her legs turned to rubber beneath her, and she sagged onto Riker’s couch. “I don’t understand. Why is this a legal issue?”
Again, there was a long, tense pause. Finally, Chuck said firmly, “Because the VHS somehow got hold of the video documenting the vampire deaths you signed off on, and it’s now on every news channel on the planet. Public outrage has grown. It’s a small minority, but they’re loud. They’re calling for your arrest on charges of cruelty and inappropriate execution.” She heard more clink ing of ice in a glass and the gurgle of another liquor pour. “I’m sure it’ll blow over.
The majority of the population doesn’t care about a couple dozen dead bloodsuckers. The board thinks that as long as you aren’t in charge of the company anymore, the VHS will be satisfied. But that means you need to stay out of sight. At least, until we announce your kidnapping.”
They hadn’t done that yet? “You can’t be serious. Chuck, you have to get me out of here!”
“Nikki, I’m sorry. This is killing me, but I don’t know what I can do. Most of the board doesn’t know about the lab, let alone how we’ve been procuring vampires. If they find out—”
“The entire company will be at risk, and everyone involved, including you, will go to jail.”
“Yes,” he whispered.
Her heart sank. Dear God, she was screwed. He was going to let the vampires keep her. “Dammit, you’ve got to do something. You have to—”
Riker swiped the phone from her. “Listen to me, you human scum. You have twelve hours to get Neriya back to us, or your sister dies.”
Nicole sucked in a shocked breath, her heart squeezing painfully. She’d known she wasn’t exactly a guest here, but she thought she and Riker had an understanding that would at least make him a little hesitant to kill her.
He didn’t even have the courtesy to look her in the eye as he waited for her brother to reply. After a long moment, he quietly closed the phone.
“Well? What did he say?”
“He said he loves you.” Riker swore, and her heart stopped completely. “And he’s sorry.”
 
 
• • • • • •

 
 
Charles Martinwas a piece of shit. Oh, he’d said he loved Nicole. He’d said he was sorry.
But it was all a load of crap. If Riker were in Chuck’s position, he’d stop at nothing to save someone he cared about. He’d spent months searching for Terese after she’d been captured. After he’d located her at the Martin estate, he’d spent months planning to free her. Then he’d spent another eight months searching for her again when she disappeared, only to return pregnant.