Cain almost bumped heads with John when they both bent down to read it.
“Yes,” Cain confirmed.
John nodded in agreement.
“He probably counted on being the first to get a hold of the phone after your death and would then have erased his message to you and changed the contact info back,” Thomas guessed. “But you didn’t have the phone with you when you walked into that trap.”
“My brother wants me dead.”
Thomas shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time one brother tries to kill another for the throne. The entire English royalty dealt with that kind of thing on an ongoing basis.”
“But this one is not going to succeed,” Cain said with determination.
***
Abel shoved his cell phone back into his pocket.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath.
The call had come from Cain’s old cell phone, which Abel had always thought had been destroyed. In fact, he’d searched for it after Cain’s supposed demise in order to erase all evidence that could lead back to him. But he’d never found it and had eventually forgotten about it.
But now Cain had it. And it had been Cain who’d made the call. He’d recognized his brother’s voice.
Did this also mean that Cain was on to him? Abel had to find out, because his entire plan depended on his brother remaining in the dark so that John could execute the orders Abel had given him.
Easing the door to his suite shut behind him, Abel stalked across the corridor and into the connecting hallway that led to the other side of the palace’s underground living quarters, where the king’s and the queen’s suites were located. He treaded lightly, not wanting his footsteps to be heard by anybody.
Frustration churned in his stomach. He’d waited for this opportunity for so long, and now that he was so close to his ultimate goal, he couldn’t allow anything to stand in his way.
Silently, Abel opened another door and peered into the dim corridor. Through the sliver between door and frame he saw a guard pass on his way toward the stairs leading to the first floor. Several seconds passed until the guard was outside of earshot, and Abel could enter the hallway without being seen. Quickly he approached the double doors to the king’s suite, ready to dive into the next closet should anybody come. Luckily, several supply closets were lining the hallway.
But he didn’t have to resort to such hide-and-seek measures. The double doors were ajar. When Abel peeked through the slit, he couldn’t see anybody in the luxurious reception area, but he heard voices from the room to his left: the door to the suite of the leader of the king’s guard, which was now occupied by that interloper, Thomas, and his gay lover, stood open.
Abel wanted to snort, but didn’t dare make a sound. What a disgrace to the vampire race to have two vampire males engaging in sodomy! And under his roof! How could Cain allow such a thing? Cain wasn’t fit to be king if he tolerated such disgraceful acts in his palace.
Abel shifted to bring his ear to the gap between the two doors to listen more closely to the conversation, while holding his breath.
“Before you do anything, Cain . . .” It was John who spoke, hesitating for a moment, before continuing, “Abel has me by the balls.”
Abel jerked back, wanting to curse, but no sound came over his lips. Instead he pressed them together. John was going to betray him, revealing what he was supposed to do for Abel, despite the fact that this would mean death for his lover.
Abel balled his hands into fists. There was no time to lose now.
Change of plans.
He turned on his heel and rushed in the direction he’d come from.
He had to act quickly and save what he could. Now the gloves would come off and he’d go for the jugular.
No more being Mr. Nice Guy.
41
John dropped his head. “He’s holding Nicolette captive to force me to do his bidding.”
Cain expelled a breath. “Fuck!”
Similar curses came from his colleagues.
“I’m sorry, Cain.” John lifted his head, his eyes now displaying regret and pain. “He’s going to murder her the moment he finds out that I won’t kill you. He’s going to make her suffer.”
Seeing John’s anguish, Cain felt his heart go out to his old friend. He was willing to sacrifice the woman he loved for his king. “It doesn’t have to come to that. We’ll get to Abel before he can do anything.”
John shook his head, his hand trembling as he lifted it. “I’m supposed to kill you when the Mississippians are here. So he can pin it on them and start an all out war. As soon as he realizes that I’m not executing his orders, he’ll order Baltimore to kill Nicolette. We’ll never get to her in time.”