Alun flashed him a smile. “Good night, then.” With that, he walked up the stairs without giving the others another look.
That made Craig very happy, so much so that he was grinning from ear to ear when he turned back to the others. He held out his arms. “Okay, gentlemen, who wants to take the first swing?”
Malcolm snorted. “Whoever takes the first one will make it the last.”
“You don’t scare me.”
“Don’t we now, laddie?”
“Nope, because I know you’re only mad because you were actually worried about Alun, and I appreciate that sentiment. I really do.”
That shut them up for a few seconds until Val asked, “Where did you take him?”
“To church.”
“Seriously?” Will said. “I had no idea he was religious.”
“I bet there are a lot of things about him you don’t know.”
“He’s never asked to be taken to one before,” Val interjected, rather defensively.
Craig barked out a laugh. “You expect him to ask you for shit? Do you have any idea what that man’s been through with your kind?”
“Do you?” Will countered.
“Yeah. Remember that I work vice. I’ve been helping people like Alun most of my career as a police officer. I know how to handle these difficult issues with care. Alun seems to appreciate that. He’s opened up to me about some of it. He hasn’t had anyone to talk to, I guess. And going to church made him feel better. I’m not going to apologize for taking him—or for treating him to his first taste of ice cream. He liked it.”
“Well, of course he liked it,” Val exclaimed. “Everyone likes ice cream, and what do you mean it was his first taste of it? There’s a whole fucking freezer full of the stuff,” he added with a wave of his arm in the direction of the kitchen. “He could have had as much as he wanted.”
Craig crossed his arms and huffed. “You honestly think that man feels free to simply take something, or ask for something, or fucking do anything? He was a goddamn slave for goodness knows how long, with no control, trying to survive. Did you know he was grateful, grateful,” he stressed, “that you all didn’t kill his son outright? His goal from day one has been to keep his head down and do whatever is necessary to appease you, in order to keep himself and his kid safe.”
There was no immediate response. The three men showed various forms of regret and confusion about what to do next. Finally, Will said, “I guess we all assumed he was settling in and that Lucien was helping him adapt. And we were never going to kill Merlin. He’s a fucking pain in the ass, but he’s just a kid. We’re not Dracul…or humans, for that matter. We value our young and protect them as much as possible.”
Craig held up his palms. “You don’t need to convince me. Alun’s the one who’s worried. And I have to tell you that getting back his son is my number one priority when we take off for Syria.”
“That’s fine,” Val replied. “Just make sure the kid is really on our side. I don’t care what Annika says. I’m not convinced Merlin isn’t playing both sides against the middle. And,” he added, “keep in mind everything you just said about Alun. We know what you’re after, however benignly, but do you really think that after everything he’s been through, Alun’s ready for some kind of relationship? Plus, he can still get pregnant, so double bag that dick of yours if he ever lets you take it out.”
“I’m aware of everything, believe me. But I’ll point out that you just saw how Alun turned to me when you sent him into a possible tailspin of guilt and worry. He trusts me. Plus, he likes my kisses,” he remarked with a grin. “You saw that yourself.”
“Just take it slow, Jefferson,” Will said. “He’s not some exotic or easy lay.”
Craig turned serious on a dime. “I know that. And you remember that he’s not some broken thing. He’s a smart, courageous man. Treat him accordingly.”
With that, he tossed the house keys to Val and left.
* * * *
Merlin slipped out, away from the lax body of the snoring guard. The man was a complete pig but so easily amused and too stupid to make sure he stayed awake while his visitor was still there. He was relying on alarms he’d established on the perimeter to raise him if anyone approached any of the entry points. The idiot had actually shown them to Merlin and bragged about it when Merlin had oh-so-casually asked if it was okay for him to be away from the console without calling in his relief man. Naturally, Merlin had studied his movements and was certain he could turn it off when the time came.
Slipping on the stupid harem pants and ignoring the urge to wash, he checked the monitors to make sure no one was lingering outside in the corridor. It was empty, as usual, as was the room he was heading for. He’d made a couple of dry runs at this before, careful to make sure that his leaving wouldn’t disturb the man. Never had he actually gone into the room, but having confirmed that his plan had a chance of success, he decided that now was the time. Too many days had passed, and with each one, Dafydd’s condition in particular was getting more dire. He couldn’t risk putting off his transmission.
After checking one more time that the guard remained asleep, he slipped out and raced to the other door. It took nothing to unlock it using the keypad, as he’d gleaned that information the first time the pig man had fallen asleep. God, these humans were weak. It was easy to see how Dracul could have conquered this world, but for Alex’s interference. Really, the humans should welcome the help. They were rubbish at nearly everything, as near as he could tell.
The room was small, filled with more monitors and a computer bank that was his objective. He knew the codes for this, too, thanks in part to Petru, and seconds after sitting in front of the main console, he was into the system. He had to hand it to Dracul. Mad King he may be, but he’d taken the time to set up access to satellites that even Val hadn’t dared touch for fear of discovery. That ballsieness itself had given the guy a leg up when it came to the war the aliens had been fighting. Really, it was surprising that Alex was destined, at this point, to be the winner.
No, that was perhaps overstating the situation. Merlin hoped that was the case. Until the last of the mercenaries lay dead and Dracul had turned to dust, there was no predicting the actual outcome with any certainty. Using the skill and information both Annika and Petru had given him, he quickly accessed Val’s secure email and sent the coordinates of his location and the schematics to the lair. He also provided—as best he could—information about what the rescue party would face once they arrived, in the form of numbers of mercenaries and fire power. In addition, he set up a time for them to send him a response about their ETA so that he could shut down the alarm systems for the perimeter—not that it was certain they’d trust him with that information. He had to try, though, and counted on Annika being persuasive about his loyalty.
Before sending the message, he threw in one last line—Everyone is as well as can be expected, but don’t dawdle. Although it wasn’t the most positive thing to say, it was at least honest.
He shut down the connection and slipped back to the corridor and into the surveillance room. His buddy was still snoring away. It gave Merlin time to run the video of the surveillance in the computer room to delete the part that showed him going in. This was also something he’d tried before. It worked, although if anyone bothered to check the time stamp, the missing minutes would be noticeable. It was a risk he had to take, not having dared to ask too many questions about how the lair’s security worked. When he was done, he kicked a chair to make noise and wake his host.