Justine Ch. 18

When she did, his rage flared again. Her face was swollen and bleeding from the beating that the man had given her.

"Oh my god... baby sleep."

He covered her with an afghan that was lying on the end of the sofa and made sure that she was asleep. He walked over to the unconscious man who had somehow managed to hold onto the whip. Lorenzo looked at him with a mixture of hatred and rage and broke his neck. He went back to Naila and picked her up as gently as he could grimacing when she moaned.

"I'm sorry." he murmured as he took to the air with her held closely to his chest.

What she needed was a hospital but he didn't trust them. She would have to explain her injuries and he would have to explain how he came to find her. As it was, he was going to take heat for killing the human male but he didn't care. He would take whatever punishment the queen dished out, his one and only concern was Naila.

Fifteen minutes later, he was standing at Maurice's front door waiting for someone to answer. ********

If Wilhelmina thought that things were loud before Josephine was found, she was wrong. The music and laughter only increased to the point where people were shouting to make themselves heard. Everyone, Thomas included ignored her complaints as the party continued. So far, she hadn't been able to reach any of her contacts and she was irate. That irritation was turning into concern as the stories about the Queen's prisons started making their way into the realm.

"I heard that she's appointing people to hear cases all over the world." Someone said.

"I heard that too." was the reply, "and I hear that she's going after everyone on the list that Violet gave her."

Wilhelmina's ears perked up. If what she just heard was correct, it would explain why she hadn't been able to reach anyone. They were either in prison or in hiding.

"Damn it!" she cursed angrily as she stomped off to her suite no longer caring if Thomas and Lottie followed her. They were now obstacles that needed to be kept out of the way. At some point, she would have to decide what to do about them. That Thomas cared for the petite servant was obvious. That he hadn't acted on it was commendable but as far as she was concerned stupid. All he had to do was ask for a permanent dissolution of their mating and him and the little bitch could have gone on their way.

She could have just as easily let him go but why should she? It wasn't her way to give things that weren't asked for especially if it wasn't beneficial to her in some way. If she released them, they would be out of her hair. It was worth considering.

She wondered how long she had to make plans now that the Queen Mother was back. Even if they rushed, the gala wouldn't take place for at least six months but from what she knew of the new Queen, she would probably have a year if not longer.

She sat at her desk, drummed her fingers along the surface and wondered what her next step should be. She couldn't take any more chances with trying to reach her contacts. For all she knew they could have been interrogated and told everything they knew.

She tried to think of anyone in the realm who might be of use to her but could think of no one. She hadn't exactly endeared herself to anyone and she knew that Thomas was out of the question unless... a smile began to play on her lips as the very beginnings of a plan began to form.

******

Thomas watched Wilhelmina from across the room. One word came to mind-trouble. He wondered what she was up to and what part in it he would have to play. Whatever it was, he would have to do his best to protect not only himself but also Lottie. In a sudden flash of intuition, he knew that Lottie was going to be an integral part of whatever was going to happen.

He looked over at the petite brown-haired woman who was laughing as if she hadn't a care in the world. He had rarely seen this side of her as Wilhelmina was a stern mistress. As he watched and listened to her, he began to wonder if there wasn't a way to get her out of the realm.

The mention of Wilhelmina's name pulled him back to reality.

"I wonder how she's taking it?" the voice asked. "We all know that she wanted to be the Queen of Queens."

"She isn't here is she?" Someone asked. "What does that tell you?"

Thomas knew that he should say something in Wilhelmina's defense, but what could he say? His mate had made her views known from the moment they arrived and had tried to run the Realm as though it were her own personal kingdom. Several of the much older and stronger queens had put an end to that not long after they arrived.

"You had your chance to rule." Antonia a tall svelte French queen told her. "And as the humans would say, you fucked it up."

"You can't talk to me like that!" Wilhelmina replied.

"I can and I will." Antonia replied. "In case you have forgotten, I am one of the oldest and most powerful ones here. Now, back to what I was saying. This is not your personal kingdom, it belongs to all of us and if there were a designated queen, it sure as hell wouldn't be you. Like it or not, the current ruling queen is our queen so I would suggest that you behave yourself like a good little girl."

Francesca, a small dark skinned Spanish queen spoke next.

"I concur with Antonia." she said. "The best thing that you can do is to sit back and stop trying to control things. If you cannot..."

"Thomas? I apologize for speaking about your mate as I just did."

Thomas looked over to see Hanna who had been from what was now considered the Deep South.

"It's fine, I know how the others feel about her." he replied quietly.

"I know but still, it was rude of me to talk about her like that. May I ask a question?"

"Of course." Thomas replied. He had always liked Hanna and her wicked sense of humor.

"How is it that you're here?" she asked. "Willie has never permitted you to attend any other social events."

He had been wondering the same thing but did not say it. Instead, he came up with another response.

"I know but I guess she sees this as a special event."

Hanna gave him a dubious look and then smiled. "Whatever the reason, I'm glad that you and Lottie are here."

Thomas smiled back at her. He liked the use of his and Lottie's name in the same sentence. He glanced over and saw Lottie talking to someone else. The conviction that he had to get her out of the realm returned even stronger than before.

It was time for him to call in a few favors of his own.

********

It seemed like an eternity before the front door of Maurice's house opened. "Lorenzo?" Maurice asked clearly surprised to see him. His gaze went from Lorenzo's face to the face of the woman that he held in his arms.

"Come in." Maurice said as he stepped back to let Lorenzo in. "Follow me."

Lorenzo followed Maurice to a bedroom, laid Naila on the bed and turned to Maurice.

"This is Naila Jenson my mate."

"What happened to her?" Maurice asked as he took out his cell phone.

"Daddy!" Jon cried barreling into the room followed by Regina who stopped short when she saw Naila lying on the bed.

"Jon, come here." she said holding out her hand to him.

Jon paused, looked at Lorenzo, Naila, his father and then Regina.

"Who is that?" he asked looking back at Naila.

"Go with your mother." Maurice said not answering Jon's question.

Reluctantly, Jon took Regina's hand and allowed her to lead him out of the room. She looked back at Maurice with a question in her eyes.

"I'll explain." he said telepathically.

"You'd better." she replied in kind.

Maurice continued with his phone call.

"Dean can you come over? No Regina is fine but I have a human woman....what do you mean you don't take care of humans? They have the same body parts don't they? Yes... are you not under my employ? Then get over here... ten minutes."

"I'm sorry to just show up like this but I couldn't take her to a human hospital. There would be too many questions."

"You killed the one who did this to her." Maurice said understanding what the issues were.

Lorenzo's silence confirmed it.

"Dean will be here in a few minutes... she doesn't know does she?" Maurice asked.

"No... I.."

"What's going on?" Maurice asked exasperated. "Whatever happened to confessing to your mate, letting the chips fall where they may and then claiming her? You're the second vampire that I've run into that has kept things from his mate and nothing good came of it."

Lorenzo didn't get a chance to reply because Regina had come back into the bedroom.

"Regina this is my brother Lorenzo and the young lady on the bed is his mate Naila."

"What happened to her?" Regina asked as she approached the bed and sat on the edge next to Naila. "Maurice, can you get me some wet washcloths?"

While Maurice was gone, Regina looked at Lorenzo.

"It's nice to finally meet you although I'm sorry that it had to be under these circumstances."

"You know about me?" He asked surprised.

"Not until recently." Regina replied.

By the time Maurice returned with the washcloths, Dean Elliot, Regina's doctor had arrived. After having Lorenzo compel her into a deeper sleep, he examined Naila. He washed her face so that he could assess the damage to her face.

"Not as bad as it looks but she'll be in quite a bit of pain." he said as he palpated her cheeks and moved her jaws. "For the next few days don't give her any solids, just things that she can swallow."

He looked at Lorenzo taking in his size and noticing that he was still very much on edge.

"She is your mate?" he asked softly.

Lorenzo gave him a curt nod of his head in response.

"I have to uncover her, is that alright?"

"No!" Lorenzo bellowed as he moved closer to the bed. The only person he ever wanted to see her body nude was him.

"Lorenzo." Maurice said his voice was low, almost hypnotic. "He has to examine her. I'll step out and if you wish Regina will stay with you."

Lorenzo looked from Naila to Maurice, slowly nodded his head but didn't move away from the bed.

"Alright, shall we get started?" the doctor asked.

Lorenzo struggled not to grab the doctor as he removed the afghan from Naila's body. Tears stung his eyes when he saw the bruises that covered her stomach, legs and feet. He almost grabbed Dean when Naila moaned as he palpated her stomach even though he was as gentle as he could possibly be.

"No ribs or any other bones are broken." he muttered as he continued his examination. No internal damage... seems that the injuries are more external than internal.... Must watch for bleeding..."

Rage flared when the doctor with his help turned Naila over and the welts from the whip became visible. Lorenzo wished that he could go back in time, take the man somewhere and whip him to death.

"No!" Naila groaned in her sleep and tried to move away from Deans gently probing hands.

"Naila baby, it's alright, you're safe here with me." Lorenzo crooned as he stroked her forehead.

Finally, the exam was over.

"She's had the hell beaten out of her but she'll recover. I'll leave something for pain but if I were you, I would leave her under the sleep compulsion for a day or so. She needs the rest. Keep her back clean and apply the ointment that I'm going to leave with you. I don't think that there will be any scars and if there are, they should be minimal."

"Thank you." Lorenzo said as he sat on the bed next to Naila.

"You're welcome... Oh and one more thing, watch out for bleeding, especially in the abdomen... on second thought, make the sleep compulsion very light. She needs to be able to tell you if she's having more or unusual pain but as I was saying, watch for bleeding. If her abdomen becomes hard call me immediately, she might be bleeding into her abdomen. Maurice knows how to reach me but I'll give you the number to my direct line."

Regina followed the doctor out of the room.

"Is she really alright?" she asked.

"I believe so but we'll need to watch her." Dean replied. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Much better since the vomiting has stopped." Regina replied.

"Good and you're taking the vitamins?" Dean asked.

Regina grimaced and stuck her tongue out at Dean before answering.

"Yes I'm still taking the horse pills!"

"Good." Dean said with a smile. "Call me if either of you need me." he said and vanished.

"Regina..." Maurice said from behind her."

"Yes they can stay." she replied turning around to look at him. "I'm actually looking forward to getting to know him. I'm sure that he has some tales to tell about you."

It was Maurice's turn to grimace and then he smiled. He walked over to Regina, put his arms around her and kissed her.

"You are amazing and I thank you for accepting Lorenzo and his mate into our home."

"You're welcome." Regina replied. "I'd better go see if I have anything that she can wear."

******

Lorenzo listened to the soft voices outside of the door. Even with the door closed, he could hear the love that his brother and mate had for each other and wanted the same for himself. He took the used washcloths into the bathroom, located clean ones and ran them under cool water. When he got back to the bedroom, Naila was looking at him through swollen eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't. The tears running down the sides of her face said it all. Lorenzo quickly moved to her side, sat down and began to wash her face.

"It's alright now. You're safe." he told her. "And you're done... you will never work like that again now sleep." when she was back to sleep, Lorenzo took off his shoes and got into bed with her. He slowly but gently took her into his arms murmuring to her when she moaned in pain.

He realized that Maurice was right about something. If he had just told her the truth, she wouldn't have been hurt. He decided that once she was awake and healed, he would tell her the ugly truth and let the chips fall where they may. If she accepted him, he was going to mate with her as soon as possible. There were a few issues to be worked out since they both enjoyed having a third person in their bed. But that was for later.

"I love you Naila." he said with his lips pressed against her short, curly hair.

********

Justine and Josephine talked until late morning with the men joining them in time for brunch. Justine could tell that Josephine had been concerned about David but hadn't said anything. Justine could see the look of relief on her face when she heard David's voice. She jumped up, ran to him and hugged him as Quinn passed her.

Quinn took Justine into his arms and kissed her.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"She really loves him." Justine replied. "You?"

"He loves her and what he did? At first, it was to protect her. He admits that after that it was selfishness on his part but even then in his mind he thought that he was protecting her." Quinn replied.

"I know but he kept a mother and her child apart!" she exclaimed.

"Yes he did and I don't think that there's anything that you can do to him that will make him feel any worse than he already does. You'll see what I mean when you talk to him.

"Mom thinks that if she can forgive him that I should be able to as well."

Quinn shrugged, "Maybe but that's a decision that only you can make. He also knows that Jeremiah is here."

"And?"

"He reacted the same way that I would have." Quinn replied. "He wants to kill the bastard. I had to give a direct order for him to stay away from him."

Justine blew out a breath. David was well within his rights to want to kill Jeremiah but so were his victims and their mates.

"It's mom's call." she said after several seconds.

"I know but when we take them to see him, be ready to intervene.

David and Josephine approached Quinn and Justine hand in hand, stopped and knelt before them.

"Mom? What are you doing? Get up!" Justine said appalled that her mother would be on her knees before her.

Josephine ignored her and remained on her knees along side of David.

"My Queen," she said softly. "I kneel before you with my mate to ask that you hear him out. If you decide that he needs punishment then I ask that it be merciful and that it not include death."

Justine looked at Quinn whose only response was to put his arm around her waist. This was her decision to make alone.

"Please stand up... both of you." Justine said her voice tight.

When they were standing, she addressed David.

"Talk to me."

"Why don't we sit first?" Quinn asked. "By the way, is anyone hungry?"

"No." three voices said at once. They were anxious for it to be over one way or the other.

"Alright then, why don't we sit down?" Quinn asked. He took Justine's hand and led her to the dining room where brunch waited. He was hungry even if no one else was.

There was an uncomfortable silence as they all sat down at the table. David didn't have to be told again to start talking.

"Before I say anything I want you to know something." he said. "I love your mother. Why it took so long for me to realize that I don't know and if there was anyway possible, I would undo everything that happened and that includes her being taken from you."

Justine didn't reply but looked deep inside of him and was none to gentle about it. Seeing that he was telling the truth, she backed off a little.

To his credit, David didn't fight the rough examination. Josephine however did.

"Jussie please!"

David took her hand in his and quieted her.

"I'm fine; let her do what she must."

He looked at Justine and nodded for her to continue.

"Tell me everything." she demanded. The tone of her voice implied that she wasn't going to tolerate any lies or excuses. The flames that danced around her black eyes showed her anger.

David swallowed hard and decided that he needed a drink. He reached for the glass of blood in front of him and drained it dry. After he sat the glass down, he told Justine the same thing that he told Quinn but added more to it.

"There is no excuse for what I did after I knew who your mother was and about you. I won't try to explain or justify it except to say that I was afraid and I didn't trust her as I should have."

"What were you afraid of?" Justine asked.

"I was afraid that once I told her about her past and you that she would leave..."

"Wait, didn't you know that she was your mate?" Justine asked.

"I... on some level I knew but I didn't acknowledge it." David replied. "As you know, we are just recently mated."

"I'm aware of that." Justine replied. "If not for that, would you have told her about me?"

"I can't answer that." David replied honestly. "What I can tell you is that I knew that I had to stop erasing her memories if I wanted her to accept me for who I was."

"So it was all about you, is that it?" Justine asked sharply.

"I guess it was." David said softly. "You can question my motives all you want but just remember this; I love her and would die for her without thinking about it. On the way here, I had time to think. I didn't just rob you and her of time together; I robbed myself as well. Had I told her the truth when I discovered that she had a child, we could have found you and raised you together. I would have loved you as my own daughter and I could have shared in the joy of watching you grow and becoming what you are. That is something that I will have to live with for an eternity. I threw away the one thing that I didn't realize that I wanted until I heard Delgado talking to his son, a child.

Justine, all that I can say to you is that I'm sorry and that I regret all of my decisions regarding you. I also accept responsibility for the kidnapping of your mother. By keeping silent, I put her in danger. I don't know what else to say except do with me what you will."

Justine, the little girl who lost her mother was back when she spoke.