Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7) (25 page)

Christian followed Sebastian into his office and shut the door behind them. The instant the door closed, three pairs of eyes turned and focused on them. “Ah, there you are,” Troy said, rising to his feet. Ian and Nathan moved to stand on either side of Troy.

“Good morning,” Sebastian said and flashed a grateful smile to his friends. They were there to selflessly offer their support.

Christian had only visited Sebastian’s office once before. The first time was under very stressful conditions, so this time he took a minute to take in his surroundings.

Sebastian’s vast office was elegantly decorated, providing a comfy but masculine environment. His desk was decorated in classic molding with fluted columns and acanthus carved trim. It was made out of different kinds of exotic woods —ebony and Carpathian elm--and took up a large portion of the east side of the room. Three enormous leather sofas and four massive recliners anchored the lounge area, along with five armchairs with numerous side tables to support a drink. A mahogany table stood at west side of the room, twelve similar chairs surrounding it. The paneling made this masculine space inviting. A huge flat screen TV was set high on the wall above the table and directly across from the sofas. The north wall was a solid sheet of thick glass from floor to ceiling, overlooking Parliament St and the river Thames.

Sebastian paused for a short moment then waved everyone to sit. He crossed the room, and rounding the vast desk, he sat behind it. The only emotions lingering in his eyes were those of pure determination mixed with frustration. He bent down and unlocked the bottom drawer. He pulled out a brown folder and set it on the top of his desk.

“More photos?” Nathan exclaimed.

Sebastian pushed away from the desk and rose to his feet. He swung on his heels grabbed the folder and crossed the room. He sunk into one of the cushioned chairs and let his gaze linger on Nathan’s face. “No, not photos. It’s a video.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “A video!”

“Yes, a video.”

Glancing around, he could see the quizzical expression on his friend’s faces, but he didn’t expound. He set the folder on the small table next to him and stood up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to the window. He stared down at the river and his eyes squinted against the sun’s brilliance. He longed to be rid of this problem today, but he knew he had to establish a plan. Hundreds of scenarios raced through his mind, as he turned and glanced between his friends. “We all know what needs to be done,” he said calmly. “Now we have to have to establish a bulletproof plan.”

Troy stood up and walked to stand next to him. “So what’s on your mind?” he asked.

Sebastian’s lips pinched and he frowned. “I’ve been climbing the walls for over two weeks now, ever since Arielle’s abduction, trying to come up with the best method to handle this situation. I’m not happy right now with the results, but I know that I will be once we are done.”

Christian’s turn to interject. “What does that mean?”

“Christian, I’m not happy that the goons that want to destroy my company and those I love are still alive and planning their next move against me. I want everyone involved in this dirty quest abolished from the face of the earth.” The tension that flashed through his eyes momentarily gripped Nathan.

“All in good time, Sebastian,” he said coolly.

Sebastian studied his face for a moment, and then he nodded. He pushed away from the window and halted in front of the small table where the brown envelope rested. He picked it up and waved it in front of his friends. “We need to review the contents and make a strategic decision.”

“Have you receive anything from Jorrit’s team lately?” Nathan asked.

“No, not since the last extortion note prior to Arielle’s abduction. I think he’s trying to find out what happened to his men and what happened to Arielle.”

Troy’s lips lifted and arched a brow. “Oh, I’m sure there is chaos in their headquarters. There have been two incidents that keep them utterly perplexed. They think that the three men they lost in Brussels was a revenge killing. But they can’t explain the disappearance of the four men in Brighton. They are never going to find their remains, and that will create a troublesome unsolvable puzzle for them. This makes me giddy.”

They all nodded in agreement, and wide smiles spread across their immortal faces.

“Are the investigators immortals?” Christian asked quizzically.

“Yes, they work for my parents.”

“Are we going to view the video this morning?” he further probed.

“I think we should wait until the rest of the guys are here and that should be first of next week.”

“Oh! Who else is coming besides Jon, Pier, and Jacques?”

“There are three more guys coming from Italy. They are Troy’s friends who have become my friends as well. They came to help with Annabel at St. Jean de Luz. A total of eleven men will partake in this endeavor, but I think we will have to include Loren and Isabella because there are thirteen central locations that we will have to invade.”

“What about Eva?” Ian asked.

“No, not Eva. I want her with Arielle while we are gone. I never know Annabel’s whereabouts, and I can’t trust her. I can’t imagine leaving Arielle completely unprotected.”

“Yes, I agree,” Ian replied. “I didn’t think about that.”

Nathan let out a slow whistle. “With that number, we can take on a whole army. When are you planning1 this invasion?”

“It will be sometime next week. I hope that you’ll be here, Nathan. I have included you in the count.”

 Nathan grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. When do we ever experience this kind of excitement?”

 “I want us all to view the video and then work out a plan, because the Mafia cells are spread around the globe, and we will have to split up and make sure we carry our attack on the same day and at the same time. They will have no idea what hit them, and we will give them no time to communicate with each other.”

“Sebastian, it will make absolutely no difference if they speak to each other and if they warn each other. There will be no escape for any of them when we are done.” Troy’s words were firm.

“I understand,” he said, “but I think a plan is what we need to do this right. I will be the one to take on Jorrit and Rainer.”

“What about their boss?”

“That goes without saying. I will move up until the last guy is down.”

“Do we know where they are all located?”

“Yes, I have a detailed list, not only of the locations but of the number of people in each location, their names and addresses, their offices and ranks, and a video of their activities.”

Christian let out a long whistle of appreciation. “When did you gather all this?” he asked, eyes wide open.

“The investigators brought the information to me yesterday afternoon. I was thinking about viewing the video, but then I decided that it would be best if we all viewed it together. Each one will have useful suggestions that we will take and form our perfect plan. I know that we all have military experience and that is an additional advantage in forming that faultless strategy of attack. I also understand that our experience is from centuries ago, but the changes through time in the high-tech weaponry and the fighting capabilities might of have created issues for a human being, but it will have no effect on us.”

“What day are you friends arriving?” Christian asked Troy.

“They are all coming the first of the week. Antonius is in Australia, so he is coming in on Tuesday. But Girard and Giani will be here Monday.”

“What about your guys, Sebastian?”

“They will all be here Monday. I don’t want to prolong this. I want it over before Ian and Eva’s wedding. I don’t want something like this to spoil their special day. I am sure that they would love to create chaos during a huge wedding gathering, thinking that they could succeed in achieving their goal.”

Ian smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, Sebastian, I have to agree. A wedding with all of us there would be exactly when they would think it’s the best time to execute their dirty scheme.”

Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair and pinched the tip of his nose.

“We are going to bring this to a prompt and successful end.”

The change of plan in viewing the video turned the discussion to various other issues about the Russian Mafia. Sebastian distributed a copy of the list to each one of his friends to become familiar with Nikola’s people and the locations they occupied.

He spent the next hour answering questions and discussing small details included on the lists he provided.

“Are we to take everyone’s life in the organization or just specific members?” Christian’s question brought everyone’s gaze to him.

Sebastian paused for a moment. The question swirled in his thoughts and he finally focused on Christian. “I am afraid that if we don’t, they will regroup and come back. They are relentless and I will not allow this to go on much longer. To make things worse I have Annabel that will not give up her ghastly plots of trying to make Arielle’s and my life miserable. I have made a mess of Arielle’s life and I have to fix this. She has done absolutely nothing and she has the Russian Mafia and Annabel, both trying to hurt her because of me.” He shut his eyes against the revulsion that Annabel’s vivid image brought him. A concern look crept across his face. “There is no other possible course but the one we are going to take right now,” He furthered though gritted teeth, and his eyes darted from one side of the room to the other. Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew that come next week things were about to become a whole lot more interesting. Silence fell and stretched for a very long moment.

Suddenly Nathan’s voice broke the quite. “Where did the time go?” he said glancing at his watch. “I have a meeting this afternoon with the engineers that brought the new security system.”

“All right,” Sebastian said rising to his feet. “Troy, Ian, Christian and I have to go back to the university. We have to pick up the girls.”

It had been four hours since they assembled in that room, and they decided it was time to disperse and come back together again when the rest of their friends arrived in town.

Arielle was sitting in the fifth row of the huge auditorium between Gabrielle and Loren, fumbling with her mobile phone while listening to Professor Allworth going through next week’s assignments. Her eyes wondered around the room aimlessly and suddenly locked with a pair of soft brown eyes. They belonged to a handsome guy with brown hair and wide shoulders. He was watching intently, a pleasant smile touching his lips. Arielle frowned and stared back at him in stunned silence. After a long moment of intent stare, she shifted uncomfortably.
Could he be another immortal?
she thought as she broke eye contact.
What in bloody hell?
He seems safe, but is he? Why is he watching me?

She glanced between her two friends, but they were oblivious to the guy’s stare; they were watching Professor Allworth.
This is utterly ridiculous. I can’t be having these crazy thoughts every time someone is staring at me.

She had no intentions of satisfying her curiosity, but as absurd as it sounded, she couldn’t help herself from glancing at his direction once again. He was now holding a wide smile across his face and appeared quite amused. She raised a single eyebrow when he motioned for her to join him at the empty seat next to him. He watched her, expecting a reply. Arielle repressed a shiver and quickly turned to face Professor Allworth.
Maybe he was a nice guy, but is he?
Lately it seemed that everyone around her had some type of motive to hurt her. Could he be working for the same people that abducted her? She couldn’t remember seeing him before, but then she didn’t see anyone around her but for Sebastian. She was finally realizing that the fact that she couldn’t recognize all the people in her classes was absolutely outrageous but true. Being in love with Sebastian had not been an easy task, but then nothing worth having is. She knew the difficulty, the fear, and the agony she would have to face if she chose to love him, but she did.

Lost in her thoughts, she was startled to find that the lecture was over and her friends were standing watching her quizzically, while she was still sitting utterly unmoved.

“Are you coming or are you staying?” Gabby chuckled.

Arielle shook her head and slowly straightened up. “Sorry, I lost track of time,” she stammered, nearly forgetting where she was.

“You always lose track of time when Sebastian is not with you,” Gabby said giggling.

The corners of her mouth turned up, clearly pleased with Gabby’s statement. She gathered her books and followed her friends down the steps of the auditorium and toward the exit. They had just crossed the exit when she turned to check behind her. She was shocked to find the strange guy walking extremely close behind her. For a moment, her heart stopped, and her face tensed. The intensity of fear was so strong she felt bile rising to her mouth. Her hand came up to grab Gabby or Loren when she fell into a hard wall of muscles. A pair of strong arms wrapped around he and Sebastian’s warmth pulled her right into his safe sanctuary.

“Are you searching for me, baby?”

She drew in a shallow breath and gazed into Sebastian’s emerald eyes. His heat seeped into her skin and spread across her body. Her uneasiness did not escape him.

“What’s wrong?”

Arielle took a look behind her, around her, but the young man had disappeared into the thin air. “Strange!” she murmured.

Sebastian pushed her hair away from her face and met her gaze. “What’s strange?”

Arielle noticed that their friends had left, and they were walking toward the parking lot. She took Sebastian’s hand and guided them toward that direction.

“Can I have a kiss?” Sebastian asked. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, surrendering his mouth to hers. A soft sigh escaped her, and his arm tightened around her. Pulling himself away, he peered into her eyes. He then bent his head and whispered into her ear. “I love you, Arielle. You are mine.”