Masked (10 page)

Then he did the most unexpected thing – he hugged her. Before she could even react, she felt herself being pulled into his embrace. Her hands hung loosely at her sides, too shocked to return the gesture. He leaned back after only a moment, his hands now gripping her upper arms.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replied. He turned and walked over to where a few chairs sat around the large hearth at the far end of the room. After hesitating for a second, Bridgette followed him, taking a seat across from his. An array of fruits, breads, and butter were sitting on a tray on the table between them. Her mouth watered at the thought of food.

“Are you hungry?”

“Not really.” She was
starving
. But to eat would mean taking off her mask, so that was out of the question.

“I was only joking before, you know,” he said, catching her attention.

She tilted her head. “About what?”

He laughed. “About you gaining weight. I was kidding, so please don’t start dieting and acting silly about it like some other women do.”

He wasn’t joking, she thought. If he had keen eyes, he definitely would have noticed that she was heavier than her sister. Charlotte was skin and bones, in a nice willowy sort of way. It wasn’t that she looked unhealthy or anything, but she definitely didn’t have the same sort of curves that Bridgette had.

“Don’t worry,” she said, forcing herself to sound amused and at ease. “I have no plans on dieting – ever.”

He laughed again. “That’s my girl. So what’s your take on last night’s events?”

Crap. He wanted her opinion? Shifting in her seat, she struggled to gather her thoughts. “Well,” she started, “I’d say it was just the rebel’s attempt at taking out the two biggest players in the game, next to you.” She shrugged. “A poor attempt at that,” she added.

He nodded in agreement. “Roman says you saved his life up on the roof.”

She stilled, not expecting that. “Have you already seen him this morning?” Why did she just ask that?
Filter, Bridgette
, she scolded herself.

“He was here earlier, but he’s gone to take care of a few things for me,” Ludwig answered. She searched his face for any hint of suspicion as to why she’d be interested, but none was there. Of course not, she thought. They were all friends, had been for five years now.

She breathed a little easier sitting back in her seat. “I just happened to hear something and reacted,” she said, shrugging it off as nothing.

“Well it’s a good thing one of you has their head on straight.”

“Can I ask you something?” she said, sitting forward. Her mouth was getting away on her again, but the question was already out there so she figured she might as well go with it.

“Of course.”

“Why are you so protective of me?” Bridgette couldn’t understand this man; see the reason behind his obvious concern for Charlotte’s well-being. Why would the man who was responsible for killing billions, be so defensive of one girl? She understood that Charlotte’s ability was something that he used to his advantage often, but she got the sense that Ludwig genuinely liked her sister. It didn’t mesh with her idea of him in her head.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, turning his body so they faced each other. His brows were puckered in confusion, and she was worried suddenly that she might have offended him.

“I just sometimes wonder what made you keep me all these years,” she said.

“Your talents aside, I value what you bring to the table. You’re an intelligent young woman, and your ideas and opinions are always logical. I can count on you to keep a cool head in difficult situations. I’ve learned over the years that it’s not easy to find people you can really count on, or connect with on an intellectual level. I enjoy listening to what you have to say, otherwise I wouldn’t ask for your thoughts.” He watched her closely as she accepted what he was saying. Bridgette could see why someone like Ludwig would gravitate toward a girl like Charlotte, now that he had explained it that way. Charlotte always was level-headed and smart. “Plus,” he continued, turning his head away from her to stare into the empty hearth, “when Roman came to me with you, you had no one. I like to think we’ve grown to be a sort of family over the past years. Sometimes the family you chose is much better than the one you’re born with.” He’d met her eyes again when he said that last statement. He looked at her pointedly, as though trying to communicate something he wasn’t saying out loud.

“Thank you, for always taking care of me,” she said, finally finding her voice beneath the emotion clogging her throat. She meant it, despite whom she was talking to. If it weren’t for Ludwig Tennebris, who knows what would have happened to her sister all those years ago.

They both looked into the fire, lost in thoughts neither would say out loud. Finally Ludwig said, “Did I ever tell you that I knew your father?”

“No,” she said, looking over at him. He didn’t meet her eyes as he continued to speak.

“He worked for me actually, quite a long time ago now.”

“Worked for you where?”

He turned now to face her. “Do you know what your father did for a living?”

Bridgette thought about it. Sure, he’d go to work…she stopped. What
did
he do for a living? She’d never thought about it before, but now that he mentioned it, she had no idea where their father went to work back then. “He said he worked in a factory, I think,” she said, digging through her memories. “I don’t know what kind though.”

He grunted. “Your father is both one of the most brilliant men, and most insane men I’ve ever known. You do realize he is most likely the General the rebels referred to?”

Bridgette laughed humourlessly. “I’d say that’s a safe assumption.”

“Did you ever hear anything that would confirm it?”

She shook her head. “No, but my gut says it’s him.” Gut, indeed, she thought grimly.

“You know, my father wasn’t an easy man, by any means. He was tough on me growing up, always pushing me to be better and reach higher than the other children. But the one thing I can say about him, and truly mean, is that I
knew
him. He didn’t hide any aspect of himself from me. I understood exactly the kind of man that he was. And I knew he loved me – in his own way.” He turned his body so he faced her better. “How well can you say you knew your father?”

She swallowed against the dryness in her mouth. His eyes challenged her to really think about it, so she did. Despite Ludwig’s reputation, Bridgette was learning quickly that he was quite an engaging person. When he spoke, she paid attention. When he questioned her, she wanted to give the best answer she could. He kept her on her toes. It was no wonder Charlotte had kept his company for so long. Bridgette had no doubt her sister found this man quite intriguing.

“Honestly?”

He nodded.

“I doubt I knew him at all.”

He smiled, a glimmer of pride in his eyes. “I’d say I’d have to agree with you there.”

“What did he do to you to make you hate him so much?” she asked.

He rubbed his chin, weighing his words. “Let’s just say, he stole something from me.”

“An object?”

“An idea,” he corrected. “I had a plan, and he decided it was so good, he’d take it for his own. Then he took everything that went with it, and left me with nothing.”

“So you’ve been searching for him ever since?”

He shook his head. “Not really. At first I doubted he’d accomplish anything. When the rebels started to make noise, I had no reason to suspect it was him. But slowly things would happen that hinted at his involvement, and then one day I was presented with proof that he had accomplished part of the plan. From that point on, I knew for a fact he would be my nemesis hiding in the shadows. Your father has illusions of grandeur, and he’s willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to achieve it.” He looked at her meaningfully, and she knew what he was saying without saying it. He’d sacrifice his family. Anyone else would balk at a statement like that made against their parent, but in Bridgette’s case, she knew for a fact it was true. “And he has the gall to call
me
the monster.”

They fell into a tense silence. Not against each other, but what was said, and what wasn’t, still hanging in the air between them. Bridgette didn’t want to push for too much information. Partly because she didn’t want him to become suspicious of her sudden curiosity, but mostly because she wasn’t sure she wanted to know any more. She didn’t have any misguided belief that her father was some angel, but Bridgette was beginning to wonder just how evil he truly was.

He had stolen an idea from Ludwig Tennebris. At a time when Ludwig was no one outside his political circle; at a time when he was building toward the most destructive war the world had ever seen. Whatever this ‘idea’ was, Bridgette was positive it was something atrocious. All those nights of her father spewing hate for the New World leader, and not once had Bridgette known there was a personal connection between the two men. His hate had been so deep, so ingrained in everything he did. Now she knew there was so much more to the story, and, quite frankly, it terrified her.

Awareness rolled over her body a second before Roman entered the room. She didn’t know what to make of it, but it was there nonetheless. Her attention focused on him despite her best efforts. His mouth instantly stretched into a smile as their eyes met, and all of a sudden he was tossing something in her direction. Bridgette let out a surprised squeak as a gun landed in her lap. She held up her hands as if touching the thing would burn her.

“Ah, got the new shipment then?” Ludwig said.

“Yup,” Roman answered, taking a seat in the only available chair. “Came in about half an hour ago. Everything looks good.”

“It should,” Ludwig said with a snort, “for what I’m paying for them. Sal and the rest will be here within a week’s time. He said he’d be bringing us even more new items to test out.”

Bridgette stared down at the offending piece of metal in her lap, too afraid to move in fear she might accidentally set the thing off. She knew next to nothing about guns, and wasn’t particularly comfortable with them.

“We need to go to the range so you can try that baby out, Lottey,” Roman said to her.

“Uh…yeah, sure,” she said, picking it up gingerly by the handle.

“Is everything else okay?” Ludwig asked Roman, the two of them returning their attention to each other.

“No issues to report,” he replied. “Skies are clear and the borders are holding up.”

The shrill sound of the phone ringing had Bridgette almost jumping out of her seat. Ludwig got up and walked to his desk, his face pensive as he spoke to whoever was on the other line.

“You want to go down to the range now?” Roman asked, grabbing her attention.

Not really
, she thought. “Okay. I’ll meet you downstairs.” She needed to grab her vest before she went anywhere, just to be extra cautious. It helped to hide her more telling curves that were nothing like Charlotte. She got up, holding the gun out to him. “Here, you take this for now.” There was no way she was walking around with something that deadly looking. The gun was menacing, and heavy in her hands. She walked out without waiting for a reply.

“Hey! Wait up,” Roman called out from behind. Bridgette stopped and waited for him to catch up to her. “Is everything alright?” he asked, stopping just in front of her, his eyes searching hers.

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you not get excited over a new toy,” he said, holding up the firearm.

“Oh I’m excited,” she lied. “I’m just waiting until we get to the range to get my shoot on.” Shoot on? She cringed inwardly. Could she sound more idiotic?

He chuckled. “Right. Okay, I’ll meet you in five.” He turned and strode back into the room, the confident set of his shoulders nabbing her attention again. How could someone look so comfortable in their own skin? Bridgette had never been like that. It was admirable.

“Did you need something else?”

Bridgette looked up into two dark, blue eyes watching her with a spark of amusement. “What?” She gave her head a little shake. When had he stopped walking? Crap. “Uh…no, nothing else.” She spun around and all but ran down the hall, her face burning with the memory of the small, sexy smile that had crept onto his face still clear in her mind.

His laughter washed over her, causing goose bumps to rise along her arms. She looked over at him, ignoring the way his smile brightened up his face to a point where she felt as though if she stared at it too long she’d have permanent retinal damage.

“What the hell is so funny?” she asked.

“You,” Roman answered as though it were obvious. “You’re looking at that piece like it’s about to turn around and bite you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so wary of a gun before.”

She scoffed. “I’m not
wary
of anything. I’m simply inspecting it,” she defended. No, she was looking at it like it was about to bite her, she thought, hating that he was right. She kept the offending piece of metal away from her body, held between two fingers like it was one of McKay’s smelly socks she used to find around her apartment whenever he stayed the night. She wasn’t sure what was worse at this point. Her nose scrunched up in distaste.

Guns had always made her nervous. Shooting one wasn’t really an experience she’d hoped to have in her lifetime. There was just something so callous about firearms. At least when she fought Roman hand-to-hand, there was a level of skill that had to be mastered. Sure, she could seriously harm someone that way, but she had more control over the situation when she was just using her arms and legs to attack. You introduced firearms to the equation and it didn’t matter who was the more skilled, it bottled down to who could pull and shoot faster.

However, she reasoned, since she was stuck in this alternate lifestyle for however long it took her to do as her father commanded, she supposed it was a smart idea to learn, at the very least, how to shoot one of these things. Not that she wanted to use one – ever. But if she was going to find herself in dangerous situations like the two just past, it might make sense to have some extra protection.