‹ Prequel: Blue Rose
Double Trouble
Chapter 10
Eli accepted that fact that he was partially responsible for his cousins’ kidnapping. There was no denying the fact that his inadvertent mistake allowed Jason and Justin Evermore the chance to kidnap their niece and nephews. And, after what happened, Eli wanted nothing more than to get the chance to go after them. He never expected that his uncle would forbid him to do so. It made perfect sense that Uncle Toby would do so; he never wanted Eli to be a part of this, not even wanting him to know about his vampire past. Since he did, Uncle Toby would just have to accept that Eli was a part of this. He had been protecting his cousins to the best of his ability, only to have the Evermore twins cheat and use their vampire abilities to kidnap their niece and nephew to exact revenge on those who destroyed them.
“How is Savannah?” his father asked when Eli came down.
“Upset,” Eli confirmed. “It’s to be expected as you very well know though; Reuben, Keith, and Dawn were kidnapped by their uncles, men they had no idea even existed. Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby never wanted their children to find out about this. Uncle Toby didn’t even want me to know, but Aunt Savannah told me anyway. And, I have a weird feeling that the boys and Dawn will learn of their father’s mysterious past thanks in part to what their uncles did. Nothing is going to be the same after Dawn and the boys are returned.
His father nodded. “Too true. Seventeen years ago when Toby informed your aunt and I as to the fact that his brothers were responsible for your grandparents’ death, things definitely changed for us. I guess you could say that it was for the better, despite the fact that we learned that a vampire killed the two most important people in my life and caused my sister to go into the deepest of depressions. Afterwards though, things did turn out for the better. If I were you, Eli, I would look at this way; at least Dawn is there. Because of her name, either one touching their niece could inadvertently destroy their immortality the way that Savannah was able to expel the vampire blood from Toby’s body thirteen years ago.”
Once his father mentioned this, Eli remembered something, something he should have mentioned to his aunt the second he got home. “Thanks for reminding me, Dad. There’s something I need to go tell Auntie V. Eli tore right back up to his aunt’s bedroom, knocking on her door. His aunt, tear-stricken, looked up at her nephew and Eli gave the message. “There was something I forget to mention to you. Just before they took Dawn, I gave her a warning.”
“What was the warning?” Aunt Savannah asked.
“As soon as I realized that Jason and Justin were standing in front of me, I told her that it was best if she not use her name around those two. If either of them found out what her name was, there’s really no telling as the fate that would befall her,” Eli explained. Eli mentally slapped himself for not alerting his aunt as to this fact sooner. He remembered hearing about the name change incident and knew it might help to some extent. Eve, the name his cousin nearly changed her name to, would have strengthened Jason and Justin to the point where nothing—not even Savannah—would have been capable of destroying them. As the twin siblings were lulled into a false sense of security, Dawn could unsuspectingly eliminate any threat made. Currently, Eli was not sure if his aunt had trained Dawn to hone her innate skill; therefore, they could not be sure if things could work out to the Meadowbrooks’ advantage. For now, they would just have to wait and see.
Upon returning downstairs to the coffee shop, his father questioned him about what was said. “Exactly what was that about, Eli?” he wondered as he filled an order of one the usual customers.
“Oh, I needed to go tell Aunt Savannah about something that I remembered happening before Dawn and the boys were taken. Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby will need all the facts before they go out in search of where Uncle Toby’s brothers might be keeping them,” Eli informed his father. I just hope that he’ll let me go along with; I’m their protector and I’ve done everything I could to keep them safe. Things just can’t end there.
“How is Savannah?” his father asked when Eli came down.
“Upset,” Eli confirmed. “It’s to be expected as you very well know though; Reuben, Keith, and Dawn were kidnapped by their uncles, men they had no idea even existed. Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby never wanted their children to find out about this. Uncle Toby didn’t even want me to know, but Aunt Savannah told me anyway. And, I have a weird feeling that the boys and Dawn will learn of their father’s mysterious past thanks in part to what their uncles did. Nothing is going to be the same after Dawn and the boys are returned.
His father nodded. “Too true. Seventeen years ago when Toby informed your aunt and I as to the fact that his brothers were responsible for your grandparents’ death, things definitely changed for us. I guess you could say that it was for the better, despite the fact that we learned that a vampire killed the two most important people in my life and caused my sister to go into the deepest of depressions. Afterwards though, things did turn out for the better. If I were you, Eli, I would look at this way; at least Dawn is there. Because of her name, either one touching their niece could inadvertently destroy their immortality the way that Savannah was able to expel the vampire blood from Toby’s body thirteen years ago.”
Once his father mentioned this, Eli remembered something, something he should have mentioned to his aunt the second he got home. “Thanks for reminding me, Dad. There’s something I need to go tell Auntie V. Eli tore right back up to his aunt’s bedroom, knocking on her door. His aunt, tear-stricken, looked up at her nephew and Eli gave the message. “There was something I forget to mention to you. Just before they took Dawn, I gave her a warning.”
“What was the warning?” Aunt Savannah asked.
“As soon as I realized that Jason and Justin were standing in front of me, I told her that it was best if she not use her name around those two. If either of them found out what her name was, there’s really no telling as the fate that would befall her,” Eli explained. Eli mentally slapped himself for not alerting his aunt as to this fact sooner. He remembered hearing about the name change incident and knew it might help to some extent. Eve, the name his cousin nearly changed her name to, would have strengthened Jason and Justin to the point where nothing—not even Savannah—would have been capable of destroying them. As the twin siblings were lulled into a false sense of security, Dawn could unsuspectingly eliminate any threat made. Currently, Eli was not sure if his aunt had trained Dawn to hone her innate skill; therefore, they could not be sure if things could work out to the Meadowbrooks’ advantage. For now, they would just have to wait and see.
Upon returning downstairs to the coffee shop, his father questioned him about what was said. “Exactly what was that about, Eli?” he wondered as he filled an order of one the usual customers.
“Oh, I needed to go tell Aunt Savannah about something that I remembered happening before Dawn and the boys were taken. Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby will need all the facts before they go out in search of where Uncle Toby’s brothers might be keeping them,” Eli informed his father. I just hope that he’ll let me go along with; I’m their protector and I’ve done everything I could to keep them safe. Things just can’t end there.
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