Chapter 161
The hospital discharged me four days after Wendy told me about my interview. I’d called Bruce Conroy and asked if he could switch the interview. Not that I’d tried too hard. When he said no, I simply accepted the answer and told Charles he’d denied the request.
Charles left the hospital, furious, when I told him the arrangements were for Anthony to pick me up and do the interview, then take me home. He’d slammed the door on his way out, making all the nurses shriek.
I knew Anthony had arrived when one of the nurses came in, flushed and fluttering her hand to fan herself. “Elena. He’s here. And you could fry bacon on him he’s so hot.”
Theo stood politely beside the door. “Want me to stay or go?”
“Stay. It’s not like I have anything to hide, and it’s an interview, not a date. Besides, I already know Charles ordered you to stay.”
Theo grinned. “He did.”
The door to the room flew open, and Anthony Bellweather strutted in like a god entering his temple. My knees went all squishy, and my stomach erupted in squirming things. The smell of sun-warmed peaches curled around him, leaving my mouth watering.
He had a thick head of hair, silver peppered with remaining dark strands of his youth. Distinguished lines framed his mouth and the corners of his eyes, lending a look of deep intelligence to his face. He was the dictionary definition of an attractive older man, the sort who left peacocking young men feeling insecure.
“Ah, Elena Laurentia. A pleasure to meet you.” He swept my hand up, kissing the back as if this were some movie.
“Mr. Bellweather,” I gasped. “The pleasure’s all mine. I’ve admired your work for a long time.”
His gaze skimmed me head to toe. “You’re beautiful, smart, and driven. I’ll have to watch out, or you’ll slide in and take my place in no time.”
My face flushed with pleasure.
“Let’s get you out of this place, shall we?”
He led the way out of my room and through the halls, parting gathered nurses as if walking through tall grass in a field. I trailed along, awed at his confidence. Did that come from his celebrity or from being an alpha?
Anthony didn’t acknowledge Theo the whole way down to the lobby. Instead, he kept sniffing around the elevator. “Is there a fresh air duct in here?” he murmured. “I swear, that’s either the best air freshener ever, or they planted something amazing outside where the system draws the air.”
He paused, his eyes widening. “Holy Moon Goddess! Is that you, Ms. Laurentia?”
I blushed. “Different people get different impressions of my scent. So probably.”
He drew a deep breath. “Well, with a scent like that, you must have a ton of friends. I know I’d want to be around you all the time.” He took another deep whiff. “I practically want to roll in the scent.”
I laughed nervously while he handed a ticket to the valet. A couple of minutes later, a cute black coupe pulled up, and the valet hopped out, looking at Anothony in awe.
“It’s a two-seater,” Theo said in a tight voice.
“Then, I guess you’ll just have to join us at the interview venue,” Anthony smirked. He opened the door for me.
“Elena,” Theo cut in sharply as I climbed into the car.
“Just follow us like he said,” I reassured Theo.
Anthony climbed in and put the car in gear.
“I need the address,” Theo growled in my open window.
Anthony put the car in gear and started to pull away.
“Stop!” Theo shouted, pulling his gun and pointing it at the car. I could see him in the mirror, growing more distant by the second until we turned a corner, and he was gone.
My heart thundered in my chest, but Anthony let out a relaxed laugh. “I hope you’re not mad at me. It’s nearly impossible to get a candid interview with a guard breathing down your neck. I’ve had to ditch my fair share over the course of my career. I thought I’d give you a break in that department. And this way, they’ll hate me for ditching him and not you.”
I relaxed a little. “Oh. Yes. Some of my work has been more difficult with him around.”
Anthony grinned at me. “If half of what the stories say is true about your sources, then I’ll need to bow before the master of guard ditching. Now, let’s go do this interview.”
Anthony took me to a fancy lounge I’d never visited before. They greeted him by name and showed us to a plush private room with sofas and music. Then, someone brought in a tray of fruit, cheese, and alcohol.
“Please, have a seat,” Anthony invited.
“Wow. I wish I were famous enough to set up interviews as plush as this.”
“Perks of a life in the field. But you don’t get to this point without slogging through years of the most unimaginably uncomfortable interviews first.”
He sat beside me on the velvet sofa and passed me a glass of champagne. He pulled out his phone, set up a recording app, and placed it on the table beside the food tray, then proceeded to warm up the interview with several soft-ball questions about my schooling and the start of my career.
“How exactly did you find yourself going after such a dangerous story?” he asked.
“I value the truth. Everyone benefits from sharing it.”
“And that’s worth risking your life?”
Heat crept up my neck. He sat close enough for me to smell his warm peaches. This mingled with the light, slightly fruity beverage and left my head spinning.
“Turning my back on people suffering is nearly as bad as being a party to it. Once I knew what was going on, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to turn my back on those truths.”
“Tell me about…” He slipped his arm around my shoulders on the back of the sofa and leaned right next to my ear, whispering, “The dark web.”
I shivered. “I can’t.”
He swapped out my empty glass for another. “I understand if it’s scary.”
I shook my head, taking a deep drink. “I won’t risk getting my sources in trouble. I can’t be sure they’d be safe if I laid all that out.”
“Do you know how sexy it is to hear another reporter protect their sources so admirably?”
He’d whispered this near my ear. I startled and turned to face him too quickly because, I swear, I stopped my body, but the room kept spinning.
“Is there something in my drink?” I stumbled across the words.
He frowned. “Do I strike you as the sort who would drug women? I have no need to do such a thing.” He took the nearly empty glass from my hand. “Have you ever had Orlune de Peche sparkling spirits?”
I shook my head.
“It’s one hundred and twenty-five proof.”
I pulled back my head in confusion. “Proof of what?”
He chuckled. “The alcohol content. It’s nearly sixty percent. It’s meant to be sipped, not gulped. You’re already several drinks in.”
“Oh.” No wonder the room felt hot, spinny, and blurry.
I shivered when he ran a finger down the length of my neck and bolted upright. “I have a…” I stumbled over the word fiancé since we weren’t public with that yet. “A Charles.”
His chuckle rumbled through his chest into mine. “An inferior alpha of no consequence.”
He skimmed his fingers under my chin. My brain clung to reason, trying to brush away the mix of emotion churned up by the alcohol. I had too much to drink, and with my admiration and latent attraction, I was barely holding on.
“How is Charles inferior?” I slurred.
“Because it was so easy to break his whole family,” Anthony murmured.
This sent a bolt through my chest. “What?”
“I crushed them. The alpha social circle is a wolf-eat-wolf world. I lifted up my family the way a good heir ought to.”
Tidbits Charles had told me about his father and the fall of his family trickled in around the alcohol. I tried to sort through these, but it was a losing battle.
“But how? The government controls the press. I should know.”
Anthony’s laugh rolled around me. “It’s all about who you know. The Alpha King pulls all the strings in the puppet show that runs Orlune. Who do you think sits at the head of the Palace Press Panel? If it’s in his interest… I’m sure you’ve been here long enough to hear someone say the only truth that matters is his truth.”
He paused and stared down into my eyes. “You want another drink, don’t you, Elena?”
My head swam. “No. Not really.”
He pressed a glass into my hand. “This one is water.”
I put the glass to my lips, flinching at the burn in my throat. “It burns. Al- uh, al-m-cohol?”
“That’s right, sweetheart. I need two things. I’ll break Charles the way I broke his father. And I need you to forget all this happened when you sober up.”
“If you rape me, and I forget. It won’t hurt Charles. He won’t know.”
“Such a typical woman. You never listen. I don’t need to drug and rape women. All I need is to report the truth.”
