“She agreed to be a minion?” I asked, not believing what he was saying.
Roark frowned, holding up his hands. “That was a complete accident. I can’t take it back, though. Once it’s done, it’s done.”
“How can it be an accident?” Ethan asked. “You had to know what you were doing. You’re an old Vampire. With age comes experience. You’re not knew at this.”
“She was the perfect candidate. I needed someone who could be my eyes and ears around your location. After we started seeing each other secretly, she was willing to try anything. It was her wish to keep our relationship quiet. At first, I disagreed, but as my plan developed, I realized it was probably for the best. I knew Drake’s secret would eventually come out, but I needed you to continue to see that he was perfect for you and his mistake was one you could easily forgive.”
Confused, I tugged at my ponytail. “I don’t understand. How does this benefit you?”
“Because Drake was going to leave his business to me. He was prepared to give up his life in order to support yours as High Mistress. If you were to leave him, that would ruin my plans. Looks like it worked out either way. Drake signed over his company to me after becoming Lead Councilman. I have no use for Jenna any longer, but there’s no way for me to stop her from being a minion.”
Mikey leapt, tackling Roark to the floor in the kitchen. “You bastard! Now she’s a fucking zombie!” He swung his fist, hitting Roark in the face. The Vampire just laughed, finding the entire thing amusing.
I felt magic moving around me, a stake appearing in Mikey’s hand and poised right above Roark’s chest. The Vampire stilled, becoming silent.
“Mikey, no! You can’t do this.”
“You will let him go after what he’s done to Jenna?” he asked, never taking his eyes off the Vampire.
“We’ll put him in a cell.” My hand went to his shoulder.
Roark stared up at Mikey with wide eyes, almost as if he were afraid to move. I didn’t blame him. Laughing had only fueled Mikey’s anger. But I couldn’t let my best friend make a mistake. Eventually, a Vampire would take over Drake’s position and want answers on Roark’s death. We had to follow the rules, no matter how angry I was about him taking advantage of Jenna.
Growling, Mikey stood, the stake disappearing. I didn’t know he could do that, but what else did I expect? He knew all sorts of tricks that I didn’t. But I never tested my limits, either. I was confident enough to know I’d be able to pull off almost anything had my emotions been right.
“Where is she?” Mikey asked, looking around.
Roark climbed to his feet. “She’s in the back room. I can fix her, but I can’t remove the minion status. She’ll have that forever.”
“You son of a bitch,” I growled.
“I don’t blame him.”
I spun to see Jenna standing in the doorway behind us.
“I know he meant well, Sophie.”
“That’s the minion talking,” Mikey said, shaking his head in disgust.
Jenna glared. “Shut the fuck up, Mikey. I know what he did was wrong, but I forgive him.”
Roark seemed surprised by her words. “You do?”
Nodding, she walked to him, placing a hand on his cheek. “I believe we have something real, something special.”
“I might vomit.” Mikey turned away, aggravated.
What was I supposed to do now? I looked over at Ethan, who just shrugged. Taco jumped off my shoulder, flying toward Jenna. He landed on her shoulder, sniffing, almost trying to find something distasteful. Seemingly satisfied, he jumped off again, returning to my shoulder. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but apparently that was his stamp of approval. We really couldn’t do anything about the minion problem, especially if Jenna forgave him for the whole ordeal.
“Jenna, he turned you into a minion. Which means you serve him. Anything he tells you to do, you have to do. You’re at his beck and call all the time.” I walked over to her, capturing her gaze. “This isn’t you. You’ve never let anyone control you, so why start now?””
Sighing, Jenna moved away from Roark. “Because during the time we’ve spent together, I’ve fallen for him.”
“He used you!” Mikey shouted. “You can’t be this dense.”
Roark growled in warning. “She has spoken. I may have taken her choice away, but she’s forgiven me. Some of the best relationships are formed from a situation like this one.”
That shocked me. I thought he said he had no use for her anymore. Hmm... Maybe that was all show.
“It’s disgusting,” Ethan said. “It’s not real.”
“It is to!” Jenna shouted. “I know what I’m doing, and I expect you three to respect my wishes.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing as I shook my head. This was unbelievable. Someone had to know more about a minion/master relationship. Looking at Mikey, then Ethan, I forced a smile.
“She says she’s happy. There’s nothing we can do.” Mikey opened his mouth to argue, but I put a hand up to stop him. “Mikey, it’s done.”
Then something dawned on me and I looked at Roark. “You were the one who changed her, weren’t you? I thought that guy Drake killed was the one who did it.”
He shrugged. “I had her blame him so I wasn’t implicated.”
Shaking my head, I laughed, not amused. “Wow. Just wow, Roark. You surprise me.” I turned to Ethan. “We’d better go before I kill him myself.”
MIKEY SAT IN ONE OF my office chairs, staring out the window behind my desk. For about an hour, he was angry, then it was like he gave up. He sat
