Free Aden (Vampires in America) by D.B. Reynolds Page B

gripped the elegant molding.
    “Introduce us, Sidonie,” Aden drawled, his dark eyes heavy-lidded as he watched the professor shrink away from him, her eyes wide.
    “Professor Dresner,” Sid said obediently. “This is Lord Aden.”
    “I know who you are,” Dresner said, her words defiant, despite her obvious fear. “You think you’re going to be the next Lord of the Midwest,” she sneered.
    “I don’t think,” Aden responded dismissively. “I know. No one, not even your precious Silas, will stop me.”
    “Arrogant bastard,” Dresner hissed. “You’re not fit to lick Lord Klemens’s boots. He was a giant, a genius. And it won’t be someone like you who takes his place, a masterless bastard from God-knows-where. Silas is his child and rightful heir.”
    “The same Silas who has run twice from a stand-up fight? Who sends minions to kill me, while waiting in safety? That Silas? Silas isn’t fit to run a dockside blood house, much less a territory.”
    “You think you’re so smart,” Dresner persisted. “But you’ll see.”
    Aden took a long step forward, until he was towering over her.
    “You’re right,” he agreed. “I will see. You’re going to show it to me.”
    She glared up at him. “I’ll show you nothing. I’ll tell you nothing.”
    Aden’s sensuous lips curved up in a confident smile. “Wrong,” he said softly. “You’ll tell me everything.”
    Sid stared as Dresner’s defiant stance softened into something almost dreamy. Her entire body relaxed, her lips tilting into a peaceful smile. “I’ll tell you everything,” she agreed happily. “Whatever you want.”
    “Did you warn Silas about me coming to the club the other night?”
    “Yes,” Dresner said, nodding eagerly. “When Sidonie mentioned Silas’s name, I knew that’s where you had to be going, so I called and warned them.”
    “And why won’t Silas meet me directly?”
    “You’re so strong,” she cooed. “Silas is afraid. If my master Lord Klemens was still—” She cut off her words with a wince.
    “Who is your master, Claudia?” Aden demanded. And it took Sid a moment to remember that Dresner’s first name was Claudia. She’d never called her anything but Professor Dresner .
    “ You are my master, Lord Aden,” Dresner responded fervently.
    Sid tuned out their voices as Aden continued his interrogation. She was more than a little creeped out by what he was doing and how Dresner was acting. Aden had somehow taken over Dresner’s mind and was making her act against everything she believed in. He was quite literally making her a slave to his will. Would he do that to Sid, too, if she disagreed with him about something? Was this the vampire she’d thought would help her wipe out Klemens’s old slave network?
    “Stop it,” she whispered, staring appalled at the simpering Dresner. Then more strongly, “Stop it.”
    Aden glanced over. “Stop what?” he asked distractedly.
    “Stop what you’re doing to her. You’re  . . . you’re stealing her will, enslaving her.”
    Aden lifted a hand, halting the flow of information from Dresner. He gave Sid a sharp look.
    “What did you say?”
    “You’re forcing her to do things she doesn’t want to, things she’d never do willingly. That’s slavery, and that’s not why I brought you here, not why I sought you out in the first place. I wanted you to get rid of Klemens’s old slave network, not create your own.”
    Aden crossed the room in three hard strides, until he was standing only inches away from Sid. He stared down at her, and Sid had to admit he was pretty intimidating with his size and dark glowering looks. But Sid wasn’t the now pathetic Dresner, and she wasn’t cowed. She glared wordlessly right back at him, getting up in his face.
    “What do you know about slaves?” he demanded distinctly.
    “I thought you knew,” she said, her glare becoming a frown of confusion.
    “What. Do. You. Know?” he growled.
    Sid recoiled, realizing