The Prince's Bodyguard
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N:
Chapter 54 (Truth Coming Out)
"You knew about her before I did? That's not fair." Travis crossed his arms and flashed a smirk at a man of similar build to Jason. He had short, curly blonde hair and a neatly trimmed goatee.
"Aw Cullen, I knew about her pre-relationship. Of course I knew they were into one another once he bought one of my mom's necklaces for her." Cullen rolled his eyes and let out a small grunt. He and Travis had a friendly rivalry going on, which Travis teased him about being jealous of his friendship with Jason. "Besides, you're one to talk, you haven't told him about Katie yet."
Cullen blushed and averted eye contact. Katie was a beautiful woman with light auburn hair and blue eyes that shimmered like the sea underneath the sun. "I can't control my mother. It's been hard as hell to even talk to Jason without her breathing down my neck. I want to tell him all about her, but when we're together and not just talking on the phone." There was no way of knowing whether his mother was listening in on those phone calls either, and he was trying to keep her from knowing about Katie. "I'm going to marry Kate, but my mother would, well, she wouldn't approve."
To say the least. Una was every bit as crazy and possessive as she could be, worse than what many deemed normal. "She has this crazy idea that I'm some mama's boy and anyone or anything that would take me away from her is a nightmare."
Travis's smirk faded and he nodded. "I see. She'd see Kate as a threat. That's what you're saying?"
"Yeah. Because she 'knows best' and just wants to control." Above all else, his mother had to be in control, and he hated it. The issue wasn't so much that he hated his mother but he needed to bring her down from the pedestal she was on. "She's been distracted late1y, getting ready to throw her hat in on this election."
"And you've asked me to help you do what?"
"Find something. Anything." He put his hand to his head and closed his eyes. "Anything to show the people who she really is." Cullen paused, his eyes drifting towards the ground and his voice slowing. "And if we find something, not only do I need someone else there, but you might be able to get information to Jason if my mother finds out and stops me."
"Yeah alright, I got your back then." They waited for a few moments, unsure what their next move was. "So." Cullen glanced over, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think we could convince him to join the military? Because I'm pretty sure he's not coming back to take over the kingdom."
"Won't be a 'kingdom' much longer, hopefully. God knows if my mother wins the election, she'd reinstate a monarchy just to give herself total power." He folded his arms and looked across the city from the balcony of his home. "Jason's a year older than I am, but that never mattered to my mother. I joined the military because I wanted to get away from her, but that didn't help."
"You didn't join because you wanted to impress Kate by having her see you as a soldier?" Cullen blushed again and scratched at his cheek while Travis smirked. "I mean we all join for our reasons. Some want to impress girls. Others, like myself, just want to take care of the country."
"I didn't join just to impress Kate. I wanted to do something for Vanderkova, but you know our military didn't have much reign with the Defense Force here."
"They're not here anymore."
"Yeah, I know, they've been getting pulled out…but our military's small. I think it'd be a great idea trying to get Jason in, but not only am I uncertain he'd go for it…I don't know how much he wants to come back here." Jason seemed to be very devoted and loyal to this Katrina girl, just as Cullen was with Kate. "I wish he would come back though, it'd be nice to hang again."
"Yeah…"
Cullen reached for the stone railing and his hands, pushing them over the curve and closing his eyes. "I could tell you stories about our childhood, you've never seen a more inseparable pair of best friends. We had our whole lives planned out, we were going to do everything together."
Travis chuckled. "Would you guys have even your wedding on the same day?"
He opened his eyes and laughed, remembering that conversation back when he and Jason were just starting to take an interest in girls. "Yep. But then we were preteens, so we thought that meant we'd marry the same girl." Travis leaned back against the wall behind them and started to snicker.
"I don't think Jason's girlfriend would go for that."
"Yeah, neither would Kate." Cullen withdrew his hands and turned towards the balcony's door. "Anyway, back to the task at hand."
"Oh yes." Travis walked behind him as they moved into the house. "Busting your mom and kicking the pedestal out from under her. Am I right?" His tone was light and airy, causing Cullen to roll his eyes.
"Laugh if you will." He had no better way to explain his utter disdain for the woman. "She only ever married my father for the wealth and glory and never once showed any motherly concern for me."
"Yeah, I get it man."
"She hates my cousin's family because they got the throne. She wanted it for herself, she wanted to be where Aunt Pam is." Cullen narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. The growing dislike for Una ran deeper than most would know; he didn't consider the woman to be his mother, but someone that took everything from him.
He stopped at his bedroom door, placing a hand up firmly on the wood and looking over his shoulder with half-lidded eyes. "Something I found recently, something I never knew." He went quiet for a minute, letting a mist fill his eyes. "She's not even my actual mother." Travis did a double take and Cullen slowly pushed open the door. "Dad had a relationship with some woman for a while, and that relationship produced a son. Me. She died during childbirth…next thing anyone knows, Aunt Una's all over him."
"I'm sorry man." Travis pat him on the shoulder. "Can I ask how they met? Your father and Una?" Cullen raised up his shoulders, sighing as he thought of the answer. It wasn't clear enough to him and he wasn't exactly sure he cared. He knew his mom would flip if she knew he knew. "How'd you even find out?"
"I was going through some stuff mom had stashed away in the attic. Found some journals my father wrote." His father never stopped loving this woman either, and it showed. The man's journals also indicated Una's displeasure and lack of concern. "If he mentioned meeting her, he either didn't put it in that journal or mom stashed it somewhere…"
Travis crossed his arms and leaned sideways. "Any idea where she stashes her valuables?"
"Yep." It was under lock and key. The trick was getting in. "She has a large safe hidden away in a room near her bedroom. This room is locked tight by a deadbolt; it was always off limits and the key to that room and to the safe is on a keychain that never leaves her side except to drive…" Travis dropped his arm and raised his eyebrows.
"Well shit."
"It could be the holy grail." He was confident there was more than just his father's missing journal in there; it was possible that the contract on his aunt, uncle and cousin was there along with what he hoped was a line of communication with the actual assassin. "I mean yeah, she's my mom. She raised me, but if she's up to no good, we need to stop her."
"Right. So, how do you plan to get into that room?" He wasn't sure how to do it, but he had some ideas. The main thing was to get that key. "Surely you're not going to break down the door."
"A bit too obvious."
"Just a bit."
As they made their way downstairs, Cullen's phone started going off. He didn't want to take phone calls since he was in the process of planning; but when he saw it was Kate, he had to answer. "Give me a sec, Travis." They stopped at the bottom step and he answered.
Her frantic voice erupted in his ear, causing a surge of panic. "Cullen, I need help!" His heart stopped and he looked at Travis with growing concern. "I'm not sure where I am. It's dark and closed, I think I'm in a car…" There was a banging sound and he heard Kate slam against something. "Definitely a car."
"Shit." He bolted for the door with Travis fast behind. "What happened, Kate?" She was a strong girl, not easily overwhelmed; but she could be taken by surprise like anyone else.
"Your mother happened, that's what." Kate began panting and he heard her kicking at the vehicle. Cullen's blood ran cold and he looked helplessly at Travis, who immediately put the phone on speaker.
"Hey Kate, it's Travis McKenna here." Kate sniffled and the man tried to muster a reassuring smile as if she could see it. "Cullen and I are going to find you, but I need you to try and take a deep breath for me. Focus on your surrounding."
"Surrounding? Travis, my surrounding is pitch black and I'm claustrophobic. Badly."
"Maybe you can hear sounds. If you can hear sounds, we might be able to locate you."
"We're here for you." Cullen pressed down on the gas pedal and started driving, unsure where to go. "It's going to be okay, Kate. What happened? What did you see before this?"
"Let me think." Kate gasped and let out a small whimper. "I feel so cold right now." Cullen started to shake, struggling against the fear of losing her and the anger that his mother was somehow involved. His voice was strained as he fought to keep a calm and level head. "I remember you telling me about your dad and that bartender lady, and what you said about your mother's safe."
Knowing how Kate liked to get things done, he could already see the event that took place. "Kate, tell me you didn't…"
"I tried to get close to her. Take the key." He winced and Travis looked over with grave concern. "She caught me, said she knew about our relationship and that she wasn't going to let me steal you from her."
Travis groaned, slapping his hand over his eyes while muttering under his breath. "What the hell is it with Jason's and your parents trying to control who you date by having your girlfriends-" Travis paused and Cullen looked over, furrowing his brow and grimacing at the memories. "Never mind." Travis leaned over, speaking softly into the phone. "Kate, take a deep breath and listen. Tell me what you hear."
"Okay, okay." There was a long pause, so quiet that Cullen was petrified something may have happened. "I hear cars, very loud cars and machines. There are some loud crashing sounds outside."
"Okay. Here's another thing I need for you to do. Are your hands free?"
"Yeah."
"Many cars have a safety feature in the trunks, feel around for a latch and give it a pull." Travis glanced up for a moment, then back to the phone. "But be careful. Don't push the trunk up far enough to alert whoever's driving, just enough to see out."
"Okay, give me a moment."
Cullen's heart raced as he drove to where he felt loud machinery and cars might be. There was a construction site nearby, so it was the likeliest place. "Hang in there," he whispered with frantic tears fleeing his eyes. He wasn't brave like his cousin, but right now he had to act.
"I got it! Oh god, I have air." Kate took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I see metal beams. I see construction trucks. I think I'm at the new department building being built and-oh god, oh god, Cullen they're stopping! They're stopping!"
"We're almost there. Kate, how many are there? What's the car look like?" He sped into the entrance of the construction site.
"There were two or three men. The car looked like a standard four door car. Bluish in color and…I remember the windshield was cracked. Cullen, help me. They're going to kill me."
"No." Cullen grit his teeth and his knuckles turned white as he grasped the wheel more firmly. "They won't harm you."
"Cullen!"
The call ended and he felt his heart stop just as suddenly. It wasn't until Travis pointed out the window and cried out that he could see the blue car and windshield. "I'm calling Mr. Vega, he'll get the police force over here as fast as possible."
He stopped the car in an obscure location and hurried out, staring down a hill as three men yanked Kate from the trunk. One held her wrists behind her back while the other two were grabbing her elbows.
"What are we going to do?" Cullen's rage filled his heart, but he wasn't impulsive like Jason. He had to think of a plan, but thinking on his feet wasn't something he was professed about. "Travis? Any thoughts?"
"We go in and get her out." Travis pushed his phone into his pocket and narrowed his eyes. "How? I don't know; but David says the police force is about five or ten minutes away." They didn't have dispatch working just yet, and police units had only just begun patrolling the streets. "We have until then to save her."
The men seemed to be guiding her towards an elevator, which only heightened his fear. Travis swallowed hard and started moving. "Might want to hurry. If they're taking her to top…"
"Yeah." Cullen grabbed a stray pipe from the ground and raced after Travis, glaring at the man holding Kate's wrists in place.
Nearing the man, he raised the pipe and swung it down heavily against his head. The other two men froze as the first collapsed to the ground. "Get off her, asswipes." He growled as Kate broke free from the two men and swung a fist into one of them.
These men were not fighters, so overwhelming them was easy. "Thank god they're not the assassins Jason's dealing with," Travis said with a deep sigh. Cullen held Kate protectively, kissing her on the top of the head as two police force units drove up.
"Cullen, look…" Kate pushed her hand into her pocket, looking down at it. "They didn't realize I got it." His eyes widened as Kate removed her hand and unveiled his mother's set of keys. "I grabbed it off her at the last second when those men grabbed me." She placed them in his hand, folding his fingers over them. "There's something else…"
"What?"
"Your mom isn't who you think she is. She knows you know about your birth mom." She looked into his eyes and took a deep, slow breath. "I questioned her about it when they were taking me away, screaming about your mother."
"Oh Katie…"
"She laughed at me. She said it wouldn't matter. Your mom didn't die during childbirth, Cullen, that entry in your dad's journal was a fabrication." His forehead tensed and he started to shake his head. "Una was one of the other girls at that bar, she wanted the glory and when you were born…she went into the hospital and killed your mother, then was there 'in support' of your dad. She's been controlling everything your whole life. Cullen, she's a monster. She's been lying to you all your life. She needs to be stopped."
So we're finding out that Aunt Una may be much more than we thought. She's willing to do anything for power, it seems. Thoughts?
