- Chapter Sixty-One -

Money In The Middle

Brother to brother, Nathan had to hand it to Sam for lugging the heiress around as much as he did. What with how old he was getting. "Am I going to regret asking what happened here?"

Here, as in that existential question that haunted every human being at least once in their life? Probably not. Or was it possible that the younger sibling was referring to the obvious dark marks that peppered the exposed parts of her neck and chest? Although, it just as easily could have been that Nate was inquiring as to the fact they were carrying an unconscious minor upstairs in the middle of the day.

Light as a feather and cursed as a Drake on any collapsible surface, the duo paused at the foot of the stairwell to readjust their grip on the young woman. Hoisting one shoulder up around their necks, the boys waved across the girl at one another before chancing the ascent. Somehow this journey didn't quite feel up to the family motto, however, when it came to the category of questions left unanswered, Samuel had his by the look on his little brother's face.

"I, uh, ran into a little problem."

There were just too many jokes to be made, the vast majority of them at Sam's expense. Sensing this before Nathan's animated expressions could give any of them life, he quickly elaborated, "If you must know, I was working my way up to telling her about Rafe."

That would appease the others at least. Taking the next step with care, the younger of the historians counted how many were left before they hit the correct floor. "So what was the problem?"

Lifting his half of the body before she could slip away and cost them all precious progress, the elder thief purposefully avoided all eye contact, keeping his undivided focus on the rising floor. Was it really just the one? Funny, he really didn't remember specifying. "You seriously gotta ask? You know how much Dells idolizes Daddy Dearest."

Elena could have provided statistics on how many times Nathan had reminded himself not to bring up Ella's old man. "So, how far did you get?"

Sly but not exactly anyone would call subtle, the elder brother's lips tellingly curled until he was barring his teeth.

Boys club built on a foundation of gossip and bravado, there were probably at least a half million replies that could pop into a dirty mind with a question like that. And his big brother had one of the dirtiest that he had ever encountered (honorable mentions going to Sully, Chloe, and Flynn). Never quite matching that same level, Nathan's pensive blues flicked curiously over to the girl balanced between them, mouth falling into a certain kind of shape.

"Not what I was asking." Seeing a lot of vulnerability and the unmistakable desire to be a part of something bigger than one's self, the shorter but arguably more successful kinsman just took the next step in stride.

Perhaps that wasn't the best way for that question to have been worded. Gritting his teeth beneath the strain of dragging around a grown woman and biting back the obvious retort, the grizzled brunette stole a moment to himself in order to try and see it from his little brother's perspective. Nathan, still the blushing maid it seemed. Chuckling lightly at the innocence on the kid, Sam peeked over the slumped figure in the middle. "Maybe you should have said that differently."

"Maybe you should," out of his mouth before he even knew what it was he was going to say, Nathan shot back, "say that to someone else instead."

Maybe he should. Not in the habit of listening to anyone's advice so quickly after it had been given, Sam glanced down at Dells before he suddenly found the banister to be very interesting. Out of respect, he brought the conversation back around to where it should have been. "I may have only gotten around to mentioning that I worked with him at the end there." If working with Rafe was what you wanted to call it.

"Seriously, Sam?" Everyone had been on his brother to tell Daniella the extent of how he knew her parents (if only a glossed-over, T-rated version). Having his own past exploits kept secret from Cassie still, he only had so much room to talk, but how was that she had only heard that little? The pair had been alone for hours now, and it took some time to get as drunk as the heiress was.

Oh, that wasn't even the half of it. "It's not my fault! Dells kinda... shut down when she heard that. I don't think she would have heard me even if I tried to tell her the rest of the story."

"Shut down?" Nathan was almost scared to know in what way the heiress had snapped, considering that time she had blacked out and attacked Sam.

"Nah," shrugging it off, Sam shook his head as much as their positions allowed, "nothing like that. It was more like her battery ran outta juice. Once I got her back to the room, she went straight for the bottle." And he went straight for her. Although after earlier, that didn't seem like necessary information for his little brother to be privy to.

Apparently Nathan was more of a mind-reader than he had given him credit for, as the next thing out of his little brother's mouth was, "Please tell me that's all that happened."

Frozen at the top of the stairs for an answer that he almost didn't want to hear (but also morbidly craved), Nathan could only gape at the silence that stretched between them. "Jesus, Sam!" It wasn't exactly hard to connect the dots from there.

"...I mean, she wasn't completely drunk." On the verge of it, maybe, definitely past the boundary of loose lips and false bravery. Also, in his defense, they had managed to sustain a conversation, slurred as her end was.

Nope. Nathan wasn't going down that rabbit hole. Instead, he started down the hall for the room that Sam had given him at the door. "So, what now Lord Byron?"

Lord Byron, that was cute. True, as a fellow man of action there certain similarities to be had, however the gap in written word left something to be desired. No, if Sam was to be compared to any of the great Lotharios throughout history, it had to be the swashbuckling Errol Flynn.

More importantly, an interesting point had been raised. What now? Honestly, Sam had no clue, so he did what he normally did and decided to just let things play out as they would. Job priority number one in a certain regard, the ex-con merely blinked at his little brother, "Right now, all I'm concerned with is just getting her to bed. You know as well as I do that sleep is God's cure for a nasty hangover."

Snorting, Nate mumbled under his breath, "Just so long as she wakes up with her underwear on."

Brow arching, the elder Drake could have flicked his sibling straight in the center of the forehead, "What was that, punk?"

"Nothing." Oh, it was definitely something. "I was just reminding you that her mother's waiting in there for you both." Yikes.

Fuuuuuun. "Great."

[Lacking Control But Never Power, Except Literally]

Comfort the faintest hint of her daughter rubbed off on a cheap polyester dress, Bai hastily dropped the lengthy material when the door opened. Creaking on taut metal hinges shrunk from the cold, the portal swept open with a series of janky motions to create a wide berth. Heart dropping like a kidney stone, the businesswoman flashed back to the thief's promise to bring her daughter back by any means. While there was a notable lack of kicking and screaming, it remained to be seen if the girl had been bound and gagged.

Wood slick beneath bare feet, the woman was upright and dashing to the door before she even could register the shape of a large man carrying a young female in his arms. Relief escaping in a small burst of air between her teeth, she exhaled a razor breath at the sight of the pair shuffling through the gloom.

"Honey, I'm home." Hollow, Sam was already feeling the vampiric sucking of his life force as soon as he'd entered the room. Half-wishing that Nathan hadn't said his goodbyes at the door, he could hardly blame his little brother for not wanting to stick around.

Mindful that the bottle lobbed at his head was still probably an active card on the field, the gambler hoisted Dells into his arms bridal-style - careful of her head when crossing the threshold - and carried the sleeping beauty to the bathroom. Fingers automatically reaching for the switch out of habit, he groaned at the error. More than glad to be free of the burden on his back, a too-sober pauper-type placed the princess upon the counter so that she was ultimately leaning against the side of the wall. Knowing that there was no time to even try to cover up her most recent accessories, he started with her shoes.

Lenses flashing almost ominously in the dark at the threat, Bai dropped everything to rush to her baby's side. Had that brute knocked her out to make his job easier, or had something worse befallen her daughter? "Why is she unconscious?"

Wet flats falling to the tile with a soft thwamp, Sam peered over his shoulder at the no-winged harpy. If she was going to insert herself into the situation, the least she could do was make herself useful. "Bottom shelf, dresser-"

"I know where she keeps her clothes. It's the same arrangement at home, I believe." Turning mid-step, the businesswoman made a direct beeline for the dresser closest to the restroom. Not yet getting a good look at her little one nor an understanding of her current condition, she quickly pulled out a buttoned top and pants. Approaching the duo cloistered at the sink, she realized almost straight away that the girl had shirked her more feminine style for menswear. "What I don't know yet is what happened to my daughter."

Skin starting to shiver, Daniella's head sagged into her chest as a pair of large hands rubbed her arms and legs to create friction. In proper light, at least one of the two might have noticed that her lips were on the cusp of turning blue.

Figuring that there was no time like the present, Sam stood aside to switch places with Bai. Clearly he had no problem with doing what had to be done, which in this case meant stripping the girl of her soaked shirt and replacing it with something dry, but her mother might take issue with that. "She fell over."

Harpy just close enough to grab, he guided her reluctant talon up the damp streak on Daniella's side, corroborating his story.

Indeed the girl's side was quite moist, as if she had in fact toppled over. And it was not lost on her that Daniella had been known to be less than steady at times. However this person was not her daughter. Eyes lingering on the same silvery hair that she had found on the pillow, there was no doubt in her mind that this little trollop was the whore she had kicked out prior.

Tilting her head at the man, Bai could have laughed at the insult if it weren't so brazen. "Do you think I'm stupid? That I wouldn't recognize your little friend from earlier? I knew you were the very base of the bedrock, but this is-"

"Wow. Do you pay any attention to your kid?" While there was only a scant amount of light to work with, it should have been obvious who the girl was just by the shape of her eyes. The thin lips or even the bony little chin. Something about her appearance should have tipped Bai off.

Deeply affronted by the accusation, the businesswoman glared true death daggers, "You do remember who's paying your bills for the next year, right?"

Convinced that this washed-up streetwalker was not her little girl, she wanted no part of humoring his lie. Although, that infamous voice tickled the back of her ear, what if by some chance... Seething about it, the woman leered beneath her glasses, taking a cautious step closer to the girl in question. Brushing aside a twisted strand of ghostly rope instead of the rich umber she had known, Bai's mouth twitched when she examined the blank face of the sleeper.

Lowering her hand, the woman couldn't say that she hadn't seen a certain resemblance. So he had a type. Most people did.

"What have you done to her?" Whoever that girl was, there had to have been a larger story than her just slipping in the rain. There had to be a reason why the one from Panama was trying to pass her off as her precious Daniella.

"That's rich. What have I done? What have you done?" An unfunny joke from the get, Sam pointed at the heathen in heels. Glasses, apparently, as the heels were nowhere to be seen. "You really wanna know why she's out cold? Dells didn't want to see you. Not that I blame her any."

Lies. It must have been!

Not finished with the shrew just yet, Sam said everything that the heiress should have, "She asked me to keep her away from you. The only reason we're here now is because it's what's best for her. So why don't you leave me to my job and get the hell out of here? You're good at that."

Violet and pursed tighter than Scrooge when he was a miser, her lips had poison of their own to spew, the wounded creature lashing out with whatever she could. "You would know all about that, wouldn't you? Daniella's been hurt enough thanks to you, don't you think? She needs the one person she can truly depend upon: her mother."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere." Not at this juncture.

"Talk about a switch. You'll be out of her life the minute you stop seeing any profit in it. But fine," the woman was casting her net, testing the waters to see just the kind of creature she was dealing with, "prove me wrong. Stay. Do what you think is right by her."

Sam was too seasoned to take that bait, and frankly, he was too incensed by the implications to back down now. Reminding Daniella's mother of the pajamas still in her arms, he shoved past the woman to stand sentry at the door while heiress was changed. "You first."

Girl once more supported between two individuals as she was dragged to bed, it was the one that cared the most that pulled the blankets up to her chin and tucked in the covers. Snug as a bug in a rug. Discarding his own wet clothes and grabbing what was left in the mini-fridge, by the time he'd returned, it was to the sight of Bai cuddled big spoon. Seeing the move less as an altruistic gesture to get the young woman warmer faster and more as a power play, he set his drink on the nightstand and settled in on the other side of the heiress.

Face-to-face with the young woman, Sam's eyes drew invisible lines across her brow, mapping out her cheekbones and the topography of her nose. Head-on it was hard to tell, but look at her from even slightly below, and it was almost comical how much bigger one nostril was than the other.

Hopelessly out of tune, there was music coming from the far side of Isla Dells, a low hum that filled the leaden air. Clutching at the young woman's shoulder with hesitant nails of jade, Bai wanted so badly to believe that this impersonator was her girl that she revisited the song she used to sing when Daniella was just a baby. Silent most nights, it was a tune that the heiress would fall back to when she was overcome.

Utterly surrendered to the world of dreams, the baby tigress seemed to like the music, curling her fingers around the claw resting over her back. So close to the heart.

Beer warmer than he would have liked before the trip to the theater, by the time it was over his drink was like choking down a thick, syrupy medicine. Even still, he drank deep to forget about the position that he was in.

"Don't go getting any ideas." More guilty of enjoying herself than she cared to admit at this or any stage of her life, the kept woman held tight to the stranger in her arms. Denial was a strong thing, but her dislike of Sam Drake was stronger still.

Damn-near done in by fizz, the choking fit came with gasps and a cough so loud that for a split second he was scared that he had actually managed to wake the girl. Turning her head away from the humble dusting of light that permeated the darkness, the heiress wrapped herself against her favorite human pillow, murmuring a single name in her sleep. It might have sounded like 'mama', if it hadn't been a letter too short.

Ideas the one thing he wasn't getting, Sam was going to tell Bai to do them all a favor and zip it so the girl could get some much needed rest, but Daniella did a fine enough job of that on her own.

All the same, why waste perfectly good momentum? "Far be it for me to tell you how to raise your kid-"

Grown too warm for the blankets herself, Bai yanked her arm back from the illusion, snapping irritably at the ex-con that she hated so much, "Then don't say whatever you think it is you have to say." Sniffing audibly from the back, hearing any version of the Adler heiress asking for anyone other than herself or Rafe was entirely unacceptable.

Over the precipice between the edge of the mattress and the island of dead technology, his hand flexed atop the grain. For half a heartbeat, he honestly considered it. Cocking his head at the most covert of angles, the thief looked without seeing, his dark gaze beholding all. Vast promises of wealth, another year staying comfortable, the horizon looked promising.

Breathing in the sweet air of freedom, Sam chanced a peek at his peers. Unlikely bunk mates as they were, this was definitely a story to tell anybody that would listen. The heiress, maybe a little too codependent, and her mother... Sapphire never so threatening as was then, the woman looked torn between hedging her bets and pouncing on a fresh kill. Say what you would about Bai, but he'd seen what the woman could endure for her warped sense of love.

Respect begrudgingly granted, he might have let it be if the woman's glare didn't dare him to open his mouth. "Dells is too polite to say it to your face, but I don't have that problem. I can tell ya exactly where you went wrong with her."

Please. Eye roll palpable, she really didn't care to hear his opinion about this or anything else, although she knew saying as much would only encourage the rapscallion.

Hushed down low, there was only one person that was going to hear the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "You weren't honest with her. About any of this." Merely treating the young woman like she was an equal adult seemed to go a long way, however in his experience simply acknowledging her was enough to do the trick. Bai had done neither this entire time. "From where I'm sitting, you aren't seeing the person she's capable of becoming."

Eerily similar to something he had heard before, a ghost from the distant past came back to bite him in the ass. "You are?"

Can clinking lightly as his fingers fumbled across the sleek aluminium, the historian abandoned his attempt to reach for another drink and instead stared long and hard at the mother of woe and misery. "She likes me a helluva lot more than she likes you." At least for the moment, but they needn't get caught up in the semantics just yet.

Voice sharp enough to lash through a thousand sleepers, Bai scoffed even as she scuttled closer to her prize, "You're beginning to show your age, old man. My daughter loves me."

"No." Firm, Sam shook his head. "She really doesn't." Was it an overdue victory getting to say those sweet words to Bai? Yes, yes it was. It was even sweeter getting to see the look on her face she struggled to find her footing. "Do I really gotta spell it out for you?"

Impenetrable walls enduring the criticism, with a single look down at the girl purported to be her daughter, the defenses and various assurances that Bai surrounded herself began to sink. What if Daniella doesn't want to see me? It had been a logical question to ask herself, but she hadn't honestly expected the girl to hold a lasting grudge. Not against her loving mother. Could it be true?

Lies! More nasty lies! Infamous voice tickling the parts of her brain that mattered most, Bai didn't want to believe what he was implying. Although, the dominate voice that had made her such a force within the business world joined the fray, it does stand to reason. Returning to that moment not even an hour ago, back when she had first entered the room, the silver-sided cobra could have sworn that she had seen Rafe's eyes staring back up at her in the gloom, lost, confused, and a touch out-of-sorts.

No, not Rafe.

Daniella.

"You're wrong." He had to be. "Daniella-"

"Is a good girl?" The argument was obvious the minute she opened her mouth. "Would never get wasted in the middle of the afternoon? Never stay late after school to work on mouth-to-south resuscitation? Gotta say, she definitely earned that A." Defiant, in that moment he was less interested in the repercussions and more into just giving it to the woman. "Fuck a guy like me? Hate to break it to ya, but your little girl isn't so innocent."

Hugged tightly around the knees by a child that had just lost everything she had ever held dear, Bai remembered the morning of the funereal. Allowed to properly wear nothing but black for the first time, the girl had been inconsolable. Grieving for the love of her life, she had been no better off; the difference was that the woman at least knew to hide her sorrow. But how could a child have known that without being told? Realizing that from that point on they would only have each other, it was enough to get through the long months, the hasty arrangement of Baba's, and the never-ending parade of tears.

Daniella couldn't abandon her now. And certainly not for the likes of Samuel Drake.

If that was even really Daniella.

Seduced by a predictable enemy, a charismatic devil that could weaken even the most devoted of loves. Drake was indeed an incubus in human form, so nobody stood a chance, let alone a virgin. Taking stock of the situation, the cold rationale merely noted the physical change in the girl.

Hair hacked off and lightened to the point of death, her body had been bandaged and scarred beyond recognition, but had that been before or after she had been robbed of worldly innocence? Had his sway been so great that she would turn her back on all that she was? On all that connected her to her father?

Thinking on this more and more as the minutes ticked by with excruciating silence, Bai retracted her arms from around the creature. Perhaps this mangy thing really might have been Daniella after all, but it was not her child. Not the daughter she had shared with Rafe. Fake, the voice cried out with sharp instance.

"Liar." A last-ditch effort at defense, it was clear that she was on the ropes, that she didn't have any conviction to cling to. The evidence was just too overwhelming, from the inaccurate version of events that Logan had painted to the hickeys now smattering the girl's canvas like rot.

Ironically, he wasn't lying, not this time. Brushing stray trail of starfall out of Daniella's face just to watch her mother squirm with the knowledge that he was on the up-and-up on this one, Sam shook his head. "Honest."

"Honest?" Furious enough that this impostor was just the same as her baby girl in her arms, the ice queen seemed to glow ardently in her rage. Bright scarlet with tendrils of wrath and crimson, she had finally found something to latch on to. "You of all people want to lecture me about honesty?!" All but shoving the child away, the businesswoman recoiled until she was just another body laying on a mattress. As for the man that was her bane, she could only scoff bitterly, "Can you honestly tell me that she knows who you are? Can you tell yourself?"

Muttering something in her sleep, the heiress snuggled closer to the thief to compensate for the loss of her mother's body heat. Softening just enough to give it away, his eyes hardened the instant they were off of the young woman. He was honest with Dells. He was! He just wasn't immediately forthcoming with certain details.

"Because I know you, Sam Drake." A one wrong turn deserves another kind of thing, as Bai resumed her speech she noted him flinching away from the harsh truth, "You may be the most clever one in the room, but you're scum. A parasite." Rising, she could no longer stand to share the bed with either of the two. In fact, she had no reason to linger. "Greedy and ravenous, you latched yourself on to a great man. After you finished picking his bones from your teeth, you wormed your way into his daughter. Take her." Leaving with one final say, Bai shoved the girl into Sam. Dells was too conked out to know the difference, but he saw the pure seething disgust in the businesswoman's eyes as she collected her shoes. "Heaven help us all if you're still alive for the next generation."