Chapter Twenty-Two
Discussions with a Black Knight and a Daroga
"I am really too tired to kill you, Khan, so why do you not do us both a favor and get out of my house?" Erik suggested with a sigh. The Persian said nothing, looking at Erik with a curious look, trying to discern what was the matter without asking.
"I was invited," Nadir informed him. Erik's only visible brow rose.
"Obviously it was not I who invited you, so I must assume that you are lying," Erik said.
"No, but your wife did," Nadir said. Erik cursed under his breath. Leave it to Christine to go behind his back and invite a man Erik would happily see dead. She really knew how to get to him and it was rather annoying.
"And how did she manage that?" Erik wondered, pouring himself a shot of brandy.
"She wrote me this," he said, handing Erik a piece of parchment. Erik read it quickly and would not admit how impressed he was that Christine had thought to contact Nadir for help. It really was smart. Though Erik hated to even think it, Nadir was the best man to help him find this man. He was a Daroga in Persia, and knew how to catch criminals. But Erik would not accept his help. He could take care of himself and Christine.
"Contrary to what my wife thinks, we do not need your help," Erik said. Nadir sighed, he knew Erik was going to be difficult, he was never anything else. That was why he thought it might be a good idea to talk to Madame Desslar, she was more agreeable and she had also been the one to write the letter in the first place.
"Perhaps I can talk to your wife?" Nadir asked. Erik stiffened slightly and Nadir knew he was treading in dangerous waters.
"My wife is not here at the moment," Erik said. Nadir frowned only slightly.
"Will she be here later tonight?"
"No."
"Tomorrow morning?" Nadir persisted. Erik growled.
"No, she will not," Erik said. Nadir waited for a moment for Erik to elaborate but when he did not he cleared his throat. Obviously something was going on between the couple, and it could not be good if Christine was not with Erik.
"Do you know where I can reach her?" the Persian asked.
"Why do you wish to speak with her?" Erik demanded, becoming moody.
"Well if she thought there was a need for my help I would like to hear it from her," he said.
"Well I am her husband I told you that we do not need your help," he said. Nadir sighed sadly and shook his head.
"What has happened to us, Erik?" Nadir asked softly. Erik froze once more.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"This animosity between us. We once were very good friends," Nadir explained. Erik said nothing for a moment, because he knew all to well what the other man was talking about. They had once been like brothers in a sense but events of their past had changed the feelings towards one another. And Erik found that a lot of the central conflict had to do with Emma Daae. His little Emma, he missed her terribly. He hated himself for not being there when she had died but he knew that she hated him for the things he had done and he could not face her. He just hoped that she forgave him now, wherever she was, looking down on them.
"Our past. It is what haunts us, Khan," Erik said very softly. Nadir said nothing, he did not have to.
"But do you not think that we cannot put past conflicts aside for now? It is not only you that this mysterious killer is after, it is Christine. She is Emma's daughter, Erik," Nadir said.
"I know very well who she is, Nadir, you do not need to remind me," Erik snapped.
"Then you know that Emma would want us to protect her from whatever is out there, put your pride aside and let me help you," the Persian pleaded.
"I can protect what is mine, Khan, you worry about yourself. Christine will be safe for as long as I live," Erik swore.
"And if this man or woman gets to you, kills you? What will Christine do then? We need to catch whoever is doing this and stop them before something miserable happens," Nadir said. Erik's pride was warring with his need to protect Christine. He wanted to know who the hell it was that had already caused them so much trouble, and why they were doing it. But he knew he was afraid of the answer. What if it was someone who did not care what happened as long as the two of them were dead? A past enemy. He would not have Christine killed for something he had done years prior. But he would not admit that he needed help. He had taken care of himself for years. He could take care of Christine. If there was a need to protect her then he would, he did not need the Persian's help.
"I do not think I will be needing---"
"Where the hell is she?" Anthony demanded, bursting into the room quite unexpectedly. Erik did not have to ask who Anthony was talking about. Christine.
"What are you talking about? She is not here!" Erik growled, angry that the man thought that he would go back on his word of leaving Christine alone until she was ready to come back to him.
"She has to be here. She is not at the manor and no one has seen her for hours!" Anthony.
"Allah protect us," Nadir whispered. Erik was already half way to the door.
"Where are you going?" Anthony demanded, following the masked man.
"To find my wife," Erik growled.
xXx
Christine smiled softly to herself as she walked down one of Rome's many streets. It had been very easy to sneak off from the estate and Christine had been walking for several hours. She had needed time to be alone, without servants and without a brother who continuously popped into her room to make sure she was alright, even though she had told him twenty times that she was.
She knew without a doubt that Anthony was going to be livid with her when she arrived home, but at the moment it did not bother her. She would deal with her brother when she returned. She had every right to want to take a walk, no matter if it was dark or not. And she was definitely capable of taking care of herself without a chaperon.
Christine had been thinking about her mother a lot recently and though she missed her what she thought about the most was what relationship did she have with Nadir Khan, and exactly how did she come to think of Erik as a big brother?
There had to be some way to find out. She knew Erik and Nadir would most likely tell her nothing. Surely someone or something would be able to give her the answers she needed? Christine thought about it for a long time, coming up with nothing.
She was so immersed in her thoughts that she never heard the carriage approach, or see the man who approached her. All she knew was one moment she was thinking and the next she had a hand over her mouth and was being dragged roughly up to the waiting carriage.
She struggled and fought but the man, and she was sure it was a man, dragged her effortlessly to the carriage and tossed her in. Christine's head hit the carriage door with a sickening sound and the last thing she felt was the carriage jostling back into motion.