Page 1 of Under His Heel: A Kidnapping

[Chapter 1]

“I appreciate you coming along,” Anna said, “But did you have to bring him?”

“Him” being, of course, Alex. Where Anna had merely thought Alex a bit ugly before she’d met him in person, she now considered him uncouth, a brute, and completely unfit to be seen in public. Even when he wasn’t trying to be menacing, Alex had a look about him that put people on edge.

Tracht thought Alex was rather handsome, in his own way, but he knew his objectivity had been compromised long ago in that regard. He was also delighted by the reactions people had to Alex’s mere presence, and he was more than happy to take the opportunity to goad Anna, when he rarely had the upper hand with her.

“As you said, you robbed me of a free afternoon. I fully intend to enjoy myself, and Alex is usually very good at providing entertainment in some way.”

Anna scowled. A few feet ahead of them, her three children walked alongside Alex. Chryssy and Johan ignored him, but Markus kept turning his head to stare at Alex’s face. Alex caught him at it and glared back, but that didn’t deter Markus.

Out of all of Anna’s children, Tracht tolerated Markus the best. Chryssy was, as far as he knew, the smartest of them, but that might have been a product of her being the oldest at sixteen. Markus was fourteen, and at the stage where he was starting to care more about what his peers thought than what the adults thought. He was also a spoiled brat, but that was par for the course with Anna’s children. Tracht liked the moderate streak of rebelliousness in him, but only in comparison to the other two children.

At ten, Johan was the least interesting, which made it all the more irritating that Johan had decided to like Tracht. He was enamored by his uncle with almost the same name, constantly asking “Uncle Hannes” to come look at something or other that he’d done. If he weren’t Anna’s child, Tracht would have done his utmost to terrify the brat into leaving him alone.

Alas, maintaining a healthy relationship with Anna was important for his own career, so Tracht was forced to be moderately civil.

Today’s family outing was to some school exhibition, where students showcased their art or science projects. Chryssy had collaborated with some of her classmates to create a larger science project, while Markus had painted some artworks. Johan hadn’t participated for some reason or other that Tracht had already forgotten.

“He’s going to scare the children,” Anna muttered. “Parents will complain to the school directors, and we’ll be kicked out.”

“That is a perfectly acceptable outcome,” Tracht said. In fact, it was more preferable to staying for the full four hours Anna had estimated for the excursion. “I’ll escort him out when that happens. I’ll be perfectly apologetic, of course, and it will be an absolute tragedy if they decide to ban me from the premises.”

“I don’t know why you insist on being so anti-social.” Anna sighed. “You could find a partner easily if you weren’t such a recluse.”

Alex’s steps faltered briefly, which probably meant he was paying attention to what they were saying. He was getting better at ignoring Anna’s digs about him, but he had a much harder time containing his jealousy. Tracht had no intention of culling that particular behavior.

“I am completely satisfied in my life now. But if yours is so empty that you feel the need to meddle in mine, I can recommend a few things for you to try with Vasilis in bed.”

Predictably, Anna dropped the matter. She had no issues discussing her sex life in private, but in public, at her children’s school, she wouldn’t risk tarnishing her image.

They arrived at Chryssy’s classroom, already filled with other teenagers and parents. Chryssy made a beeline for her peers, while Anna wasted no time in greeting some acquaintances of her own. On the far wall, several high-end screens cycled through summaries of the projects around the room, with more parents milling about and pretending to be deeply interested in the exploits of other people’s offspring.

Alex stepped close to Tracht and looked deeply uncomfortable. “That’s a lot of kids.”

“Yes.” And while it would be amusing to see Alex cause a scene, Tracht knew that Anna would never forgive him if it came to that, so he added, “Do behave yourself while we’re here.”

“I wasn’t gonna do anything,” Alex countered with a scowl. “You could’ve just left me on the ship, and everybody woulda been happier.”

Everybody except Tracht, who would still have been required to come along. “Come now, I’d have no excuse to punish you if I left you behind.”

He would have found an excuse. They both knew that, and maybe in the early days of his servitude, Alex would have protested. Now, though, Alex looked like he wanted to embrace Tracht, or kiss him. If they weren’t in public, Tracht would have indulged him.

He was getting far too sentimental lately.

Anna interrupted them by bringing a few people over. “This is my brother, Johannes. Johannes, these are Hanna Mayer, Augustus Spiegel, and Thomas Dieter. Their children are part of Chryssy’s project group.”

Tracht gave a strained smile. He hated it when Anna introduced him, because she invariably invited people to call him by his first name. The false intimacy of the act bothered him beyond measure.

“Johannes Tracht, Captain of the Sigrun. Pleasure to meet all of you.”

“Do you also have children at this school?” Dieter asked.

“No.”

They were caught off guard by his blunt answer, and Anna stepped in to smooth things over. “He’s here for moral support, as it were, since Vasilis couldn’t make it. He’s been so busy lately.”

Mayer smiled lightly. “I did hear rumors of a new acquisition… but aren’t you very busy yourself? You must be so busy with your upcoming judgeship.”

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