Olivia caught my arm. “Not on my watch.”
“I can’t watch my sister die.” I shrugged her off and was about to go blazing out when Sam said, “Do not walk out there.”
I spun around, looking in all directions.
“What is it?” Olivia listened.
“Sam.” I searched high up in the trees. “Did you hear him?”
“No.” She checked her earpiece. “Crap, my comm must’ve fallen out when I was fighting.”
Maybe I was hearing things. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was, especially with the weird supernatural experiences I’d been having. Again, I started for my uncle.
“Layla, stay put.” Sam’s tone was deep and commanding.
“Fuck you,” I said low but out loud.
“Baby doll, you’ll have plenty of time to fuck me. But right now, I need you to work with me. I’m on top of the main building. Do not look over here.”
Of course, I looked immediately, but I didn’t see Sam. “How can I hear you?”
“We’ll talk about that later. Can you do me a favor?”
I huffed as Olivia watched me intently. “What?” I asked Sam.
Olivia glanced into the woods and bobbed her head.
“Is he talking to you too?” I asked. I should’ve been paying attention to what Roman and the white-haired shifter were doing, but I was stymied that Sam was speaking to me telepathically.
I had no doubt in my mind that I was morphing into a vampire. I had to be.
You need to save your sister, my inner voice supplied.
“Oh, Layla.” Roman had that patronizing tone again. “I’m waiting. If you don’t come out in five seconds, your uncle will suffer a slow death.”
I was tempted to laugh. If anyone in the family had balls, it was Uncle Ray. Oh, Uncle Jack certainly had them, but Ray was more twisted in his scheming. He’d been the one to roast vampires for dinner. Seriously, the man ate them after he fried them over a pit like pigs.
At that thought, I was ready to puke again.
“Layla,” Olivia whispered. “Listen to Sam. I need to meet Tripp on the other side of the property. Whatever you do, do not engage.” Then she took off in the same direction we’d come from.
Great.Was I supposed to stand there like a beacon in the night?
I inhaled. “If you have a plan, Sam, speak now, or I’m walking out.” I eyed the roofline, but I couldn’t see through the falling snow. “Damn vampire. You want me to listen to you? Where are you?” I ground my teeth together.
Fuck this.I raised my hands and was ready to give myself up to Roman when a venomous growl pierced my ears before bright red eyes lasered me to the tree. The shifter trotted up, baring his canines.
“Easy now,” I said in a shaky tone. I wasn’t afraid of much, but I’d never been up close and personal with a shifter the size of one of the horses on my uncle’s ranch.
With his snout, he nudged me to move. I stumbled my way into an open clearing and climbed over a body as the shifter coaxed me forward.
Roman whipped his head in my direction, grinning like he’d found the Holy Grail. “Well, there you are. I know Mason is with you.”
Uncle Ray glared at me as though the situation we were in was all my fault. He wasn’t wrong, but I would never admit that to him. When we got out of this mess, I would speak my mind once and for all. Then again, anything I had to say would only fall on deaf ears.
“Sam isn’t here.” I inched closer.
Aiming the tip of his sword at Uncle Ray’s stomach, Roman flicked his chin to the white wolf. “Comb the woods.”
