Despite that, I wished I had Jo’s confidence. My sister had been on death’s door several years ago, when one of our enemies drove a cobalt blade through her heart. Luckily, the dagger narrowly missed, though it severed a major vein. Since we were twins, Dr. Vieira had been certain my blood would heal her. In the end, my dad had been her savior.
Dr. Vieira was stoic and confident in his strut as he carried a small cooler. “Is Dr. Greer with him?” He flicked his brown head of hair at the closed door leading into my father’s room.
“Yeah,” Jo and I said in unison.
Doc clapped me on the shoulder. “You look like crap. When was the last time you fed?”
“I’m fine,” I returned. I was saving my bloodthirst for a certain auburn-haired goddess. Okay, I knew I couldn’t go another day before the hunger set in, but I hadn’t had time to think about anything else except saving those I loved.
Abbey slid out of Jo’s arms, ran over to me, and grabbed my hand. “Come on, Uncle Sam. I know where the refrigerator is.” Her blue eyes danced with a smile.
The minute her hand was in mine, a sense of relief coursed through me. I had to do everything in my power to ensure Roman didn’t get his grubby hands on her. I grinned at Jo. “We’ll be back.”
Abbey led the way as if she owned the medical facility. I wasn’t surprised. She’d been there several times when my sister hand-delivered samples or was researching a topic for her college classes.
As we approached the nurse’s station, the redheaded nurse, whose name tag read Beverly, smiled at Abbey. “Hey, sweetie. It’s good to see you again, and I love your outfit.”
My niece was always dressed in something colorful and cute. She wore a patterned top underneath a yellow sweater with jeans and suede boots.
Abbey blushed. “Thank you.”
Beverly squatted down, her green eyes sparkling. “Dr. Greer brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies. They’re in the break room,” she said then rose. “You must be Sam. Abbey talks a lot about you.” Lust oozed off the pretty nurse as she beamed at me.
I cocked an eyebrow at my niece. “Oh?”
“Abbey tells me you read her stories before bed.” Beverly, flirty and hopeful, batted long lashes at me.
I wished I could say I was interested in the redheaded vampire, but I preferred an auburn-haired human instead. I couldn’t get Layla out of my system. “I love to read her stories. So, I take it the break room is down the hall?”
“Yeah. Abbey knows where to go,” Beverly said.
Abbey waved at Beverly before we kicked our legs into gear. “She likes you,” Abbey said once we were in the break room.
Ignoring Abbey’s comment, I went to the full-size fridge and pulled out a bottle of blood. Every staff member in the facility was a vampire, so the fridge was well stocked.
Abbey knelt down in front of the coffee, opened the coloring book, and snagged the crayons nearby.
The room was homey and inviting. There was a leather love seat to curl up on, a recliner that had my name on it if I’d had time to sleep, a TV, a small kitchen nook, and a private bathroom.
Abbey began coloring when my phone pinged. Her head shot up, her eyes filled with worry.
I glanced at my cell. “It’s just a text message.”
“From Layla?” she asked.
I furrowed my brow. “No. Why? Did you have a vision about her?” The last one Abbey had wasn’t good. She’d seen Rianne Aberdeen, Layla’s sister, killing Layla. Abbey had yet to tell anyone how. Layla had asked but then stopped Abbey from answering. The when and why, Abbey wasn’t sure of. I thought to probe my niece, but she needed to be a kid and not relive her visions of death. It was bad enough that she was having nightmares.
Abbey frowned. “Not really.” She gnawed on her lip. “I get glimpses of Layla when I sleep, but I can’t remember the details.”
I stared at my niece for a long second, wondering if she knew and didn’t want to tell me, when my phone vibrated again.
I opened the text from Conrad. A picture of Layla graced the screen. Damn, she was hot. The way her auburn hair was piled on top of her head, her neck wrapped in a frilly scarf, and those plump lips painted pink took me back to her dream that night she stayed in the women’s barracks.
I was the star of the show, but she had been the one to take the lead. How we both experienced the same dream was still a mystery, but that didn’t matter. My cock jerked as I remembered how her lips felt around it.
I needed air or a cold shower. “Abbey, I’ll be right back,” I said as I stalked out.
I headed for the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the hall, where it was quiet and out of earshot, and where I could safely adjust my dick.
