Doc tucked his penlight into the pocket of his lab coat. “Which I don’t have here. And we need to tread with caution because it’s on your brain stem. If we sever that, vampire or not, you’ll die. Think of it as a beheading.”
Fuck me sideways.I would be all for taking the chance if Layla wasn’t in my life or I didn’t have a kid on the way.
“The chip shouldn’t activate unless you’re near someone who has access to the program, like Carly Aberdeen,” Peter said in a bleak tone.
“Then you better figure out a way to remove it. Because I can promise you, I will be near the bitch to murder her.”
“What about recoding it?” Layla asked. Her honeyed voice sounded like a siren’s calling me home. “So that Carly can’t access it at all.”
Look at my huntress going all techie. “What she said.”
Peter swung his sorrow-filled brown eyes at Layla. “I’m hoping that after I analyze the coding, I can do something like that. But… it will take time, and I might need to access the chip in Sam again.”
An eerie silence dropped over us.
“Let’s hope you don’t have to,” my dad said. Then he squeezed my shoulder. “It’s been a long and tiring month. I’m glad you’re back, son. I need to make some phone calls.”
Jo kissed me on the cheek. “I’m off to find Webb and tell him the good news. You need to shave and shower, brother.” Then she bounced out, happy and giddy.
Nothing was better than seeing my sister happy.Oh, wait. I take that back.I would be stoked if Layla would come closer or give me a vibe that she was itching to be alone with me. Considering I’d attacked Peter, maybe she didn’t want anything to do with me. My heart fell out of my chest.
Doc pinned a stern look on me. “I want you to stay put until that bag of blood is empty.”
My bloodthirst was fine, but I imagined he was taking precautions just in case the chip had done some damage.
Doc waved at Peter. “We need to work on the wolf.”
“Dane?” My voice hitched. “Is he here?” I’d forgotten about him.
“He’s in the next room,” Doc said. “But he’s having problems shifting, and we think it’s because of the chip.”
“I’m not sure if the wolf will be as easy as Sam.” Peter collected his computer and followed Doc out of the room.
I had several questions pinging in my head.
“We’ll fill you in on what you missed later,” my dad said, reading my mind. “For now, rest. Layla, will you be okay alone with Sam?”
My heart came to an abrupt halt at the notion that I could hurt the woman I was deeply in love with. No one had confirmed if I had done something to her. I would die a thousand deaths if I’d laid an angered finger on her.
“Did I hurt you, baby doll?”Please say no.
She shook her head.
My dad cocked an eyebrow. “You didn’t. But you weren’t yourself earlier, and I’m not sure I trust that fucking chip.”
I was wary too. But… “Pops, you heard Peter. I have to be near someone who has access to it. I doubt Carly is lurking nearby.” Although that would be awesome. Then I could torture her until she was screaming for me to end her misery.
Layla blew out a breath. “I can handle Sam.”
Maybe so, but her anxiety was saying otherwise.
My old man crossed the room to leave. “Layla, are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Sam would never hurt me,” she said, this time with more confidence. “Besides, he knows I would rip his balls off.”
As painful as that sounded, I chuckled. “That’s my feisty huntress.”
My dad grinned at Layla. “You did react quite quickly when he pulled you to him.”
