My grandmother bounded into the room behind Rianne as if she was chasing her. Maybe she was trying to stop Rianne from doing something stupid. Or Harriet Aberdeen had come to her senses. Nah—miracles didn’t happen in my family.
Rianne skidded to a halt, breathing fire like a dragon about to burn me to ash. She dug her nails into my arm. “When will you ever learn?”
My gaze took a slow hike down to her waist to the dagger on her hip. “I should be asking you that question.” Then I remembered her panic right before I passed out. She’d sounded as if she didn’t want me to die. Maybe I was imagining things, though the dichotomy of her emotions was telling me my sister was still in that brain of hers. The sister who loved me. The one who would’ve died for me.
Don’t get your hopes up.
“You’re not ready.” She quickly looked at something beside the bed.
I took the opportunity to grab the dagger, ignoring whatever the fuck she meant by that statement.
The little witch was quicker, and her hand went around my neck. “Nice try.” She scraped the tip of the blade across my cheek. “We are going to have so much fun when we’re reborn.”
Then my brain began to understand what she’d meant by saying I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t panic. Not yet anyway.
That feeling of electricity in my arms vibrated again as I choked out a laugh. “Go ahead, Rianne—kill me now.” If that yellowish liquid was the crazy juice, then I was already dead.
Still, I knew she had the female balls to drive the dagger into me. But she wouldn’t. She was too overly excited for us to be reborn together—to rekindle our relationship.
“Where’s the fun in that?” she asked. “Sam isn’t here to see you suffer.”
Nope. Evil Rianne Aberdeen is still in that pea-size brain.
My grandmother pried Rianne’s hand from my throat. “Girls, there’ll be plenty of time to see who will lead my army.”
She’d been lingering and watching, taking mental notes, no doubt. Or maybe seeing my stomach had her frozen in disbelief or elation. Since she’d been standing in my peripheral vision, I couldn’t exactly see her expression.
Regardless, my choked laugh could be heard around the world as I whirled on sweet old Granny. “What happened to you in Fiji?” After my father passed, Harriet Aberdeen jetted off into the sunset as though she didn’t give a rat’s ass about her family. Then she returned home and thought we would bow down and kiss her feet. I, for one, wasn’t jumping on her bandwagon.
Harriet pursed her red lips, her beady blue eyes rounding on my belly. “It seems to me, Layla, I should be asking you a similar question. Your father is rolling over in his grave right now. Pregnant by the very creature that has torn our family to shreds for centuries. I should kill you just for that.”
I angled my head, wearing a patronizing smile. Granny didn’t show any signs that she’d collapsed recently. In fact, she looked as if she’d just walked out of a spa. Her short reddish-gray hair was perfectly styled. Her cheeks were rosy. Her nails were well manicured and painted red. Then again, she could be dying, and no one would be the wiser. She always dressed to impress, and today wasn’t any different. She wore a crisp white shirt beneath a navy-blue pants suit.
“I heard you collapsed. Are you sick, Granny?” I asked. “Is that why you’re on a crusade to—” The damn light bulb switched on as I gulped in air. Noah and Rianne were brazen and stupid enough to alter their DNA. My grandmother was a lot of things, but I wouldn’t call her stupid. She always had a reason for doing things. “That’s why you rushed back to the States when Uncle Ray called you. You’re sick. You’re trying to find a way to live.”
I might be talking out of my ass, but her resigned smile confirmed that I was right. Her expression said that she was proud of me for figuring it out. I wasn’t sure if my hatred toward her had changed, but there was another thing I had now for her—pity.
Rianne reared back, rounding her startled gaze on Harriet, her jaw on the floor. “You’re sick?” Rianne sounded as if she’d lost her best friend.
“Now, now, Rianne,” Granny said with a loving smile. “It doesn’t change the goal. I still believe in fighting fire with fire. That means we stay the course with Adam Emery. The only way to rid the planet of vampires is by building an army we can control.”
“Answer me!” Rianne shouted, clearly on the verge of using the dagger on our grandmother.
She ignored her belligerent granddaughter and turned to me. “You were always the intelligent one, Layla. You always saw right through people. But sadly, you missed the mark with Sam Mason.”
I snorted. “No, I didn’t. You’re happy I’m with Sam. I mean, the stars aligned for you. You want to use me to draw Sam out. You need him if you want to find a way to become immortal without looking like Noah. I’m right, aren’t I?”
My sister’s nostrils were flaring rapidly, anger and hurt swishing around in her brown eyes.
I held on to the footboard. “Each of you have different motives.” I flicked my chin at Rianne. “Her hatred for Sam is jealousy, so she wants to see Sam suffer because she thinks he took me away from her. And you, Granny, need to find a cure for whatever it is you have. The only one you can think of is to become immortal. As far as Carly goes, I have no idea what she’s after. But as she’s a scientist, I would guess it’s simple curiosity. Then there’s Adam Emery. He wants control. If anyone wants to build super soldiers, it’s him, not you two. And you will never convince me, Granny, that you believe creating vampires is the way to kill other vampires. You’re just going along with Adam because he has the resources and Carly to help your personal agenda.”
Harriet clapped. “Bravo, Layla. But now that you’re carrying Sam’s baby, I don’t need him.”
A chill skittered up my spine. “What have you been diagnosed with?”
“A rare type of blood cancer that has no cure,” she said quickly and evenly.
Rianne snapped out of her funk. “Shecannothave that baby.” She aimed the weapon at my belly.
