She sipped from her bottle. “It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Again, not sure if you’re caught up on what’s been happening here while you’ve been gone. That vampire lady, Kendra, who supposedly killed Dad, is here.”
I could feel the creases forming on my forehead. “Sam didn’t mention her.” No fault of his. We had a shitload of crap to deal with, and Kendra wasn’t high on my list. I was curious about her relationship with my father and whether she’d been responsible for his death. “Come to think of it, I do remember Sam saying her name when I was on the phone with you guys. Did she show up to talk to me?”
Jordyn fiddled with her neck brace. “Not exactly. Two of Roman’s men are in the base prison. After Jo read their minds, we learned that Kendra had been arguing with Roman at a hotel. Ben and Olivia went to investigate and found her passed out in her room. She’d been shot with a ton of those drugged darts.”
“She’s involved with Roman?” I dropped my gaze to my lap, trying to work out the connection, but I was coming up empty.
Jordyn lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. When Ben brought her in, Doc said she could be out for days. When you called from the cabin, she wasn’t awake yet. No clue if she is now. I left shortly after Sam did and headed for West Virginia. Now, here we are.”
I hopped up. “Only one way to find out,” I said, eager to see and talk to Kendra. It was time to learn more about the vampire who had been accused by my uncles of murdering my father.
25
SAM
Part of the state-of-the-art medical facility was about to become a birthing suite. Over the years, there had been a handful of human spouses living on base who had been pregnant by vampires. But either they’d given birth at one of the local hospitals or they’d already had their kids when they’d moved into naval housing.
Doc was excited that he would now be able to accommodate the medical needs of any pregnant woman coming in, although he would have to hire an ob-gyn doctor like Dr. Martin.
To my left, a foreman for the construction company Doc had hired was discussing the upcoming demolition of one wall with two of his workers. Huddled at the other end of the infirmary, Doc and Peter were finalizing the chip-removal procedure one last time before I became the guinea pig.
Lingering outside of Doc’s office, I tuned out the noise, examining the rice-grain-size device in my hand. It reminded me of an oval-shaped pill, and I was fascinated that it could control the brain. I now knew why Peter said it would be difficult to surgically remove the fucker, as tiny as it was.
After what had happened in West Virginia, I didn’t care what it took to take out the chip. I never wanted to be used as weapon again. It tore out my heart to know I could’ve killed the one woman who made my life a fuck ton better with her in it.
The click of the double doors that led into the infirmary perked up my senses. Jo’s lavender scent announced her before she breezed in.
She buttoned her lab coat, quickly searching the room until her silver gaze landed on me. “There you are. Are you okay? You left your phone in Webb’s office.” She wiggled it in her hand. “It’s unlike you to forget things.”
My mind had definitely been on the long list of crap I had on my plate.
She swiped a hand over her head, fiddling with the errant strands of her black hair that was styled in a French braid. “Are you worried about the procedure?”
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.” I hoped Peter knew what the fuck he was doing.
She rested against the lab bench across from me. “Are you sure you don’t want Layla to hold your hand? Is she awake?”
I put up my mental shields despite having taken a dose of the mind-blocking potion earlier that morning. With Layla around, I had to double up security around my mind to keep my sister out. “Yeah. Jordyn’s with her. By the way, where’s Pops?”
She crossed her legs at the ankles, her black patent leather flats shining in the light of the room. “Dad and Tripp are debriefing Webb. When are you leaving for Maine? And I have an idea about the wedding.”
I chuckled. “You’re not giving up on planning the nuptials, are you?”
“You told me last night you want to marry Layla before she gives birth, so I’ve been thinking. Are you sure she’s going to say yes?”
Cocking an eyebrow, I looked at my sister like she was insane. I was one hundred percent sure, but damn it, that niggle of doubt in the deep recesses of my psyche wiggled free. Yet I couldn’t find a reason why Layla would decline my hand in marriage. “I sure the fuck hope so.”
“She might want to wait until after the babies are born,” Jo said, “so she can fit into a wedding dress.”
My sister was rankling my grumpy side, even though she could be right. Still, Layla didn’t strike me as someone who wanted a big soiree with lavish shit and expensive gowns. If she did, I would go with the flow. But if I knew my huntress, she would prefer simple and quick with family and friends. Besides, we weren’t inviting the other Aberdeens. A war would break out before we could exchange vows.
“What’s your idea?” I was done speculating on what Layla would say or do. As far as I was concerned, I would toss Layla over my shoulder and elope if Jo’s idea steamrolled into something Layla and I didn’t want.
“How about a handfasting ceremony? It’s a simple ritual of tying of the hands while you exchange vows. You can set it up any way you want. No church. No priest. It fits you perfectly, Sam. I don’t know if Layla’s into a church wedding or not, but if you choose handfasting, George can officiate. He’s done a few handfasting ceremonies for the residents in town in Maine. We can use the war room. That way, more of the people we care about can attend.”
I wasn’t into all the details of wedding planning. I would like those I cared about to witness our vows. But if Layla and I tied the knot in Maine, then hardly anyone could attend since a war was brewing and our enemies were running amok. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” I pushed off the wall, spotting Peter and Doc coming toward us. “As soon as Layla says yes, I’ll talk to her. For now, I think it’s showtime.” An anxious but excited shiver gripped my stomach, and I hoped like fuck I would leave the infirmary with my brain intact.
Peter’s salt-and-pepper hair was disheveled. Wrinkles rimmed his dark eyes behind his black-framed glasses, and a sheen of sweat shone on his bulbous nose. I had to hand it to him—he was one dedicated scientist, working hours on end to help us find a solution. When my uncle Patrick was alive, he’d worked just as tirelessly in his lab. Carly wasn’t any different, seeking knowledge and trying to find a cure for diseases. But immortality wasn’t the answer. Or maybe it was. After Layla explained Carly’s true motives to Doc and me, Doc’s only comment had been that anything was possible.
