30
LAYLA
By six that night, only four hours after the showdown ended with Rianne, I was pacing in the sheriff’s station, waiting for Rianne to wake up. I needed answers like I needed water. I doubted she would give me any, but I had to ask. I had to know how she found me and where my grandmother was hiding. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that Adam didn’t have spies, like Conrad had mentioned. They could’ve followed me. But if they had, Rianne wouldn’t have waited three weeks to make her appearance. We had a mole in our close-knit circle. I was almost sure of it. On top of that, my sister had something up her sleeve other than her thwarted show-and-tell transformation on national television. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what yet.
I stomped in one direction, biting my thumbnail, then switched to my forefinger. What was taking Stan so long? He’d been on the phone since Conrad and I arrived thirty minutes ago.
Conrad sat on a bench in the small lobby, his hazel eyes tracking my every step. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
I bobbed my head. “I’m way past that.”
He crossed one black-panted leg over the other. “Rianne probably isn’t awake. You shot a good amount of drugs into her.”
I gnawed on my lip. “Then we’ll just have to wake her. I’m not leaving here without answers. I also want to talk to the reporter.”
Tim Cox, the news correspondent who had interviewed Roman on TV, was being detained in a cell along with his cameraman.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to anyone. After I’d finally unlocked the diner’s door, it had been a whirlwind of law enforcement, town residents, and paramedics. I didn’t want to leave Rianne’s side, afraid she would somehow break free if she woke up. But Stan assured me the jail cell could withstand immortal beings.
I was still dumbfounded at Rianne. The past two times I’d been in her presence, she’d bragged about changing, excited to give up her humanity. But part of me hadn’t thought she would actually go through with it. Even when I’d seen her on TV, she’d said she was human. She’d pretty much signed her own death warrant unless our family history with vampires and witches served to keep her alive or from becoming feral. Time would tell.
Conrad smoothed a hand over his black hair. “I would like to hear what Tim Cox has to say myself.”
Cox had to know more about my sister. Hell, he probably had details of Adam’s operation or rumors thereof. Reporters were determined to get at the heart of a story, and one who revealed that vampires existed probably had an award-winning piece of news.
I ambled over to the glass-encased counter, where a lovely dark-haired woman with kind brown eyes sat at a desk to answer phones and type. “Grace, any idea how long Stan might be on his call?”
She frowned. “It’s hard to say. After what happened today, he might be a while.”
I rubbed my lips together, wondering who he was talking to about the incident. Steven came to mind. After all, my father-in-law was trying to overthrow the council. “Thank you.”
Grace smiled warmly. “How are you feeling?”
I returned a polite grin. “Pretty good.” Except the knot in my stomach, the anger in my veins, and the bile in my throat.
Jordyn and I’d been taken to the town’s medical clinic, which was a quarter mile north from the sheriff’s station. The paramedic had been afraid we might have concussions, but after an exam, neither Jordyn nor I had any symptoms. We were, however, bruised, and I had several scratches on my back from Rianne’s talons that were healing nicely thanks to the elixir Doc had prescribed for my surgical wounds.
“And your sister?” she asked.
“A little shaken up, but she’s fine,” I said. “She’s home babysitting.”
As vampire hunters, Jordyn and I had seen and dealt with bloodsuckers, so nothing really shook us. But seeing our sister as a monster was a blow to the gut and would take some time to process.
She propped her chin on the back of her hand as she dug her elbow into the desk. “How are those sweet babies?”
I smiled from ear to ear. “Doing well, eating like horses, and I swear they’ve grown overnight.”
She was about to say something when her phone rang. “Sorry,” she said, picking up the receiver.
I tuned her out as I sat next to Conrad. “Did you reach Webb?”
After I’d gotten home from the hospital, I called Cooper Gray, but he hadn’t answered. The shifter was my go-to person for contacting Sam. I had tried Sam’s burner phone and his regular one, and I struck out.
“I finally talked to Jo,” Conrad said. “She wanted to rush back, but I told her we had things under control. Webb has been in meetings, which was why he’d been unreachable. But Jo, Abbey, and Alia will return in the morning. Then we’ll regroup.”
The small town of Dewsbury, Maine wasn’t the spot to lie low anymore, particularly if Tim Cox ran with his story of what had happened while he’d been in the diner. I was relieved he hadn’t witnessed Rianne sling Jordyn and me around the restaurant. Mainly because if anyone saw the strength Rianne had, every human on the planet might want that capability.
I tangled my fingers together in my lap. “Did Jo say anything about her dad’s plan?”
