“No,” I said. “What did you do with the boat?”
Bathin leaned back on the porch rail. “Uh…left it adrift? What was I supposed to do with the boat? Bring it into the bay? Tow it into an iceberg?”
“Shut up. We’ll deal with it later. Did they tell you where Lavius is?”
“They didn’t tell me.” From the way he said it, I knew he was being cagy about it.
“Tell me or I will let these werewolves take out their frustrations on you.”
Four of the Wolfe boys stepped forward and the other four in wolf form snarled.
Bathin watched me with keen interest sparking across his features.
That’s right, demon. I have friends and my friends have claws.
“I dug through their minds,” he said. “The mortals and the vampire. The mortals knew nothing of interest. The vampire, however, was working directly for Lavius.”
“Did he know where Lavius was?”
“No. If he once knew, it had been removed from his mind. Brutally. But Lavius left a message behind for you, Delaney.”
A chill rolled over me, and dread flickered and died.
“By now he knows what I took from him. He knows you’re the one who sent me to take it from him. He’s coming for you, Delaney Reed, and he is going to torture you for fun.”
“He will not touch her,” Rossi hissed. “This is your last warning, demon. If I find that you have colluded with him to bring Delaney, her sisters, or this town into any kind of danger, I will draw war upon you, your lands, and your people.”
“Wouldn’t that be an interesting thing,” Bathin mused.
The door opened and Myra stood there. She took in the situation, her face pale, and—even though she might be trying to hide it—one hand trembling.
“Problem?” she asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “You okay?”
She nodded. “It’s your turn. For Ben.”
“We’re not done with this, understand?” I said to Bathin. “Don’t go anywhere.”
His body language had shifted, his chin lifted and tipped so that he could better see Myra over my shoulder. The heat coming off him spiked like he either couldn’t hide his reaction to her, or didn’t want to.
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” he said to Myra. Then, “Ben’s waiting for you, Delaney. For your delicious, delicious blood.”
Myra rolled her eyes like she couldn’t believe his nerve and I widened my eyes in anI knowsort of response. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and stood aside so I could walk past her.
Even though she was pale, I knew she could handle the demon, vamp and wolves.
Ryder sat in the extra chair, his elbows braced on his thighs, head hanging, the glass of lemonade in one hand. He seemed pale and worn out too.
Donating blood directly to a critically injured vampire was a lot more taxing than doing a regular blood drive. It’s why we didn’t handle feedings this way.
I made my way over to the recliner and Mykal gave me an encouraging nod. “Ready?”
“Absolutely. How’s he doing?”
“He’s stable, but still not conscious.” He wiped the inside of my elbow with a sterilized pad, then sat on the coffee table and leaned forward to tie off my arm.
Granny and the rest of the Wolfes streamed into the house, crowding around Ben and Jame, each of them taking a turn to touch both of them. Some of his family moved off deeper into the house, and I got the feeling they were making sure the house was secure and setting up guards at the back door. Granny settled in the other chair.
