Liam nodded.“I’ll have Daniel drive us.”
I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I was stuck. The sound of the barely controlled hysteria in Jenna’s voice played in my head over and over again.
“Sun’s coming up soon,” I said, softly.
It was a little after six. Already, I could feel it lurking just below the horizon. The threat of its presence burned a hole in my chest.
“What am I going to do if I pass out?” I asked.
“I’ll be there. I won’t let you go alone,” he assured me, his voice quiet and steady.
I nodded.
He paused, watching me carefully.“But it might be wise to take some of my blood. It can help you resist the sun.”
I shut my eyes, already resigned. I knew that.
He correctly read that as my agreement, lifting his wrist to my mouth. I bit down, the warmth of his blood hitting me, the power zinging through my veins. The usual lust was still there, but this time its urgency was overridden by my need to get to the hospital and check on my niece.
He pulled me away shortly after I started drinking, murmuring small words in his native language.
After that, the trip passed in a haze. He gave Daniel the hospital name, having paid more attention than me to the end of Jenna’s message. I spent the drive staring out the window, trying to remember the last timeI’d seen Jenna and my niece.
It had been months. Months of silence becauseI’d shut everyone out. Months of lost time because I couldn’t figure out a way to fit in with my family anymore.
Daniel parked near the entrance as Liam and I got out. He used his whammy to get Linda’s location out of the first desk we stopped at, then it was an endless maze as we traipsed throughout the hospital looking for the right floor.
Technically, it wasn’t visiting hours anymore, but whenever someone stopped us to challenge our presence, Liam pulled out his abilities and sent them on their way.
My normal dislike of manipulating humans was a distant memory, the overwhelming need to find Jenna and my family showing my true self. It’s easy to hold to your principles when times are easy. It’s much more difficult to do so when you’re tested. That’s when you find out which of your values are important. Turns out the vampire’s ability to mesmerize wasn’t nearly so objectionable when it was being put to use for me.
I rounded the corner and stopped, catching sight of my mother slumped in a chair, her face pale as she blankly stared into the distance.
My dad sat next to her. The man who’d raised me always seemed larger than life, but at that moment he seemed a shadow of his normal self. He looked older than his years. They both did.
My mother’s blank gaze drifted my way as if sensing she was being watched.“Aileen, what are you doing here?”
I stepped forward, her words getting my feet moving again, when I would have remained frozen in place.“I came as soon as I heard.”
They both took me in, still in the dress from the evening, my hair a tangled mess down my back. I never had gotten the chance to change.
A shutter slammed down on my mother’s face.“You shouldn’t have bothered.”
I felt the words like a physical blow.
“Elise,” my dad said, sounding shocked and chastising.
My mom’s face tightened.“Have you gone back to get help?”
My silence was answer enough.
“Then I don’t want you here.” She stood.
Liam moved at my side. I grabbed his arm, holding him back.
I lifted my chin.“I don’t care. Jenna asked me to be here. She can ask me to leave.”
“We’ve been here for hours. You’re just now getting here. Where have you been?” my mom asked, her eyes hard.
