Why hadn’t I permitted the VGO to microchip me like a pet? A few vamps had suggested it while I was at their headquarters, but being a human and not a dog, I’d declined. Now, I was wishing I hadn’t because my current location was so utterly random. Anyone looking for me would never think to search in Napa. They’d have no reason to. I had no friends or familial ties in the area, nor did I regularly frequent wineries. I might as well be in Mexico.
I let out a sigh of relief when Richard was done pilfering my blood. I asked with little hope, “You got what you wanted. Can I leave now?”
I was ignored, which was hardly shocking.
“Fine,” I said. “But could you at least bring me a book or something? I’m going out of my mind with boredom.”
“I brought you some magazines,” Jason said. “I also have breakfast for you. An egg muffin and some OJ.”
“Perfect,” I said, my stomach growling as Jason brought my goodies in from outside.
I scarfed down my breakfast the instant I was alone, feeling resentful as hell, not only toward my abductors but also myself. In view of all the evil deeds I’d witnessed since getting involved with vampires, you’d think I’d have learned to stopbeing so trusting. How could I have allowed myself to be kidnapped?
On the other hand, how awful would that make life if my outlook became so bleak that I constantly suspected every single person I encountered of deceitfulness? Maybe it was a good thing that I hadn’t become so jaded that I’d look at two seemingly harmless senior citizens and think:Careful, they might drug and abduct you.
After I got bored of the magazines, which focused heavily on celebrity gossip and beauty products—evidently to Jason, that’s all us silly girls read—I tried to take a nap. I was so wound up that I couldn’t make myself fall asleep.
I was also frustrated. I didn’t like to think of any situation as hopeless, but mine was. Unless Richard and Maxine came to visit me without Jason, there was no way I was escaping. Even then, I’d have to pummel two elderly people and make a run for it in house slippers to the nearest neighbor who could be miles away.
Antsy, I threw back the blanket. I’d been kidnapped, drugged, manhandled, and had rolled around on the floor of a stinky van. I also reeked of body odor and spent adrenaline. Though I was feeling hopeless, I knew I’d feel better if I took a shower, even if it would require putting on the same dirty sweatsuit once I was done.
The water was surprisingly warm. Not hot, but warm enough that bathing wasn’t uncomfortable. There was no shampoo, so I didn’t wash my hair. No blow dryer, either, lest I try to hang myself with the cord or use it as a garrote. At least I no longer stunk.
For lunch, Jason brought me just a toasted bagel with cream cheese, served with a directive to drink from the faucet if I was thirsty. A piddling egg sandwich for breakfast and then a bagel for lunch after they’d taken my blood. What kind of shitholeprison was this? What happened to the tuna submarine sandwich, jumbo soda, and cookies?
To pass time, I engaged in a little shadowboxing and then did squats and push-ups, since that’s what I’d seen badass women in movies do after they’d been taken hostage. Richard and Maxine also didn’t seem too concerned with providing me outdoor exercise. I needed to stay fit any way I could, because I planned on bolting the first opportunity I got. No point in escaping if I’d only collapse from exhaustion before I reached the end of the driveway.
Angered by thoughts of my kidnapping great-grandparents, I upped my reps to double-time. I started doing a jumping jack between the push-ups. After each set, I repeated a mantra.Don’t give up. You will escape. Stay strong.
I flopped down on the bed when I ran out of steam. The sun had set, which I knew because the light under the door had dimmed. I was hungry and cranky. My bitterness increased each time my stomach growled.
Sometime later, the door opened and in walked Maxine. Behind her was Jason, squashing any ideas I’d briefly entertained about kicking her ass and escaping. I sighed and leaned back on the mattress.
“Did you bring me something to eat?”
Jason shook the white paper bag in his hand. “Got it right here. Chinese.”
Maybe it was power of suggestion, but suddenly my mouth was watering over the heavenly scent of fried rice and veggies. “Well, can I have it?”
“After we talk,” Maxine said primly. She waited while Jason brought in a folding chair from outside so that she could sit down.
Jason made a move to leave. “I’ll be right outside,” he said over his shoulder, more to me than Maxine. I rolled my eyes toshow how offended I was that he’d think I’d ever dream of hurting my dear great-grandmother.
I gazed at Maxine expectantly. I couldn’t care less what she had to say. I just wanted to eat. I was so damn hungry.
“I would like to discuss a delicate issue.” Maxine clasped her bejeweled hands together and rested them on her lap. She leaned forward and whispered, “It’s afemale matter. A delicate one.”
“Okay.”
“We’ve sent your blood out for testing. We were trying to determine what makes it so unique. We asked our lab technicians to look for mutated cells, disease—that sort of thing.”
I felt like I was having déjà vu. I’d had a similar discussion with Leopold not too long ago.
I wished she’d get to the point. My stomach was rumbling so loudly that I could hardly hear myself think. “You said it was a delicate female matter. Surely you didn’t find anything wrong with me—like an STD? Because there’s no way that’s the case.”
After learning of Nick’s infidelity, you bet your ass that I’d marched straight down to the women’s health clinic and had myself tested for every sexual disease on the planet. The only man I’d been with since then was Robert, who, being vampire, was incapable of infecting me with any disease.
Horrified, my great-grandmother said, “Oh heavens, no!” It appeared that drugging and kidnapping me was socially acceptable, but discussing STDs was offensive. Such a sane family I had.
