I changed Andrew and then rocked him until he dozed off. It didn’t take long, less than five minutes. The poor little guy must have been exhausted. I was worn-out myself and was half tempted to curl up on the antique loveseat next to the crib and get some shuteye. I was afraid I might not get up for a couple hours if I allowed myself to fall asleep, which would have felt rude considering all the work the VGO had put in on the party. The only choice I had was to find some coffee and power through.
I was about halfway down the hallway when I realized I’d left my earrings in the baby’s room. Andrew had a habit of yanking on them, and I’d learned fast as a new mother that dangle earrings were a huge no-no if I wanted to keep my earlobes intact. For the special occasion, I’d bent my own ruleand worn the rose gold hoops Robert had gotten me for my birthday. I’d taken them out while I was tending to the baby.
I was perplexed when I found the door to Andrew’s room ajar. I was almost positive that I’d shut it because I hadn’t wanted the music to wake him.
“Oh, hello,” I said, surprised to find a blonde woman leaning into the crib with her back to me.
Geez, these vampires could be pushy when it came to spending time with the baby. Sneaking into my baby’s room was not okay. Still, I couldn’t be rude, even if that’s precisely what this vamp was being. We were guests of the VGO, and for all I knew she could be a new member.
The vamp still hadn’t turned around, so I cleared my throat. “Andrew needs to sleep. He’s jet-lagged . . . Oh, shit.”
“That’s right, bitch! Bet you never dreamedyou’d see me again.”
The mixture of terror and fury that hit me was so sudden and sharp that it knocked the wind right out of me. I felt as if I was having some horrific outer body experience.
Serena.
She was here.
Squirming in her arms was Andrew.
36
Slowly, I raised my hands in a gesture of submission, as if Serena was pointing a loaded gun at me. She might as well have been brandishing a weapon. If anything happened to Andrew, it would kill me.
I swallowed. My mouth was so dry that I could hardly speak. “Whatever it is you’re thinking of doing, please don’t. Please, please, pleasedon’t. I’m begging you,” I pleaded, my words coming out jagged.
“Aw, you’re begging me? Isn’t that just sweet,” she sneered. “You’re going to be begging for your own life after I drain this whiney little shit.”
“No!” I screamed. “Don’t!”
Serena pinched my son’s soft, chubby arm and twisted hard. Tears sprang from Andrew’s eyes as a reddish-purple welt appeared on his skin. He reached out to me with his tiny pink hands, taking in sad gulps of air.
I was going to kill that bitch if it was the last thing I did.
Serena clucked her tongue and pooched her lips mockingly. “Oh, boo-hoo. Olivia, I don’t think your son likes me very much.”
“Look, I know you’re angry, but my little boy has nothing todo with your beef with the VGO.” I was stunned by how calm I’d managed to make myself sound given that my insides were a jumble of writhing snakes.
“It haseverythingto do with him,” she hissed. She was fully baring her fangs, and I knew that if I didn’t act fast she was going to kill us. “You and your pathetic husband took something important away from me, so now I’m going to take something important away fromyou.Do you know how many years of bullshit I took before the VGO started to trust me? Do you? Centuries! I could have taken over! But then you had to go tattling to Joseph, didn’t you?”
“How about you put the baby down and we talk?” I swept my hair back from my neck and took a step toward her, improvising. “Better yet, how about you put him in the hall and then you can shut the door and drink from me all you want?”
Serena laughed manically. She had truly lost her mind in the worst way. She had to be crazy, showing up at the VGO headquarters like that—then threatening to kill a baby. Her madness glinted in her eyes. She had nothing to lose, which told me she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Her eyes narrowed contemptuously as somebody entered the room behind me. I knew who it was as soon as she spoke.
“Hey, girl, you coming back to the . . . Whatthe fuck?”
“Careful, Liz. She has Andrew.”
A second voice spoke out. “Put the baby down, Serena!” It was Joseph. “I’m twice your age and far stronger than you, so if you want to get out of here alive, you’d better heed my warning.”
The VGO would never let Serena live, not after she’d conspired to assassinate them, then crashed their party and tried to kill the guest of honor. I knew it, Joseph knew it, and Liz knew it. Even crazy-ass Serena knew it. She was insane, but she wasn’t a moron.
Serena’s fangs gleamed as she threw her head back andhissed. It was one of the worst sounds I’d ever heard in my entire life, and I’d remember it until the day I died, which might be soon. She lowered her mouth to Andrew’s throat, the tips of her fangs scraping his perfect skin.
And then all hell broke loose.
