‘There’s only one thing that will bring your Uncle Tim relief,’ says Lucy slowly. ‘And I think we all know what that is.’
‘That counts me out,’ says Damian,looking a bit disgusted. ‘He is my uncle after all.’
‘I’m out,’ chimes Elliott. ‘Not into boys, sorry.’
‘I’m out too,’ I say, and I sense Elliott relax beside me.
‘I’m in a relationship,’ says Floss, taking Damian’s hand. ‘I want to help, but it wouldn’t be right.’
‘Aww, babe,’ Damian says huskily, kissing her.
‘That leaves Hester or Lucy,’ I say, ignoring their lip smacking.
Hester screws up her nose.
‘I’ll do it since it was my idea to inject him with the blood,’ says Lucy.
I rub my eyebrow. Horny little bitch! But Hester doesn’t seem keen to deal with this particular problem, and I don’t blame her.
‘Fine,’ I say. ‘I’ll move him to his bedroom, and you can do your ... thing.’
Tim appears to understand what we’re discussing as his hips roll, and the tented mast wobbles to and fro, as if attached to a ship on the high seas. Hester glances at me with an amused expression, and I nearly lose it. I shake my head at her. There’ll be time enough for jokes later.
‘Can someone look after these?’ Lucy dips her hand into her pocket and pulls out three more red syringes. ‘I don’t want him getting hold of it. It might finish him off.’ She looks at me. ‘Remember the mice ...’
I nod. ‘Do you think Alexander has any more?’
‘I don’t think so. He had these locked away in a wooden box. I think he was a bit afraid of what he’d created himself.’
‘What’s in it?’ asks Elliott curiously.
‘I’ll tell you later,’ I say. ‘Can you tuck the blanket around Tim more securely? I’m going to stand him up. But I don’t particularly want an eyeful of his ... teepee pee-pee.’
Floss giggles. My lips twist, but I manage to keep a straight face for Tim’s sake. Poor guy, he must be going through hell. I had a peek at his mind in the kitchen but backed off immediately—it was like Dante’sInfernoin there.
As quickly as I can, I get his legs moving up the stairs, with Damian and Elliott hovering in case he or the blanket falls. There’s a tense moment on the last stair, when he teeters and nearly tumbles backwards. Floss screams.
But I manage to right him at the last minute, and he ends up in his room, lying spreadeagled on his king-sized bed. By the way Lucy pushes us out of the room, I assume she’s eager to get started on Tim’s ‘healing’ process.
Before the door closes, she pokes her head out. ‘Oh, by the way, don’t be alarmed if you can’t get in. I’m going to lock the door on my side, just in case.’
She winks at me. ‘See you in sixteen hours.’
Chapter 38
Elliott | Highlands, present day
When we retire to the bedroom she’s staying in, Sadie tells me exactly what’s in the syringes and what it does. Fucking Alexander, I knew he was up to something despicable when he was drawing my blood. But this? I feel guilty that I’ve contributed to this ‘vampire Viagra’ debacle. That my blood can be used to turn people into vampires. My expression must show it.
‘It’s not your fault, Elliott,’ Sadie says quietly. Sitting on the edge of the double bed, she’s being careful not to touch my outstretched legs. ‘You didn’t know you had special blood or what Alexander was up to. Even if you did, how would you have stopped him? You were shackled to a dungeon wall.’
My jaw clenches, trying to reconcile the mix of guilt and anger that rips through me. Like my sense of smell, my emotions have heightened since becoming a vampire. Luckily, my fangs have receded. Otherwise, I’d be in dangerof piercing my own lip. ‘I could’ve at least tried to save those other girls. I knew they were upstairs.’
‘You were trying to survive,’ Sadie states, moving her hand infinitesimally closer to my shin. ‘No one blames you. I would’ve done the same.’
I sigh. That does make me feel a bit better. Resting my head more comfortably against the padded headboard, I eye her, wondering how she’s feeling. All the bravado I had in the dungeon, my resolve to tell her exactly how I feel, has fled now that I’m actually sitting in front of her. I’m too chicken to come outright and ask the question ‘Is there an us?’ in case her answer isn’t what I want to hear. I stick with something safer. The villain at hand.
‘We need to stop Alexander.’ I wave my hand at the three syringes lying innocuously on the nightstand. ‘Or else he’s going to try and make more of this shit. And if it gets into the wrong hands ...’ I shake my head.
