I piped up. "If she found it, she would've taken the money and disappeared. I doubt someone would only steal a little bit of the money."
Elias nodded his head. "Maybe you're misremembering the amount of money in the safe."
“Yeah, probably.” Anthony pulled a bag of blood out of his backpack and popped it in the microwave. My eyes tracked his every move. There was my further proof. I supposed by then I believed them. I wouldn't have left my children behind in the mountains if I didn't believe their story. But still, visual proof of their blood drinking would help.
When the microwave beeped, Anthony pulled out two coffee mugs and filled both of them up with the blood. He tossed the bag in the trash and set a mug in front of Elias, who sipped it and grimaced. "It's getting old."
"It's all we had in the fridge upstairs at your house in Tennessee. We’ll have to drink it," Anthony replied.
"I wish we'd gotten around to installing that deep freezer behind the wall in the basement so we could keep some here frozen that the housekeeper couldn't find.” Elias grumbled, sipping the mug of blood.
I sat with wide eyes and watched the exchange. Anthony noticed the startled expression on my face first. "I'm sorry, Riley. We didn't mean to be rude. Can I make you a cup of coffee or tea?"
My stomach rumbled. "Oh, I’m fine. You sit and drink your blood, and I'll rummage around and make myself some dinner. Thank you for offering, though."
Opening the freezer, I was greeted with glorious junk food. I snatched a bag of pizza rolls and nuked them in the microwave. The refrigerator held a variety of sodas and bottled teas. Grabbing a Dr. Pepper, I took my piping hot plate of pizza rolls over to the table to eat and watch them sip their blood. They drank it like a cup of coffee. How'd I never see Michael drink any blood? I voiced my inner thoughts to the men.
"Michael thought he was hidden from the Supay. Elias and I found him and kept tabs on him nearly from the minute he went off the grid, though we didn’t tell him for a long time. We didn’t intervene until he tried to rob a blood bank to avoid using our centers. We didn’t understand why he was hiding, but we loved him and wanted to help, so we kept him supplied in blood. You had a freezer and a refrigerator in a storage unit near your house."
"I never knew we rented one of those things! And how in the hell did he think he was hidden when he was thirty miles away from your manor house?" Michael was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid.
"He was going for hidden in plain sight. He knew we didn't frequent the areas near the house. Everyone living at the manor drinks from blood bags.”
"I think it's time to be filled in on the rest of the story, guys. But I'm exhausted and emotionally drained. I've been through the wringer today.” I stood and put my dishes in the sink. “I want to sleep. You two can plan whatever you need to plan. In the morning, we're sitting down, and I'm getting the rest of the story. And I want theentirestory.”
"That's fair," said Anthony. "We should be safe for as long as we need to be here. We have time to let you rest and nurse your emotions before we take our next steps."
"Out of curiosity, what's our end goal here? Besides outrunning the henchmen your little rulers set on us, I mean?" I considered the men I was forming trust and attachment to. I left my entire world on top of a mountain in Tennessee solely because they said I needed to do so.
Elias looked at the tabletop, but Anthony met my challenging gaze. "Riley, we're going to make you a Supay. We’re going to turn you into a vampire."
"But you said vampires are born, not made. I don't understand."
"We’re going to find the Inca god Supay. It’s been attempted many times and each mission failed.Wearen't going to fail." He stared at me, waiting for a visceral reaction.
I blinked several times. Then I blinked several more times. "Okay. Of course. Sure." I turned and walked upstairs, entering the first bedroom I came to. I slipped off my shoes and climbed into bed.
Ooooooookay. I’m going to be a vampire.I fell asleep before my eyes fully closed.
* * *
You're so strong and beautiful. You’ll make the Supay world turn on its head when you are turned. The first new Supay in thousands of years. I'll be coming for you soon, Riley. Let Anthony and Elias lead you to South America to find the entrance to the underworld, but don't trust them. They betrayed you. They knew where your children were. They lied to you. I'll catch up to you, and you'll understand when you see me. You will trust me. Be patient, beautiful one. We’ll be together and raise David and Daniel and the world will tremble. Soon.
* * *
I woke screaming, the memory of the voice fresh. My head throbbed like someone split it open with a hatchet. Even in my sleep I must've been fighting off the invasion of my mind.
Elias burst into the bedroom with Anthony on his heels. I cried out in relief. They gave me safety, even though the voice told me not to trust them. I knew darn well what they did to me, what they kept from me, and didn’t need a bodiless voice to remind me.
My boys were less than thirty-five miles away from me the entire time. I should’ve still been furious with Elias, at least. I couldn’t reason with myself though. As angry as I still was, I trusted them to keep me safe.
"Riley, what happened?" Elias asked. He and Anthony sat on either side of me in the bed.
"It was that voice again. He keeps telling me to continue on our journey and that he'll find me so we can be together." I threw myself down onto the pillows and glowered at the ceiling, my tears drying as frustration built in my chest.
"Riley," Anthony began, "would you like for us to sleep in here with you?"
My eyes drifted between the two of them. Conflicted, I wanted to say yes, and at the same time, I wanted to tell them to go away. As a strong, independent woman trained in different styles of combat and defense, I shouldn't be unnerved by a voice.
