Orianna didn’t budge. “She’s asleep right now.”
His eyes narrowed. “You mean she’s doped? Because that’s the only state she’s ever in, Orianna. You’d know if you cared to stay with her.”
Fury raged in her veins, this altercation a long time coming. “Fuck you,” she snapped. “I’m the only one who’s taken care of her.”
His lip curled in a snarl. “Yeah? Traipsing across the country looking for your failure of a sister? That’s what you call taking care of her?”
“Well, while we’re laying blame”—Orianna met his hard stare—“who’s the one who put her in that fucking chair?”
“That’s not fair, Orianna. I had nothing to do with that.”
“Bullshit. You’re the reason for all of it,Dad. You single-handedly tore this family apart. And now look at us.”
Erik’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word.
Orianna was about to scream at him when she heard car doors shutting outside. She managed to peer around her father just as two police officers were stepping out of their vehicles. Their keen gazes were scanning the area, searching for a threat.
Erik grinned. “I do believe they’re here for a welfare check. Perhaps they should be the ones to decide whether or not it’s safe for her to be here.”
Fucking hell.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Eclipse shot upright, shoulders tense, fangs extendingfrom his jaw. For the past forty-five minutes, he’d remained still, his senses scanning the goings-on upstairs. He’d listened to two males converse, one calm, the other demanding, while a third talked in soft tones with Orianna. The topic: Elizabeth, of course. More accurately, Elizabeth’s need for help for her addiction and the fact it wasn’t safe for her to remain in the home by herself.
Orianna had been livid, but hisamsouelothad controlled her temper, remaining rational in her attempt to sway them to her side.
It hadn’t worked.
“She’s gone,” he growled, the words sounding feral.
“Eclipse…” Miklós’s tone was firm, as though he could possibly keep him in control by simply saying his name.
“She’s. Gone.” His eyes burned so bright the entire basement glittered in the silver hue.
“We will get her back.” Magnar’s words were a promise.
From the instant he’d heard all those footsteps banging around upstairs, Eclipse knew he should’ve done something. At the very least, he could’ve erected a barrier around the house, making it impossible for those fucking cops to leave. Instead, he’d considered Orianna’s feelings on the matter, and now they were all fucking gone. Orianna, her mother, that bastard father.
“Breathe,” Magnar growled, the command harsh.
Eclipse attempted to do just that but failed. He was fucking trapped in this godforsaken basement for the foreseeable future, and he had no fucking clue where Orianna was. He had no way of getting in touch with her, despite the fact all three of them had cell phones. No one had had the sense to give her the damn numbers.
“Hey, man, I’m calling to let you know of a situation.”
He was barely aware of Miklós rambling on, getting whoever was on the other end of that call up to speed. Not that it would matter. No one at the mansion could go out in the sunlight, either. Not unless they wanted to coerce one of theheurospinto helping out. And the last thing they needed was another human in the mix.
Eclipse paced over to the far side of the basement, planted his hands on the washing machine, and braced himself there. It wasn’t until Magnar shouted from behind him that he realized he was denting the damn thing with the strength of his hands.
This wasn’t happening. Orianna was not gone. She was just … out there somewhere. With her mother. Taking care of the situation.
He breathed in through his nose, out through his mouth.
What if the demons had planned this? Without his soul tethered to hers, they could claim her as theirs, essentially taking him with her. Not that he gave a shit about the last part. Without Orianna, his world would cease to exist anyway, exactly what Taayin was going through now.
“Thanks, Reidar. Let me know what you find out.”
Eclipse turned to look at hislieterra, waiting for some fabulous news that would get them all out of this fucked-up situation.
