I tried to take a step forward, but my strength wasn’t up to par yet. Nika was the only thing keeping me standing. Arianna struggled with her side of me, and Julian rushed over to switch positions with her. While Arianna rubbed her sore shoulder, Nika said, “You’re in no shape to run. We’ll have to drive.”
Trey stuck a finger in the air. “Shotgun!”
Julian shook his head as he gave Trey a stern look. “You’re not going, dude.”
Trey mimicked Julian’s stern expression as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Hell if I’m not. My friend’s sister’s boyfriend just got stabbed by my friend’s wannabe-girlfriend’s neighbor, because my friend, his sister, and his sister’s boyfriend are all bloodsuckers, and they’re holding my friend’s wannabe-girlfriend’s neighbor’s father hostage at their ranch fortress.” He lifted his eyebrows, the arch of them disappearing under his hat. “That’s hella confusing. How in the world am I gonna keep all of that straight if I don’t tag along?”
Julian seemed unsure how to answer that. While he stumbled for words, Arianna piped up. “I’m coming too.”
Sadness washed over Julian’s face. “You can’t, Arianna. You need to stay here. The second you leave…you’ll forget everything that happened…again.”
Arianna looked over at Nika. “You said we were best friends, right?” Nika nodded remorsefully. With a stubborn set to her jaw, Arianna told her, “So, as my former best friend, I’m asking you to remove whatever it is you did to me, and let me keep my memories. They’re mine anyway. You don’t have the right to just take them or change them whenever you want to.”
Nika cringed. “It’s for your protection as well as ours, Arianna.”
Arianna shook her head. “Trey and I are human beings, Nika, not science experiments. If we want to remember this, we should be allowed to.” In a softer voice, she added, “And I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
Nika looked to me, then Julian. A clear question was in her eyes—What do we do? My gut told me we should just wipe them clean, send them home, and be done with it, but these two were just kids to me. I had no personal attachments to them. Nika and Julian though…they mattered to them. “You guys decide,” I whispered. “But do it quick. We should get going.”
Julian thought over my words while he stared at Arianna. After a long moment, he finally said, “Are you sure you want to remember this?” He indicated the dark pool of blood on the entryway floor.
Arianna peeked at it with the corner of her eye. Her face was an unhealthy shade of white, but she nodded. “It’s my right,” she said. I smiled at her answer. The girl had guts.
Nika locked eyes with her friend, then her brother. After another moment of contemplation, she finally said, “Arianna, when we leave the house, you’ll keep your memories of everything that happened tonight.”
Arianna let out a quick exhale of relief and resignation. Julian looked over at Nika. “Can you make her remember everything she’s already forgotten? Everything about us?”
Nika scrunched her brows together. “I don’t think so, Julian. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
“Just try,” he pleaded.
Nika sighed, but turned back to her friend. “Arianna, you now remember everything you knew before about you and Julian being in a relationship.”
Arianna looked like she was thinking really hard as her hazel eyes concentrated on Nika’s face. After another moment, she let out a heavy breath like she’d been holding it in. Turning her eyes to Julian, she gave him a sad shake of her head. “I still don’t remember. I’m sorry.”
Julian nodded as he swallowed. “It’s okay. It’s just not there anymore.” Overwhelmed with disappointment, Julian looked away. I felt bad for the kid. My nicked heart still ached a little, but that pain was nothing compared to the shambled state of his heart.
“Let’s go,” I murmured, feeling a little steadier on my feet.
Nika drove us out to the ranch, while I sat in the passenger’s seat recovering. Julian and Arianna sat next to each other in the back of the station wagon, holding hands. Trey pouted as he sat on the other side of Julian. His pouts quickly turned to questions, though, and I swear, in a span of twenty minutes, he asked Julian every vampire question known to man. “Do you really drink blood? Are you dead? Were you bitten? How do you walk around during the day? Does silver hurt you? Garlic? Holy water? Crosses? Can you fly?”
I found it very hard to not tell him to shut up. Instead, I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on blocking out the irritating nonstop talking. I’d started out the evening trying to keep everyone away from the ranch, and now here I was, bringing even more people back to it. Time was of the essence though. Simon was going to try to break his father out, and someone I cared about could get hurt in the process.
My phone rang, and before I even answered it, I knew I was about to have an unpleasant conversation. Digging into my pocket, I pulled it out. “Hello?” I asked, my voice finally no longer laced with pain.
“I thought you were staying at the house with Nika? Why are you all on your way here?” It was Teren’s voice on the line. He wasn’t happy. “I thought we agreed that the ranch wasn’t a good place for the kids.”
I sighed as I answered him. “We had a bit of a situation at the house. Simon got away. He’s more than he led on to be…” I massaged my chest, where a phantom ache still lingered.
“He got away?” Teren asked. “How?”
I didn’t want to go into details of my superb screw-up, so I changed the subject as best I could. “Simon may be a problem. You need to make sure Jake is being well watched.” I knew he would be, there was no way Rory and Cleo weren’t all over him after what he did to Gabriel, but better safe than sorry.
“Jake? What does he have to do with Simon? And how would Simon know where he was? Did you tell him?”
I sighed again and glanced over my shoulder at Trey. Julian had a hand over his mouth, so Teren wouldn’t know he was in the car. A lot of good that precaution would do once we got to the ranch and the family spotted him. “He was informed unintentionally. We aren’t 100 percent sure, but we think Jake and Simon are related somehow. Father and son maybe. And we’re fairly certain Simon is coming for his father, and he most likely won’t be alone. We’re expecting you to have company soon.”
That was met with a long moment of silence. “This is getting more complicated than I’d originally anticipated.”
In the background, I heard Emma say, “Teren, we should talk about this. Maybe we should just let Jake go.”
In answer to her and him, I said, “We’ll be there within the hour. Gather everyone, but don’t do anything yet. Okay?”
Another quiet moment of contemplation, then, “All right. Hurry though.” Nika stepped on the gas in answer.
She looked over at me while she flew along. “You okay?”
I nodded as I hung up the phone and tucked it back into my pocket. “I’m tired, but much better.”
Nika frowned. “You need to drink. You should have had something before we left.”
I peeked in the rearview mirror. Arianna’s eyes were wide as she listened, her face pale. Trey was too busy telling Julian that his hand smelled like Cheetos to hear Nika’s comment. I returned my gaze to Nika. “There wasn’t time.” My eyes drifted to the window. “There still isn’t…drive faster.”
I could feel the car’s speed increase as Nika pushed the station wagon to its limit. I hoped the car held together, and that we made it there in time. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen but in my gut, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. Like the markers flashing by me, my anxiety grew with every mile.
When we got to the ranch, I was a bundle of nerves. I half expected to see a dozen hunters surrounding the home, wearing all black and scurrying up the walls on thin ropes suspended from grappling hooks, loaded down with enough weapons to take on a small country. But when we pulled up to the triple front doors, the gargantuan home was quiet, the steepled roof empty. No on
e was attacking us. Yet.
Trey let out a low whistle. “Damn, I still can’t believe you don’t live out here all the time. I’d refuse to leave if I were you. Just bolt yourself to one of the bedrooms. There’s gotta be like fifty thousand of them.”
I rolled my eyes at Trey’s comment as I got out of the car. There were a lot of rooms, but not nearly that many. It was definitely nice though. For a time it had felt like a prison to me, just like it must feel for Jake, but I viewed it differently now. It was home. And I would do anything to protect it.
Nika had stopped the wagon right in front of the doors, instead of driving around to the garage. As she walked around to help me out of the car, the center set of front doors burst open, and like a swarm of agitated bees leaving the hive, a stream of concerned vampires emerged from the house.
Halina was first. She rushed over to me, while I extended a hand to Nika. Her eyes were huge, the whites of them faintly highlighted with a phosphorescent glow as she took in the bloody evidence all over my shirt. The back of it was ragged from where Nika had ripped it, and it was sodden with blood. Even after the time it took to drive here, it was still wet, still clinging to my body.
Grabbing my hand, Halina yanked me forward. “You need to eat. And rest. I need to make sure you heal properly.”
I resisted her tug. “I’m fine, and we don’t have time for that now.”
She arched a brow at me. “Because a child knows where we are? I have no fear of children.”
I shook my head. “You’ll fear him if he leads an army our way.”
Nika clenched my hand as she looked up at me. “Do you think it will come to that?” She looked over to the home, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. Our family had just survived an attack. It was too soon for another one. Not that time would make an onslaught any more pleasant.
“I hope not,” I told her, trying to sound optimistic. My eyes returned to Halina’s. “But just in case, we need to be prepared.”
Sighing, my sire finally nodded. “At least let me bring you something to eat?”
My fangs almost dropped at the thought of a meal. I wasn’t eating enough. I wasn’t sleeping enough either. I wasn’t killing myself, but I certainly wasn’t doing my body any kindness either. “That would be wonderful, thank you.”
She beamed at me like a proud parent, then rushed back into the house, but at a human speed, since innocents were watching. By the time her jet black hair was gone from sight, everyone was out of the car, and everyone was out of the house. Well, everyone but Jake and his bodyguards. I assumed they were still downstairs.
Teren was eying me with concern. “What happened?” he asked. His eyes flashed to Trey and Arianna, but my wounds taking precedence, he held off his questions about them.
I kept my expression even as I admitted how badly I’d messed up. “Simon got a jump on me, stabbed me in the back with a hunting knife. Nearly nicked my heart,” I admitted in a low voice.
Teren’s gaze switched to his children. Alarm and fear was clear in his features. I shared the same feeling of horror. If Simon had gone for one of the others…Nika…I didn’t know what I would have done if she’d been hurt like that. Again. “He’s coming for his father,” I told Teren. Knowing the question was coming, I supplied the answer about Trey and Arianna. “These two were there when it happened. They saw everything.”
Frowning, he responded with, “You should have erased them and sent them on their way.”
I couldn’t explain how I’d been too tired and Nika had been having doubts about playing with her friends’ minds, so I simply said, “It was easier and faster to bring them along. And time is of the essence. He could be here any moment.”
I looked around at all the easy-to-hit targets roaming around the driveway. Emma was examining her daughter, making sure she was fine, even though Nika kept repeating that she was. Alanna was hugging Julian while Jack looked on. The older man still appeared a little frazzled from his earlier incident with Jake. Imogen was explaining who she was to a still-stunned Arianna. Halina’s daughter had an affinity for Julian’s paramour, and maybe hoping that Arianna was going to be allowed to remember the evening, she was telling her the truth. Gabriel was giving Trey an impassive stare down, like he cared little who he was or why he was here. Knowing Gabriel, he probably wasn’t even paying attention to Trey or his endless questions. Hopefully, he was stewing over the mystery of Simon’s blood. Linda was standing on the other side of Gabriel, Emma’s scarred sister, Ashley standing by her side. Ashley’s husband, Christian, was standing next to her, looking very tired, and very confused; he was clueless about all of us.
Returning my eyes to Teren, I told him, “We need to get everyone in the house. Now.”
Sensing my urgency, Teren nodded and turned to his mother. “Get everyone back inside.”
“They would be safer in the rooms down below,” I added.
Alanna looked from Teren to me, then nodded. With Imogen’s help, they started herding the humans indoors. All I saw as I looked around the people I cared about was casualties. Casualties of a fight I’d inadvertently started when I’d tried to compel a man who couldn’t be compelled.
After the last of the humans were ushered into the house, Christian looking even more bewildered by the late-night commotion, I heard a sound that froze my blood near solid. It was the distinct noise of car tires turning into the driveway. I tensed. It couldn’t be Simon. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to drive straight up to the house. Would he be desperate enough though?
A low growl rose from my throat as I crouched into a defensive position. I looked around for a strategic place to hide, somewhere that I could get the drop on Simon, if it was indeed him approaching. I could only hear one vehicle in the driveway, so if it was him, he was alone. That could be a good or bad thing. If others were with him, they might be making a stealthier approach while Simon had us distracted.
Picking out a good spot near a dark clump of trees before the driveway split into a wide circle, I dropped Nika’s hand. Sensing my intentions, she clutched my shoulder. When I looked back at her, she was shaking her head. “Stay here with me.”
“It could be him,” I answered, removing her fingers from my shirt.
Teren tilted his head, listening. “No…that’s Ben’s SUV.” His brow scrunched together in confusion. “What is Ben doing here?”
I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting everyone together and safe. “Are you positive?” I asked, listening to the vehicle’s progression down the road.
Teren nodded. “Same tread pattern, same engine noise. It’s him.”
I relaxed my stance as I waited for him to arrive. I could deal with Ben. Halina returned, a travel-sized, stainless-steel coffee mug in her hand. I could see steam rising from the small hole at the edge of the lid. The scent of fresh blood wafting from it nearly dropped me to my knees. I was much thirstier than I’d realized.
I grabbed it from her without a word and immediately began drinking. Nika rubbed my back while I pounded it down. The metallic sweetness of fresh blood was still somewhat horrifying to me but it was so good, and so necessary to my strength and survival, that I ignored the barbarism of the act. This was how I lived now, and Nika, Halina, and the rest of the Adams, were what I lived for.
By the time I handed Halina back the mug, Ben was approaching the home in his car. His wife was with him, which surprised me some. I looked in the backseat for their little girl, but I didn’t see her. Ben pulled to a stop by Nika’s station wagon, then hopped out. Teren was by his side a moment later, clapping him on the shoulder and asking him what he was doing here.
Ben looked over to Nika; Julian had gone into the house with his girlfriend. “I went to the house to check on the kids after you called. They were gone, but Jacen was there. He said he wasn’t sure where everyone had run off to, but we both decided it had to be here. I figured something was up, so I left Olivia with Jacen. Tracey is still a little freaked about t
hat, but she wanted to come with me.” With pride in his eyes, he indicated his wife with his thumb; she was talking to Emma, but flashing nervous glances at Halina and me.
Ben’s eyes slid to my shirt. “What happened?” he asked, mirroring Teren’s earlier question.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” I responded. “And there’s really only one person here who has the answer.” Without waiting for a response, I turned on my heel and headed toward the house. Nika immediately followed me. The others were only a couple of steps behind.
Heading toward the secret passageway in the living room, I listened for the family. I couldn’t hear anyone though, so I had to assume they’d followed my directions and were all in the lowest, soundproof level. I could only imagine Trey’s animated responses to all the wonders he was seeing tonight, and I wondered if Arianna had stopped shaking.
Once I was on the lowest level, I stepped through the main soundproof doors on the way to Jake’s new home here; he’d been moved to a room at the end of the hallway. Even without already knowing which room he was in, I’d have found it right away. Rory and Cleo on guard outside was a dead giveaway, as was the heavy iron bar latched into place across the door. While we’d been allowing him certain freedoms during the day, he was always locked up at night. I passed by a large common room on the way there, and found almost everybody. As I’d predicated, Trey was dumbstruck by the underground layers he’d never known existed.
“Okay, as your best friend, tell me the truth…is the Bat Cave down here too?” While Julian rolled his eyes and stroked Arianna’s hand, Trey exclaimed, “Come on, it makes perfect sense—vampires, bats, Bat Cave. It’s a no-brainer.”
I continued on past Julian and Trey, with Nika beside me, and Teren, Emma, Halina, Ben and Tracey on my tail. I looked up at Rory when I got to the door. The large man didn’t have an ounce of humor on his face as he stonily stared straight ahead. It was clear he was exhausted. Cleo too. We all were. Having to guard someone twenty-four-seven was draining, even if we did take shifts.