I paced outside my father’s hospital room at our Boston medical facility. Jo and I had found him with rebar embedded near his heart about two hours before. I’d been ready to remove the rebar, but Jo had stopped me.
“He might bleed out,” she’d said. “If he does, you and I wouldn’t have enough blood to give him.”
So we’d rushed him to our Boston medical facility in the chopper we’d arrived in. The good news—the rebar wasn’t cobalt. The bad news—the metal severed a vena cava, which carries blood to the heart. And since he’d lost a ton, the vein wasn’t healing as quickly, not even with the amount of blood Jo and I had given him.
Jo chewed on every one of her nails as she rested against the wall outside my father’s room.
I twirled my phone in my hand, anger gripping my stomach like a vise. Fucking Roman and whoever was behind his escape would pay dearly. Roman needed to die. Otherwise, chaos would be a staple in our lives—in Abbey’s life, and she needed to grow up without any fuckers like Roman whose sole purpose was to use her as his moneymaking machine.
A redheaded nurse chatted with a doctor at the nurse’s station up ahead. I stared at her for a long second as Layla came to mind. Then I checked my phone. No update from Conrad yet.
The elevator dinged. I whirled around as Jo pushed off the wall. We were both on edge. Abbey had said my dad needed my blood and Jo’s, but that didn’t do the trick. Plan B was Dr. Vieira. We were waiting for him. He always kept blood reserves on hand for emergencies. Sometimes, especially in situations like this, the only way for a vampire to heal was with his own blood.
The elevator doors slid open, and Dr. Vieira rushed out with Abbey at his side.
Jo clutched her chest as she pushed out a relieved sigh, especially when she laid eyes on Abbey. The first thing Webb had done when he learned Roman had escaped was to get Abbey off the naval base.
Abbey’s black ponytail swung behind her as she bolted for Jo. “Mom,” she cried. “I’m sorry. My vision was off. I thought Grandpa needed your blood.”
Jo lifted Abbey into her arms. “It’s okay.” She rubbed Abbey’s back. “Grandpa is going to be fine.”
I hated that Abbey carried the world on her shoulders. I hated that she had visions that were mostly nightmares of the future. I couldn’t remember a time when Abbey saw a happy road ahead. Still, her visions had been off lately.
Despite that, I wished I had Jo’s confidence. My sister had been on death’s door several years ago, when one of our enemies drove a cobalt blade through her heart. Luckily, the dagger narrowly missed, though it severed a major vein. Since we were twins, Dr. Vieira had been certain my blood would heal her. In the end, my dad had been her savior.
Dr. Vieira was stoic and confident in his strut as he carried a small cooler. “Is Dr. Greer with him?” He flicked his brown head of hair at the closed door leading into my father’s room.
“Yeah,” Jo and I said in unison.
Doc clapped me on the shoulder. “You look like crap. When was the last time you fed?”
“I’m fine,” I returned. I was saving my bloodthirst for a certain auburn-haired goddess. Okay, I knew I couldn’t go another day before the hunger set in, but I hadn’t had time to think about anything else except saving those I loved.
Abbey slid out of Jo’s arms, ran over to me, and grabbed my hand. “Come on, Uncle Sam. I know where the refrigerator is.” Her blue eyes danced with a smile.
The minute her hand was in mine, a sense of relief coursed through me. I had to do everything in my power to ensure Roman didn’t get his grubby hands on her. I grinned at Jo. “We’ll be back.”
Abbey led the way as if she owned the medical facility. I wasn’t surprised. She’d been there several times when my sister hand-delivered samples or was researching a topic for her college classes.
As we approached the nurse’s station, the redheaded nurse, whose name tag read Beverly, smiled at Abbey. “Hey, sweetie. It’s good to see you again, and I love your outfit.”
My niece was always dressed in something colorful and cute. She wore a patterned top underneath a yellow sweater with jeans and suede boots.
Abbey blushed. “Thank you.”
Beverly squatted down, her green eyes sparkling. “Dr. Greer brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies. They’re in the break room,” she said then rose. “You must be Sam. Abbey talks a lot about you.” Lust oozed off the pretty nurse as she beamed at me.
I cocked an eyebrow at my niece. “Oh?”
“Abbey tells me you read her stories before bed.” Beverly, flirty and hopeful, batted long lashes at me.
I wished I could say I was interested in the redheaded vampire, but I preferred an auburn-haired human instead. I couldn’t get Layla out of my system. “I love to read her stories. So, I take it the break room is down the hall?”
“Yeah. Abbey knows where to go,” Beverly said.
Abbey waved at Beverly before we kicked our legs into gear. “She likes you,” Abbey said once we were in the break room.
Ignoring Abbey’s comment, I went to the full-size fridge and pulled out a bottle of blood. Every staff member in the facility was a vampire, so the fridge was well stocked.
Abbey knelt down in front of the coffee, opened the coloring book, and snagged the crayons nearby.
The room was homey and inviting. There was a leather love seat to curl up on, a recliner that had my name on it if I’d had time to sleep, a TV, a small kitchen nook, and a private bathroom.
Abbey began coloring when my phone pinged. Her head shot up, her eyes filled with worry.
I glanced at my cell. “It’s just a text message.”
“From Layla?” she asked.
I furrowed my brow. “No. Why? Did you have a vision about her?” The last one Abbey had wasn’t good. She’d seen Rianne Aberdeen, Layla’s sister, killing Layla. Abbey had yet to tell anyone how. Layla had asked but then stopped Abbey from answering. The when and why, Abbey wasn’t sure of. I thought to probe my niece, but she needed to be a kid and not relive her visions of death. It was bad enough that she was having nightmares.
Abbey frowned. “Not really.” She gnawed on her lip. “I get glimpses of Layla when I sleep, but I can’t remember the details.”
I stared at my niece for a long second, wondering if she knew and didn’t want to tell me, when my phone vibrated again.
I opened the text from Conrad. A picture of Layla graced the screen. Damn, she was hot. The way her auburn hair was piled on top of her head, her neck wrapped in a frilly scarf, and those plump lips painted pink took me back to her dream that night she stayed in the women’s barracks.
I was the star of the show, but she had been the one to take the lead. How we both experienced the same dream was still a mystery, but that didn’t matter. My cock jerked as I remembered how her lips felt around it.
I needed air or a cold shower. “Abbey, I’ll be right back,” I said as I stalked out.
I headed for the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the hall, where it was quiet and out of earshot, and where I could safely adjust my dick.
Another text came through from Conrad. Call me when you’re free.
I tapped Conrad’s number as I gazed out at the Charles River. Orange and blue streaked the sky as dusk set in.
“I figured you would want to hear this instead of reading a text,” Conrad said after he answered on the first ring. “The Aberdeens are resurrecting their family business.”
That wasn’t a shocker. Jack and Ray were probably out for revenge. After all, Roman had cut off Ray Aberdeen’s thumb.
“Anything else? It seems Layla is fine.”
“It looks that way. They just left a restaurant in town. It appears they’re heading to the ranch. Do you want me to keep following?”
I scratched the top of my head. “Yeah. Her aunt sounded worried, and I want to be sure. So keep me updated.” Her aunt wanted me to come to Montana. After I disconnected the call, my mind started working.
Layla could be in more trouble with Roman on the loose. Roman knew that I liked her, which meant he might try to hurt her to get to me. Maybe it was best that I got my ass to Montana. Conrad couldn’t handle Roman and his thugs alone.
I spun on my heel and returned to Abbey, but she was gone. I glanced in the direction of my father’s room, and Jo wasn’t there. I jogged down and came to an abrupt halt when I saw Dr. Vieira talking to Dr. Greer behind the nurse’s station.
Dr. Greer, who was a head taller than Dr. Vieira, rubbed the back of his neck. “We can always open him up and try to repair the vein.”
“I’m confident his blood will do the trick,” Dr. Vieira said, although he didn’t sound optimistic.
“You know, Damon,” Dr. Greer said to Doc. “In some cases like this, a vampire can give up. Steven might be at the end of his life.”
I cleared my throat.
Both doctors jerked their heads at me.
“In what universe are you living, Dr. Greer?” I growled the entire sentence—not that either of the doctors was afraid of me. “My father never gives up.”
Dr. Greer pinned me with his brown-eyed gaze. “Son, I’m sorry to say that some of us who have lived as long as your father do give up.”
My fangs lowered as I sneered. “Not my father. Doc, did you give my dad the blood you brought?”
Dr. Vieira skirted the circular station. “Sam, Dr. Greer is right.”
My nostrils flared. “I don’t give a fuck who is right. Answer my question.” My voice boomed. I wasn’t accepting anything other than my father living. I wasn’t ready for him to die—far from it. He and I hadn’t had the best father-and-son relationship, but he was still my old man, and I hadn’t had a chance to tell him that I forgave him for abandoning Jo and me in foster care.
Dr. Vieira glanced up at me. “Sam, take a breath. We’ll do everything we can not to let Steven die. But you have to be prepared. As vampires, we might be invincible, but there comes a time when all of us will leave this Earth.”
I snapped my spine straight. “Today isn’t that day for my dad.” I stalked down to his room just as Webb came off the elevator, looking as though he’d been through a wind tunnel.
I met him halfway. “What’s wrong? Please tell me it has nothing to do with Roman.” At that moment, I made a solemn promise to myself that Roman Brown would die by my hand and my hand only.
Webb tried to tame his disheveled brown hair. “The guardians found the van Roman was in at Boston Logan. Sawyer is trying to get flight data on every airplane.”
Motherfucker. “I need to go to Montana. Layla’s not safe. You know Roman will make his revenge personal.”
Webb studied me, clearly unsure how to respond. “You think that’s wise? You in vampire-hunter territory?”
“Conrad will back me up. I’ll be two days, tops.”
Webb scrubbed a hand along his jaw. “Roman will go after anyone who was there that night. So the entire Aberdeen family might be in danger.”
I wasn’t about to save every member of the family. Besides, Jack and Ray could handle themselves. For that matter, so could Layla. But after Tabitha’s call, I knew something wasn’t right with Layla, and I didn’t trust Jack.
“I can handle myself,” I assured him. “I’ll keep you posted every step of the way. Plus, her aunt called me. She wants me to help Layla. Something is going on with her. She’s been sick, but her aunt didn’t elaborate.”
“Mm,” Webb said. “Go. Two days, tops. Check with Sawyer. See if our pilot is available.”
The knot I’d had in my stomach for the last eleven days loosened for the moment as a flutter worked its way in. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Layla’s face when she laid eyes on me.