DAMON WAS LIVID. BACK FROM LONDON, HE’D EXPECTED TO have time with Evan today at UBC. He’d checked the security log through his laptop three times to see if Evan had been checked in yet. Frustrated, he’d stormed down to Karen Printz’s office. She was on the phone but hung up as soon as she saw him.
“Mr. Wheeler. Is there something you need?”
“I wanted an update on the Supreme Court story. Are you meeting with Taylor Parks today?”
Karen said, “No, we were supposed to, but her little boy’s under the weather. She took him to the doctor this morning for some tests. She wants to keep him home until she knows what’s going on, so she’ll Zoom into our meeting.”
He tried to look concerned. “I’m sorry to hear that. Nothing serious, I hope?”
“I hope not. He’s been tired lately, and it turns out his iron levels are depleted. They’re trying to determine the cause.”
“Ah, well, with any luck it will be resolved quickly.” He turned to leave, then stopped. “Do keep me updated on everything. And let me know when you’ve found a replacement story for that girl who needs the heart.”
“Yes, sir. We haven’t yet, but Taylor’s working on it.”
Damon returned to his office and paced its length. He should have remembered what had happened all those years ago to that little girl who had become almost zombielike in her fatigue, though there had been no mother around to notice. He had been reckless with Evan. He shouldn’t have taken so much blood in such a short amount of time, but it would work out: when the tests came back normal, the doctor would most likely give him an iron supplement and tell her it was just one of those things. Evan would perk up and Taylor would be so relieved that she’d drop her guard again and return to work and bring Evan back to the center.
Ultimately, though, it hadn’t even been necessary. Those damn coins weren’t the real ones and he’d wasted Evan’s precious blood on them, and now he only had a small vial left. But once Damon had the real coins entrusted to the Papakalos family, Evan’s blood would grant them more power. In the meantime, he had other aspects of his plans to focus on.