ONCE JUDY AND JOHNSON headed to bed, Robby glanced at me. “I need to get out of here for a little bit. Want to take a walk?”

I shifted on the seat and winced as I put pressure on my tattoo. “Do you think that’s wise?” I stood up, because sitting was starting to irritate my ass. I wasn’t going to be comfortable doing anything, and I wished Phillip had mentioned that tattooing my ass was going to make me uncomfortable for a few days. I might have chosen to get ink elsewhere.

“I don’t know. But if I don’t get out of here, I’m likely to snap again like I did at the dinner table. Besides, it’s dark out and we can head over to Prospect Park, walk the paths, and just chill for a while.”

I needed some fresh air too. It had been over a week that we had been locked in this house, recuperating. Robby had gained a few pounds back and he no longer looked like a POW. “Won’t walking aggravate your tattoo?” After all, it was on the inside of his thigh.

He shook his head. “If it does, we can take a cab back. Same if yours starts bothering you.”

It wasn’t like walking through the forest in the areas west of the city, either. The likelihood of running into trouble was low here, but it still was a risk. However, I just nodded, because I couldn’t rightfully say no to the way he was begging with his eyes. It was like having a puppy who was begging for a bite of your steak. I could never resist that look, and he knew it.

He grinned and grabbed my hand, and like an over-exuberant child, he dragged me outside and turned right, toward the direction of Cassius’s place and the park beyond. When he took the side street that I nearly carried him down, I hesitated and pulled my hand from his. Going this way would bring us by the place we were both meant to be destroyed.

Robby skidded to a stop and turned, meeting my gaze. He stepped closer. “What is it?”

“You don’t remember?”

His eyes locked with mine and now that he was facing his brownstone, he looked beyond me at the street. Robby paled and swung his gaze the other way. “He really lived this close?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t make my feet move from where I stood. It wasn’t like me to freeze like this, either.

“We can take a cab.” He started back toward his place.

My chest tightened, and I could hardly draw a breath with the pressure. I still couldn’t move. It was as if this piece of pavement had been painted with superglue and I had stepped in it before it solidified. Every nerve felt raw, as if my body remembered each and every death delivered by that bastard.

Robby came back and positioned himself in front of me. He tilted my chin up so I would be forced to look at him. The concern I saw there was as if the tables had turned between us, and he was here to soothe me versus the daily struggle I had to keep him sane.

“It is okay. I ripped that fucker to pieces. He can’t hurt you again.”

Heat leaked from the corner of my eye and cut a hot path down my cheek. This crippling dread flowed through my veins like liquid lava, making me shiver it was so uncomfortably hot, and not in the way I liked my heat. This was irrational fear.

“I know,” I whispered. “But I can’t seem to move.” Even my voice sounded constrained.

“Do you want me to carry you back home?”

I nodded. I wasn’t ready for the outside world, and it burned. Robby picked me up with one arm behind my back and the other under my knees.

“You should have told me you weren’t ready.” He kissed my temple.

“I didn’t know I wasn’t.”

He huffed a small laugh. “Yeah. It kind of sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Doesn’t it?” He trotted across the street and up the steps, unlocking the door with me still in his grip. “We’ll try again some other night.”

“Thank you,” I whispered against his neck. I guess I wasn’t as immune to post-traumatic stress as I thought I was.

He locked the door behind him before he set me on my feet. “No problem. We’ll take a cab next time I want fresh air.”

That was such an oxymoron that I started to laugh. He cracked a grin as he took my hand and led me upstairs.

I stretched out on the bed on my right side, still in my warm sweats, while he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. My abdomen cramped and I groaned, curling up into a ball.

Robby opened the door with his toothbrush still in his mouth. “You okay?”

“Cramps,” I muttered. My lower abdomen felt as if it were on fire.

He spit out his toothpaste in the sink and stepped back into the room. Climbing on the bed, he put his palm on my lower belly. It groaned in response. Then a smirk formed on his lips.

“You might need to use the bathroom.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder.

I gawked at him. I hadn’t peed or pooped since I was turned. That was one of the benefits of being a vampire.

“You ate food. It doesn’t just ferment in your stomach, hon.”

I blinked at him and then followed his advice. I closed the door and sat on the commode, leaning more to the right so I didn’t aggravate my tattoo. It was as if my body remembered what to do after so long, but it was incredibly painful, almost like passing a kidney stone. A large burst of air came out and was followed by my first bowel movement in over six months.

I let out a shaky laugh. This was not one of the things I missed. Not by a long shot. However, the pain was worth the taste of the food today. If this was the side effect of enjoying food, I would just have to deal with it.

I wiped and then flushed the toilet, brushed my teeth, and headed back into the bedroom with a scowl.

Robby grinned at me. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Fuck you. I would have preferred that part to stay gone.” I climbed back in bed and snuggled next to him despite my foul mood.

Robby wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. “I’m just glad that didn’t happen in a cab.” He chuckled against my neck.

“Or while walking in the park.” I smirked at him.

He actually snorted against my shoulder, and I joined him in his laughter. It was actually pretty funny when I thought about it.

“If that happened, we would know the answer to the timeless question—does a vampire shit in the woods?” Robby snickered against my shoulder and tightened his grip on me.

I let out a burst of laughter that was loud enough to wake the entire house. “That was bad,” I said through gales of laughter.

He couldn’t stop laughing against me. As juvenile as this entire conversation was, it provided both of us much-needed levity that we hadn’t had for a very long time.

“Man, I needed that,” he finally whispered as his chuckles faded away.

“I feel you. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard since the academy.” I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. “All because I took a dump.”

He started that snort-like laugh again, like he was trying not to fall into the sillies. But it was useless; he just kept shaking the bed, which only made it worse for both of us.

I rolled out of his grip onto my stomach and stared at him, trying to school my features to be neutral. He actually guffawed at that and rolled onto his back. I pressed my lips together, refusing the laughter that bubbled up in my chest.

I put my forehead on my arm and just let it rip. At least the bedspread muffled my laughter. His rang through the room as loud as my initial blast. He rolled onto his side again and ran his hand over my back gently as he wound down again.

“Just don’t utter any more bad puns.” He snickered as he continued running his fingers over my T-shirt.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, because if I did, I’d start laughing again.

He let out a long sigh. “So, are you going to tell me what happened out there?” he asked after we both got control of ourselves.

I turned my head so I could look at him. “I just froze.” The jovial mood dampened. “I don’t think I’m capable of walking past his house.”

“Considering the timing, you probably saved our asses.”

I blinked and then reality settled. The MDA probably had surveillance on the place. Most psychopaths visited the scene of the crime at some point within a few weeks of a deadly event, even with the inherent dangers.

That’s how we caught a few of our more prolific vampires in the past. They couldn’t stay away from their favorite feeding spots. And it was one of the reasons we never caught Cassius. He never left the bodies anywhere near where he fed. He trashed them miles away from where he killed them.

Cassius Chase was a smart motherfucker. But then again, he had been around longer than the existence of the good old US of A, so he knew how to play the long game. Too bad he hadn’t factored in my bond with Robby. That’s what he severely underestimated. And because of that, he was dead.