Blood Debts (The Temple Chronicles Book 2) by Shayne Silvers

the home. Macedonian, if I recall correctly.” He added.
    “Nate, it’s not the vase either. It’s-”
    “Jesus. I’m an idiot. I didn’t even think about it. Tory and Gunnar probably scared you half to death with their phone call. It’s fine. It was just a bar fight. Then someone…” I decided to play it safe, “wanted to talk to me about something. They were pretty mysterious and kidnapped me right from under Gunnar’s nose, which is saying something. But I got it all square. I-” Indie placed a finger on my lips.
    “ Bar fight? ” she asked with a frown. I began to backpedal furiously, knowing I might need to resort to my beach vacation idea in order to escape unscathed.
    “Well, yeah. Kind of. But Tory broke it up. Or broke him up. You should have seen it. She laid him out flat. No problem Wham , bam , no more werewolf.” I chuckled. “But really, it’s nothing to be concerned about. My phone died so I couldn’t call you. I’m sorry I caused you to worry. I have an idea though. I-”
    “Nate. Shut up for a second. Gunnar never called. Neither did Tory.” She didn’t sound pleased about that little detail. “It’s… my mother. She fell and hit her head. She’s in the hospital. I need to go see her. “
    “Oh. Is she okay? We can leave right now. I’ll pack a bag. I… crap. Can I erase the last few minutes from your memory and go back to before I mentioned my night?”
    “No.” She was tapping her foot angrily. If she had been a cat, her tail would have been twitching like mad.
    “Right.” I muttered. So, no sympathy and no vacation.
    “So. Bar fight. Kidnapped. Stole a mounted patrol horse. Why don’t you flesh that out a bit while I finish packing?” I sighed as she turned on a heel and headed back upstairs. Dean coughed into a polite fist as he sauntered off into the house, leaving me to my fate. My life.
    It took us a few minutes to get to our room where Indie had been packing. I threw myself onto the bed, careful of jarring my face too much. I fidgeted for a few moments, trying to get comfortable as Indie bent over one of the suitcases. I finally gave up on comfort.
    “What is the point of this?” I fumed angrily, holding up a torturous sparkly throw pillow. I was lying on the bed, my head propped up against another of the expensive decorative pillows that sported even more tassels and sequins. No matter how I shifted, they bore into my neck like needles.
    “They look nice.”
    “Pillows are supposed to feel nice. These feel like torture devices. Do you think Martha Stewart designed them while in jail? Out of spite?”
    She shook her head idly as she continued packing. “They aren’t supposed to be used. Just to look nice.”
    I grunted, rearranging the death-shard. “So, your mom… What happened?”
    Indie shivered a bit. “I’m not sure. She doesn’t remember, but it looks like she fell and couldn’t get back up. Luckily, a friend came over when she didn’t appear for their weekly book reading club. They took her to the hospital where she’s undergoing tests to make sure she didn’t injure her brain. She broke her hip after banging her head on the kitchen counter.” The Life Alert commercial that many found humorous on a dark sadistic level very briefly replayed in my mind, but I wisely kept it to myself, even though I thought that it might have actually been helpful. This comment, I was sure, wouldn’t help me. “I need to go to her. She’s confused, not remembering exactly what happened.” Indie’s eyes were far away, as if recalling the event clearly in her mind. I wondered if she was telling me the full story or not. But I wasn’t about to press her on the details. Do I look like an idiot to you?
    “I understand. Do you need any money? Need me to arrange the jet to take you there?” I asked, feeling helpless to make her feel better.
    “No. Dean already booked me a commercial flight. It leaves in a few hours. He’s driving me to the airport.” She was