the line so it and the needle won’t move.
I open one eye and glance down. The tube connecting the bag to the needle in my arm is now running red. “You’re pretty good at that.”
“I’ve had some experience. This is going to take three or four hours to run.” He reaches for the riding crop that I’d carelessly thrown on the bed and neglected to remove. “We’ll use this as a splint. It will help prevent you from bending or moving your arm.” More surgical tape is wound around my arm.
I place my hand over his. “It is vampire blood?”
Zack sighs. He pulls the sweatshirt he’s wearing over his head and extends his bandage-covered arm. “It’s my blood. Let’s get you under the covers.”
He pulls them back and I awkwardly slide in.
Zack turns off the light then moves around to the other side of the bed. “I’m staying with you. If you notice anything off, fever, chills, headache, nausea. Wake me.”
Before I have a chance to register any protest, he’s managed to turn me on my side and curl himself around me.
“I’m sorry, Emma.” I feel the beat of his breath against the back of my hair.
“For what?”
There’s a long pause. “I wish I knew. For the secrets between us, I guess. For the lies. For our inability to be honest with one another.”
Cocooned in the darkness with Zack’s body wrapped around mine, I asked the question that had been nagging at me. “Were you being truthful when you said you loved me? Or when you told Maitlan that what we had was casual. Over.” Sleep was tugging mercilessly at my consciousness.
“At the time the declaration was heartfelt and true,” he says.
Was.
“I’d trust you with my life, Emma.”
Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. I nod and try not to sound as sad and angry as I feel. I’ve been here before with another man, a man I thought I could love and protect. Lesson learned. I reach for Zack’s hand and place it over my breast. I take a few quiet breaths to steady myself. To tamp down the emotion that wants to cling to my voice. Then I say what I must.
“Just don’t ever, ever, trust me with your heart.”
Chapter Nine
Day Three: Monday, September 9
By six we’re all sitting around the conference room table. Maitlan has supplied us with bagels and cream cheese, coffee and juice. We’re refreshed, refueled, and ready. Now it’s time for the waiting game. A few minutes after six thirty, Eve places a call, again using the speaker function.
The call goes immediately to voicemail. There’s no greeting. My guess is the guys have dumped it. We hear a growl of frustration followed by a crash. The line disconnects.
“Somebody’s not having a good morning,” says Torres, smiling into her cup of Joe.
There’s a flurry of activity in Eve’s apartment. She picks up her landline and calls down to the concierge, ordering that her car be brought around. Footfalls on the hardwood floors allow me to imagine her moving around her apartment. Finally there’s the bing of an elevator. She’s heading to the garage. My guess, to her SUV.
I look up at Bradley. “You’re all set to track her?”
“Piece of cake,” he says.
Torres’ cell phone buzzes. She listens for but a moment before disconnecting. “One of my guys confirmed Eve just left Elysium. She’s in a white BMW SUV. They’ll tail her at a safe distance until we can catch up.”
Zack tosses his half-eaten bagel into the trash. “Bradley, you stay behind and handle coms. O’Neill, Torres, Monroe, we’ll head out in two separate cars.”
“What about me? I’m going with you,” says Maitlan.
Zack flashes him a look that says he’ll tolerate no arguments. “No. You’re staying here. If the kidnappers get nervous and step up their timeline, we need to be ready. You need to be here. And you have to maintain a cool head. Remember, ask to speak to Robby. Agree to their demands. Bradley will talk you through it.”
Maitlan nods. He looks at Bradley, his new
I open one eye and glance down. The tube connecting the bag to the needle in my arm is now running red. “You’re pretty good at that.”
“I’ve had some experience. This is going to take three or four hours to run.” He reaches for the riding crop that I’d carelessly thrown on the bed and neglected to remove. “We’ll use this as a splint. It will help prevent you from bending or moving your arm.” More surgical tape is wound around my arm.
I place my hand over his. “It is vampire blood?”
Zack sighs. He pulls the sweatshirt he’s wearing over his head and extends his bandage-covered arm. “It’s my blood. Let’s get you under the covers.”
He pulls them back and I awkwardly slide in.
Zack turns off the light then moves around to the other side of the bed. “I’m staying with you. If you notice anything off, fever, chills, headache, nausea. Wake me.”
Before I have a chance to register any protest, he’s managed to turn me on my side and curl himself around me.
“I’m sorry, Emma.” I feel the beat of his breath against the back of my hair.
“For what?”
There’s a long pause. “I wish I knew. For the secrets between us, I guess. For the lies. For our inability to be honest with one another.”
Cocooned in the darkness with Zack’s body wrapped around mine, I asked the question that had been nagging at me. “Were you being truthful when you said you loved me? Or when you told Maitlan that what we had was casual. Over.” Sleep was tugging mercilessly at my consciousness.
“At the time the declaration was heartfelt and true,” he says.
Was.
“I’d trust you with my life, Emma.”
Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. I nod and try not to sound as sad and angry as I feel. I’ve been here before with another man, a man I thought I could love and protect. Lesson learned. I reach for Zack’s hand and place it over my breast. I take a few quiet breaths to steady myself. To tamp down the emotion that wants to cling to my voice. Then I say what I must.
“Just don’t ever, ever, trust me with your heart.”
Chapter Nine
Day Three: Monday, September 9
By six we’re all sitting around the conference room table. Maitlan has supplied us with bagels and cream cheese, coffee and juice. We’re refreshed, refueled, and ready. Now it’s time for the waiting game. A few minutes after six thirty, Eve places a call, again using the speaker function.
The call goes immediately to voicemail. There’s no greeting. My guess is the guys have dumped it. We hear a growl of frustration followed by a crash. The line disconnects.
“Somebody’s not having a good morning,” says Torres, smiling into her cup of Joe.
There’s a flurry of activity in Eve’s apartment. She picks up her landline and calls down to the concierge, ordering that her car be brought around. Footfalls on the hardwood floors allow me to imagine her moving around her apartment. Finally there’s the bing of an elevator. She’s heading to the garage. My guess, to her SUV.
I look up at Bradley. “You’re all set to track her?”
“Piece of cake,” he says.
Torres’ cell phone buzzes. She listens for but a moment before disconnecting. “One of my guys confirmed Eve just left Elysium. She’s in a white BMW SUV. They’ll tail her at a safe distance until we can catch up.”
Zack tosses his half-eaten bagel into the trash. “Bradley, you stay behind and handle coms. O’Neill, Torres, Monroe, we’ll head out in two separate cars.”
“What about me? I’m going with you,” says Maitlan.
Zack flashes him a look that says he’ll tolerate no arguments. “No. You’re staying here. If the kidnappers get nervous and step up their timeline, we need to be ready. You need to be here. And you have to maintain a cool head. Remember, ask to speak to Robby. Agree to their demands. Bradley will talk you through it.”
Maitlan nods. He looks at Bradley, his new
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