Unearthly, The by Laura Thalassa Page B

“Andre.”
    I could hear the other end of the conversation, and, unashamed, I proceeded to eavesdrop. “This is Sergeant O’Brien.”
    I tried not to roll my eyes as I waited for her to flirt with Andre. Instead, she said, “Timothy Watts just escaped custody and is at large.”

Chapter 13
    Andre swore. “Why wasn’t anyone paying attention to him? I paid good money for your department to make this a priority case.”
    Now that was news to me.
    “Sir, we have no idea how he could have escaped. The officer watching him says the man vanished right into thin air.” If I wasn’t mistaken, Officer O’Brien was a little shaken.
    Andre’s lips thinned in displeasure. “Margaret,” he said, “ humans don’t just disappear into thin air. Find him.”
    Officer O’Brien sounded weary. “We will notify you of any and all updates. Have a good night.”
    Andre clicked off the phone and pounded a fist into the driving wheel, denting it as he did so.
    His jaw muscle twitched. “You heard everything she said?” he asked.
    “You mean the part about Timothy Watts escaping? Yep, heard that.” My hands had begun to shake. Was Timothy Watts going to come after me again? Would I have to live in fear of another attack?
    “This day just needs to be over,” I mumbled.
    “You should stay with me at the mansion,” he said.
    I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t think so.”
    He looked up at the car’s ceiling — really unsafe when considering how fast he was going. “We have guest rooms Gabrielle.”
    “Well, I want to sleep in my own bed. My building has decent security.” A.k.a., a college student at the front desk.
    “Fine.” Andre wasn’t buying it, but for once he didn’t argue. Instead he said, “I meant to tell you this much earlier this evening, but got sidetracked: Santiago left you an inheritance, and I scheduled a meeting for you with the manager of his estate later this week.”
    My heart skipped a beat. My biological father wrote me into his will? Why had I not known about this? “How do you know that my father left me an inheritance?”
    “All vampires write out wills, and Santiago left me in charge of carrying out his. I actually hadn’t thought about the matter until yesterday. I looked into it, and it appears that Santiago’s assets have remained frozen since his death.”
    I wasn’t sure how to respond to this news. My father had become a shadowy figure in my memory. I was so young when he died that almost everything about him — even his name — had all but been forgotten. All that I knew for certain was that I loved him and that he saved me from that fire.
    “Santiago left behind peculiar instructions. Instructions that his inheritance go to you, and further that, in the case of your disappearance, the inheritance was to be frozen for up to twenty years. All that he owns is yours — and believe me, it’s a lot.”
    ***
    I woke up to a pillow smacking me in the face.
    “You’re a loser.” Leanne sat on my bed, arms crossed. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was a mess. “You were almost murdered last night, and you didn’t bother waking me up!”
    I rubbed my eyes. Behind Leanne, I read the letters brightly illuminated on her laptop:
    Attempted Murderer at Large.
    Investigators Claim Perpetrator Vanished into Thin Air.
    I yawned. “Right. Because I want to relive my attack at 2:00 a.m. in the morning — when we have class the next day.”
    She paused. “I guess that’s a good point.” I could tell Leanne was still agitated, and it took me a second to realize that it wasn’t me she was angry with.
    Understanding dawned on me. “Are you upset because you didn’t see it happen?”
    “ Foresee — seers foresee,” she corrected absentmindedly. “And yes, I should’ve been able to foresee this like I did the fight with Doris.” She frowned.
    “Leanne, don’t be so hard on yourself. You just developed the ability a few days ago.”
    “Yeah,” she agreed halfheartedly.