other man had taken quite a blow.
But could it all have been an act?
It was a small point compared to the fact that, once again, Stephan had escaped. The violence of their fight had taken them down several streets, and when Stephan had managed to pull his disappearing act, Mark had found himself staggering onto Bourbon Street, where the cops had found him. He had assumed—correctly—that they would think he was a drunk who had been involved in a barroom brawl.
When they had argued over whether to arrest him or take him to a hospital, he had convinced them to call Sean Canady instead.
Canady had collected him and taken him back to his own home, where, Maggie had patched up his wounds, even though he had assured her that he was going to be all right. He had been worried sick about Lauren, but Canady had quickly gotten hold of Bobby Munro and found out that she and Jonas were safely at the hospital.
When he had started to rise, Canady had stopped him.
“You need to recover. Give yourself time.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to. Or you’ll be worthless.”
That was true.
“Look, I’ll going to the hospital myself,” Sean said. “You stay here and get your strength back.”
“We have a great guest room upstairs,” Maggie told him. “You can lie down and rest now that you’re patched up and you’ve had something to eat.”
They were right. He felt suddenly grateful to have met them.
So he agreed, though he still felt frustrated and useless as he watched Sean leave.
Maggie sat with him while he lay down. “I realized after we met the other day that I’d seen you before,” she told him after a minute.
He looked at her. Studied her and thought about where he was. “Yeah, I guess you have.”
She smiled. “You’re originally from here.”
“Near here,” he agreed. He shook his head. “I don’t get it, though. You
“Oh, Lord, yes. Sometimes I’m glad, but sometimes…sometimes I wish I could do a few of the things I used to do. But I have Sean, and we have our family. I’ve never heard of this kind of reversal happening with anyone else, but…my case was different.” She rose and walked around the room restlessly. “It was all so long ago, but my father and some of his friends killed the vampire who created me while he was still in the process of turning me. That kept me from actually dying, and I think that somehow made the difference. But Sean and I have good friends who are in mixed marriages. And as Sean told you, Jessica Frasier, who owns Montresse House, is a vampire, and though they aren’t married, her partner is a guardian, as ancient as she is, who’s sort of like an angel of death against evil vampires. It’s a crazy world, huh?”
“What do you think about Jonas?” he asked her.
“You said he fought Stephan,” she reminded him.
“Yes, but…I just worry about leaving Deanna and the others alone with him.”
“Don’t worry. Sean will be at the hospital soon. You’ve got to rest. I’ll leave you alone now, so you can get some sleep.”
She was right. He needed his strength.
He closed his eyes.
When Sean Canady arrived, so clearly the voice of authority, Lauren couldn’t help but be glad he was there.
She felt far more secure. His faith in Bobby and Stacey became hers. She watched while they escorted Heidi from the room, promising to keep an eagle eye on her.
Jonas didn’t move from Deanna’s sid, sticking so close that. there was no way for Lauren to actually get near her. But there was also no way she was leaving her. Not even if Sean Canady was the one sitting guard.
However, the rest of the night passed without incident.
She discovered that she had fallen asleep when the nurse came in at the crack of dawn to change the IV and check on Deanna’s vital signs.
Lauren felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Sean Canady. “Come on. I’m taking you home.”
“I can’t leave her,” she whispered, indicating Jonas.
“Yes you can. Bobby is on duty. He’ll sit right here in the room, and he won’t be alone.”
She looked over Sean’s shoulder, to the very attractive, auburn haired woman standing behind him. She introduced herself as Maggie Canady, Sean’s wife.
“I swear, your friend will be safe,” she vowed.
Lauren was exhausted and knew she really did need to sleep. She might be insane to be so trusting, but if she didn’t accept these people, she might as well lie down and die then and there. They were all she had.
The sun was out as Sean drove her back to Montresse House. Birds were singing. Pretty ones, in beautiful colors.
He let her off at the end of walk.
