“I’ll call an ambulance for her.”
I shook my head. “No. Press, have to avoid the press. Let Liz take me.”
He glanced at Liz, and she nodded. “I’ll get her taken care of. As soon as we’re settled, she can give you an unimpaired statement.”
There was a knock at the office door, and my eyes darted to it. Liz put a hand on my shoulder. “Merick,” she said gently. “Remember, I texted him earlier.”
Ah, yes, that’s right. I tried to push past the haze running through me. I wasn’t sure how anyone could find this fun. Of course, I didn’t know what drug it was or how much the bullet had put in my bloodstream.
Liz opened the door, and Merick walked in. Except it didn’t look like him. Instead, he sported the head of a fucking Sphynx cat. The rest of him was human, dressed in a suit as if going to an important business meeting.
I stared at him wide eyes and tried to think of something to say but snapped my mouth shut. I was drugged. I was hallucinating, but even though I shut my mouth, I couldn’t help the insane giggle that bubbled up from my throat.
The giggle turned into rolling laughter that almost knocked me out of my chair.
“I feel like things have escalated.” Merick watched me closely.
Liz crossed her arms. “You have no idea.”
I looked at him again and tried to stifle a giggle.
The officer stood up. “Get her somewhere safe. When she comes down, please call me so I can get her statement.” He handed Liz a card. “If she wasn’t the Princess, I’d insist on the hospital.”
“Oh, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” Liz took the card and put it in her pocket. She still shone with silver, and the officer was still red.
I frowned as the world started to swirl again, and the office was replaced by my house.
“My entire office just changed.” I glanced around. “This is getting weird.”
“I brought you home, Abigail.” Merick led me to the couch. “Lie down, close your eyes.”
I wasn’t paying attention to him, though. I was watching the shadows move around my house. People just walking around as if stuck between worlds, not quite solid, but still there.
My very solid uncle suddenly appeared. I frowned because he looked completely normal in this current world of chaos. “Abigail, what are you seeing?” He put a hand against my face, and it felt warm.
“People, shapes.” I frowned as a translucent version of him moved through the living room. I followed the illusion into the kitchen, pushing past the real version of Oliver and Cat-Merrick.
My breath caught as I saw my mother standing there. She seemed to glow more than any of the other people around. She wore the same dress she’d been in when she’d died. A beautiful gray summer dress that nearly brushed the floor as she walked. She looked over and saw Oliver.
“You aren’t supposed to be here tonight.”
“I’ve come to warn you. Get out. Take Abigail and run. The Cult is coming. I wasn’t able to dissuade them.” He grabbed her wrist. “Lizzy, please.”
She ripped her arm away from him, and then they disappeared.
Levi’s words came to mind. ‘He had something to do with her death. He was there that night.’
The world started to spin, and the real Oliver turned me around. “Abigail.”
“You bastard, you knew!” I screamed and tried to punch him, but the whole world tilted, and I stumbled with it. “You knew they were coming. You let them come and kill her.” I tried to stand back up and hit him again. This time Merick grabbed me.
“Abigail, you’re imagining things. You need to calm down.”
But Oliver hadn’t denied it. He stood there, staring at me. His face began to change, turning black with white cracks in it. I let out a gargled scream as I tried to shuffle back away from him.
Merick guided me to the couch. “Sit, stay here.”
I felt like I was floating when I sat on the couch. Merick urged Oliver into the other room. My mother appeared in front of me.
“It’s okay, Abigail.” She sat on the couch next to me and cupped her hand against my cheek.
“Mommy?”
“Rest, child. It’s all just a bad dream.”
With her words, my eyes grew heavy, and I sank into the couch.
#
When my eyes opened again, pain shot through my head and my shoulder. My body ached like a truck ran over me and backed up a few times. I was on my couch, with a blanket, and Osiris was curled against my leg. Which told me someone who wasn’t in on our secret was in the house.
Levi walked into the living room. “Good evening, Abigail.” His voice was calm, steady, and scary.
“Levi,” I said softly, afraid that speaking would make my head pound more. I sat up, carefully moving Osiris, so I didn’t just dump him on the floor. “Who else is here?”
O’Donald came walking into the living room, and I had to try not to curse. “Good Evening Abigail.”
“Agent O’Donald, I don’t remember agreeing to you coming to my home.”
“And I didn’t agree for you to miss a day’s work.” He crossed his arms. “I came to speak to you about the shooting at the coffee shop.”
I pressed my lips together. “Officer…” I closed my eyes, trying to remember if there was a name attached to the officer I briefly remembered from yesterday. “The officer that you were with yesterday. He’s handling the case.”
“It was handed over to PIB because it turns out the shooter was a shifter, and the bullets were laced with a drug some rogue vampires
