G.G. nodded. “I’ve noticed that happens.”
“Si.” She sighed the word. She liked Jess. They had become good friends despite the little bit of time they’d actually spent together.“But that was okay. I made friends at the uni there. In my classes,” she added.
“Mortal friends you mean,” G.G. filled in for her, getting it.
Ildaria grimaced. “Si. I didn’t want to specify and sound racist or something.”
G.G. blinked. “By mentioning that your friends were mortal?”
“Well, you can’t call anyone anything anymore without offending someone. Every time I learn the rules, they go and changethem.”
G.G.’s mouth twitched briefly with amusement, and then he pointed out, “So, you were explaining why you went vigilante?”
Ildaria grimaced, but nodded and said, “Well, as I said, I had mortal friends at uni. Three of them, like I have here.”
“You have friends at university here?” he asked, eyes widening.
“You needn’t sound so surprised. I’m a charming person,” she informed him a bit testily.
That brought a laugh and he shook his head. “I’m just surprised because you haven’t been here long.”
“Almost two months,” she told him and shrugged. “That’s long enough to make friends.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed soothingly.
“Hmm.” She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, trying to figure out if he was patronizing her, and then let it go and said,“Anyway . . . So, one of those friends was a lovely girl named Alicia. She was beautiful, sweet, funny and super smart. Andshe never missed class. I mean, never. She could be hacking up a lung and sneezing up a storm, Kleenex in every pocket and trailing her like bread crumbs, andshe’d show up for class.”
When she paused briefly to take a sip of her drink, G.G. nodded to let her know he understood. Swallowing the sweet drink,Ildaria set down the glass and continued. “But then one Monday, she didn’t show up for our Business Analytics course.” Hermouth tightened at the memory. “I meant to call her that night to check on her, but . . .” Ildaria shrugged unhappily. “Betweenfull-time classes and my full-time job waitressing, I forgot.”
“Life gets busy,” he said in an understanding rumble.
“Si, it does,” she agreed on a sigh. “But when she didn’t show up for the Thursday Mergers and Acquisitions class we had together, I headed straight for her dorm the minute class was done.” She ran one finger over the condensation on her glass again. “Apparently her roommate came back to the room after class on Monday to find Alicia’s things gone, and was told she’d dropped her courses and moved home.”
When she paused again, G.G. made a sound in his throat that was part growl and part hum. As if he suspected what was comingwasn’t good and he was already angry at whoever was at fault for this unexpected occurrence.
“Alicia’s family lived in a small town an hour outside the city,” Ildaria continued quietly. “I waited until the next daybecause it was so late, and then I drove out to see her. Her mother answered the door, asked me to wait a moment and thenwent to find Alicia. She came back a few minutes later and said very apologetically, that Alicia didn’t want to see anyone.”Ildaria swallowed at the memory. “I could tell she was upset. That she wanted to tell me something to soften the blow of herdaughter’s rejection, but didn’t feel it was her right.”
“So you put the mind whammy on her,” G.G. guessed.
Ildaria turned to him blinking. “Mind whammy?”
“You know, when you immortals read and control us mere mortals to get what you want,” he explained, his voice a tad dry.
Ildaria grimaced at the description. Immortals could read the minds of mortals, as well as control them, although she did that as little as possible. For instance, she hadn’t tried to read G.G.’s mind yet and wouldn’t without a reason, and she was glad she hadn’t, since the man obviously had some resentment about the practice. Probably, she thought, because he’d been the victim of it a time or two what with owning not one, but two nightclubs that serviced immortals. And since she hated it when older immortals read her, she could understand, so she let his attitude go for now, and nodded unrepentantly.
“I read her mother’s mind to find out what was going on.” She didn’t leave time for him to comment on that and continued.“The Thursday before, after the last class we’d had together, Alicia had been attacked on her way back to her dorm. She wasraped and beaten . . . badly. She’d fought back and earned a broken arm, cracked ribs, so much vaginal tearing they’d hadto sew her up, and there was a question as to whether she’d see out of one eye again.”
“Christ,” G.G. breathed, sagging slightly next to her and setting his half-eaten second burger back on the plate. “Did theycatch the bastard?”
Ildaria shook her head. “Not yet, and they probably won’t. There were no witnesses, and Alicia’s memory is messed up so shecouldn’t give much of a description . . . If she even got a good look at the guy before he half blinded her with his beating.”
“Right,” G.G. said unhappily. “So she won’t feel safe on campus with him still out there.”
“No,” Ildaria agreed grimly, and then added, “Although I suspect she’ll never feel safe again whether they find the guy ornot.”
“So she dropped out of her classes and retreated to her childhood home,” G.G. murmured, sounding sad.
“No. Alicia had only gotten out of the hospital the morning I went to the house. It was her mother and father who had packed up her bags, moved her things out of her dorm room, and signed her out of her classes,” Ildaria corrected him, and then added, “Although, probably at her request.”
When he grunted at this, she continued, “Anyway, at that time she had a long road of recovery ahead of her and while her motherknew Alicia would heal physically, she was afraid that she wouldn’t mend mentally and emotionally. Alicia was
