wide hal way.
“Ms. Graves, may I ask you a blunt question?”
“I suppose.”
“Do you know the contents of Victoria Cooper’s Wil ?”
“No. She never told me, and it was none of my business. I assume she gave me a minor bequest
—just like I’d do for her—and that pretty much everything goes to either Alex or her parents. She didn’t
have any other family.”
He gave me serious eyes. “I think you may be in for a shock. It’s her
minor bequests. They do, after al , already have their own fortunes. And there has been an …
estrangement between Vicki and her mother for some time.”
A hard lump formed in my throat, making it difficult to swal ow.
He noticed my expression and put a light hand on my shoulder. “Celia, do you real y want to be out in
public, enduring a media firestorm, in your current condition? Are you
here for a time … learn some skil s to keep you, and the public, safe?”
I took in a deep breath and let it out slow. Yes, this new information complicated things. Complicated
them a
from your problems doesn’t make them go away.”
He gave a nod that was almost a bow. “My offer stands. If you find you can’t cope, you are welcome
here.”
“Thank you. I do appreciate that.” I did. But I wouldn’t take him up on it unless there was no other
choice. There were too many memories here. Good memories for the most part, but that wouldn’t
make it any easier. If anything, it would be harder. Everything would remind me of Vicki, of her loss.
Dr. Scott escorted me through the lobby to the glass doors leading to the parking lot. His body
language was stiff, reluctant, almost as if he were being forced to let me go against his wil . But he did
it. And I was grateful as hel for it. Because I needed to be away from here. Stupid, I suppose. This
place was probably as safe as or safer for me than just about anywhere else right now. But I needed to
leave. It wasn’t smart, wasn’t logical. But I needed to do it just the same.
The door closed behind me, and I heard the snick of the dead bolt being turned. I didn’t turn around.
Just stood on the concrete step, letting the warm breeze carry the scents of salt water and seaweed to
my nostrils. The gul s were gone. But if I listened hard, I could stil hear the ocean. For a long moment I
just stood there, drinking it in, letting it calm me as much as anything could.
Mine was the last car in the lot, gleaming midnight blue under the street lamps. I crossed the wide
expanse of asphalt, unlocked the door, and climbed inside.
Drawing a ragged breath, I forced myself back to the task at hand. I had cal s to make. The news of
Vicki’s death might not have made it to the press yet, but it would soon. I didn’t want Kevin, Bruno, or
—oh, God—Alex to find out that way. They deserved a cal . So, even though I knew he should be out
hunting, I dialed the number for Kevin and Amy’s apartment and was shocked when he answered on
the first ring.
“Kevin?”
His voice was livid. Words spil ed out of him in a flood of emotion that left me stunned. “Where the
hel have you been, Celia?! We’ve been worried
After everything, it was just too much. To have Kevin scream at me with such intensity … I came
ful moon. He was probably having aggression issues. My being pissy wouldn’t help. But how the hel
was I supposed to answer? I mean, so much had happened in the past few hours.
“Don’t
on my mind. Could you lower the volume, please? It’s stressing me out even worse.”
I heard him draw in a long, slow breath. “I’m sorry. I was worried. The last time, I cal ed your office.
Dawna said you left hours ago, something about going to Birchwoods. Did Vicki help you find out
anything?”
I paused, not quite sure how to proceed. Then I just said it. “Vicki’s dead, Kevin. She died last night,
at nearly the same time as I was attacked.” My throat tightened and I fought down a wave of tears.
There was stunned silence and then the sharp bang of the receiver hitting the table. I pul ed the phone
away from my ear in a rush. I miss my old hearing. He scrambled to pick up the phone again and I
could hear him breathing for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts. “Oh,
so sorry. Are you okay?”
Hel no, I wasn’t okay. What kind of stupid question was that? And did he just cal me
at Birchwoods meeting with Dr. Scott about it. They don’t know the cause yet, but apparently it was
sudden. I hope ‘sudden’ means ‘painless.’ But I need to talk to you about something else. While I was
there …” I struggled to find the right words to describe what had happened but came up blank. Words
just seemed total y inadequate for the situation. Besides, how was I supposed to tel a man who turns
into a monster for three days of the month how terrified I’d been at my own bloodlust without insulting
him? “The sun went down.”
He figured out what I meant without any more prompting and started to swear. When he had himself
under control he asked, his voice taut with strain, “Did you kil anyone?”
Wow. Okay then. Talk about thinking in terms of worst-case scenarios. But I’d probably ask the same
thing of him, so who was I to judge? “No. I managed to control myself enough that I didn’t even hurt
anyone.”
His sigh of relief echoed down the phone line. “Thank God for that. You have no idea how worried
we’ve been. Everything we’ve been able to find says an abomination acts very much the same way as
a newly turned werewolf or vampire. Their first feeding is almost always fatal to the victim.” He sighed.
“I swear I didn’t know. Jones didn’t tel me. If he had, I wouldn’t have just let you run loose like that. God,
you could’ve—”
“Wel , I
was taking. Yeah, he probably could’ve knocked me cold before I realized what was happening back in
the lab. Having gone through it now,
leave without a guard. But hearing it put that bluntly made me angry.
“Celia—” There was a warning in his voice, as if he’d sensed my irritation. Maybe he had. Subtle is
not, after al , my best thing.
