Page 57 of The World Undone

MAX

Her eyes were wide and confused when they landed on me, but I pulled her into a hug.

She stiffened in my arms, but didn’t push me away.

“I was afraid you’d been hurt. What’s going on? What happened?”

She patted me awkwardly on the back, like she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with my affection, and pulled away. Her eyes were dark and unfocused as she blinked, like she was in a bit of a daze.

“I’m not sure,” her voice was raspier than usual, flatter almost, but I wasn’t sure if it was because we’d woken her up from a much-needed rest, or because she’d been drugged. “What do you mean,” an unfamiliar, worried quiver lilted her voice, the usual confidence and bossiness dissolved into something almost child-like, “has something happened? Are you alright?”

Darius took a step closer to me, crowding the poor woman. “You slept through it all?”

Her eyes narrowed, some of the concern dripping into annoyance. “Obviously. I’m old, I need rest, you know? My hearing isn’t what it used to be.”

Greta typically had the habit of picking up on the barest of whispers, and was usually a light sleeper, but I didn’t challenge her on it or call her out in front of the guys. She’d been working a lot lately—too much. Clearly it was beginning to take a toll on her.

I swore under my breath, cursing myself for not forcing her to relax a bit earlier. She was stubborn, and I knew it would take us locking her in a room for a day or two to actually force her to rest, but still—maybe I should’ve done it.

“There was an attack,” I said, nudging Darius with my shoulder. He kept watching her, distrust etched into every smooth line of his face. I wanted to ask Greta about him too, about the strange fugue state he’d been in tonight, but it would have to wait. “We don’t know what happened,” I continued, “but several patients are missing. Did you send anyone home today?”

Her face relaxed, and she opened her mouth in an exaggerated but silent, “oh.”

She tilted her head, as if considering for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I did.” She blinked at me, a few times, ignoring the glares coming from the vampire. “Five, if I recall.”

Five. It was the number of empty beds I’d counted. I relaxed slightly. Maybe no one was missing?

“And the blood?” Darius’s voice was steel.

Greta pursed her lips. “Blood?”

Wade’s chest pressed against my back, his body a shield of solid warmth. “It’s a mess out there.”

“Ah,” she let out an odd chuckle, “a few rough procedures tonight. Was going to clean up, but needed a nap first. I’ll get to it now. Apologies, if I frightened you.”

“Oh, that’s all?” I let the words roll over my tongue, tasting them. A shiver ran down my spine as Greta’s eyes met mine again.

Greta wasn’t the sort to lie, but she also wasn’t the sort to ever leave a room full of patients with the evidence of their suffering strewn about the floor.

I swallowed and stepped back, nodding. “Okay.”

Something’s off, I shot silently to the guys.

Obviously, Darius’s voice rang through my head, and when I looked up at him, his jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, his eyes like daggers as he stared, unblinking, at Greta.

I knew he didn’t trust her, but I did. If she was lying to us, it was because she was trying to protect us—or she was so overworked that she had no idea what was going on.

“I just want to check on Seamus before we leave.” I turned back to the nurse. “Is that alright?”

“I don’t see why you need to do that,” she said, her voice clipped, flat—missing the usual teasing warmth I was used to, “it’s late. He’s fine. Best not to disrupt him. You know how he can get.”

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry with an awareness just out of my reach. There was an inherent wrongness about this situation that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“We’ll be quick,” I said, backing away from her and moving towards the hallway, “promise.”

“Come back tomorrow—” her words were hurried, but still flat as she moved towards me. “Let the poor man sleep.”

“I just want to see him once—I won’t be on duty here today, and I just want to see him.” I didn’t add on that after she’d slept through everything Ellie had reported, I needed to make sure that Seamus was okay. That he wasn’t harmed by whatever—or whoever—had caused a kid like Ellie to barricade herself in a closet.

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