Page 76 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

Halfway up the stairs, he realized that Emma had fallen asleep in his arms. He carried her upstairs, careful not to wake her as he turned around and used his back to push what he’d been told was another bookshelf open, revealing the library. Heheld the door open for Shane, noting that Caleb had fallen asleep as well before his gaze shifted to Jill and-

This was for the best.

“This is their room,”Logan murmured quietly as he carried Emma into the room while Jill took in the long hallway from the outdated wallpaper on the wall to the black screen blocking the window at the end of the hallway that matched the ones at the penthouse before noting the one thing that was missing.

Cameras.

Curious about that, Jill followed Shane into the large bedroom and watched Logan carefully lay Emma down on the same plaid comforter that matched the one that she’d picked out for Shane back at the penthouse. Unable to help but frown, she glanced at the two twin beds with comforters matching the ones that she’d picked out for Caleb and Emma and the matching bureaus and nightstands before her gaze landed on the shopping bags filled with clothes, toys, and books neatly stacked in the corner.

“I had doubles of everything that you ordered for the children brought here,” Logan said, answering the unspoken question as she watched Shane carefully lay Caleb down on the bed next to Emma.

Once he was done, Shane swallowed hard as he glanced around the room, taking in everything before he backed into the corner and broke her heart when he sat down, his terrified gaze shifting to the twins and-

“Why don’t I show you to your room?” Logan suggested when she opened her mouth to tell Shane that everything would be okay.

“Okay,” Jill said instead, knowing that there was nothing that she could say right now that would help. With one last look at Shane to find him struggling to keep his eyes open, Jill followed Logan into the hallway.

“This way,” Logan said, gesturing for her to join him as he made his way down the long hallway while Jill found herself thinking about what he said at the penthouse and the fact that he’d taken them out of state in the middle of the night to a rundown house and-

“You’re leaving,” Jill said, knowing that she was right when a muscle in his jaw began ticking.

“I don’t have a choice,” Logan said as he led her to the last door on the left.

“Yes, you do, but I’m not going to argue with you,” Jill said, stepping past him into the bedroom that was at least four times bigger than the children’s room.

“And why is that, Angel?” Logan murmured, watching her curiously as she made her way around the bedroom.

Absently shaking her head, Jill ran her fingertips along the comforter covering the king-sized bed before she dropped her hand away and made her way to the first door on her right. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, noting the peeling paint on the door as she opened it.

“I can’t stay, Angel,” Logan said as Jill took in the large walk-in closet before moving on to the next door and opened it, revealing an outdated bathroom with a clawfoot tub.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Jill said, knowing better than to ask him to choose between her and the memory of the woman that he loved. She just…

She knew better than to expect anyone to choose her.

“I’ve made sure that you and the children will never want for anything. I’ve set up accounts for you as well as the children. I’ve made sure that you have everything that you’ll need to enroll thechildren in school in the fall and Tomas will arrange for private tutors to help them catch up,” Logan explained as she made her way to the next door. “Tomas will be taking the private quarters on the first floor and will stay here for as long as you need him.”

“How close are we to my family?” Jill asked the question that she’d been curious about since she saw the sign welcoming them to Pennsylvania.

“Less than a half-hour away,” Logan said after a slight pause as she opened the last door, revealing another walk-in closet, but this one had a bare mattress on the floor and what appeared to be a freshly installed light on the wall. “You’re in a blind spot. Your brother and father patrol the towns immediately to the north and east of us and there’s a Sentinel house set up thirty minutes to the west with a shifter couple protecting the towns to the west and south of us.”

“You don’t think they’ll figure out that they have vampires in their territory when they start making blood deliveries?” Jill asked, having absolutely no doubt that the Sentinel Council was usingTattletaleto keep track of the blood deliveries in the area.

“They would if I was using the Sentinel blood system,” Logan said, taking her by surprise.

“Do they know I’m here?” Jill asked after a slight hesitation.

“No.”

“Are you planning on telling them?” she asked, wondering what she would say to them if she ever saw them again.

“Not unless you want me to.”

Nodding, Jill took in the rest of the closet only to feel her stomach drop when she spotted the stainless-steel shutter secured above the door. Swallowing hard, she slowly lowered her gaze, taking in the metal tracks on either side of the door so that the shutter could lock in place.

“Looks like Shane was right. This is a new prison,” she said, wondering how long it would take for him to have another chain installed in here.

“It’s for your protection in case the shutters on the windows malfunction,” Logan said as she took in the keypad in the corner, noting that it only had open and close functions on it before stepping back into the bedroom and spotted the matching keypad outside the door.

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