Page 42 of Crimson Born

Dr. Coppa shook his head. “It’s not safe for you. He’s been threatening male and female staff members alike.”

He let out a sigh. “I’d really hoped he’d be doing better by now mentally. He’s still quite confused and seems to be suffering from a high level of depression. Physically, he’s recovered. He’s extremely strong in fact—which is part of the problem.”

“He won’t hurt me,” I insisted, though really, who knew? The boy I’d met at the bonfire would never have hurt me, but that magical night seemed very long ago.

“Please—let me try. You can have guards standing by in the room. At least unlock the door and let me speak to him through the bars.”

“A familiar face could be helpful,” Dr. Steele said and cast awhat do you thinklook at her colleague.

A mix of emotions progressed across Dr. Coppa’s face before he agreed. He walked me to the door and unlocked it, pausing with his hand on the handle before opening it.

“Stay well back from the bars. If he makes a grab for you, we’ll have to tranq him with a dart of liquid platinum. That’ll set back his recovery by weeks, so I hope it won’t be necessary.”

“It won’t,” I promised then prepared myself to speak to Reece for the first time in two months.

I could barely breathe as the door swung open, and I got a look at him through the gaps between the shiny steel bars.

Reece was sitting upright on his sleeping cot, facing the back wall of his cell. He wasn’t reading any of the books they’d given him. The television was off. As far as I could tell, he was simply staring at the wall.

When he heard the door open, his posture stiffened, the muscles in his neck and arms visibly tensing.

He turned his head just enough to growl over his shoulder.

“Go away. I’m not hungry, and Idon’thave anything to say to you Dr. Steele. I’m not crazy—just pissed. I didn’t ask to be ‘saved.’”

“It’s not Dr. Steele,” I said softly.

Reece jumped off the bed and whirled around. His eyes went wide.

“You,” he said on a gasp.

17

Reunion

In spite of my best efforts to control my emotions, tears sprang to my eyes.

“Yes. It’s me. It’s Abbi. How are you Reece?”

He didn’t answer my question but slid off the bed and came toward me, stopping about a foot from the bars and staring down at me as if seeing a ghost.

“What are you doing here? How can you be here?”

“I live here now.”

He looked around at the stone walls then back to me. “Whatisthis place? A mental institution?”

“Oh. They told me you knew.”

Maybe Reece hadn’t understood all the prior explanations of what was happening to him because his brain had been fuzzy from the animal blood.

“We’re in Virginia, underground, in a huge cavern. It’s called the Bastion. It’s a safe haven for vampires who can’t—or don’t want to—assimilate with the human world.”

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, I added, “I’m like you. I’m a vampire now, too.”

“Oh no, Abbi.” The healthy new color in Reece’s face seemed to drain away in an instant. “I didn’t know... I didn’t realize you... I’m so sorry. How did it happen?”

The question stunned me for a moment. Clearly Reece didn’t remember the accident—or at least that I’d been involved in it as well.

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