Page 58 of Fanged Embrace
Right—that. I was here for a reason.
I crossed one leg over the other, shifting to business mode in the blink of an eye. “I assume Jordan’s already filled you in on the ‘organization’ and the facilities we’re trying to track down?”
Ursula snorted a short, humorless laugh. “Yeah, I heard all about it—the hybrids, the human captives. It’s the kind of stuff to give you nightmares.”
I kept my expression passive. She had no idea how right she was. “We know they’ve been targeting supernaturals too. Have there been any reports of witches going missing?”
“Not that I know of.” Ursula bit her lip, thinking it over. “But we’ve got a council meeting coming up this week—I’ll bring it up, make sure everyone is on high alert for anything suspicious.”
“Good. Thank you.” I glanced over at Hilda, still peacefully building her Lego empire with her finger up her nostril. “No one is safe with the organization still operating out there somewhere. It’s going to take all of the city’s supernaturals working together to figure this out.”
Ursula followed my gaze, a twinge of fear twisting her features. “I won’t let anything happen to the two of them. Whatever this organization is up to, they’re not getting anywhere near the twins.”
I believed her. For someone so young, Ursula had already been through so much. She’d lost her sister—the twins’ mother—and she’d lost plenty of her coven members back when the witches and vampires had been mortal enemies. But she still faced the world head-on, furious and fierce when it came to protecting the people she loved.
A part of me was tempted to tell her about Laurie. The twoof them were alike in so many ways, right down to the perpetual wrinkle in their brows. But to explain the situation with Laurie would mean explaining my connection to her.
And that was something I still didn’t understand myself.
Something in me was determined to protect her, to defend her at all costs. Something drew me to her side—and it wasn’t just because of what she’d been through. It wasn’t some innate drive to collect broken things. It was something else, something deeper.
The same something that drove me to lean forward the night before, when she parted her lips like she wanted to kiss me.
That small moment, slim and tender, a preliminary to the turmoil that came afterwards, left me more confused than before. I couldn’t be falling for her, this wasn’t a simple crush. It was something more, something stirring in my heart—something ancient flaring to life.
My phone buzzing in my pocket wrenched me out of my musings and I hurriedly fumbled for it, mouthing an apology to Ursula while I pressed the phone to my ear.
Dylan’s voice burst through the receiver, breathless and urgent. “River? I think I found him.”
My heart gave a particularly harsh thump. “Found who?”
“The doctor—you know, the one you wanted me to look into.” Dylan growled out the answer, gasping as she fought to catch her breath. “I tracked down a potential suspect. He’s a lone vampire, no ties to any known coven, acting as a low-profile surgeon by day and operating in a hospital where a few patients havegone missing—” She heaved in another breath, then spat out the rest of her sentence. “I’ve got eyes on his apartment, and a way to break in while he’s away. But we have to be quick.”
The thumping in my chest ramped up another notch. The Doctor. I’d asked Dylan to do some snooping after Laurie and Iinterviewed the captives. I asked her to track down the man they all mentioned, the one who was apparently still hunting Laurie to this day.
I hadn’t expected anything to come from it, but Dylan had once again proven that her title of Spymaster was well-deserved.
“Got it, hang tight.” I jolted to my feet, rushing out a farewell to Ursula, and headed for the door. “I’ll be right there.”
This could be the lead we needed, a chance to get closer to the leaders of the organization. But the darker part of my heart whispered that it was more than that. This was my chance to take down a monster, a man who had hurt Laurie personally.
A shot at revenge.
28
Laurie
Wallowing around and twitching with restlessness was not on the agenda for the day, but that’s the fate River doomed me to when she slipped out this morning with no warning. By the time I woke up and dragged myself out of bed the house was quiet and my vampire hostess was nowhere to be found.
And so I sat, angry and simmering in the kitchen, bouncing one knee in disgruntled agitation. All she’d left behind was a note and breakfast—A massive spread of overnight oats and fruit and yoghurt. All of which I was refusing to eat out of sheer spite. I glimpsed the note again, scowling down at the delicate lettering:
Dear Laurie,
Gotta pop out for a second (vampire duties etc.) and you are sleeping so peacefully that it would be a crime to wake you (I can hear your snoring across the house). Be right back!
River
PS. Don’t go throwing yourself out of windows. IpromiseI’ll be back.
