Page 86 of Fanged Embrace
“Laurie, Laurie—it’s okay.” Her hands came up to cradle my face, snagging my thousand-yard stare with gentle eyes. “Remember to breathe.”
My mouth hung open, jaw slack as I struggled to follow her instructions, hauling in one strained breath after the next and hating myself the entire time. I was supposed to be stronger, I was supposed to be halfway to toppling the organization by now. Instead, I clung to River’s collar with rigid fingers, begging my lungs to cooperate while my head swarmed with too many unmanageable emotions.
But it worked—her hands cupping my face with fragile care, her murmured words of reassurance—it calmed me, smoothed my spiking anxiety down to a steady ripple. Riverguided my head down to her shoulder and I huffed in a deep inhale with my face hidden in the curtain of her hair.
The chaotic clash in my head quieted down, and clarity blew in like a chill breeze. I couldn’t just sit here, hiding out in the hallway while the others argued over what to do next. I couldn’t fall apart, and I definitely couldn't quit now. I had to do something.
In that hush, with River’s cheek warm against my temple, an idea surfaced, impossibly reckless but equally impossible to cast aside once it arrived. It pulsed like a beacon behind my eyes.
I swallowed, heart jackhammering in my throat, and whispered the words against her skin. “I could go back.”
River’s entire body went taut beneath me. She eased me upright just enough to see my face, brows knitting tight as she looked me over. “What do you mean?”
“They still want me,” I murmured, voice hoarse but clearer now. “The Doctor all but confirmed it—the organization was desperate to reel me back in.” I sat upright in her lap and wiped a hand across my eyes. The plan was slowly forming in my head, solidifying as I thought it through to completion.
I was important to the organization. Even back then, trapped at the facility with plenty of other kids, I understood that. Something about my DNA, something about my precise physical makeup, was critical for whatever their ultimate goal was.
They wanted me back—and if I went back willingly, they’d welcome me with open arms.
“It could work.” I glanced up at River, who was looking more and more uncomfortable the more I explained myself. “If I go back, offer myself up on a silver platter, they’ll let me in no problem. I could bargain with them—tell them I’m willing to cooperate, but I want to meet the people at the top first. If I’mvaluable enough, they might allow it. They’ll entertain the request if it means I won’t give them trouble.”
River’s reaction was louder, and more lively than I had expected. She gripped my shoulders with sudden urgency and jerked me forward so fast my teeth clacked together. “Fuck no! Laurie, that's insane, you’re not going back there.”
“Just listen.”
I wriggled out of her vice grip, twisting in her lap to look her square in the eye. “Send me in, let me take down the guy at the top. You can send a team in after me.”
River opened her mouth, most likely to repeat her previous protest at an even higher volume, but I beat her to it. “Before you tell me I’m crazy, just think about it. We attack every facility just like we planned—and use it as a distraction. The organization will be scrambling to do damage control, and while that’s happening we cut them off at the head. I’ll identify their leader and if I can’t kill him myself, you guys swoop in to land the final blow.”
River’s expression hardened and her answer came out blunt and stubborn. “No.”
I bristled in her lap and folded my arms. “Why ‘no?’ This was always the plan, River. Take the organization down no matter what it takes. This is our chance.”
I expected her to respond with a cutting remark of her own, but instead she yanked me closer, arms coming up to grip my back. I felt her hot breath over my shoulder, and the rattling timbre of her voice in my ear. “Just… No.”
For one thudding heartbeat, I considered wrenching myself away—charging back into the meeting, forcing the council to hear me out. But the heavy note in her voice had me hesitating. This was hurting her. I was hurting her, just like I knew I would.
I sagged against her, forehead on her shoulder, fury coolingto a heavy, reluctant acceptance. “Then what are we supposed to do?”
River was quiet for a while before her voice emerged as a whisper. “I don’t know, but you can’t go back. I can’t let you do that. I can’t… lose you yet.”
I wanted to tell her that it was going to happen eventually, but I’d promised her I’d hold out hope. So I kept quiet, closed my eyes. The two of us leaned into each other, River holding on tight, and I let her believe that I’d let the idea go.
Internally, my mind was plotting, putting together the beginning of a plan and apologizing profusely—silently—for deceiving her.
43
River
I kept one wary eye on Laurie for the rest of the day. She didn’t mention the idea again, she didn’t bring it up once, but I knew she was thinking about it—and I knew she wouldn’t drop it that easily.
The council meeting dragged on until noon, but no agreements were reached on what to do just yet. Half of our allies were eager to fight, and the other half were steadfast in staying out of the organization’s spotlight. And so, all of our plans came to a screeching halt. Until we could get everybody on board, no attack would be viable.
I knew the inaction was driving Laurie crazy.
The only conclusion we did manage to reach, and only after the rest of the supernatural factions cleared out, was that Laurie would have to be protected. The organization would have their eyes on her, if they didn’t already, and we would have to do what we could to keep her safe—whether she wanted our help or not.
She wasn’t too keen on moving into Leyore Headquarters,so Jordan settled for appointing guards to patrol outside my home—morning, noon, and night—until we could figure out a better solution. Laurie wasn’t very happy with that plan either, but it suited me just fine. At least with Leyore vampires patrolling the grounds, she would be less likely to slip away in the dead of night to execute some hairbrained scheme.
