Page 56 of Blood Illusions

He sighed. “We don’t have many options if we want to get your brother out of jail.”

I wrapped my arms around myself and leaned against a wall. “Let me guess. Dr. Gould said he would give us the five thousand dollars?”

Tim glanced at Dr. Gould with dread. “Yeah. So, the decision you have to make is to leave your brother in jail or make a deal with the devil.”

I dropped my arms as if they were lead. “Damon will be furious if we make a deal.”

“Yeah, but unless he’s got a stash of money hidden somewhere, I think the deal’s the only chance we’ve got.”

I released a heavy sigh, feeling defeated. “There’s something else I have to do, though. Something I can’t shake off.”

“Okay,” he drawled. “I know I’m going to hate asking, but what?”

“St. Marinus Abbey,” I told him, my voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t get it out of my head. I have to go there. I have to find out what happened to Dad. To see if he’s still alive.”

“Are you off your rocker, girl? You heard what Justice said. Those damn vamps wounded supernaturals, and they’re ten times more powerful than us.” His voice rose in panic.

I met his worried gaze. “Time is running out, Tim. If Dad’s with those things, his number’s almost up. I have to find him before he’s drained into a mummy.”

“Why can’t you wait until Damon gets out? Why the urgency?”

“Because I think it will be too late, and Damon won’t be out for at least several hours. By that time, Dad could be dead.”

“You don’t know that.”

I held up my head and braced my shoulders. “You’re right. I don’t. But this is a chance I have to take.” I clasped his arms. “My instincts say to move now, and I trust my intuition.”

“It’s definitely given you more lives than a damn cat.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

My heart pounded fiercely as I took the keys to the Fairlane from Tim. I left him and headed toward Justice. He sat still and eyed me suspiciously. I stood in front of him and gave him a steely glare.

“Do you want to make it up to me?”

“I’ll do anything.”

He’d walked right into my trap.

“Good. Then let’s go.” Tim was talking to Dr. Gould about the bail money. As for Damon, he would cool his jets behind bars for now, and he was safe. But my dad was still in danger, and I refused to twiddle my thumbs while my dad was being tortured or worse.

Justice cocked an eyebrow. “Go where?”

I braced my shoulders. “You’re taking me to St. Marinus Abbey by the Lake.”

His face hardened with resistance. “Absolutely not.”

“Fine, then I’ll go by myself.” I turned around.

He jumped from his seat and grabbed my arm. “Are you insane? Those things are the most powerful creatures I’ve ever fought. They nearly killed an orc, and you think you’re strong enough to go up against them?”

I twisted my arm, but he had me in a vampire grip. “He’s my dad. I’m not going to leave him to die.”

The hushed conversations of the police officers abruptly halted as they turned to stare at us, their expressions wary and uncertain. It was like they were debating whether to intervene in our situation. Silence descended on the room, with only the distant sound of sirens breaking through the tension. The weight of their gazes felt heavy, like a storm brewing on the horizon. Our fate hung in the balance, awaiting a decision.

I flashed Justice a smug smile, knowing I had the upper hand. “You’re causing quite a spectacle,” I taunted, gesturing toward the curious police officers nearby.

Justice’s gaze darted toward the officers before settling back on me. At that moment, his normally steely expression faltered, and I caught a glimpse of fear in his eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t want to lose you,” he replied defiantly, though his tone betrayed desperation. “We need to think this through logically. We can’t afford to make rash decisions.” His words reminded me of Tim’s frantic attempts to calm Damon during one of his impulsive episodes.

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