“Fine.” I smiled at him. “Then congratulations, you two. When’s the big day?”
“We’re leaving tonight,” Amy said. “We’re going to elope to Niagara Falls.”
“You’re going to Niagara Falls for your wedding? That is so cheesy. I love it.”
Amy paused. “This means I won’t be able to go to Mexico with you.”
“I kind of figured that. After everything that’s happened, I might just skip it myself. I mean, a vampire in Mexico? How weird would that be?” I glanced around. “Where’s Thierry?”
George turned around in a circle. “Don’t know. Haven’t seen him since the battle royale took place.”
My breath caught in my throat and a tear streaked down my cheek. “Shit. Please don’t tell me that they killed him.”
Quinn touched my arm. “No, he’s not dead. He fought hard against the hunters, but he’s not dead. I saw him leave through the tanning salon five minutes ago. He didn’t say where he was going.”
I let a long, shaky sigh out slowly and wiped my face. I tried to smile.
“You care about him, don’t you?” Veronique said. “You’ve denied it before, but you can’t fool me.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Look, I know he’s your husband and—”
She waved me off and laughed until it hurt so much she had to stop. “It’s okay. We were married a long time ago, but we haven’t been man and wife for so long, I forget even what it was like. I have had many lovers since then, and I certainly don’t expect that Thierry has remained faithful to me. Now, dear girl, answer me. Do you care for him?”
I sniffed. “Yes. But I just figured that since you came back after all this time, you were interested in getting back together with him.”
She smiled, but it didn’t hold. Her expression turned serious. “I came here because it was requested of me. Thierry asked me to come.”
“Why?”
“There’s something you need to know,” she said gravely. “Thierry plans to end his life; he’s weary of living. There’s nothing in it for him anymore. Six hundred years is a long time.”
“I know that already. But why did he ask you to come?”
“He knows I have an excellent head for business. He asked me to look after the clubs he owns, to either run them myself or sell them to another who will keep them open. He didn’t want his employees or clientele not to have a place to count on being here. I agreed, because I feel a sense of responsibility to him. I sired him, after all, and he was my husband at one time. I’m also searching for direction in my own life now. I, too, am weary, but not ready yet for it all to end. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. This seemed like the perfect answer.”
“But you didn’t say anything to try to talk Thierry out of what he wanted to do?”
She paused. “No. It’s his decision. I don’t think anything I could have said would have swayed him otherwise.”
“I need to talk to him. I need to know where he went.”
No one said anything.
Anxiety filled me, spreading evenly through every part of my body. “He’s gone to do it tonight, hasn’t he? Where? Where did he go?”
They all glanced at one another.
George shook his head. “Sorry, he didn’t say.”
I exhaled and it sounded shuddery and hopeless.
“I can’t deal with this. After everything that’s happened, I can’t lose him. I just can’t.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Veronique. She smiled at me, and there was more warmth in her perfect features than I’d seen before. Or maybe I just hadn’t been looking hard enough. “If there is one thing I’ve learned after all of my many years, it’s this: when the world has gone mad and you feel the most lost—that is when you must trust your heart to lead you where you need to go.”
I blinked at her through my tears. “That is the lamest thing I’ve ever heard.”
It may have been lame, but I knew it was the truth. The one thing I’d trusted during all that had happened to me was what my heart told me, be it right or wrong, and at that moment my heart was telling me it wasn’t too late.
“There is a reason why those as old as I do not sire fledglings.”
I closed my eyes. Thierry had said that sires and fledglings have a bond, sometimes heightened by age. Okay, he wasn’t my real sire, but goddamn it, this had to work. I cleared my mind. I focused. It was like being at Missy’s wedding again searching out the other vampires. A Spidey-sense.
But there was nothing. Nothing.
Nothing. And then… I opened my eyes.
“I think I know where he is. I need somebody to give me a lift. Right now. There’s no time to waste.”
Barry stepped forward. “My car’s out back. Amy and I were going to leave now, anyhow. We’ll drive you anywhere you want to go.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Thanks. You’re growing on me. A little.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
Amy and Barry went to the black door to leave. I turned to the others.
“Thanks, guys. For everything. Wish me luck.”
Quinn grabbed my wrist. His eyes were sad, but he was trying to smile. “Good luck. I mean it.”
I kissed him, just a quick kiss, but I meant every bit of it. I wanted him to know how much he meant to me. If things had been different, then who could say? But they weren’t. I wanted to be with Thierry. And I had to stop him from what he was planning on doing. I blew another kiss to the others as I backed away toward the door; then I turned around and followed Amy and Barry out to the car. I directed them to the Bloor Viaduct—the bridge where Thierry and I had first met. Where the hunters had chased me. The Don River raced underneath, cold and dark and foreboding. I got out and slammed the car door. I quickly scanned the bridge. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there.
“Should we wait?” Amy asked.
“No. I’ll be fine. You guys go.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.” I turned away, then glanced back. “Thanks, guys. Sorry I’ve been such a bitch.”
“You can’t help what you are,” Barry said, and then the little bugger winked at me. “Good luck. Bring the master home in one piece.”
I nodded and watched them drive away; then I turned to focus my attention on the bridge, scanning the length of it. For a moment I thought that I’d made a mistake. He wasn’t here at all. I’d put all my eggs in one basket and I was wrong. He was lost to me forever. But then I saw him. Halfway down, past the protective bars and on a suspension beam, just standing there surveying the night that surrounded him. He didn’t look at me as I approached, but he must have known that I was there.
“Thierry!” I called to him.