I opened my eyes.
George stared down at me. He had a cool, wet cloth pressed firmly against my forehead for the second time in two days.
Not a dream. Damn.
“Wh-what?” I managed.
He waved a hand over his nose. “Yikes. Hello, morning breath. And it’s not even morning anymore. Or afternoon, even.”
“How long was I out?”
“All day. The sun has set. I figure that’s why our little Miss Nosferatu has arisen at last.”
I pushed up enough to see that I was in my bed fully dressed, except that my shoes and coat had been removed. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“We tried. You were dead to the world, and I mean that literally. You don’t breathe and you have no heartbeat. You’re lucky we didn’t embalm you.”
I let myself collapse back onto my pillow. “Maybe you should have. It would solve a lot of problems.”
His expression turned wary. “Now that the chain is gone, are you still feeling… normalish?”
“Normal is a very relative term.” I swung my legs out of bed. I felt weak and shaky, but there was no immediate need to attach myself to George’s jugular like a brunette leech.
“Where’s Thierry?”
“He was by your side all afternoon.”
“He was?” The thought gave my room-temperature body a little inner glow.
George nodded. “Obviously he wasn’t aware of the morning-breath situation. Mint?” He presented me with a couple of Tic Tacs.
I took them. I could take a hint. “Thanks.”
“Right now he’s on the phone with Barry about Amy being missing.” His brow furrowed.
“Did she mention anything to you about leaving our favorite little maître d’ for another man?”
I swallowed. “Gideon has her.”
He paled. “Any man other than that would have been okay with me.”
“He’s going to use her to make sure I sire him tonight.”
His jaw tightened. “That bastard.”
“George, please give Sarah and me a moment alone.” Thierry was at the doorway looking in.
He turned. “Gideon has Amy.”
Thierry nodded gravely. “I heard you.”
George looked frantic. “This is horrible. I feel completely useless just waiting around to see what’s going to happen. There has to be something I can do to help.”
“I could use some coffee,” I said.
He nodded. “Excellent idea. I’ll make coffee.”
He turned and left us alone.
“Amy’s not the only person Gideon has right now,” I said evenly. “He’s also got
Veronique.”
Thierry’s eyes widened a fraction. “He’s kidnapped her as well?”
I shook my head. “She’s with him more in the mattress-testing capacity. She doesn’t seem to see that there’s anything wrong with that. He’s a powerful man and she’s a survivor.
End of story.”
I couldn’t read his expression, but it darkened significantly. “I’m very disappointed to hear that. I would have expected more from her.”
“Me, too.”
“I’m well aware of her selfishness, after all, I’ve known her for a very long time. But this?
To learn that she’d rather aid a man like Gideon, whose family has been nothing but death-
bringers to vampires for centuries…” He exhaled. “I am disappointed.”
“She also gave me some of her blood. Gideon thought that drinking from a third master vampire like Veronique would make me an even more powerful sire for him.”
“I fear he may be right about that.”
I rose from the bed and moved toward him, but not too close. I was still very awkward after everything that had happened. The whole situation positively sucked. “Sucked” actually wasn’t a strong enough word.
Really sucked.
“Veronique’s blood was powerful enough to give me control. At least for a little while.
I’m still thirsty… it’s like I’m always thirsty now, but I can control it at the moment. I don’t know how long this is going to last.” I turned away from him when my throat thickened up. “I’m so sorry.”
He touched my back and the warmth sank into my cold skin. “What are you sorry about?”
“For everything. Things haven’t gotten easier. They’ve gotten worse. And worse. And it’s all my fault. You probably wish you’d never met me.”
“If I had never met you I would have ended my existence three months ago.”