couple of bruises already forming on his cheeks and his lip had been spilt open, but I hadn’t done any permanent damage. The three boys who’d pulled me off him ranged from about my age to a year or so younger. The guy who was holding me didn’t let go, but the other two held up their hands as though ready to surrender. Then I looked back up the stairs to the little girl.
Hell, how could she even hold the shotgun? The damn thing looked like it weighed more than she did, but she held it tight to her shoulder, like someone who’d been using it her whole life. And, well, if this family was tough enough to survive the Ticks, then maybe she had.
“Are you here to kill my daddy?” she asked.
It took me a heartbeat to realize she was talking to me. The haze of my rage was clearing along with my ears.
But Lily had been shot. I could still see her crumpled body lying on the stairs. Blood still stained her lips, which meant internal bleeding. Which usually meant death, even in the Before, in a world with ER surgeons and ambulances.
If I told this girl yes, would she shoot me?
But even I wasn’t enough of an asshole to force a little girl to execute me.
“No,” I said.
I glanced down at the other man, who was only now starting to sit up. With his legs stretched out in front of him, he rubbed his hand over his stubble-covered jaw. He glanced down at the blood on his hand.
The oldest of the boys wiped his palm on the leg of his jeans and said, “Now Danielle, you hand that shotgun over to me before someone gets hurt.”
But the girl just narrowed her eyes. When she spoke her voice was strong, but small. “I’m not putting the gun down until you go get Dawn so she can tend to Lily.”
Wait. Tend to Lily? Was she still alive? I kept my gaze pinned on her chest until I saw it rise and fall. I surged forward toward the stairs, but the guys holding me tightened their grips and I couldn’t break free.
“Danielle, you are going to be in a mountain of trouble,” her father muttered at her. He started to walk toward her, but she shifted the gun.
“Not you, Daddy, him. I’m sorry, but I know if I let any of you out of my sight, you’ll just go grab more guns and we’ll be back in trouble again.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Walk over here and set your gun down halfway between us. Then go out back to the bunker and find my sister, Dawn. And—”
“Danielle, you can’t tell him—”
“Daddy, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let her bleed out because you’re being stubborn and mean. Besides, she said they can help us. What if they can? What if you just shot the only lady who can help us?”
I had no idea what fairy tales Lily had told this girl. But it didn’t take a genius to know that we couldn’t help her. If she was going to send me to get help for Lily, I damn sure wasn’t going to tell her she was wrong.
Slowly, begrudgingly, Danielle’s father nodded. Somehow, when he looked at his daughter, his gaze full of equal parts exasperation and love, he looked less like a psychopath and more like a man who would do anything to protect his family. I couldn’t hate him for that. But if Lily died, I would damn sure kill him for it.
CHAPTER NINE
Mel
My nursery rhymes rhyme less than they used to.
I can feel myself changing. The Mel I was is nearly lost to memory. The Mel I am now is becoming lost in memories. They are all I have left of myself. I have too much time to heal, even as my body changes. I sleep endlessly, except for when I’m feeding, though Sebastian still doesn’t let me feed or hunt. He keeps me locked away, safe as a newborn kitten. He feeds me the blood of Ticks he hunts alone. I am as dependent on him as I ever was on Lily.
Lily, Lily. My sister, myself. The thousand stings of sisterhood don’t sting any less. Her betrayal is a flash of alcohol skimming across the surface of my vampire newness. I cannot think of her without resenting the choice she made for me when I was too
Hell, how could she even hold the shotgun? The damn thing looked like it weighed more than she did, but she held it tight to her shoulder, like someone who’d been using it her whole life. And, well, if this family was tough enough to survive the Ticks, then maybe she had.
“Are you here to kill my daddy?” she asked.
It took me a heartbeat to realize she was talking to me. The haze of my rage was clearing along with my ears.
But Lily had been shot. I could still see her crumpled body lying on the stairs. Blood still stained her lips, which meant internal bleeding. Which usually meant death, even in the Before, in a world with ER surgeons and ambulances.
If I told this girl yes, would she shoot me?
But even I wasn’t enough of an asshole to force a little girl to execute me.
“No,” I said.
I glanced down at the other man, who was only now starting to sit up. With his legs stretched out in front of him, he rubbed his hand over his stubble-covered jaw. He glanced down at the blood on his hand.
The oldest of the boys wiped his palm on the leg of his jeans and said, “Now Danielle, you hand that shotgun over to me before someone gets hurt.”
But the girl just narrowed her eyes. When she spoke her voice was strong, but small. “I’m not putting the gun down until you go get Dawn so she can tend to Lily.”
Wait. Tend to Lily? Was she still alive? I kept my gaze pinned on her chest until I saw it rise and fall. I surged forward toward the stairs, but the guys holding me tightened their grips and I couldn’t break free.
“Danielle, you are going to be in a mountain of trouble,” her father muttered at her. He started to walk toward her, but she shifted the gun.
“Not you, Daddy, him. I’m sorry, but I know if I let any of you out of my sight, you’ll just go grab more guns and we’ll be back in trouble again.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Walk over here and set your gun down halfway between us. Then go out back to the bunker and find my sister, Dawn. And—”
“Danielle, you can’t tell him—”
“Daddy, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let her bleed out because you’re being stubborn and mean. Besides, she said they can help us. What if they can? What if you just shot the only lady who can help us?”
I had no idea what fairy tales Lily had told this girl. But it didn’t take a genius to know that we couldn’t help her. If she was going to send me to get help for Lily, I damn sure wasn’t going to tell her she was wrong.
Slowly, begrudgingly, Danielle’s father nodded. Somehow, when he looked at his daughter, his gaze full of equal parts exasperation and love, he looked less like a psychopath and more like a man who would do anything to protect his family. I couldn’t hate him for that. But if Lily died, I would damn sure kill him for it.
CHAPTER NINE
Mel
My nursery rhymes rhyme less than they used to.
I can feel myself changing. The Mel I was is nearly lost to memory. The Mel I am now is becoming lost in memories. They are all I have left of myself. I have too much time to heal, even as my body changes. I sleep endlessly, except for when I’m feeding, though Sebastian still doesn’t let me feed or hunt. He keeps me locked away, safe as a newborn kitten. He feeds me the blood of Ticks he hunts alone. I am as dependent on him as I ever was on Lily.
Lily, Lily. My sister, myself. The thousand stings of sisterhood don’t sting any less. Her betrayal is a flash of alcohol skimming across the surface of my vampire newness. I cannot think of her without resenting the choice she made for me when I was too
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