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And the tremendous weight of my grief was overwhelming.
But after moments on the floor, wrapped in this woman’s arms, the tears finally waned and I pulled free of her embrace, wiping my eyes as I looked up at her round face. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Of course, honey.” She smiled sadly, then gently swiped her thumbs beneath my eyes to wipe the mascara streaks from my cheeks. “When you’re ready, you can go on back and sit with him…”
She didn’t say the rest, but her unspoken words settled over me anyway.
Say your goodbyes.
And so, with a heavy heart, I rose to my feet, made my way down the hall, and prepared to do just that. But when I stepped into his room, he was lucid, staring right at me with bright eyes. I looked over my shoulder but Muriel hadn’t followed me. Had I misunderstood what she said? I assumed his not being able to hear me meant he’d slipped into a deep sleep, but looking at him now—
“Jackie,” he said, and the childhood nickname brought a fresh rush of tears to my eyes. “Come, I haven’t much time.”
Bile rose in my throat, but I hurried to his bedside, fighting to ignore the scent of death hovering around him and twisting my stomach. Or the weight he’d lost in just a short matter of weeks, evident in his sunken cheeks and the way his clavicle stuck out from his body like a craggily tree root.
“The vampire will come for you,” he said, lowering his voice as his gaze flicked frantically around the room. “You have to be ready.”
My shoulders deflated as hope left me in a rush. He wasn’t lucid at all.
I slipped my hands around one of his and squeezed gently. “Okay, daddy.” My voice cracked so I cleared my throat. “I’ll be ready.”
“He saved you, Jackie, but he couldn’t save your mother.”
My brow furrowed as ice flooded my veins. “What?”
“Too much blood.” His eyes went distant, unfocused, but then they snapped back to mine. “We owe him now. Animal blood. Every month on the fifteenth.”
I sighed. “No, Daddy, I think you’re confused. Mom died during childbirth.”
And vampires don’t save lives; they take them.
“He doesn’t know about you. He’ll want you when he sees.” His eyes flicked around the room then landed on mine once more, before drifting down to lock on my throat. “Animal blood won’t be enough then,” he whispered.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Shaking my head, I said, “Daddy, I don’t understand.”
“He’ll want you when he sees. Don’t let him take you.” His dark brown eyes got wide then flicked to the space immediately behind me and a shiver skittered down my spine. I jerked my head around, but no one was there. When I took a deep breath and looked back at my father, his eyes were closed, the only sign of our brief conversation evident in the crease of his brow.
As I watched him, unable to move, Muriel slipped into the room, humming quietly as she moved around to the side of the bed. She leaned over him and rubbed her thumb over that crease between his brows, then she went about fluffing his covers and checking his vitals, smiling sadly as she finally looked up at me. “It’s happening, honey.”
I swallowed hard and leaned down, placing a kiss on my father’s gaunt cheek as he left me, my world shattering into pieces that mimicked the shattered remains of my heart.
Chapter Three
One Year Later
Jack
Sheathing my plastic practice stakes, one on each hip in a custom black leather holster made by my favorite Etsy seller, I backflipped away from Vinny, grinning as I landed on my feet in orthodox fight stance with my fists extended in front of me.
Ready. Waiting.
Eager for him to come after me.
But he only chuckled, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Tuck that right fist a little closer to your body.”
Looking down, I did as he instructed, leaving my left fist extended, and pulling my right a bit more tucked in near my chest. When I looked back up at my trainer, a crimson stain bloomed on his shirt, just inches above his heart. A superficial wound, yes, but one that made pride swell in my chest.
“I’m getting better.”
