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My water glass was refilled and I was told to drink, the baby needed it. When I obeyed, Mrs. Park indicated the soup. “Now, eat.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said and dug in.
Rio stood at the foot of the bed watching me. He looked like he hadn’t slept since I’d gone missing. He had dark smudges beneath his eyes and his pink, purple and blue hair was matted down in some places, sticking up in others.
“You okay?” he asked after I’d taken a few bites. “Really?”
“Yep.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Just hungry.”
He glanced at Olivia, who nodded. “She’ll be fine, love. She needs food and rest, that’s all.”
His shoulders eased. “That’s all right, then.”
“Now off to bed with you,” Olivia told him. “You look like you need sleep as much as she does.”
He yawned and nodded, rounding the bed to pat my shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
He shifted from one foot to another, still staring at me like he couldn’t believe I was really all right. Then he crouched and hugged me, careful not to jostle the half-eaten soup. “You scared the shit out of me,” he said against my temple.
My heart constricted. I reached up, squeezing his forearm. “I scared the shit out of myself.”
A rusty chuckle escaped him. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You’re like family, you know?”
I turned my head and kissed his cheek. “Back atcha, little brother.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat and with a last hug, came to his feet. “Let me know if she needs anything,” he told Mrs. Park.
“I will,” she told him, and he nodded and left.
Talon had left the room for a few minutes to have a low-voice conversation with Brien and Cain. Now he returned and pulled a chair up to the bed, watching as I resumed eating.
“MinJi has volunteered to keep an eye on you,” Olivia said with a nod at Mrs. Park. “I’ll stay another hour just to make sure everything is all right, and then she’ll take over for the rest of the night. I’ll be upstairs if you need me, though.”
I frowned at Talon. “Why can’t you watch me?”
“I can’t, sweetheart.” He curved his hand around my nape and rubbed his lips over mine. “I have to leave, but you’ll be fine with Mrs. Park here.” He exchanged a look with the former slayer and straightened, adding, “There will be a guard stationed in the hall, too.”
A guard? My brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”
Talon rolled his lips in.
I put down my spoon. “Tell me. I deserve to know, don’t I?”
He considered me another few seconds, then nodded. “If you could leave us for a minute?” he said to Olivia.
She nodded and exited the room, closing the door behind her.
Talon turned back to me. “We’re pretty sure there was someone else on that island. Someone who stayed in the shadows while we were searching for you. Somebody rigged our boat to explode, and if Lemaire was with you, it couldn’t have been him. We know there was a second vampire—we took care of him. But there must’ve been a third.”
“You could be right,” I said slowly. “Your father was worried about more than one vampire. He kept saying ‘they’re.’”
Talon nodded. “Whoever it was, they’re probably not still on the island, but we’d like to check it out anyway. Meanwhile, I want to be extra careful with you.”
“All right,” I said, although he wasn’t really asking for my agreement.
He brushed the back of his fingers over my bruised cheek. “I love you,” he said, low-voiced, and strode out of the bedroom, leaving me staring after him, mouth ajar.
