Chapter 11
It was almostten o’clock by the time the group headed back to the helicopter. Finn estimated it would take fifteen or twenty minutes to get to the compound. And if things went well, Mateo told her, they could be back by midnight.
Zeph looked at him as if he were crazy. “More like right before dawn.”
They were almost to the edge of the forest when Mateo turned around and jogged back. “I almost forgot.” He reached in his pocket and threw her a set of car keys. “But please don’t go anywhere. I need you to hang tight until this is all over.”
She smiled at his protectiveness. “Don’t worry. Brenna will keep me in line.” She kissed him again. “Be careful.”
Once she and Brenna were back inside the mansion, they scoured cupboards, closets and shelves, looking for a deck of cards or a game they could play.
“Can you move those for me?” Brenna asked, pointing into a cupboard.
Selena looked over. “Those candlesticks?” They didn’t look very heavy.
Brenna nodded. “They’re silver. We’re highly sensitive to silver—it weakens us, much like the sun does. I’m surprised Mateo’s family even has them.”
Selena moved the candlesticks out of the cupboard. Right behind them were a few board games and several decks of cards. A few minutes later, they were sitting at the table in the kitchen, drinking herbal tea, eating crackers, and playing gin rummy.
“So, if you don’t mind my asking, how did you and Finn meet?”
“He was a blood slave and I rescued him.” Brenna went on to tell her about how Finn had been held captive for weeks as the blood slave of a very powerful man.
“And how are things going?” She didn’t want to pry, but she needed to know. “How do you keep from attacking him?”
“Is that what Mateo is worried about?” Before she could answer, Brenna continued, “Of course he’s worried. I was too. The truth is, the scent of a sweetblood will always be appealing to us. But you can learn to manage it.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Maybe the fact that his blood is there for me when I want makes me less desperate, if that makes sense.”
Selena thought she understood. “Like when you’re on a diet and you’d kill for a candy bar because you can’t have one. But when you’re not on a diet, you feel no big urge to binge because you can have a candy bar if you want.”
Brenna smiled. “Exactly.”
A big gust of wind rattled the house and rain began pelting the roof.
“I hope the weather doesn’t get too bad,” Brenna said, casting a worried glance toward the window. “Otherwise Finn won’t be able to fly.”
