Realization dawns on me. Before I left, I wrote a note for Gray to find when he woke up. My heart rushes to my throat. It has to be him.
“Is that Gray?” I ask.
“It usually is.”
What the hell does that mean?
I kick back the covers from my legs and climb out of the bed, coffee cup firmly in hand. It almost falls to the ground, though, as my legs give out beneath me. Jill rushes to steady me, grabbing my elbow as she wraps an arm around my waist.
“Slow down,” she scolds.
“Sorry,” I reply sheepishly. “I didn’t realize how bad my legs were.”
“Well, one of them was pretty fuckin’ broken.” Jill releases my elbow and takes the mug from my hand, depositing it on the bedside table as she leads me to the bedroom door.
“What?”
“Just wait.” She guides me down the short hallway to the front door, and I almost collapse again at the sight of Gray.
He looks like shit. His skin is sallow, pulled taut around the sharp angles of his cheeks and jawline. The ruby sheen to his red eyes is dull and murky, as if he hasn’t eaten in days. My vampire looks like a corpse.
“Millie…” My name is a whisper on his lips. Behind him, I see that the sun is still shining and there are tendrils of smoke coming off his back.
“Fucking hell, Dax, let him in!” Panic overcomes the unsteadiness in my legs as I break free from Jill, lunging forward. “He’s going to set himself on fire!”
Dax opens his mouth to argue, but stops.
“No avoiding it now,” Jill says coolly. “Invite the leech in.”
“Come on in,” Dax relents, clearly unhappy about it.
Gray falls through the frame and flips the door shut before collapsing to his knees. I go down with him, just in time to catch his weight against me. He feels like a bag of bricks.
“Why would you do that?” My voice sounds shrill and panicked. He’s still smoking, and it kind of smells like burning leaves, but at least the sunlight is gone. There’s nothing now but the ceiling light above us and the two searing gazes from Dax and Jill.
“So I could see you,” he says, catching my face between his hands. The sheer amount of relief in his expression hits me like a left hook. There’s a reason he looks so awful, yet so happy to see me. Whatever it is I don’t remember is working against me in the worst way.
“I’m here.”
“And you’re alive.”
I breathe. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Gray looks up and shoots Dax a hard look. “She doesn’t know?”
“She just woke up, okay?” He crosses his arms and leans against the wall. Jill is at his elbow, wearing a similarly wilted expression. “We didn’t get that far.”
There’s a flicker of irritation in his eyes, lighting them up a fraction. It’s good to see that he isn’t completely drained of energy. I pat his shoulder and help him to stand, offering as much of my body for him to lean into.
“Can we all drop the cryptic bullshit and just let the bomb go off already?” I beg.
With a shrug, Dax says, “You’ve been out for four days.”
I feel my eyes bulge. “Four days? Holy shit, why?”
“You were attacked.” Gray slips an arm under my own, reversing our roles. My own shock must be written in spades across my face. “Jill stopped him before… before he could sink his teeth into you.”
“Stopped him? I set his ass on fire,” Jill corrects, placing her hands on her hips.
