“Does garlic work to keep vampires away?”she asked.
He chuckled and shook his head. “About thesame as a person who eats excessive amounts of it would deteryou.”
“Got it. What about crucifixes andstuff?”
“Why do you ask?”
Maggie fiddled with the edge of her sweateras she focused on the traffic. “There are things out there possiblyhunting me. I should know what can hurt them. Plus…”
“Plus what?” he prompted when her voicetrailed off.
“The last time I saw my mother, she startedscreaming for garlic when she realized who I was. So, I waswondering, if it did work against vampires, would it also workagainst me somehow? I mean, I’ve eaten garlic before and held across, of course, but maybe if a personbelievesit willward off a vamp, it really will. I think I read or saw somewherethat it’s more the person’s faith in the object working than theactual object, so is that true?”
His fangs pricked at this revelation.Maggie’s mother had endured a trauma many wouldn’t have survived.It wasn’t her fault she was so messed up, but he would gladly killthe woman if she upset her daughter again today.
“No, that’s not true. There’s nothing shecould use against you. You are still more human than vampire, andif you were a vampire, only an invite would hold you back unlessyou were a Savage, and then as I explained before, sunlight and theother things would affect you more.”
“Good.”
CHAPTER 29
Maggie felt like a dead woman walking as shestared at the brick building before her.You don’t have to dothis!
Yes, you do.
She knew she did. She had to face her motheragain, her past, her heritage, everything she’d written off yearsago. Opening the car door, she didn’t pause to think before shovingherself out of the vehicle. Her shuffling gait took her from thecar and to the bluestone walkway of the building. She didn’t lookat Aiden when he fell into step beside her.
“Shortly after my mother killed the nurse,she was deemed incapable of standing trial due to insanity. Theyplaced her here, in this high-security mental facility, which isessentially a fancier prison. If she’d gotten better, they mighthave freed her, but I don’t think she’ll ever leave thisplace.”
Aiden’s gaze traveled over the brickbuilding with its brown vines creeping up the walls. They were mostlikely ivy vines, but their leaves had yet to bloom so he couldn’ttell for sure. Neatly trimmed boxwoods lined the walkway as theyapproached the glass front door. When they stopped before the door,the brass plaque on the wall beside it revealed the building wascompleted in 1852, but he saw nothing marking the name of the placeor its purpose.
“It’s nice, for a state-run facility,”Maggie said.
She chewed on her bottom lip as she fiddledwith her sweater again. He’d seen her jump-start a Savage withpaddles in the ambulance and tell a vampire to pretty much fuck offwithout so much as breaking a sweat. Now, her skin was ashen andshe looked petrified as she rambled.
“I was impressed with it when I camebefore,” Maggie continued. “Don’t get me wrong, most of the grouphomes I stayed in were okay, but you know, this is a place forthose with mental illness. The people here are the ones the rest ofthe world prefers to forget. Everyone loves and feels sorry forkids who have nothing; they’re terrified of the mentally ill.
“So, when I first came here, I wasexpecting, you know, broken windows, dirty floors, and peopleleaning out the windows screaming. It’s not like that. It’s…. Oh,it doesn’t matter what it’s like. I should go in now. I probablywon’t be long.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’m glad youbrought me here, but you don’t have to deal with this.”
Steely resolve filled Aiden’s gaze. “Iamcoming with you.”
“I doubt there’s a threat in there.”
“I do too, but I’m not going with youbecause of that. You shouldn’t be alone for this.”
Maggie opened her mouth to protest further.She didn’t want him to see her mother, or hear the things the womanmight say, but more than that, she didn’t want to be alone forthis. It could be humiliating to have Aiden with her, yet she’d getthrough it better with him by her side.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said. “Don’t ever thankme for caring about you, Maggie, or being here for you.”
She was about to ask him why he would dothis for her or care about her when the door opened and a young manstepped out.
“Oh, hello,” he said as he held the dooropen for her. Maggie recognized the subdued tone of his voice assomeone who had been to hell and back. He probably had a loved oneinside, and not a loved one who worked here.
