“I had my doubts when you choose Mr. Computers Are Better Than Girls over there, but you’ve redeemed yourself.”
Aida and Cassidy laughed as Julian glowered at Kyle in the rearview mirror. Kyle smiled back at Julian and waved. “We’re alive, it’s over, and we found the girl. If we ever get into a life-or-death situation again, you’ll be the first one we call.”
Julian gave him the finger, but his features softened. “Why don’t you stay out of those situations from now on?”
“Believe me, we don’t want to be in them,” Cassidy said. “And if you recall, you dragged us into the last one.” When Julian scowled at her again, she blew him a kiss. “We love you too.”
“Assholes,” he muttered.
“Does that mean you don’t love us?” Cassidy taunted.
Julian stared at the road as he replied, “You know I do.”
Dante smiled over their banter as he draped his healing arm around Cassidy’s shoulders and pulled her close. He kissed her forehead as he inhaled her sweet scent before resting his head against the van.
The hum of the tires on the road was lulling him to sleep. It had been a long night, and he was still weak from blood loss. He hadn’t taken enough from Cassidy to sate his hunger, and it churned incessantly inside him.
Across the way, Julie was still paler than normal, but she held Preston’s hand as the two of them sat shoulder to shoulder.
“You should meet my mom,” Julie said to Preston.
Dante considered that to be an excellent idea. He suspected it was only a matter of time before Preston’s mom tried to get money out of Mrs. Abbott. It would be a lot easier for the woman if she learned about Preston’s existence from her daughter first. It would be difficult in the beginning, but once she saw how much they cared for each other, Dante believed she would grow to accept and love Preston.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Preston said. “She probably doesn’t want to meet me.”
“You’re my brother; she’s going to have to accept that you’re a part of my life. After all this, I can’t keep sneaking away to see you, and I’m going to stop treating her like garbage, so she has to know about you because you are staying in my life.”
Preston mulled this for a little bit before responding. “And what if she tells you to stay away from me?”
“She won’t,” Julie said. “I’m sure she’s going to be upset that my dad never told her about you, but she wouldn’t do that. She’s not cruel; she’s not… me,” Julie whispered.
“You’re not cruel,” Preston assured her as he hugged her closer.
Fresh tears streamed down Julie’s face. “I’ve been so awful to her.”
“And she understands,” Dante assured her. “She knows how difficult your dad’s death was on you. You’ll get through all of this together.” He looked to Preston as he spoke the next words. “All three of you will.”
Preston stared at him before giving a small smile. “Yes, we will.”
It was a few minutes before Cassidy spoke again. “What are you going to tell your mom about why you’ve been gone?” she asked Julie.
“It’s going to break her heart, but I’ll have to tell her that I ran away,” Julie said. “I can’t tell her the truth. She’d think I’m crazy if I did, and, honestly, this isn’t a burden I would place on her.”
Cassidy leaned across the space separating them to squeeze Julie’s knee. “I know that’s going to be difficult, but itisfor the best.”
“Thank you, all of you, for coming for me,” Julie said. “I was sure Jasmine was going to kill me.”
“You can’t tell anyone about us,” Dante said. “You’d put all of us, and yourself, at risk if you do.”
“Oh, believe me, I know. One crazy vamp and her insane friends are enough for me for one lifetime. Iwillkeep my mouth shut.”
“I’m sorry,” Preston said. “I know Jasmine started losing it after she changed me, but Ineversaw that coming.”
“It’s not your fault. I thought she was awesome until the night she took me.”
“What happened?” Dante asked.
Julie stared at the wall behind him as she replied. “I was walking to the T from Preston’s place when I heard someone calling my name. I turned to find Jasmine coming toward me. She told me she missed me and had a shirt she wanted to give me. She used to do things like that when she was dating Preston, so I didn’t think anything of it. I still had some time before I was going to be late, so I agreed to go to her place to get it. Except we went to Margie’s instead and…”
