As the hours passed, Elena kept waiting for red blood to fill those lines, but it never did. When the machine shut down, no one spoke, but there was nothing to say. They were all aware there was no difference.
Dr. Espinosa looked sad and defeated as he removed the needle from Manuel’s arm.
“We’ll try again,” his wife said.
Elena winced at the hope in the woman’s voice.
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Espinosa said quietly. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
She clasped her husband’s hand and bowed her head as the other hunters dejectedly shuffled from the room. They could run Manuel’s blood through that machine a hundred times, and it wouldn’t change anything.
Unable to stand inside the stifling building anymore, she squeezed Logan’s hand and waved at the door. He and Asher left the building with her and descended the stairs to stand out in the dazzling sun.
Elena closed her eyes and tipped her head back. After being inside that building, she needed the sun and the life it breathed into the world. But whereas the sun always warmed her soul before, it did nothing to ease the ice from her bones.
“There’s nothing we can do to save him,” she said.
“There has to be something we can do,” Logan insisted. “We have to stop this somehow. He won’t be the last victim if we don’t find a cure, which means these creatures could spread out from every demon location.”
“Is that what they want to happen?”
“I don’t know,” Logan said. “But if they’ve come up with something like this, then they intend to do somethingreallybad with it.”
* * *
Elena rolledover to stare at Logan while he slept. He had one arm above his head and the other resting on her knee as he lay on his back. He didn’t snore, but his mouth was parted, and a calming sensation washed over her as she listened to his soft exhalations.
He was here, beside her, and there were far too many others in this compound and the world who didn’t have those they loved lying beside them. And then, she realized with a start that she’d considered him someone she loved.
How had that happened?Whendid it happen?
She certainly hadn’t seen it coming, but it snuck up on her like a cheetah on a gazelle and pounced as viciously. As her chest constricted, she realized that she felt trapped beneath the weight of a predator like a gazelle.
Yet, a small swelling of joy rose to fight its way through the terror encompassing her. He lived a violent life that would most likely lead to a violent end, but he was here with her now, warm, solid, and breathing.
She rested her hand on his chest and smiled at the reassuring thump of his heartbeat against her hand. It was slow in his sleep but beautiful and steady, just like him in so many ways.
If anyone had ever told her that she would one day love a vampire, she probably would have kicked their asses, but now, she couldn’t see herself with anyone else. He was a good man who made her feel cherished and special, and he was the best thing that ever happened to her.
Logan opened his eyes to discover Elena staring at where her hand lay against his chest. She looked confused but also a little scared. When he placed his hand against her cheek, her lashes fluttered up to him.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said and smiled at him.
His heart melted a little at her smile. It was one of the biggest ones he’d ever seen from her, and it was beautiful as it lit her whole face and caused her eyes to sparkle. He ran his thumb over her full bottom lip before pulling it down a little.
“You’re amazing,” he told her.
Her lashes swept down to cover her striking eyes before rising again. This time, when she smiled at him, it was dazzling and wondrous as it stole his breath away.
“I want to see you do that all the time,” he said.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Do what?”
“Smile. You rarely do and never that big. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
How could she not fall in love with him when he said things like that to her? She’d never felt special to anyone before, but she did to him. And he made her smile even when it was the last thing she felt like doing. Everything around them was falling apart, but with him, she felt safe, cherished, and happy.
