Page 130 of The Donor’s Dilemma

“No,” the policeman said. “You can’t just...”

“I can’t just what?” Abe said. “She’s mine, and I’ve come to collect her. I don’t see what the issue is. Should I call Vivienne? I’m sure she’d be happy to explain.”

The man stiffened. He watched as Abe took the briefcase from Verity’s hand and opened the passenger door for her. Whether it was the mention of Vivienne’s name, his strange vampiric fashion sense, or the uncanny wrongness that had crept under Verity’s skin the first time they met, no one argued. He simply watched, face like thunder, as Abe closed the door, tossed the briefcase onto the back seat, and got in beside her.

“Making friends?” Abe asked, reversing out of the lane.

The police officers watched them go. Red-face said something to the others, and they turned, walking into City Hall. She wondered if they already knew she had stolen the planted documents that they had no doubt been sent to find.

“How in the hells did you know I needed help?” she asked as Abe pulled onto the main road and, to her relief, steered towards Horsham House.

“You really are something, you know,” he said. “First, you sneak into SubRosa. Then you sneak into my heart. Now you sneak into City Hall. You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“How did you know?”

“Sienna,” he said simply.

She turned to him. “She called you?”

A sly smile crossed his face. “No. Harris called her, said you were in his office, asked if she had your number. She tried calling you, I’m afraid somebody else answered the phone.” Her stomach dropped. “I don’t think Theo’s very happy with you,” Abe added.

No, Theo would not be happy with her. She already knew she’d have to explain herself, and she expected fury. What she hadn’t expected was for Sienna to be with Abe, and the way Abe said it, easy and unbothered, told her exactly what that meant. Guilt flared in her chest. It was her fault. Sienna had sacrificed herself for Verity, and now not only was she feeding him, but warming his bed too.

“Stop looking like that,” Abe said.

The houses thinned as Horsham House came into view at the end of the road.

“Just because you didn’t want me doesn’t mean I’m entirely undesirable,” he said.

It wasn’t a question of him being desirable. It was a question of what Sienna actually wanted, or whether she now felt obligated to play a role she hadn’t chosen.

“Is she okay?” Verity asked.

“Of course she’s okay.” A flicker of irritation crossed his face. “Everyone’s got a reputation. Sometimes people surprise you. Do you believe everything you’re told?”

He had a point, and Verity wouldn’t pass up a chance to question one of the few people who knew what all this was about. “Like we’re told that there’s a flu outbreak in Cliffhaven?” she asked.

Abe hummed, neither confirming nor denying.

“What do you know?” she pressed.

He shrugged.

“Come on. You were there, weren’t you? That’s where you found those girls, Mabel and Chloe?”

He nodded.

Verity snorted. “I didn’t think you looked very interested in them.”

Abe’s face twisted with something like disgust. “A little young for me. Far too young to be fending for themselves somewhere like Cliffhaven.”

They pulled up outside the house. Verity looked at the stairs leading to the foyer, already dreading the conversation waiting for her inside.

“He’ll be fine,” Abe said, as if reading her mind. “What’s in the briefcase?”

She leaned over and pulled it from the back seat. “Evidence,” she said, not caring anymore what Abe knew. He’d clearly chosen a side in this, and it was hers. “Petra’s coming,” she told him.

Abe let out a low whistle. “Didn’t think I’d have the pleasure.”