AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Claire sat down on the bed beside Eve. Are you okay?
No, Eve said. I want to go look out the window. But I shouldnt, right? I shouldnt see what theyre doing.
No, Claire agreed, and swallowed hard. Probably not a good idea. She rubbed Eves back gently and thought about what to doand that wasnt much. It wasnt like allies were exactly falling off the trees around here. Besides Shane, they had nobody else. Their second-best choice was a vampire.
How scary was that?
Still, she could call Amelie. But that was a little like arming a nuclear weapon to take care of an ant problem. Amelie was so badass, the other badass vampires backed down without a fight. Shed said, I will make it known that you are not to be troubled. However, you must not further disturb the peace. If you do, and it is your fault, I will be forced to reconsider my decision. And that would be
Unfortunate, Claire finished aloud, in a whisper. Yeah. Pretty unfortunate. And there was no way that this didnt constitute disturbing the peaceor wouldnt, as soon as Shanes dad got rolling. Hed come to kill vampires, and he wasnt going to be stopped by any little considerations like, oh, his sons life and safety.
No, not a good idea to call Amelie.
Who else? Oliver? Oliver wasnt exactly at the top of Claires Best Friends Forever list, although in the beginning shed thought he was pretty cool, for an old guy. But hed been playing her, and he was the second-most badass vamp in town. Whod use them, and this situation, against Amelie if he could.
So no. Not Oliver, either. The police were bought and paid for by the vampires. Her teachers at schoolno. None of them had impressed her as being willing to stand up to pressure.
Mom and Dad? She shuddered to think what would happen if she put in a frantic yell to themFor one thing, theyd already had their memories altered by Morganvilles strange psychic field, or so she assumed, since theyd forgotten all about ordering her home for living off campus. With boys. Mom and Dad werent exactly the kind of backup she needed, not up against Shanes dad and his bikers.
Her cousin Rexnow, there was an idea. No, Rex had been sent to jail three months ago. She remembered Mom saying so.
Face facts, Danvers. Theres nobody. Nobody coming riding to the rescue.
It was her, Eve, and Shane against the world.
So the odds were about three billion to one.
Chapter Three
It was a long, long day. Claire eventually stretched out on one side of the bed, Eve on the other, each wrapped in her own separate cocoon of misery and heartache. They didnt talk much. There didnt seem to be a lot to talk about.
It was almost dark when the doorknob rattled, sending Claire into a heart-pounding terror seizure; she advanced slowly, and whispered, Who is it?
Shane.
She unlocked fast and opened up. Shane came in, head down, carrying a tray on which sat two bowls of chiliwhich made sense, because it was nearly the only thing Shane knew how to fix. He set it down on the edge of the bed, next to Eve, who was sitting like an unstuffed rag doll, limp with grief and dejection.
Eat something, he said. Eve shook her head. Shane picked up a bowl and shoved it in her direction; she took it just to avoid wearing it, and glared at him.
Claire saw her expression change into something else. Blank at first, then horrified.
Its nothing, Shane said as Claire came around to see. It wasnt nothing. It was bruises, dark ones, spilling over his cheek and jaw. Shane avoided looking at her. My fault.
Jesus, Eve whispered. Your dad
My fault, Shane snapped back, got up, and headed for the door. Look, you dont understand. Hes right, okay? I was wrong.
No, I dont understand, Claire said, and grabbed his arm. He pulled free without any effort at all and kept walking. Shane!
He paused in the doorway and looked back at her. He looked bruised, beaten, and sullen, but it was the desperation in his eyes that scared her. Shane was always strong, wasnt he? He had to be. She needed him to be.
Dads right, he said. This town is sick, its poisoned, and its poisoning us, too. We cant let it beat us. We have to take them out.
The vampires? Shane, thats stupid! You cant! You know whatll happen! Eve said. She put the bowl of chili back on the tray and got off the bed, looking tear streaked and forlorn but more like herself. Your dads crazy. Im sorry, but he is. And you cant let him drag you down with him. Hes going to get you killed, and Claire and me, too. He already She caught her breath and gulped. He already got Michael. We cant let him do this. Who knows how many people are going to get hurt?
Like Lyssa got hurt? Shane asked. Like my mom? They killed my mom, Eve! They were willing to burn us up in this house yesterday, dont forget, and that included Michael.
But
This town is bad, Shane said, and looked at Claire, almost pleading. You understand, right? You understand that theres a whole world out there, a whole world that isnt like this?
Yes, she said faintly. I understand that. But
Were doing this. And then were getting out of this place.
With your father? Eve managed to put a whole dictionary of contempt into that. I dont think so. I look good in black, but not so great in black and blue.
Shane flinched. I didnt saylook, just the three of us. We get out of town while my dad and the others
We run? Eve shook her head. Brilliant. And when the vamps have a big party and roast your dad and his buddies, what then? Because theyre definitely going to come looking for us. Nobody escapes who had any part in killing a vampire, you know that. Unless you really believe that your dad and his idiot muscle are going to be able to take down hundreds of vamps, all their human allies, the cops, and, for all I know, the U. S. Marines.
Eat your damn chili, Shane said.
Not without something to drink. I know your chili.
Fine! Ill get you Cokes! He slammed the door behind him. Lock it!
Claire did. This time, Shane didnt linger in the hall; she heard the hard thump of his boots as he went downstairs.
Did you have to do that? she asked Eve. She leaned against the door and folded her arms.
Do what, exactly?
Hes confused. He lost Michael, his dads got him
Say it, Claire: his dads got him brainwashed. Worse. I think his dads beaten the fight out of him. Hes certainly beaten the brains out of him. Eve wiped at her face impatiently; there were more tears streaming down her cheeks, but it was more like water escaping under pressure than real sobs. His dad wasnt always like this. He used to bewell, not nice, because he was kind of a drunk, but better. Way better than this. After Lyssa he just wentcrazy. I didnt know about Shanes mom. I thought she just, you knowkilled herself. Shane never really said.
Claire hadnt heard any footsteps on the stairs, but she heard and felt a soft knock through the door, and then a rattle of the doorknob. She unlocked and swung it open, holding out her hands for the Cokes she expected Shane to thrust at her and there was a grinning, smelly mountain of a man in the doorway. The one whod stabbed Michael.
