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“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Nero didn’t know Lilliane, but even he had the feeling she wasn’t telling the whole truth. She was hiding something. Something Val didn’t seem to catch on to. She was probably too relieved to have her sister back. He was in no position to speak out. Not when the two sisters were busy arguing.
All he could do was keep holding onto Val. She still hadn’t stopped shaking, and her fingers had a claw grip on his shirt. If he tried to let go, he had a feeling she was going to snap at him.
“I don’t evenknowyou anymore,” Valentine whispered.
“Yeah. I don’t think I know myself anymore, either.” Lilliane went for the door and slammed it behind her.
“I need to go after her,” Val said. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out.
“Hey, I’ve got you,” Nero said, catching her. “I don’t think you should be going anywhere.”
“But I’ve got to go after her! Who knows what she’ll do? She might try to find this son. Marry him. Become a vampire.”
This time, when Valentine started to cry, it had nothing to do with the dusty vampire on the cabin floor and everything to do with the severed connection with her sister. He rocked her gently as he continued to say all kinds of comforting things to her.
“I don’t want to lose her,” Valentine said. “Even if I don’t recognize her.”
“I’m on it,” he promised. He grabbed his phone from his back pocket and dialed one of his best friends.
Atlas answered the call on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“One of the Longborn sisters has gone off on her own in the woods between Greenlee and Blackwood.”
“And?”
“I’m busy with something important …”
“Your mate,” Atlas guessed.
“Reece is busy too …”
“Withhismate,” Atlas sighed. “So that means I am the only one who is mateless and can chase after a Half-Blood in the woods. You know you have enforcers, right? Even sheriff deputies who could do this shit?”
“Yes, but this particular Half-Bloodmightbe in trouble with the vampire council, so I thought you could keep an eye on her.”
Atlas hissed out a breath. “Are you fucking kidding me? I told you this was going to happen.”
“Yup. You sure did. And now here we are. Will you do it?”
“You owe me so big,” Atlas said before hanging up.
“See?” Nero said to Val. “A good friend of mine will go looking for her, and he’ll make sure she doesn’t leave town.”
“He didn’t sound too happy about it.”
Nero shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Atlas isn’t ever really happy with anything or anyone.”
“Nero?” she asked.
“Yeah, love?”
She winced at the term of endearment and ignored it. “What do I do with the dusty vamp?”
“Easy. I’ll sweep him away, and it’ll be like it never happened.”
“But it did,” she said with a fresh wave of tears.
