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This was better than unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning, eating hot dogs and potato salad on the Fourth of July, or turning on the radio and hearing my favorite song. It was even better than a long hot shower in a private bathroom at home.
“Mrs. Stark?” I looked beyond the chain-link fence a few yards away.
Charlie stood there waiting next to a black sedan.
“Ohmygod. You’re alive.” I almost tripped.
“Spent a few days in the hospital with a broken back, but I’m better than new. Yourfriendsaw to it.”
I walked over with a zip in my step. I wanted to leave before someone changed their mind and threw me back in a cell.
The gate slid open, and I sailed on past the guard post. “Stark healed you?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes.”
“What did it cost you?” Because clearly Charlie was still working for Stark. He should’ve been free months ago.
“Get in. We have a long drive.”
I hugged him and then dove into the front passenger seat.
During the two-hour drive, Charlie filled me in on everything that had been happening since yesterday’s bombshell.
Side note: Apparently, he’d been keeping tabs on me through my uncle. Now that he was almost a free agent again, he planned to open a business—one of a kind—to help human slaves, servants, or anyone under vampire control against their will. Vampire laws were strict, and with the right knowledge, it was possible to free them. Charlie and I talked about how to void my marriage to Lazlo after this whole election business was sorted out.
As for the Great Outing, apparently some humans weren’t taking the news very well. People were already rallying, vowing to hunt and kill all vampires. Others were hunting vampires for totally different reasons. Some people wanted to become them and enjoy the gift of immortality. Others wanted to get a hold of their blood for medicinal purposes.
“Do you think things’ll ever go back to normal?” I asked Charlie.
“That’ll depend on you.”
“Me?”
“You’re on the ballot to be the first democratically elected vampire ruler.”
I laughed. “I’m not even a vampire.”
“But you are the reincarnation of Anna. I think it carries more weight.”
I was about to correct Charlie but bit my tongue. Like before, I didn’t know the lay of the land. Except that maybe I’d left one prison, only to walk into another.
I’m not ruling them. I refuse.All I wanted was my life back and to return home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Mamma, Maybell, Joe, Ashley, and Uncle Jimmie were all waiting outside the Flaming Rooster when Charlie and I pulled up. A few of the regulars were waiting, too, which was nice. A banner that readWelcome Home, Masiewas displayed on the front porch over the rocking chairs.
I sat still for a moment, drinking in the heavenly sight of home—something I never thought I’d see again with my own two eyes. The old rocking chairs, the funky metal roof, the weathered barn wood, and the bed of flowers around the edges of the porch were better than heaven.
“Well? You just gonna sit here all day?” Charlie urged, gripping the wheel.
“I think I’m in shock. It looks so much prettier than I remember.” I couldn’t help but cry.
I drew a breath and opened the car door. My family rushed over and hugged me.
The first person I noticed was Mamma. “You’re all tan now.” Like her skin had been kissed by the Florida sun and then baked right in. She’d even added highlights to her dark hair.
But even I could tell my prison sentence had taken a toll. Something about the frown lines on her face. Deeper maybe. Longer? They’d never been that prominent.
