Page 171 of Vampire so Virtuous
“No,” he said. “It’s an injectable local anesthetic. I expect Antoine would just cut you open and apologize in French—very convincingly, too—but I thought you might prefer not to feel it.”
Cally couldn’t argue. “All right, Doctor. Where do you want me?”
“Best option would be to lie down on the sofa, I think.”
She looked skeptical. “It’s cream leather.”
“Good point, and how thoughtful. Let me grab a towel. Can you take your hoodie off by yourself?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt that much.”
It hurt more than she expected, and Gabe was back by the time she’d worked it off her shoulder, a pile of large, fluffy dark green towels in hishands. He draped one across the sofa with a flick of his wrist, then pulled a syringe and a small bottle from the white bag.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” she said as she lay down. Zoey had cut through her T-shirt too, and it hung loose around her shoulder.
“Once or twice,” he said lightly, then frowned at her T-shirt. “I forgot scissors,” he said. There was a flash of movement and a light breeze, and he was back a heartbeat later, holding a sturdy pair of kitchen shears.
“You shouldn’t run with scissors.” She couldn’t help herself.
“I walked, but very quickly.”
“I do envy that ability,” she said, as he knelt on the rug beside her and began snipping her T-shirt away from her shoulder.
“In truth, the ability I appreciate most is my sense of smell,” he said, focused on his task. His hands were warm and gentle. “It’s almost like tasting things—both a boon and a curse, of course—but to perceive the world through the medium of scent? It never gets old.”
He was more open and talkative than Antoine, which made her want to ask a hundred questions. But she waited as he carefully filled the syringe, leaning over her once more.
“Little prick,” he said teasingly.
“Where did you learn to doctor?”
“Thralls, mostly,” he said. “Occasionally, my patient has been me. I’ve always enjoyed it. Another time, another life, maybe I’d have been a physician.”
“What do you do with your time?”
“I used to run a business or three. These days, they run themselves. I dabble in the stock markets mostly.”
Cally couldn’t help it. “Is this where you tell me about your portfolio?”
He laughed. “I could, but with the sun so bright, I fear I’d put myself to sleep before you.” He nodded toward her shoulder. “That will take a few minutes to work. I’ll fetch a basin.”
“We should’ve done this in the bathroom.”
“Not so comfortable, though.” He walked off, his voice trailing behind him.
Cally stared at the white ceiling while she waited, Chopin playing softly in the background. Gabe was right; the sofa was comfortable. Her shoulder was already feeling numb, but the rest of her wasn’t. She was still buzzing with the adrenaline of the day.
Watching the doctor die before her—and he’d be alive if she hadn’t gone to see him.
Noah and Zoey, limp and broken in the car.
Boots on the asphalt, walking across shattered glass toward her.
The gray SUV, its front end crumpled, spinning away after she’d shot the driver.
Her chest tightened. Her breath caught as the weight of events pressed in. Lying on another vampire’s sofa, her clothing cut open, a bullet in her shoulder.
But it was the truth about her mother’s death that truly broke her. She’d guessed in the end—but to have it confirmed? To know, now, exactly how she’d died…
