Page 36 of The Union
Webb jumped behind the wheel, and my dad climbed into the passenger seat.
“It happened again,” Layla said. “More than ever, I’m sure I killed Ray.”
Webb and my father exchanged a worried look. As for me, while I was dumbstruck, I threw mental high fives in the air. Ray Aberdeen had been a schmuck of epic proportions.
My dad peered around the seat with an unsettling look in his green eyes. “Explain.”
Layla shivered. “When I saw the guards about to shoot Sam, I screamed. Then I turned around, and Junior and the others had collapsed with blood coming out of their ears, just like Ray. I’m responsible for my uncle’s death. I can feel something changing inside me, and I’m not talking about the baby. It’s a weird feeling I can’t articulate.” She gulped in a large amount of air as her color turned pasty.
13
SAM
Adense silence filled the inside of the car for a beat as I processed Layla’s statement. “Are you saying your scream kills people?” I’d never heard of a human doing such a thing. “You did sound like a banshee in there.” I’d also remembered her doing the same on the tarmac when the helicopter flew in.
She had some abilities from drinking my blood, but those were weak at best. As far as I knew, I didn’t have any shrieks that caused a person to die. However, that would be pretty fucking cool.
“We don’t know that Ray’s death was a direct result of your scream,” Dad said. “It seemed to me his heart gave out.”
Layla righted her head. “Maybe so. But my scream affects people. Don’t they say something like more than three occurrences is a pattern?”
“Does it work on vamps?” I asked, curious now that my little huntress had a unique ability to protect herself. Then I realized what I’d asked. I hadn’t passed out from her scream.
Webb threw the SUV in gear.
“Do you want to see if it does?” she teased.
“No!” Webb and Dad said at the same time.
She snickered.
“We aren’t affected,” Dad was quick to add. “But your eardrums might be damaged for a bit.”
She closed her eyes briefly and blew out a breath, turning whiter.
Maybe she needed blood. I bit into my wrist. “Drink.”
Without hesitation, she sucked, but then quickly drew back, scrunching her nose. “That tastes nasty.”
Oh, fuck!“Spit it out. Now!” I was an idiot. Carly had pumped so much shit into me that it would likely have a severe effect on her.
Dad tossed a water bottle to Layla, and she downed half of it.
I slapped a hand on my chest. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” My heart cartwheeled like a gymnast in a floor routine.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I didn’t take that much.”
Thank fuck!I couldn’t live with myself if I was responsible for hurting Layla or our kid. I snaked my hand over to hers, then interlocked our fingers. A bolt of electricity crackled along my arm, rivaling the supernatural charge Jo and I experienced when we joined hands. Odd. Layla shouldn’t have that much elemental energy. Unless the baby was giving her powers. Doc believed we were having a baby who would be born with fangs—a true vampire who wouldn’t have to wait until his teenage years to turn. Or maybe we were having a human child who would possess magical powers like Abbey.
Webb pressed on the gas, and the car moved an inch before he slammed on the brakes.
Layla and I leaned into each other and peered through the windshield.
The short, plump woman who had been in the room over the lab strolled alongside Adam Emery.
I let go of my beautiful goddess and grabbed the door handle, ready to end them once and for all.
“Don’t, son. I’ll take care of this,” Dad said.
