Page 41 of The Union
A gasp raked from my lungs as I tossed the question around in my head. If that was her goal, it was suicide. Clear fucking self-destruction, all because she wanted revenge. Rianne Aberdeen was not stupid. She acted without thinking many times, but those were incidents that had never involved altering her DNA or physically hurting herself. “Please tell me you’re not thinking of that, Rianne. That’s suicide.”
She snorted. “Living with a vampire is too. The only way I can end Sam once and for all is to be like him.” Desperation and animosity drenched her words. “It’s a brilliant plan.”
My throat closed. Madness—sheer and utter madness. My sister had a screw loose. She was the one who had to have been compelled recently. I swished saliva around to unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Who compelled you?” It was the only reason I could grasp onto that could explain her idiotic decision. “Don’t answer that. I’m done. Completely over this shit with you.”
Tucking her gun into the back of her black jeans, Rianne grinned as though she’d won. “Don’t you want to turn, Layla? That way, you can live for eternity with your vampire lover. Don’t tell me you haven't thought about that.”
A scoff broke free. I was sad I wouldn’t have forever with Sam and our child, but I wouldn’t become a lab experiment. “Live your life the way you want and leave me alone. Also, if I were you, I would join the military like you intended. Experimenting on humans will only end in anarchy.” I spun around, brushed by Sam, and marched toward my grandmother. She had her arms crossed over her jacket and was wearing a proud smile. “You would allow this asswipe”—I stuck my finger at Emery’s hooked-nose face—“to experiment on your granddaughter? Did you persuade Noah too?” My uncle Jack would never allow his son to do something this imbecilic. My father wouldn’t either, if he were alive.
My grandmother gave me a nonchalant look. “They’re adults who can make their own choices.”
I dug my nails into my palms, causing myself pain to prevent me from slapping the Aberdeen matriarch across the face. I was better than her. Than Rianne. I stormed over to the SUV, seething as my heart broke in two. Before I got in, I flipped off my grandmother and Emery.
Everyone seemed to be statues, not moving a muscle or saying anything. It looked as though the vamps and Dane were preparing to attack the humans.
Rianne bumped Sam’s shoulder as she strutted past him, muttering swear words.
Sam held steady, a severe and dark expression crossing his chiseled face.
With his gun targeted at our enemies, Webb stalked to the driver’s door.
Steven stood in front of the car. “Harriet, I’m glad we had this talk.” His superior attitude shone through his words.
Sam finally snapped into gear and came over to my side. “Emery, if I were you, I would watch your six. Because the next time you fuck with me, you’ll find yourself hanging from a fifty-story building by your toes.”
Emery gave Sam an inferior nod. “Highly unlikely.”
“Gentlemen, can we get the fuck out of here?” I asked.
The only one not whipping his ego around was Webb. If I were on the opposing side, I would be more frightened of the quiet one.
Once the men were inside the car and the engine rumbled to life, I released a weak sigh. We weren’t out of the woods yet and wouldn’t be until Intech was in our rearview mirror. The fight of my life was only beginning.
“What about Dane?” I asked. “We can’t leave him.”
Webb gunned the gas, forcing our enemies to shuffle out of the way.
I rolled down the window. “Dane, come with us.”
The white wolf ignored me, keeping his red eyes and sharp attention on Rianne, my grandmother, and Emery.
Sam grasped my hand. “He’ll find his way home.”
I twisted my upper torso to glance out the back window. “What if they drug him again?” No sooner than I asked the question, Dane darted up the driveway and took off in the opposite direction.
Webb sped like a demon heading to hell.
My head hurt with everything that had just happened.
Sam’s husky timbre broke the soupy silence that had followed us for ten minutes. “Well, that was eye-opening.”
“Mind-blowing is more like it,” I added.
Steven’s phone dinged. He read something on the screen, lowered the cell to his lap, and said, “Jo and Tripp couldn’t find Noah.”
“Where’s my uncle Jack?” I asked.
“Not sure,” Webb offered. “We left him at the hotel. Since you took his car, I would guess he rented another one and went to find Noah too.”
