Page 76 of The Dawning
I did a double take. “This is a surprise, and at the same time, it isn’t, I guess.” They were probably here to collect Junior’s body. Steven had it transported from New Jersey where the car accident had happened.
“Do you want to see them?” Sam asked.
When I motioned that I wanted to stand, he gave me his hand. “Of course. Though, what do I say if she asks about Noah?” I knew she would, particularly if Junior told them Harriet had kidnapped me.
“You don’t need the stress, baby doll.”
“I’ll be fine.” I did want to see my aunt. We hadn’t had a tight relationship, but after my sisters and I returned to Montana from Massachusetts back in February, Aunt Tab took care of me when I was sick and was instrumental in taming her husband when Sam had shown up at the ranch. “She likes you. Aren’t you two besties? Your words, not mine.” Aunt Tab had called Sam after I’d licked blood off the knife that day in her kitchen.
“I do like her,” Sam admitted. “But at the first sign of a rapid pulse from you, we’re walking away.”
“Fair enough, vampire.”
After I waddled down a long-ass hallway and then another before we went into the elevator, I was ready for freaking bed. As I grew bigger, I also got more winded. First thing I would do when I wasn’t eating for five was work out. Pregnancy was quickly becoming miserable. I couldn’t find a comfortable position in bed, in a chair, or when walking. Hell, walking was a feat in itself.
The car dropped one floor, then Sam hit the stop button, and the car rocked to a halt.
My eyebrows went up as déjà vu spun before me. “Um… do you want me to kick you in the balls like I did the first time we were in this elevator together?”
He pinned me against the cold steel wall that actually felt good on my heated skin. My temperature ran hot all the time.
He sniffed my neck and hair. “One of my fantasies is to fuck you in an elevator.” Lust saturated his gravelly voice.
I gripped his erection, arousal humming through my veins. “It’s a date, vampire. But we have Aberdeen guests waiting.”
As if I’d doused a bucket of ice water over his head, he had the elevator moving again, snapping to attention as if he was about to go into battle. A vampire needed a suit of armor to deal with someone like Jack Aberdeen. Sam and Jack’s last interaction hadn’t gone well. I was pretty darn sure Jack was on our side, yet from Sam’s stiff posture, he didn’t think so.
Cold air washed over me as I exited the elevator. The lobby had a sterile and hollow feel to it. Maybe because of the high ceilings.
Ruth, a petite blonde, looked up from her seat behind the circular desk. “Mr. and Mrs. Aberdeen are in the visitor’s room.” She pointed at the open door. “Your father will be down momentarily as well.”
Sam rolled back his shoulders, set his jaw, and nodded at the pretty receptionist. “Thanks, Ruth.” His tone was gruff, adding another layer to his soldier’s armor.
Sam and I entered to find Jack pacing the carpeted floor behind his wife, who was seated at the square table.
Jack’s hard glare at Sam could’ve started a fire. My uncle appeared to have aged since I’d last seen him at the hotel outside of Chicago. I hadn’t spoken to him since before I’d stolen his rental car.
Regardless, Aunt Tab didn’t look any better. Her salt-and-pepper hair was grayer, and she had bags under her dark eyes. “So good to see you.” She hugged me briefly, then gave me the once-over. “You’re glowing. Pregnancy suits you. And congratulations.” She sounded happy, but her swollen red eyes said otherwise. “Are you having twins?”
“Quadruplets,” I said proudly, standing beside my soon-to-be husband.
Jack mumbled something I couldn’t make out.
When Aunt Tab hugged Sam, the air crackled around my uncle, the disgust and fury evident in his bluish-gray eyes.
Aunt Tab didn’t seem to care what her husband thought or how he reacted as she touched Sam’s scruffy jaw. “You are a wonderful person and will be a great father.”
“Tab.” Jack’s nostrils were flaring to beat the band.
She whirled around. “My son is dead because of your mother not by a vampire. So, Jack Aberdeen, don’t start with me.”
Jack was never one to cower. At least, I’d never seen him blanch. “Speaking of my son, we’re here to pick up his body and my brother Ray’s.”
“My father should be here shortly,” Sam said, his shoulders tense, his jaw tight.
“I’m so sorry about Junior,” I said to Aunt Tab. “He was a good man. He loved Carly to death.”
She tightened her lips. “She was underserving of my son.” She plucked a tissue from her handbag on the table. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
