Page 40 of Discovery of the Vampire
"And if you don't?" Talin questioned.
I swallowed hard. "He'll hurt Brogan. And Lizzy. And possibly the others. I can't let that happen."
Judy studied me for a long moment. "Do you know how to get rid of him?"
Meeting her eyes, I played my last card. "No. Or I would've done it a long time ago. However, I'm hoping this book he wants me to find will tell me how."
Apparently finished with her questions, Judy told Lizzy, "Take her out into the store, please. But don't let her leave."
I wanted to tell her I was finished running. Plead with her to help me. Get on my knees if I had to. But my pride wouldn’t allow me to, and I allowed Lizzy to take me out of the room.
Once we were out of earshot, I turned to her and grabbed her hands. “Lizzy, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about Marcus. I was trying to keep you out of it.”
“And yet, you’re perfectly alright showing up at my shop for work,” she countered. “That doesn’t make me feel like you’re very worried about my safety.”
She was angry, and I didn’t blame her. “I…” My excuses stuck to my tongue. She was right. “I did. I wanted to believe he wouldn’t bother me here. And that was irresponsible of me.”
Wrapping her arms around herself, she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Lizzy, I really am sorry. I’m afraid to be at my apartment by myself. So I came here so I wouldn’t have to be alone. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to stop him, to keep everyone safe, and I’ve been completely ignoring the fact that my being here…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “Dios, I’m so sorry,” I repeated.
After a long moment, she sighed heavily and lifted her eyes to mine. Then she pulled me in for a hug. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “The shop is probably one of the safest places for you to be. But you can’t hide things like this from me.”
I hugged her tightly. “I swear I won’t keep anything from you anymore.”
She pulled away but kept her hands on my shoulders. “I want you to move into the house. With me and Killian.”
Immediately, I shook my head. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Esme, you can’t stay in your apartment all alone. What if he comes back?”
The worry in her eyes touched my heart. “I put extra wards around the apartment. He won’t be able to get inside again.” I didn’t know if that was true or not, but if I moved into the house, Brogan would never give me the space needed to find the book.
Wiggles woke from his nap and got up from his bed, waddling over and giving my leg a serious sniff before plopping onto my foot, panting from the effort. Bending down, I rubbed his silky little ears and tried not to think about what I would do if Judy insisted I leave. Because if she did, she was calling for not only my death, but for the deaths of Brogan, Lizzy, and anyone else the djinn decided to tear down in his wrath. Surely, she would see that and agree to at least allow me to stay, even if they decide not to help.
Lizzy and I were quiet after that as we waited, and when the door to the secret room finally opened, I straightened with a start. The one with the bright red hair—Angel—waved us back in.
Dislodging Wiggles from my foot, I promised him I'd be right back and rejoined the others.
Once again, all eyes were on me as Judy spoke. "You can stay in the city on one condition—that you stay far away from The Garden District, and you keep us out of it."
The smile that had started to spread across my face fell just as quickly as it had come on. "Excuse me?"
"Your fight with the djinn isn't ours."
Confusion made me stutter as I glanced at Lizzy's shocked face before turning back to Judy. "But…but…he’s a threat to us all. I…I…don't understand."
I glanced at the others to see if they agreed with this decision. Angel and Alex were stone-faced, and Alice was staring at the floor. It was quite obvious she wasn't happy. Talin glared at Judy. So perhaps it wasn't a unanimous decision, not that it mattered. They would do as she told them to.
"I'm sorry," the high priestess told me, yet I didn't feel that she truly meant the apology. "But we're still trying to regroup from his last visit. We can't help you find this book. We need to get our strength back." She glanced at Angel, who clenched her jaw and looked away.
I looked back and forth between the twins, reaching out with my magic until Alex snapped his head around and stared straight at me. I wasn’t wrong earlier. They had the same power as the djinn. Alex’s was more apparent, but not stronger than Alice’s. Were they related to him somehow? Were they all under his control?
"I'd like to help her," Lizzy said beside me. Then she turned to me. "I will help you. And the vampires will help you. I'll convince Killian."
But as Judy's words began to sink in, and my own suspicions rose, I shook my head. "No, Lizzy. Your high priestess is right. This is something I need to do on my own. If I drag any of you into it with me, it will only endanger you further. And I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. To any of you. Including your mate and his family."
And especially Brogan.
