by I. T. Lucas
“Did we learn anything new about the coercion techniques?”
“Not really. It started with a so-called boyfriend getting them hooked on drugs and then demanding they worked for it. Simple. But this was just a test run. Turner’s people are still gathering intelligence on the more sophisticated operations.”
Annani put her glass of sparkling water down on the tray. “Will Turner’s people continue working for us if he dies?”
Good question. “He gave me a list of contacts, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to work with them. Up until now, Turner has dealt with all of that. It’s a rare pleasure to have a capable person I can trust taking care of things. With Turner, I don’t need to double check or second-guess anything. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”
51
Bridget
As Bridget roamed the clinic, checking the output on the monitors, opening cabinets to make a list of new supplies needed, and anything else she could do to occupy her time, it felt as if she’d never left.
Only this time, she wasn’t here just in her capacity as a doctor, she was also the worried partner, waiting anxiously for any change in her mate’s state.
It wasn’t a good feeling.
Remembering how she’d envied the waiting immortals, she was assailed by guilt. The anxiety was intolerable. But then, their transitioning mates hadn’t had Turner’s disadvantages.
Roni had been sick, but he was very young, and his disease had been simple viral pneumonia, something his immune system had no problem curing. It had just taken time, and the kid had been impatient.
Andrew hadn’t been young when he’d attempted transition, but he’d been perfectly healthy.
The others had all been in the safe zone of young and healthy. Nathalie had been a little on the older side, but apparently her robust health had been enough to see her safely through it. Either that or superb genes.
“What are you doing?” Julian asked as she pulled out yet another drawer of rolled up bandages.
“I’m making a list of supplies. We are running low on a few things.”
He put his hand on her forearm. “No, we are not. Hildegard double checks every Monday and orders whatever is missing.”
“So why are we low? You didn’t have any patients to use things on.”
With a sheepish expression on his handsome face, Julian scratched his head. “I started volunteering once a week in a free clinic. They are low on everything, so I took some supplies from here.” He lifted a hand to stop her admonishment. “I asked Kian’s permission first, and he approved it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged. “I’d just started, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle it.”
“And?”
“It’s okay. Better than the hospital that’s for sure. I mostly deal with simple everyday stuff like fevers and coughs and scraped knees and twisted ankles. There is no drama. The serious cases are taken to an emergency room.”
Bridget smiled. “I remember when you couldn’t stand the sight of blood.”
“I’m over that.”
“I figured.”
Julian rubbed his fingers over his jaw. “From what you’ve told me about the other transitioning Dormants, I expected people to hold a vigil for Turner. But there is no one out in the corridor.”
“I didn’t tell anyone he is transitioning. No one other than you and me knows. Carol might suspect, but she didn’t ask, and I didn’t volunteer the information. The other Dormants didn’t go into transition right away.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“It just didn’t feel right.” Bridget sighed. “Well, that’s not the entire truth, and you deserve better from me. We both know that Victor’s chances of making it through this aren’t good. But he is a fighter, as you said, so he is going to hang on for a long time. I don’t want people camping out in the corridor for days or weeks. On the other hand, their support and well-wishing might help him. Any suggestions as to what should I do?”
Talk about a reversal of roles.
Up until this crisis, Julian had been the one to come to her for advice. Her leaning on him was something new, and it felt right for some reasons and wrong for others. It felt right because Julian was a grown, accomplished man, and by accepting his support she was expressing her pride in him and her trust in his abilities.
Except, she was his mother and would always be, which meant that she was supposed to be the giver and he the receiver, not the other way around.
“I can ask someone to organize daily well-wishing sessions in the café. And I can also send people group texts with updates.”
“Those are all good ideas, but my problem is how to tell people that I don’t want them camping out in the corridor. I don’t want to offend anyone.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Julian patted her shoulder. “I’ll talk with Anandur and have him come up with a plan. He can spread a rumor that you don’t want people to see you stressing out.”
“That’s not a rumor. That’s the truth.”
“I know. But coming from you it might be perceived as standoffish. Our clan’s yenta would know how to put the right spin on it.”
The image of Anandur hunched over and wearing an old woman’s clothes brought a much-needed smile to Bridget’s lips.
“Sounds good.” She pushed away from the counter she’d been leaning on. “I’d better go check on my patient.”
“Are you planning on spending the night here?”
“Of course.”
“Do you need me? I can stay with you if you don’t want to be alone.”
“I’m not alone. I’m with Victor.”
Julian cast her a pitying look. One day, when Fates willing he found his mate, he would understand. “You can go.” She stretched on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’ll call you if I need you.”
“I’ll bring you food first. When was the last time you ate?”
“Hours ago. But I’m not hungry.”
“Right. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Thanks. Bring me coffee, will you?”
“No problem.”
Her phone rang just as she was about to enter Victor’s room. Reflexively, she pulled it out of her coat pocket and looked at the display.
Crap, she couldn’t refuse a call from Kian, and she would have to tell him that Victor was transitioning. Her short reprieve was over.
“Bridget here.”
“How is Turner doing? Are you back at his place?”
“No. I’m down at the clinic.” Bridget sighed and moved the phone to her other ear. “He is transitioning.”
“Already? When did it start?”
“He never woke up after your bite.”
There was a moment of tense silence. “Did I accidentally overdose him?”
“No, he didn’t go into stasis. He is running a high fever, his blood pressure is up, and so is his heart rate. All the signs of a transitioning Dormant.”
“That’s good, right?”
“It’s too early to tell.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
She was about to tell him there was nothing, but then she remembered that there was. “Don’t tell anyone yet. I don’t want people camping in the corridor overnight.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah. Julian is going to text updates, and he is thinking of organizing daily well-wishing sessions in the café.”
“It sounds to me like you’re anticipating it will take a long time.”
“I am. Andrew’s transition took several days. Victor is older.”
“What are you going to tell people?”
“About the camping out in the corridor?”
“Yes.”
“That it is not safe to impede access to the clinic in case of emergency.” The idea had just popped into her head, but it was as good an explanation as any. What if someone got injured and needed to be wheeled into the clinic?
&n
bsp; Kian chuckled. “Do you want me to take the blame? I can tell everyone that I’m no longer allowing it.”
“No. Just tell them what I told you. It's a new medical emergency procedure. The corridor outside the clinic needs to remain clear at all times.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
52
Kian
“What happened that you didn’t go to the gym this morning?” Syssi asked as she got dressed for work.
“I had a report I needed to go over, and it couldn’t wait.”
Smiling, she stretched up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, good. So it’s not my fault for keeping you in bed?”
Ever since the early days of their marriage, Syssi had made him promise to never leave the bed in the morning before she woke up. It was a promise he’d gladly given. Waking up together usually meant a morning romp, which was the highlight of his day until the next one at night. Contrary to what people might have thought of him, he was a simple man with simple needs.
“I would always choose to stay in bed with you over going to the gym.”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh.”
He kissed her long and hard before letting her out of his arms.
“I’m late.” Syssi glanced at her watch. “I’d better hurry out.” She pecked him on the cheek. “I love you.”
He watched as she put on her shoes and grabbed her handbag on the way out, then followed her to the front door.
“One last kiss,” he demanded before she headed out.
“That’s why I didn’t bother putting on lipstick.”
“Good thinking. Have a great day and don’t let my sister work you too hard.”
As he closed the door behind her, Kian’s smile slipped off. Raking his fingers through his disheveled hair, he sighed.
He hadn’t told Syssi the truth.
The reason he hadn’t gone to the gym was that he’d been busy planning Operation Turner. The guilt over keeping secrets from Syssi and doing things behind her back was eating at him, making him more uptight and trigger-happy than normal, which was saying a lot.
He wasn’t exactly a peace and love dude to start with.
It wasn’t about trust, because he trusted Syssi implicitly. She knew everything there was to know about him and the clan, save for the secret of Annani’s blood and what it could do.
The problem was that Annani’s secret was so huge, and the potential consequences of it getting out so catastrophic, that revealing it to Syssi would have placed a tremendous burden on her. Hell, he felt like he was dragging a ten-ton boulder behind him.
Kian was a trained and seasoned warrior. No one would ever get that secret out of him no matter what was done to him. And Alena, his eldest sister and Annani’s coconspirator, lived in the sanctuary and hardly ever left it. The secret was safe with them both, and still, he would have rather not known about it.
Annani sauntered into the living room in one of her silk floor-length dresses that looked more like a nightgown than a dress. “I waited until Syssi left to come out. I was afraid my excitement would show on my face.”
Annani thrived on games and secrets and conspiracies. Luckily, he hadn’t inherited that adventure-seeking trait from her. Maybe that was the reason she’d transferred most of the responsibilities associated with heading the clan to him and Sari—so she could enjoy her life and have fun while they worked on making her vision for the world a reality.
Could he one day do the same and fob the job off on someone else?
Not likely. He wouldn’t do that to his own children if he were one day blessed with them.
Perhaps inheriting Annani’s fun-loving traits would have been a good thing, something to counteract the stress and grind of his everyday reality.
Nah, it was impossible to be both and do a good job. Someone had to take responsibility. Until a better candidate was born to the clan, Kian was it.
As Annani sat down at the dining table, Okidu rushed to serve her breakfast.
Kian pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “How do you want to do it?”
“The same way I did it for Syssi and for Andrew. We will go down to the clinic to visit Turner, and I will give him my blessing while you guard the door.”
“What if one time is not enough and he needs another blessing?”
There was no need to talk in code in front of Okidu, but both Kian and Annani had gotten used to referring to her blood as the blessing.
“I can leave you some to store in a refrigerator, but I am not sure the blood will not degrade right away. I never tried storing it and using it later.”
Kian glanced at his butler. “This is confidential information never to be repeated in front of anyone other than the Clan Mother and myself.”
Okidu bowed. “Of course, master. Should I erase it from my memory completely?”
Not a bad suggestion. “Please erase from your memory any and all references to the Clan Mother’s blood, including anything you heard or saw in the past, and anything you hear or see now or will hear and see in the future.”
“Yes, master.”
Annani lifted her coffee cup, signaling to Okidu that she wanted a refill. “You will need to keep it refrigerated somewhere safe where no one will have access to it.”
That was a problem. Between Syssi and his bodyguards, Kian had no real privacy and no hidden refrigerator where he could stash Annani’s blood.
He glanced at Okidu again. No one ever went into the butler’s room, but he didn’t have a refrigerator in there.
A problem easily solved.
“Okidu.”
“Yes, master.”
“I want you to go out and purchase a small refrigerator for your room. If anyone asks why you need it, you are to say that you want to keep cold beverages on hand.”
“Yes, master. When should I go on this errand?”
“As soon as the stores open.”
“As you wish, master.”
Annani put her cup down. “Maybe Turner will pull through on his own. I say we wait until right before dinner. If his condition does not change, I will give him the transfusion then, and leave another ampule for you to hide in Okidu’s room.”
“Are you sure you need to leave right after dinner? You can stay for another day.”
She shook her head. “I’ve already stayed longer than I originally planned to. We used the family dinner as an excuse for extending my visit. What excuse would I give for staying another night?”
“You’re Annani. You don’t need to explain anything.”
“That is true. But I really want to go home already.”
Kian raked his fingers through his hair. “I just hope your blood holds up.”
Annani waved a hand. “If necessary, I will fly in again and give Turner another blessing.”
“You would do that for him?”
“I will do it for you, my son. From what you have told me, I understand that you need the man. Fates know you can use the help.”
53
Bridget
“Mom, wake up, it’s morning,” Julian said.
Bridget had spent most of the night lying next to Victor on the hospital bed and talking to him until her throat had gotten hoarse and her eyes had started drooping. She’d told him about books she’d read and movies she’d seen and wanted to see again with him, and she’d talked about all the places she wanted to visit with him once he was back on his feet.
If he could hear her, she wanted him to have as many reasons as possible to fight for his life and come back to her.
Afraid to fall asleep there and accidentally dislodge a tube or a wire he was connected to, she’d eventually forced herself to get up and drag a cot inside his room.
She hadn’t even bothered getting a pillow or a blanket, only kicking her shoes off before falling asleep in her clothes.
“What time is it?” Bridget sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“It’s after seven. I brought you coffee.” He handed her a paper cu
p.
“Thank you. You’re a lifesaver.”
“I checked Victor’s stats already, and he is stable. You can go up to my place, I mean your old place, and grab a shower. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
She hadn’t planned on it, but now that Julian had brought it up, she decided to take him up on his offer. “Sounds good.”
But first, she had to check on Victor herself.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, but before leaving Victor in your care, I have to make sure he is stable myself.”
“Don’t worry about it, I understand.”
When Julian left the room, Bridget walked over to Victor and kissed his cheek. “Good morning, handsome.”
He looked so peaceful, as if he was really sleeping, his chest going up and down in a slow, steady rhythm, and his facial muscles relaxed as they seldom were when he was awake.
“It looks good. Your blood pressure climbed up a little but it’s still in the safe range, and your fever is high but holding steady. I’m not giving you any fever reducers because I don’t want to interfere with what your body is doing. Hopefully, it’s improving.”
Pulling the measuring tape out of her pocket, she took a few measurements, hoping to see some growth, but there was none. It wasn’t that she wanted Victor to change in any way, but growth would have been a good sign that his transition was going well.
It was probably too early for that. Yeah, what had she been thinking? Less than twelve hours had passed.
His unchanging condition was both good and bad news. The panicky feeling she’d suffered from since Kian had called her the day before was slowly giving way to a slight hope.
She hated leaving Victor alone, but Julian was right that she needed a shower, and it was better to get it done while her guy was stable. Who knew what the day would bring? She might not have another chance.
Out in her old office, Bridget found Julian with Hildegard. “Good morning,” she greeted the nurse. “Thanks for coming.”