Reign of Night (Thorne Hill 7)

“Give the phone to Abigail this instant,” he repeats. “Or I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Call the police and tell them your daughters are hanging out? That’s what everyone still thinks, right? That I’m a Martin? Go ahead. Tell them why you’re so worried Abby is here, hanging out with Callie the Healer, who’s spend the last decade devoting herself to charity. I’ll sound real dangerous.”

“If she’s with you, then she’s with a vampire!”

“A couple, actually.” I should stop, hang up, and not dig Abby into a hole, but I can’t help it. William and Scott already give her shit for hanging out with me. He’s going to call and rip her a new one, I’m sure, and I just hope Abby has enough sense to hang up on him and not give him the time of day. “Oh, it’s my turn to offer the blood sacrifice for the ritual to call forth our Dark Lord and Savior. I’ll have Abby call when she’s soulless and a sister witch. Tootles!” I end the call, snickering to myself, and put the phone back on the coffee table.

Folding the blankets, I put them over the back of the couch. I have some food left over from this morning, and my fruit salad sounds so good right now. There’s no way Lucas will let me eat sticky fruit in his expensive car, so I go into the kitchen to get it from the fridge.

“Callie?” Abby calls.

“In the kitchen! Hang on, I’ll walk you to the door.” I pop the lid off the bowl of fruit and grab a strawberry. “William called,” I tell Abby. “I told him you were busy and would call him back.”

Abby arches her eyebrows. “Sure you did.”

“That was the gist of it.”

“Mom—I mean Nancy—asks about you every once in a while. She has since she came to Thorne Hill with me.” Abby bites her lip as we walk toward the front door. “I think she feels bad.”

“Well, I’d hope so. I’m not her biological daughter, but she raised me for eight years thinking I was. What if you found out there was a freak accident and your baby was switched at birth and Penny wasn’t really yours? Would you throw her away the way Nancy threw me away?” I don’t mean to snap at Abby like this, but dammit, it’s an instant button pusher for me.

“Absolutely not. And I don’t—”

“It’s okay,” I interrupt. “Sorry I got all snappy. I’m not mad at you at all, and I’m trying hard not to be mad anymore. Nancy and William ran into us at dinner last night and popped off. I’m still irritated.”

“Oh, crap, I’m sorry. And they need to leave you alone. I’ve been telling them all that recently.”

“Thank you, Abby.”

“Of course, Cal.” She picks up her coat. “So, see you Monday?” She looks at my stomach and holds out her hand. “I really want to touch the bump but know it’s annoying to have people putting their hands on you.”

“You’re my sister. I’ll allow it.”

Smiling, she rests her hand on my stomach. “Okay. I’m getting my baby-fill. Take care, Callie.”

“You too.”“I missed you, too,” I tell my familiars, dropping to the ground and holding out my hands. They meow and rub against me, happy I’m home mostly so they don’t have to deal with Scarlet anymore. “And no, I won’t leave you overnight with her again anytime soon. Maybe, though honestly, who knows?” I look up at my hellhound, who's impatiently waiting for me to greet her as well. “And yes, I’ll take you out to play.”

My coat is still on, and I open the backdoor, letting Scarlet bound out ahead of me. She brings me a tennis ball covered in frozen slobber. She drops it by my feet, and I telekinetically throw it far into the yard. I stay out for only a few minutes and then go in, ready for a warm shower and a nap.

Lucas is in the kitchen, phone to his ear as he looks at the screen of his computer. His brows are pushed together, and he’s slowly shaking his head at whatever he’s listening to.

“Is something wrong?” I ask him, taking my shoes off and leaving them by the door.

“One of our venders left a message at the bar,” he tells me, lowering his phone from his ear. “They’re supposed to call either myself or Eliza, not the bar.” He types something on the computer, and I go over, sitting at the island counter next to him. “They’re claiming to have a supply issue, which I know isn’t true.”

“Do you think those other vampires got to them?” I ask, having almost forgotten about the group of vampires against assimilation, who have targeted Lucas for quite some time now, trying to push his buttons and make him lash out against humans, wanting him to get caught attacking them for some reason. How that works into their plan, I don’t know, and I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to find out.