"She's good," I said. "Didn't grow up in this life. Leo pulled her in, but she doesn't touch the blood. I like protecting her. She deserves it."
Ivy shook her head. "It's still a dangerous world."
"The whole world's dangerous," I shot back. "At least the Donatis have a code. They don't hurt people for fun. That's more than I can say for most."
Ivy opened her mouth to argue, but Elena cut in. "Please. Don't fight."
Ivy's voice softened. "They're her half-siblings."
I nodded. "I know why she came. She wanted to know them. And she's doing it for her mom."
"Anna's everything. She took me in when no one else would. Loved me like her own. I'd do anything for her." Ivy shifted beside me as the wind howled outside, and Elena huddled against me even more. It felt right, holding her in my arms like this, and the pain in my leg was easier to ignore.
"Meredith and Grayson will help. Once they know the truth, they'll do the right thing."
"You really think so?" Elena's voice was almost drowned out by a deafening crack of thunder that made her huddle under the blanket more, pressing against me.
"Yes, I do."
She looked towards the window uneasily. "What if someone else finds us first? What if they want to silence us... about Alfeo?"
I didn't answer right away. Just stared into the dark, listening to the rain. Because I didn't have a lie soft enough to make that fear go away. It was what I'd been worried about as well.
The storm outside only grew, raging and lighting up the sky, thunder rumbling after it and shaking the house. Elena's question hung in the air like smoke, impossible to wave away. I tightened my arms around her, knowing it was the only comfort I could give. I wasn't going to lie, I hated it.
"We'll take shifts," I finally said after another thunderous crack rolled overhead and lit up the room. "I'll take first watch."
"You need to rest. I can go first." Elena pulled away to look at me, those soft blue eyes hard to see in the darkness.
I shook my head. "I've operated on worse. Besides, the pain is making it hard to consider sleep."
"I can sit beside?—"
"No. You're fine right here." I didn't want her moving, and not just because she was keeping me warm. She felt right here, like it was where she belonged.
Elena's fingers brushed against my arm, so light I might have imagined it if not for the trail of warmth they left behind. "Okay. We can take turns. All of us."
The rain intensified, drumming against the roof in an erratic rhythm that matched my heartbeat. Water began to leak througha corner of the ceiling, dripping onto the floor. The sound—drip, drip, drip—marked time in our makeshift sanctuary.
I guess that was why the ceiling was moldy in the other room. This one would follow suit.
"Tell me about your mother," I said to Elena, needing to fill the silence with something other than the fear radiating off the two women. "What's she like?"
Elena's expression softened, the worry lines around her eyes momentarily smoothing out before she nuzzled back against my chest. "She's the strongest person I know. Even now, with the cancer..." Her voice caught, and she swallowed hard before continuing. "She never complains. Just keeps going."
"She used to make these cookies," Ivy added, drawing my gaze to her as lightning lit up the room again. A small smile played at her lips. "Snickerdoodles with extra cinnamon. Said they could cure anything from a broken heart to a bad grade."
"Did they work?" I asked, grateful for the distraction.
Elena laughed softly. "Every time."
I shifted, trying to find a position that didn't send daggers of pain through my leg.
"Want me?—"
"No, just need to shift." I wasn't about to let her move off of me.
The bandage she had wrapped was holding, but the wound throbbed with each heartbeat. I'd seen enough bullet wounds to know this one was a clean through and through. It should be an easy enough fix once we got to a hospital, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
