Sikes' eyes flashed with something dangerous. "I don't care what anyone else says. This is my child."
"You are not here. You're risking everyone's life with this." I spread my hands out. "Tell me you have a plan for what happens once she has the child."
Sikes stared at me for a moment, his gaze disturbed. "There's a cabin I used in West Virginia. It's not much, but it's well hidden and has amenities. Marissa can go there."
"Is it close to stores? Highways? Hospitals? The baby will need to see a doctor eventually. Who will do that?"
"I don't give a shit," he snapped. "This can all be figured out."
I shook my head. "This is why I'm here. I am running out of plans. She's safe and will remain that way. But once she has the baby, she will be a hunted woman. Both of our kinds will scent him on her. She will never be able to roam around Midnight Cove. She will have no freedom."
"If you hadn't already noticed," Sikes said, "I'm quite dead."
He meant it to be flippant, but the words were like a knife in my heart. "I'm well aware," I said quietly.
"This has to be up to you. Go to the cabin and get it ready. She's a vamp. If anything is wrong with the baby, she can heal it."
I shook my head. "It's not quite that easy. The child will be a hybrid. Nothing is set in stone."
Sikes' image wavered. Helen touched my arm. "He only has a couple of minutes before the spell fades. Start saying your goodbyes."
I pushed her arm away from me, suddenly angry at the short amount of time we had.
"I need you to tell me something, Sikes. Make the sacrifices I'm making okay." I regretted it as soon as I said it.
His face closed off. "My sacrifice wasn't okay." He looked away from me. "I died a world away, alone, and the only people who appreciated the depth of my sacrifice are all in therapy. I'm a social security number, a social media meme meant to cite political outrage, my life condensed onto a sheet of paper with a paragraph."
"That was totally uncalled for," I said. “I’m sorry.”
"You always were an asshole," he said, not unkindly.
"The only thing I can help you with is the cabin. There's a store close by and a small town filled with good people. Fix it up for her. She will be okay. Marissa is a survivor."
Helen stepped up and gently told me to go back to the gazebo.
"Farewell, brother," Sikes said.
I raised my hand in goodbye and headed back while Helen sent Sikes back to his rest. This wasn't quite how I pictured it would go. But, at least I had a place to send her after she had the child. I couldn't send her now because of the medical care. I'd been paying a doctor on the side to visit Marissa once every two weeks, and I hoped I could still rely on her silence now that it was evident Marissa wasn't pregnant with a normal supernatural. I could see the look on her face when she measured the heartbeat and the thin line of her lips every time she did an ultrasound.
I was playing with fire and wondered if I would escape unscathed.
A few minutes later, Helen called me back over. She held out her hand and I went to shake it, but she pushed the check back into my hand.
"No," I insisted. "This is what I said I would pay."
She shook her head. "Listen, I never should have said yes to that. It was an astronomical amount of money. Your friend -" she paused. "He died in service to the country and he left behind a precious gift. Just take it." A rueful grin crossed her face. "And trust me when I say you better hightail it out of here before I change my mind."
I was gobsmacked. "I'd like to pay you something."
She smiled. "Listen, some crazy shit is going to come down soon enough in Midnight Cove. Magic is a little bit whacked out, if you haven't noticed." She pointed a finger at the slab. "And technically, I am not supposed to be doing raisings right now, so I'm going to be in some hot water pretty soon. How about you save a favor for me in the future?"
I narrowed my gaze much to her amusement.
"Nothing shady. I'm not going to ask for anything criminal. It will just be help. If that's cryptic, I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to tell you more. Just know Midnight Cove will need to come together.”
I narrowed my gaze. "Seriously?" I asked. "That's all you can tell me?" I shook my head. "Cryptic as hell. You're like one of those fortune tellers who tell the gullible just enough to make the sucker think they're legit."
"Dude. Rude," she said. "Well, keep an eye on the sky and you'll notice it."
