As soon as Steven picked up his grandson, the hardcore features of the imposing elder Mason softened to mush. “Hi there. You sure do look like your dad.”
My son resembled not only his dad but also his grandfather—green eyes and black hair, although the shades of green varied between Orion and Sam. Whereas Sam’s were a forest green, Orion’s eyes were more of shamrock color.
I couldn’t stop the tears as I watched my father-in-law dote on my son.
Then Steven traded Orion for Luna and pressed her to his chest, securing her with his large hands. “No one will ever hurt you, precious one.”
Sam watched in emotional fascination as he tucked me close to him. “I’ve never seen my dad that way.”
Our heartwarming reunion was shattered when a phone chirped, startling me.
Jo pulled her cell from her lab coat pocket. “It’s Dr. Vieira. He wants to know if the group arrived yet.”
Steven kissed his granddaughter and returned her to her carrier as Webb, Jo, and Agnes ambled up.
“How is my niece?” Sam asked, regarding Webb.
“She’s deeply shaken up.” Webb, the stoic brown-haired and blue-eyed vampire who was normally known for his blank expressions, had anger stamped on his unshaven jaw.
No ten-year-old should be fighting in a war. I imagined Abbey had to be sick to her stomach after killing those bloodsuckers even though they were our enemies. My first kill as a vampire hunter had me peeing my pants and throwing up.
“Alia is with her,” Jo added. “And Alia knows Matthew is dead.” She looked sorrowful as she spoke. “I’m brokenhearted that we lost Matthew.”
“And Alia’s father, Victor?” Tripp asked as he pressed the elevator button.
“Still no word from him,” Webb replied.
“We can talk about all this later.” Steven nodded at Webb. “Grab Dane, and then you head with him and Tripp to the conference room. Sam and I will meet you there after I show Layla to Jordyn’s room. Jo, can you take the babies to Dr. Vieira? I want to talk to Sam and Layla for a moment.”
“Of course, Dad,” Jo said. “Agnes, why don’t you come with me? I would love to chat and also for you to meet Abbey.”
Several minutes later, after the elevator doors closed, Sam, Steven, and I were alone. Steven scrutinized Sam and me with a deadpan expression—a far cry from his emotional display with Orion and Luna.
“What is it, Pops?” Sam squeezed me to him as if he wanted to protect me from whatever Steven had to say.
As an empath, Sam could read another’s emotions like Jo could read someone’s mind.
A feeling of dread crept into my chest and settled like a ten-ton boulder in my stomach. I couldn't bear the thought of more bad news. Hell, I couldn't even imagine what else could go wrong. And yet, with everything that had already happened, how could I expect anything else? I knew whatever he was about to say had to relate to something that affected both Sam and me. But Jordyn had made it through surgery, and my children were home. Unless he was about to tell us that Rianne had somehow escaped from prison.
“Please tell me that you’re not about to say Roman Brown is alive,” Sam said.
Steven scrubbed a hand along his chin. “We don’t have confirmation on him yet. Layla, your uncle Jack and aunt Tabitha will be flying in to see their son, Noah. Jack will call when he makes their flight arrangements.”
I slumped my shoulders, relieved that he didn’t say Roman was breathing. Although that wouldn’t surprise me. But also, the news of my aunt and uncle coming to visit wasn’t earth-shattering. I hadn’t seen Aunt Tabitha since the day Sam and I had gotten married. They’d paid a visit to the naval base to retrieve my uncle Ray’s body and their son Junior’s as well. Ray had died of a heart attack, and sadly, my cousin Junior had lost his life in a car accident.
My aunt Tabitha was a strong individual. In my book, she had to be to put up with my crotchety uncle Jack and six kids. Plus, she’d fought off vampires many times. Regardless, her emotional backbone had cracked several times after losing Junior, and even though she hadn’t seen Noah since he’d surrendered his humanity, my aunt would never be the same again.
Sam and Steven were talking about Noah, and as I came out of the fog I was in, I heard the wordpainless.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t listening all that well.”
“Dr. Vieira feels it’s time to end Noah’s life,” Steven said. “Which is why I reached out to Jack. We feel he and his family need to know the next step. Noah is at the point he doesn’t know who he is anymore.”
Growing up, Noah and I had mostly butted heads. He was a class A jerk, but he was family. Yet he’d sided with the enemy, just like my sister Rianne had. That didn’t mean he had to die, but the physical state he was in as a feral monster was no way to live.
I hugged myself. “Has Rianne’s condition progressed to the point of Noah’s?”
“She’s on her way there,” Steven said. “She’s changing quickly. She’s stronger, her features are more pronounced, and she’s losing the ability to shift into human form. Dr. Vieira’s studies on both Noah and Rianne have produced very similar results despite Rianne’s supernatural bloodline. He suspects that Rianne will eventually not know who she is, just like Noah.”
