Page 104 of Wounded Soul
Even if he is the one I need most.
Ian followed Raph out of the room and down the corridor, Jesse nowhere to be seen.
Ian knew one thing then and there. Ten fucking years was unacceptable, and he was going to be a pain in the VLCDs arse until they reduced Jesse’s sentence. There had to be something he could do, and as soon as he got back to the coven, he intended to start looking into it.
IAN LOOKED down at the shiny new tracker on his wrist, turning it this way and that, trying to get used to the weight of it.
“You’ll have that until the new ones are ready.” Raph stood watching him, not having left his side once since he almost ate some of the VLCD officers. A fact that Ian was more grateful for than he could put into words. “They’re being modified after Peter’s little revelation.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” Ian looked up, surprised to see regret on Raph’s face.
“They’re still deciding.”
Initially Ian had wanted him dead, but now he wasn’t sure if he could be happy that someone was going to be executed. Even if it was Peter. Maybe having him gone would be good enough. “And Jesse?” Ian asked the question he’d been putting off for over an hour, afraid of what Raph’s answer would be. “We’re not going to leave him in a cell for ten years without a fight, are we?”
Raph’s eyebrows rose, and he fixed Ian with a look that seem to bore right into him. “Of course not.” He gestured for Ian to open the door. “But that’s a discussion for later.”
“Okay.” Ian felt slightly mollified. At least they weren’t abandoning Jesse.
Before Ian could walk out of the door, Raph paused on the threshold and turned to him. “If you’re feeling up to it, Cate and Blake are waiting in one of the interview rooms.”
Ian bit his lip. Was he ready to see his friends? He might have already spoken to the both over the phone, but face-to-face was a different beast altogether. Would they be frightened of him now? Would Blake see him as the enemy instead of his best friend?
Only one way to find out.
“Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jesse sat with his head resting against the wall of the cell, eyes closed, thoughts of Ian filling his mind as he tried not to think about what lay ahead.
Ten years.
Ten fucking years.
He hadn’t lied to Ian, compared to what they could’ve given him, it was lenient, but still.
It was a long time to be apart from Ian, from his coven.
A long time to ask Ian to wait for him.
He ached at the thought that someone else would have to teach him what it was to be a vampire. Someone else would guide him through the early months while he learnt to control his thirst and get used to the new ways his body could now move.
Jesse wanted so desperately for it to be him, and he slammed his fist against the wall, welcoming the pain as his bones cracked and then healed themselves.
“Temper, Temper.” Soft laughter sounded from the cell next door, and Jesse groaned.
“Fuck off, Peter.” Of course they’d put him in the cell next to Jesse. There seemed to be no escaping him. If only the VLCD had seen fit to soundproof the cells as well as their interview rooms.
Peter scoffed. “I don’t know what you’ve got to be upset about. You got off lightly. Ten years is nothing.”
Jesse ignored him. With any luck he’d take the hint and shut up.
“We can potentially live an eternal life, Jesse, what’s ten years? A mere blink of an eye.”
Shuffling sounded in Peter’s cell, and Jesse couldn’t help but picture him getting comfortable on his bed. No doubt gearing up for a long speech. Jesse rolled his eyes. Ten years in a cell he could cope with. Probably. But ten years in a cell next to Peter?
Kill me now.
