Page 115 of Bent Out of Shade
Still unconscious, he repeated his wife’s name followed by something slurred in French.
Laurent had become playful recently, but was his newfound joy in life stronger than the death wish he’d lived with since the deaths of Delphine and his unborn child? Would he fight for his life or fall back into his ingrained desires and give up?
I stayed with him until dusk, occasionally checking in with Sadie and Ryann. Blood Alley was open for business again, but there was no sign of Zev, Vincenzo, Sabrina, Ian, or Celeste, and no one else, not even Yoshi, knew where anyone was.
Laurent repeated Delphine’s name, lapsing again into French, however, it was too garbled for me to even write it down and ask anyone what he was saying. And a small part of me was scared to decipher it and find out he was begging to be with her.
“Miriam?” Juliette showed up during one of his silent phases to check his pulse. “You wanted to speak to me?”
I explained my Jenga theory.
“I didn’t sense Ohrist magic, but you’re correct. The recessive gene wouldn’t have registered.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth with a glint in her eyes, the last foggy remnants of sleep disappearing. “My uncle is stable for now. He’ll either shift soon or remain this way another night. Take me to Sabrina. Tatiana will call if anything changes.”
“I wish I could, but I have no idea where she is. I’ll leave Zev a message and hopefully he’ll call back soon.” Unless something had happened to him and he couldn’t. Did Yoshi really not know where his best friend was, or had Kian’s betrayal allowed Vincenzo to get the jump on Zev? I stood up. “I need some air.”
The master vamp didn’t answer my text or my phone call. I stood in the doorway behind the wards, breathing in the night air and rocking my pelvis back and forth to stretch out my tight lower back.
“I want to see him.” Giulia stood on the patchy lawn, her eyes blazing.
I jumped, giving a little shriek. “Don’t sneak up on me. Geez. Come inside.”
“We’ll root out the one who did this to him and then?” She swiped a claw across her throat.
Giulia was treating me as a friend, not a threat, and it felt good to be on the same team.
“Laurent’s attacker was a demon and I killed her,” I said.
“Did she suffer?”
“Not nearly enough.”
“I’m sure you did your best.” Giulia padded into the hotel then sat on her back haunches, her eyes wide. “Meravigliosa,” she whispered, trying to take in everything at once.
Tatiana plodded over to greet her. “Ciao, Giulia.”
“Ciao, Tatiana.” The cat gargoyle rubbed her head against my boss’s side and the artist scratched between her ears. “Where is Laurent?”
“I’ll take you.” I headed back, Giulia silently stalking along beside me. “I haven’t forgotten I owe you dinner. Soon as things calm down a bit.”
“Laurent will come as well.”
“Sure.”
She stopped at the bedroom and waved a paw. “You are not needed.”
Uh-huh. I peeked in, but he hadn’t moved, so I left her to it.
Tatiana was in the kitchen, making sandwiches. “Laurent will shift tonight and this will all be behind us.”
After my boss and Juliette ate, I made them go home to shower and sleep, promising to call the second there was news on any front. Sadie had finished her history paper, so I asked her to stay at her dad’s again tonight for my peace of mind since I’d be keeping watch here.
While Giulia visited with Laurent, I cleaned up the kitchen and tidied the blankets and pillows that had been used in the living room, then with nothing else to do, I played a few games of Tetris before checking on the gargoyle.
She was asleep on the floor at the foot of Laurent’s bed. It was peaceful with the moonlight filtering through the curtains, though the room was hot and stuffy, so I opened the window wide.
Laurent began mumbling more French, yet he wasn’t shifting. I sank into the chair by his bed and clasped his hands as if my touch would keep him with me.
One second I was watching him, and the next I was sleepily opening my eyes at a cat’s meow.
