Page 70 of Bent Out of Shade
I stepped back into the comfort of his arms. “Emmett’s not doing great.”
“Not surprising after tonight.”
Dropping the cloth in the bowl, I turned to face him. “It’s more than that.”
I bit my lip, finding the line between expressing concern and betraying a confidence. The shifter had been in the car with us when Emmett had spoken about his feelings, but he’d been asleep so I wasn’t sure if that counted. “He’s struggling and your approval matters to him.”
Laurent ducked his head, briskly rubbing a hand through his curls. “I know,” he said quietly.
“Okay.” I didn’t want to guilt him out. It was on him to change his behavior.
There was a loud knock on the side door and I jumped, thinking Vincenzo had tracked us down.
When Emmett called out that he’d get it, I bolted after him, but Laurent caught me.
“Vamp!” I tugged free.
“They can’t get in uninvited, and it’s not Vincenzo.” He sniffed the air to show how he knew.
“Let me see her,” Tatiana demanded, entering the hotel with a soft slapping sound.
“You need to let me examine her first,” Juliette said.
I sagged in relief, because I’d feared the two women would run into BatXoha. I headed back to Sabrina with the bowl of hot water and the cloth.
Tatiana and Juliette stepped inside the elevator, and the young healer let out a soft whistle. Juliette was dressed in yoga pants and an oversize sweater, the most casual I’d ever seen the Frenchwoman, while Tatiana was in men’s pajamas with her swirling chiffon robe thrown over top. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her slippers.
Tatiana stroked her chin, her eyes narrowed. “Mishegoss,” she huffed.
I snorted, setting the bowl and cloth on the ground. The craziness of this situation had barely begun.
“The Lonestars will throw Sabrina onto Deadman’s Island when they learn she’s the rogue vamp behind all the murders,” my boss said. “We can forget payment if that happens.” I glared at her, and she waved a hand. “And her imprisonment would be a tragedy,” she said with no real concern.
If Sabrina’s only crime were being made into a vamp when Ryann had issued her ban, we might have successfully pled her case. Add in these murders, though? I clenched my fists at how unfair this all was.
“We have a decision to make as a team,” I said. “Once Vincenzo discovers that Sabrina was turned, he’ll go ballistic.”
“Which will bring the Lonestars and Zev to our door,” Laurent said.
“But if we don’t tell the Lonestars,” I said, “we’re culpable under Ryann’s edict and could end up on Deadman’s Island as accomplices.”
“Because Sabrina is the rogue,” Emmett said glumly.
I nodded. “I’d like to keep this a secret from everyone, including Vincenzo, at least until we’ve spoken to Sabrina. She should get to decide what happens next.”
Everyone, even Tatiana, agreed with the decision. It wasn’t even a debate.
“Now leave me with her,” Juliette said in her French-accented English.
I escorted Tatiana to the kitchen, where Emmett and Laurent were rattling around.
“I’m making tea,” Laurent said.
Tatiana eased her bony frame into a chair and smothered a yawn.
I frowned at the kettle heating up on the stove because a hefty slug of bourbon would have been preferable.
Emmett sat in one of the extra folding chairs that Laurent had unearthed from somewhere, tapping a small spoon against a jar of honey.
