Page 97 of Bent Out of Shade
“You talk to her,” Emmett muttered.
He must have given Laurent the cell because the shifter’s next words were spoken directly into the phone. “Tatiana isn’t happy, but she agreed. The vampires will be asleep, and this is the safest way to stop them. Are you willing to risk Vincenzo turning his wrath on you or Tatiana? On Sadie?”
I merged into traffic, a light drizzle of rain hitting my windshield. “You’re playing the guilt card.”
He sighed. “I’m playing the reality card.”
“Then admit this isn’t about me or Sadie. Zev’s protecting his own ass.” I manually turned my wipers on and off because the mist setting wasn’t fast enough, but the regular setting was too much. I hated this weather so much.
“It’s both.” He paused. “You’re too emotionally invested in their relationship,” he said gently.
Everything he said was true and logical, but this entire situation made me want to curl up under the covers for a week.
“Why bother waking Sabrina up at all?” I said bitterly. “It’s more compassionate not to.”
“The Lonestars will require it.”
“No,” I wailed. “She’ll end up on Deadman’s Island.”
“You can’t keep Mayhew hidden. Ryann is too smart for that. There’s no happy ending to this love story, Mitzi.” His reluctant words were punctuated with a sigh.
I was surrounded by loss: Laurent and Delphine, Tatiana and Zev. Hell, I thought I’d found my happily ever after with Eli, and instead I was another divorce statistic.
Yes, I was embarking on a new relationship, but my new circumstances were more complicated than when I’d fallen for Eli. We’d both been young, had both wanted kids, but even though Sadie was my everything, I had zero desire for more. Laurent had lost his chance to be a father and he was younger than me. I would never begrudge him wanting a child, but did that mean we were over before we’d truly begun?
Had I been invested in Sabrina and Vincenzo’s happily ever after because their relationship was as unlikely as I’d judged mine and Laurent’s to be? I shook my head. We’d figure this out, same as everything else. Together.
Women were told so many limiting stories. Tatiana’s parents had reduced her world to being a wife and a mother instead of an artist. I’d been a sad divorced single mom making stultifyingly safe choices.
Tatiana had rejected the choices offered to her and I’d reclaimed my life. Now here was Sabrina, who’d chosen an unconventional happily ever after, with everything about to be torn away from her.
“Please don’t do this,” I said.
“Even if I don’t,” Laurent said, “Rodrigo will. This way, I watch his back. There’s no stopping this. I’m sorry.”
Something in my chest dropped. I sighed. “Me too.”
What else was there to say? I cleared my throat, but before I could say goodbye, Laurent spoke up.
“I’m also sorry we won’t have our date this afternoon.” He injected some lightness into the mood.
Emmett’s “Ew, gross” was followed by a grunt and a “Sorry, toots.”
“Does the supermoon tonight mean you’ll be affected earlier?” That hadn’t occurred to me when we’d discussed our second date, but Laurent wouldn’t be in wolf form for that. This vamp attack was another matter. I peered up at the sky. “Even though it’s overcast?”
“It’s supposed to clear up later,” he said. “But I won’t be affected until dusk, around seven thirty, same as any full moon.”
“Good. Still, wrap it up quickly and safely.”
“I will. À bientôt, Mitzi.”
“Later, Huff ’n’ Puff.”
Nora was supposed to be my first stop today to find a way to wake Sabrina up, but after that call, I was tempted to go home because I didn’t want to drag the lawyer into a waking nightmare.
Call me naïve but I’d been rooting for Vincenzo and Sabrina, despite the odds. A vampire loved a human enough to remain by her side, knowing he’d have to watch her grow old and die if she didn’t give up her humanity. That was tragedy enough so why couldn’t they have this lifetime?
I passed the turnoff for the bridge to the North Shore where Nora lived, aimlessly driving through Burnaby while I figured out what to do.
