“Is she okay?”
“Yes, for now, but I have to get her somewhere safe.”
“Tell me where you are, and we’ll come get you.”
Lucien told him the name of the motel and the town.
“It’s going to take a while to get there; we have to be careful when we travel,” Ronan said.
“I know.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“We’re safe here; take your time.”
He said the words, but he wanted them here now. Callie would be a lot safer when there were more of them to protect her. However, they couldn’t risk the Savages locating and following them while they traveled.
“Do you have a number where I can reach you?” Ronan asked.
“I’ll keep this phone until you get here.”
“Good. I’ll see you soon.”
“Ronan,” Lucien said before he could hang up.
“Yeah?”
“Did anyone survive the attack in the woods?”
“Willow escaped.”
Lucien wasn’t surprised by this revelation; if anyone survived, it was the tough Byrne woman. “Anyone else?”
“No.”
Lucien felt like someone punched him in the gut as his shoulders hunched forward. He was in charge of that mission, and those were his men and women who were lost.
“You did the best you could,” Ronan said. “There were a lot of Savages in those woods, and you held them off long enough to give the others a chance to escape. Willow is alive because of that. No one else could have done any better.”
Lucien appreciated Ronan’s words, but those deaths would haunt him for the rest of his life. He recalled those brutal moments in the woods when he’d struggled to keep the horde of Savages from pursuing the others. Was there more he could have done?
He wanted to say no, but maybe if he’d done one thing differently, more would have survived. He didn’t have the time to delve into an analysis of it all now, but he would later, and thousands of more times over the years.
“There’s something else you should know,” Lucien said.
“What is it?” Ronan asked.
“My brother is a Savage. He was in those tunnels, hunting us. I saw him when we escaped their underground layer.”
Ronan didn’t reply for a few seconds, but then, he was just learning about Lucien’s brother.
“You have a brother?”
“Yes. I’d hoped he was dead, but he’s not. And he hasn’t been my brother since the day he slaughtered my family centuries ago.”
Silence stretched between them again before Ronan spoke once more. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“I have no doubt. We’ll be there soon,” Ronan said gruffly.
“We’ll be waiting.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lucien kept his sunglasses in place as he studied the patrons in the diner. His fingers drummed on the tabletop until Callie rested her hand over the top of his.
“Stop that,” she said.
Lucien turned to smile at her, but it felt strained as he kept his ears attuned for any hint of a threat. They were in broad daylight, no one would attack them here, but his body still thrummed with tension as he shifted his attention to the plate glass windows running along the front of the diner.
Callie released his hand and sat back as the waitress arrived with her plate of pancakes, bacon, and sausages. Her stomach rumbled again, and her face reddened when the woman set the plate in front of her.
However, she forgot about her embarrassment as she lifted her fork and knife. Her hands hovered over the plate like a surgeon about to make their first cut.
“Do you need anything else?” the woman asked as she topped off Callie’s coffee.
“No, I’m good,” Callie said.
The woman vanished, and Callie lifted the glass container of maple syrup from its tray beneath the window. With glee, she poured the thick, brown liquid onto her stack of pancakes with its whipped butter melting in the center of them.
She was acutely aware of Lucien watching her, but she didn’t care. She was starving, and she was going to devour every last bite on her plate. Besides, she’d watched him feed on blood; he could watch her eat this gooey plate of deliciousness.
They sat in silence while she ate, but the drone of conversations sounded around them. From what she could gather, most of the people there were men who met up with their friends to discuss the local gossip while they ate and flirted with the waitresses. She suspected most of the men were widowed or divorced as she saw few rings on their work-worn hands.
Lucien admired the old-fashioned, fifties motif of the place with its stools lining the counter, black-and-white-tiled floor, and pictures of old celebrities adorning the walls. A small jukebox sat on the table, and he pushed a couple of buttons to look at the songs. While the music wasn’t his favorite, he’d enjoyed the fifties even though he despised poodle skirts.
Before coming here, he’d taken some money from the woman in the office so he wouldn’t have to keep taking control of people’s minds to get what they required. Not only would it weaken him, but he risked someone else seeing him do it, especially in a place like this.
He fished out some of the change he took from her and put a couple of quarters into the machine. He pushed a couple of buttons and selected some Elvis songs. Music drifted from the small speakers as he returned his attention to the large window facing out onto the main street.
Outside, a couple of cars cruised down the road. Further down the street, a couple of people from the motel jogged across the road. Once they were safely on the other side, they started walking toward the diner.
He watched them until they were close enough to deduce they weren’t vampires, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a menace. A Savage could take control of anyone’s mind and turn them into the enemy.
His hands opened and closed on the table as he strove to control himself. There were too many possible threats against her, and he was still too weak to protect her from a full-on attack.
Callie finished her breakfast, pushed her plate away, and patted her full stomach. Lucien didn’t look at her. She studied his profile as he stared out the window with his hands on the table. She had no idea what had him so worked up, but he looked like he was about to blow.
“You like Elvis?” she asked, even though it was obvious. Why else would he select Elvis songs? However, she was eager to distract him and learn more about him.
“I do,” Lucien said, but he didn’t turn away from the window.
Leaning across the table, she rested her hand over his again. He relaxed a little beneath her touch and turned toward her.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“It will be, once you’re safe.”
She started to reply, but the waitress’s return stopped her. “Would you like anything else?” the woman asked.
“No, thank you,” Callie said.
The woman left the check on the table, and Lucien pulled it toward him. “Let’s go.”
They rose from the booth and started toward the cash register near the door. Callie’s step slowed as she stared into the glass case at the end of the countertop, running most of the length of the diner.