Allie nodded, supposing her attempted theft was vampire, or immortal, related. She’d been stealing the blood to feed Liam, who was apparently an immortal, not a vampire. Actually, she preferred the word immortal. At least in regards to Liam . . . and Tricia and Teddy, and maybe even Tybo and Magnus, she decided. She wasn’t sure about Mortimer yet, but Lucian . . . Yeah, she’d call him a vampire with all his growling and glaring.
A snort of laughter from Tybo caught her attention and he bit his lip, and then cleared his throat and said solemnly, “You should have made the attempt much sooner. You were too weak for such an undertaking by the time you tried it.”
Allie could hardly argue with that. Fainting halfway through the job pretty much proved that she’d been too weak. Sighing, she explained, “I got the job there three months ago, intending to find a way to get blood for Liam. I came up with the plan pretty quickly and earned my boss’s trust enough to be given keys more than a month ago, but . . .” She grimaced and admitted, “It took a while to convince myself to actually do it.”
“That is understandable,” Magnus murmured, shifting in the seat he’d chosen next to her. “I’m sure fear would make most people hesitate to commit a felony.”
“It wasn’t fear that made me hesitate so long,” she assured him. “I mean, I was afraid, sure, but I was more afraid of dying if I didn’t find another source of blood for Liam.”
“Then why did you wait so long to try to rob it?” Tricia asked with curiosity.
“Guilt,” she said bluntly. “I’d never thought much about blood banks before Liam came along, but working there I learned how desperate they are for blood. They’re constantly struggling to keep enough on hand to keep up with the hospitals’ needs and here I was planning to steal some.”
“To keep your son alive without killing yourself,” Tricia said firmly. “You should not feel guilty about what you tried to do.”
Allie glanced around the people at the table. She was kind of glad it had all happened because now she might be able to purchase blood from these people and not have to steal. “Where do you get your blood?”
“We have our own blood banks,” Tricia said reassuringly. “We pay donors for it just as the blood bank you worked for does.”
Allie nodded, but then frowned as she realized Tricia had used the past tense, as if she wouldn’t be working there anymore.
“I—” she began, but Lucian cut her off.
“Your life will be different now,” he said heavily. “Your old life is gone.”
Allie narrowed her eyes in irritation at his high-handed attitude, but then glanced to Magnus when he ran a finger lightly over the back of her hand where it rested on the table.
Having claimed her attention with the light touch, he explained gently, “We need to teach you the things you should know as Liam’s mother. Things like the fact that, with a little caution, he can go out in sunlight.”
Allie relaxed and nodded. “Yes,” she acknowledged solemnly. “And I will be happy to learn those things, but—”
“We also need to keep you safe from the rogues who attacked you,” he interrupted gently. “At least until they can be rounded up and are no longer a threat.”
Allie was just feeling relief at those words when Lucian announced, “To that end, you will be moved to Port Henry.”
Allie’s relief fled, replaced with irritation again. She had no idea where Port Henry was, but had never taken well to being ordered about.
“Really, Uncle,” Tricia said with exasperated amusement before Allie could blow her top at the man. “You cannot make her go anywhere.” Turning to Allie, she added, “But it would probably be for the best if you agreed to go to Port Henry. It’s really a very nice little town, and I think I mentioned my husband is the police chief there. We can keep you safe without keeping you in a fenced-in compound with the dogs and guards they have here.”
“There are dogs and guards here?” Allie asked with surprise. All she’d seen when she looked out the back window was a large backyard and a huge building with a lot of garage doors in it.
“Yes,” Tricia said solemnly, “Dogs, guards, and a huge electric fence.”
Allie’s eyebrows rose. “And Port Henry is safer?”
“Perhaps not safer in that way, but it’s a small town where strangers are noticed pretty quickly,” she assured her. “And there are several immortal families there with children. Aside from the parents offering added protection, it means Liam would have a lot of playmates. It also means there would be several people who can tell you all you need to know about raising an immortal boy.”
That sounded pretty good to Allie. At least, it did if Lucian wouldn’t be there. The man just rubbed her the wrong way.
“Staying there would give you a chance to regain your strength too, while Lucian and Mortimer worked here to find and capture the rogues who attacked you,” Tricia added, eliminating the concern of Lucian being in Port Henry.
“When do we leave?” Allie asked with a wry smile.
Tricia beamed at her, but it was Lucian who answered the question. “The helicopter that brought Katricia and Teddy here is waiting out on the airstrip to take you all back. The six of you can leave as soon as you tell us everything you know about this nest of rogues that attacked you.”
“The six of us?” Allie asked with confusion.
“Magnus and Tybo will be accompanying you for added protection,” Lucian announced. “It hopefully will not be necessary since it is doubtful the rogues could follow the helicopter to Port Henry, but it is better not to take chances.”
“Oh.” Allie’s gaze slid to Magnus and then quickly away when she saw he was looking at her.
“So . . .” Lucian arched an eyebrow and ordered, “Tell us what you know of these rogues.”
Five
Magnus watched Allie struggle with her irritation at Lucian’s high-handed manner, but after a moment she seemed to let go of it on a sigh and shook her head before saying apologetically, “Not much, I’m afraid.”
He noted the concentration on the faces of Lucian and the others and knew they were reading her thoughts for the information they sought. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that so suggested, “Just tell us what you do know.”
Allie nodded and glanced down at her hands briefly, but then nodded again. “One of them is Liam’s father.”
Magnus frowned at this news. “How did you end up with Liam?”
“His mother, Stella,” Allie answered, smiling softly. “I met her about a month after buying my first home, a town house in Calgary. It was summertime, August, and one night some rude idiot decided to mow their lawn,” she said with remembered irritation. “I’d put up with the noise of a dozen lawn mowers all day and evening. It’s expected in the summer, that’s why I worked nights. It was quiet then and I could concentrate. Usually, but not that night. It was around ten thirty—the kids were all inside getting ready for bed if not there already, the rest of the street had finally settled down to quiet, and then vroom. Ugh.” Allie shook her head. “I wanted to throttle whoever it was, but I tried to ignore it and kept working. When the engine cut out, I was relieved and thought it was done, but then they tried to restart it, and failed, and tried again and again, their machine making the most god-awful coughing sounds. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and went outside ready to tear into the thoughtless prick making all that racket at that hour.”