She swallowed. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about more sneak attacks in the future. “Is Oliver okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“They beat him really badly.”
“He’s all healed now, sweetheart.”
“Good.” She had a vague memory now of Oliver tossing her over his shoulder. He had risked his life to free her, refusing to leave her behind even though he could barely stand and knew lugging her weight around would slow him down.
She took stock of her body. Other than feeling a little tired, she was okay. Her stomach no longer roiled. Her heart wasn’t racing. Clammy sweat didn’t chill her skin. “I’m all healed, too?” They must have given her blood. Or maybe the drug had simply worn off.
“Not completely.” The faint glow in his eyes intensified.
Her pulse picked up. “What do you mean?”
He closed those amber eyes a moment, then opened them. A muscle leapt in his jaw. “They poisoned you, Kayla.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Roubal thought they could obtain my cooperation by dangling an antidote in front of me. And if it didn’t work…” He shook his head. “He didn’t want to leave any witnesses behind anyway. The bandage the woman put on your arm after she drew your blood was soaked in poison.”
She stared. “I wondered why she was using such a big bandage. It was because it could hold more poison?”
“Two poisons actually. The network had a cure for one, but not for the other. Seth was able to halt the progression of both poisons. But your heart stopped twice. And he was only able to heal some of the damage done to it.”
Kayla willed herself not to panic. “What does that mean?”
He leaned closer. “Sweetheart, it weakened your heart. Seth tried again to heal you after doctors here at the network infused you with blood and administered the antidote. But he couldn’t restore your heart to what it was before. Both he and Dr. Lipton believe the damage has left you at far greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke.”
Fear rose, not just for herself but for her daughter. She was all Becca had. Now that Becca had cut all ties with her father, she had no other family members who could offer her support if something happened to Kayla, not even grandparents.
Kayla’s father had died of a heart attack when Becca was a little girl. She’d lost her mother to cancer three years later. When Becca had cut her dad out of her life, she’d done the same with his parents because they kept blaming the divorce on Kayla. The only other living relatives Becca had were Kayla’s grandmothers, both of whom were in their nineties and lived in nursing homes up north.
And then there was Nick. Kayla had just found him, had fallen in love with him. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye. They’d had so little time together. She wanted more.
Tears rose, but she hastily blinked them back, not wanting to upset him more than he already was. Because Nick was clearly torn up about it. Though he maintained a calm expression, those eyes of his betrayed his inner turmoil. “How long do they think I have?”
“There’s no way of knowing.”
“Long enough to see Becca graduate? Long enough to see her launch her career? Marry? Have kids?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Not likely.”
Shit.
“I’m so sorry, Kayla.” Releasing her hand, he draped an arm across her stomach and curled it around her as he leaned closer. “This is all my fault.” He continued to stroke her hair.
“No it isn’t. It’s mine.” When he would’ve protested, she cut him off. “If I hadn’t been in that accident, Richard Roubal wouldn’t have seen you at the hospital and none of this would’ve happened.”
His brow furrowed. “The accident wasn’t your fault.”
“And this wasn’t yours.” She held his gaze. “I mean it, Nick. If I hadn’t been in an accident, you wouldn’t have run into Roubal at the hospital. If I hadn’t moved in next door to you, you wouldn’t have cared enough to risk everything to heal me when I was in the accident. If my husband hadn’t cheated on me, I wouldn’t have divorced him and moved next door to you. If America hadn’t sent troops to Vietnam, you would never have met Roubal all those decades ago. If Roubal’s doctors had caught the cancer sooner, maybe he would have beaten it and wouldn’t have been searching for a miracle cure. If a vampire hadn’t turned you four hundred years ago, you wouldn’t have lived long enough to meet Roubal. Or me. So stop blaming yourself. That’s bullshit. What happened happened. It is what it is. Assigning blame won’t change anything.”
It sure as hell wouldn’t change the fact that her life had just been significantly shortened.
Knowing she could drop dead of a heart attack or stroke at any moment was terrifying.
Nick gave her waist a squeeze. “But there is something that can change things.” He spoke hesitantly, as though he feared her reaction. “At least… it can change how things play out from this point on.”
She studied him. “What?”
“You’re a gifted one, Kayla. I can transform you without any fear of your becoming vampire.”
Again her heart rate picked up. And she hoped like hell it wouldn’t send her into cardiac arrest as he continued.
“Seth believes the virus can heal what he was unable to. Some of my immortal brethren suffered severe brain injuries not long ago. And Seth and the other healers were only able to partially heal them. They worried the brain damage that lingered might be permanent. But the virus took over and healed the rest. They all made complete recoveries. It took a little longer with Ethan. But even he recovered. Seth thinks the virus can do that for your heart. He believes if you transform and become immortal, your heart will be fully restored and strengthened.” Moisture glimmered in his earnest amber eyes. “So you won’t die.”
She stared at him. “You want to make me immortal?”
His throat again worked in a swallow as he nodded. “I don’t want to lose you,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “I’ve waited four hundred years to find you. But I love you too much to transform you if it isn’t what you wish. The decision is yours.”
Scooting over to the opposite edge of the bed, she held up her arms. “Come here.”
Nick didn’t hesitate. Swiftly settling his long frame beside her on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
Kayla burrowed her face into his chest, her thoughts whirling like a dust devil as he rested his chin atop her head and stroked her back. “Would I age if you transformed me?”
“No. And once done, it’s irreversible. There is no known cure for this virus, so you must be certain before you decide.”
If he transformed her, she would never grow old, never sicken or die, and would no longer have to worry about her heart failing. But… “I would outlive Becca.”
“Yes.”
Pain pierced her like a knife at just the thought of it, of losing her daughter.
“If you transformed, you would have more time with her, Kayla,” he murmured.
And she would get to experience all the things she would miss if she didn’t transform.