“Okay. Thanks, David.”
“Right. And just remember, Ara, I'm doing this for you, not him. I want answers, and I want to see something concrete by the time I get back.”
“But that doesn’t give us much time. You're coming back Sunday, right?”
“I was. But, things…” He sighed. “Things are bad here.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I need to transport a few prisoners to the Vampiric Institution for the Insane.”
I covered my mouth. “What happened to them?”
“It’s . . . the vampire mind is still very human. There’s only so much one person can handle before they . . . well, before they lose it.”
I waited for a second, tense, feeling a kind of energy in David’s voice that made me wonder if one of those prisoners was. . . “Is Pepper one of them?”
He coughed, then cleared his throat. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the prisoners, Ara.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Did she go nuts because of what you did, or was it something after that—”
“Have fun setting up the lab, Ara. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I went to speak, but he hung up the phone, and all the things I wanted to tell him about my birth parents suddenly went on hold, boiling up like bad news, making me so mad not to be able to get it all out. I opened messages on my phone and wrote: Just thought you might like to know that I found out about my birth mother. She's dead. So is my father.
As soon as I pressed send, though, I felt worse.
The phone rang a second later.
“Ara.”
“David. I'm sorry. That was really petty of me, I—”
“No, my love. I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have hung up on you.”
“It’s okay. You've told me not to ask about Pepper. I should respect that.”
“No, you shouldn’t. You're my wife and you do have a right to know, but I . . . Ara, I did that to her,” he said, his voice shaking, “and I’m dead ashamed of myself.”
I held still in case the door to his emotions slammed shut in my face. I wasn’t sure what to say or how to move this conversation forward without forcing him back into his shell. “When . . . um . . . when was the last time you saw her?”
“About a year or so before I met you.”
“Was she . . . like that then?”
“Not as bad.”
“Then you didn’t do it to her, David.” I practically laughed with relief. “Maybe time has, or . . . I don’t know. But you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
“Thanks, Ara. You’re sweet to say that, but you don’t know the full story.”
“I would if you’d tell me.”
“One day. Maybe.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. One day, maybe, was good enough for me. “So, how do you know she’s insane? Like, what did she say to you when you saw her?”
“That’s just it. She didn’t even recognize me.”
“At all?”
“She was too busy peeling her own skin back and eating it to notice anything other than a passing rat she could mutilate.”
I let out a shaky breath. “David, I’m so sorry.”
“It is what it is. So. . .” His tone changed, taking the subject with it. “Your dad told you about Rose?”
“Yes. Wait. I never mentioned her name.”
“I know. I've known about her for a while. I was waiting until I had news of a nice family somewhere out there waiting to meet you before I said anything, but . . . I never found anything on your biological father.”
“I'm okay, you know. I still have my dad and Vicki.”
“And me.”
“For a while.”
“Yes, but I'm still here, and I love you, and I'm sorry we’ve fought today.”
“Me too. I hate fighting.”
“Me too.”
After a long silence, with me lost trying to think of something else to say to keep him on the line, he said, “Ara?”
“Yeah.”
“I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered. “Love you.”
“Love you, sweetheart.”
Chapter Nine
“Jase.” I leaped off the last step and ran into his arms at full speed, well, full human speed.
He caught me gracefully, gave me a quick squeeze, and placed me gently back on the ground. “You’re awfully cheery today, Ara. What’s up?”
“He went for it, Jase. I don't know if it was just pure luck or if David woke up on the right side of bed, but he approved it.” I stood back, swiping my hair from my face.
“Approved what?”
“Your lab, silly!”
His eyes narrowed, his brows forming two lines in the middle, just like David when he was utterly confused. “When?”
“I talked to him on the phone this morning, then I went to see Walt to get the budget plan. Jase, you have the full backing of the House, and an unlimited budget.”
He laughed. “Really?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Ara, that’s. . .” He scratched his head, still looking a little mixed by his emotions. “That’s great!”
“I know, right?” I tapped his arm once. “There’s a condition, though.”
“What’s that?”
“I have to have a guard present whenever we’re researching or training.”
“That's—” He nodded, smiling. “Yeah, that's more than fine. More than fine.”
“I knew you'd say that.” I clapped once, bouncing on my toes. “We have to celebrate.”
He grinned. “And I know just the place to go.”
“Out on the town?” I joked.
“Better.” He patted my arm as he walked past. “Have everyone meet at the lighthouse tonight.”
“Ooh, lighthouse party.”
“Yeah.” He walked backward, the reality clearly having sunken in to his smile. “It’s a tradition around these parts.”
“To celebrate on a lighthouse?”
“Yeah.” He started up the stairs. “And tell Blade he better be there.”
“I will.” I watched him disappear into the second floor corridor, then turned to look back at Falcon, who was standing inconspicuously in the shadows nearby. “You coming, Fal?”
He stepped forward, his hands clasped in front. “You’ll understand if I don’t.”