As soon as Rosa and Henry left the room, Leila popped three blood bags into the microwave. I turned to her and said, “I have to shower and change for the press conference. Where’s Jase?”
“In his crib,” she said, shoving a straw into the side of the bag, not bothering with a glass.
I nodded. “Are you okay?”
She took a strong pull through the straw and said, “Don’t worry about me or Jase. Just do what you have to do. We’ll be fine.” I looked down at her right hand and was glad to see that she was still wearing her Bloodstone ring. She hadn’t taken it off since I gave it to her.
I pulled her in for a quick kiss, and then headed toward the shower while unbuttoning my shirt. A few minutes later, I walked into the living room, showered and changed into another black Armani suit. I needed to look the part when I faced the press.
“My, you look nice,” Leila said as she hande
Light shone brightly through the windows the next morning, alerting me to the start of a new day. Suddenly, the events of the night before came rushing into my mind. Leila was already up and Jase was out of his crib. He must have woken up and she didn’t wake me.When I walked into the kitchenette, Leila was sitting at the table, feeding Jase, who was sitting in a highchair.“Good morning, beautiful,” I said, and then kissed her lightly on the top of her head as I passed.“Morning,” she replied with a smile. Her color looked good this morning, which was a relief. I could literally judge how she was feeling by the color of her skin. “Sit down and I’ll pour you a cup of coffee.”“Don’t get up; I’ll get it,” I said, but she was already up and pouring the coffee.“Sit,” she said, pushing gently against my chest. A moment later, she placed a cup of coffee and a glass of b
She nodded in agreement, but said nothing as she listened attentively.“The attackers last night were after my son,” I said. “So, if you take this position, you will not only be his nanny, you will also be his protector.” I looked directly into her eyes. “To be honest with you, I had my doubts about hiring you at first, but after witnessing how you handled yourself last night in the fight against The Outsiders, I became convinced.” Then, I leaned closer. “And what I’m about to say I will say only once. In offering you this position, I am trusting you with my son’s life. If anything happens to him while he is under your care, I will hold you personally responsible. Understood?” She nodded. “So, are you still interested in the position? I will pay you handsomely. Kellen here can tell you that I am good to those who are loyal to me.”Kellen nodded in agreement, listening, with his muscled arms propped
“Let’s meet your new babysitter, shall we?” I asked.Jase clapped his hands.When I opened the door, Adeline was standing on the other side, carrying a bag.One of the bodyguards was going through it. “She’s clean,” he said to me, and then went back to his post. Kellen had a team to switch out, so there could be a guard posted by our door at all times.“Thank you, Gregory,” I said, then turned to Adeline. “Sorry about that, but we cannot be too careful.”“I understand,” she replied.“What’s in the bag?” I asked, curious myself.She smiled. “Actually, it’s my Nanny Kit. I have books, cars, toys … lots of things that will help me to keep him entertained.” Then, she looked at Jase in my arms. “Hi, little guy! My name is Addie. What’s yours?”“Jase,” he said hesitantly. He was a bit shy, b
A moment later, we pulled down the Las Vegas strip. I never tired of the sensory overload, even during the day. We drove past the tall, white Tropicana hotel and MGM Grand, flashing images of famous actors on their billboard that were soon to appear. Then, we passed the Atria hotel on the left, a huge skyscraper building with an equally huge billboard flashed brightly. Next, we passed the huge, circular building of The Las Vegas Weekly on the right as palm trees swayed with the sultry morning breeze, lining the center of the road. One of my favorites was the Paris hotel on the right, complete with an Eiffel Tower replica. Caesar’s Palace was on the left, their billboard flashing neon along with the Mirage hotel, and the flashing lights of the famous Casino Royale were on the right. A few moments later, we pulled in front of the Southside Medical Hospital.As soon as the limo pulled to a stop, Lorenzo jumped out and held his hand out for Leila, as Javier opened my door.
I nodded. “Leila asked Elias to help her develop the cure in exchange for giving his father partial credit. She’s planning on asking you to help her, too.” I took a deep breath, not quite sure how to ask. “Amy, if Leila can’t do it, if she can’t work to find the cure, can you?”Amy’s eyebrows pulled together. “Why do you ask?”I said nothing.“You want to take the cure. Why?”I nodded. “Amy, it’s the only way that I can protect my family …”“Protect your family?” Amy asked in disbelief. “By being human?”I took a deep breath. “Amy, I don’t want this life for them! For Leila! For my family.” I stood and walked to a corner of the room, placing my hands on my hips to calm myself, and then turned back to her. “I don’t want this kind of life for them. The only way to protect them is for us to disap
Amy knelt down on the floor beside her chair and held her hands. “Leila, as you know, preeclampsia is an elevation of the expectant mother’s blood pressure and an excessive amount of protein in the urine … and you have both.” Leila nodded, taking a deep breath. “It’s a hypertensive disorder, but can be quite serious if left untreated.” Leila nodded again, regaining her composure. Amy rose and opened a hidden refrigerator, threw two blood bags into the microwave, and then clipped the straw that came from one and handed it to Leila. She immediately started drinking it down. “Leila, I’m going to start you on magnesium sulfate, which will help prevent you from going into seizures. It’s good that you’ve been taking prenatal vitamins, but you are to start taking them twice a day: one in the morning and one at night. As you know, prenatal vitamins are very strong, but because this is a dhampir pregnancy, taking them twice a
“Let’s go get something to eat before we go home,” Leila said. Beside me in the limo, she reached over and squeezed my hand.I turned my attention from the window, absently watching the scenery go by, and looked at Leila. “No.”Leila sighed. “Lance, you can’t treat me like I’m glass.”“Leila, you heard what Amy said,” I said, returning the hand squeeze. “You need to rest.” I turned my attention back out the window.Leila sighed. “Charles, take us to Maggiano’s Little Italy.”I sighed as I shook my head. It was a wonderful Italian restaurant, and I hadn’t been there in a while. Any other time, I would have been delighted. But now …“Yes, ma’am,” Charles said, and then looked at me in the rearview mirror for approval. I gave him a slight nod.Leila shook my hand, forcing me to look at her. “I haven’t
We were both quiet during our meal, and I really didn’t taste it, although I knew the food was exquisite. It was a lovely afternoon, but it was time to start heading back.“Shall we?” I asked, having already paid the bill.Leila nodded, dabbing at her lips with her napkin.“Man, you were hungry!” I said, reaching out to help her up. “I am definitely going to have to start feeding you more often.”Leila laughed. “It was delicious.”I smiled. “Then, I’ll have to order take out from here more often.”“That would be lovely.” She swayed a bit as she got to her feet, but I steadied her.Actually, I had planned to have all of our meals catered for a while … at least until after the baby was born, if not indefinitely. “Shall we?”I kept my arm around her waist, helping to steady her, as we headed out the front door where the limo was