“No clean-up,” he said. “Lex will notify the cops once we’re safely away that there’s a terrorist group here hunting and selling people and body parts.”
“They
won’t care that it’s only vampires that are being harvested?”
“We’re leaving the vampire part out of it,” Liam said. “Michael’s going to set it all up and make it look legit.”
“It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of time,” Michael said. “We’ll make it obvious that Hank was the one behind the sales, but we’ve got a couple of bodies we’ll place here and there to make it look like they were selling human girls. That will make the police care.”
“What about that one?” I gestured to the body in the corner that had been chewed up by a random vampire.
“Greg, take your food to go,” Michael sighed, shaking his head. “Sorry,” he said to Liam. “He’s new.”
Liam ignored them and turned back to me. He pulled me into my arms, lifted me up, and kissed me again.
“Come on, little vampire,” he said. “It’s time to get you home.”
12.
Liam
BRINGING KIMBERLY HOME to the mansion felt right, and I had a deep sense of satisfaction as I carried her up to our bedroom. We went into the bathroom, climbed into the shower together, and sat down. We let the water wash over us. It swept away the sweat and the tears and the blood from the day. I held her in my arms there for a long time. Finally, when we both felt clean, we left the bathroom and went back into the bedroom.
When we climbed into bed together, I reached for her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, tensing. “I shouldn’t have run away.”
I looked at her, confused.
“Running away?” I said. “I thought you were getting some space.”
“I was,” she said. “But I was worried you’d think I was leaving you.”
“Kim, you’re allowed to have space. We all need time to ourselves once in awhile.”
“It just helps me clear my head,” she told me. “Getting out, stretching my legs, and just being away from everything and everyone is how I manage my emotions.”
“I was worried about you,” I told her. “But only because you didn’t come back.”
She nodded, and snuggled up close to me.
“I’m sorry that you were worried.”
“I’m not,” I told her. “Can you imagine if I hadn’t been worried and I’d just ignored the fact that you left?”
That was what scared me the most about the entire situation. If she had been left to her own devices, and she’d been out and alone in the world, what might have happened next? What if she’d been captured and killed and I never found out? I would have spent all of eternity worried about her and wondering if she was okay.
“I have a question,” she said.
“Ask it.”
“When you read Hank’s mind, what did you see?”
“Anger, mostly.”
“So, when you get into someone’s head, can you see exact thoughts?”
“Sometimes. Most of the time, I can see strong emotions. Things like rage or bitterness are easy to read. Sometimes, I can read specific thoughts. It really just depends on the situation and how worked up the person is. People who have a lot of training in vampire repelling methods are the hardest to read. They’re very good at calming their emotions and making themselves unreadable. Still, I’ve always been able to get something from everyone I’ve ever met.”