Luther's Return (Scanguards Vampires Book 10)

Lydia laughed and scooped a slice of pizza onto her plate. “Yeah, right.”


“So vampire females don’t have to be infertile anymore,” Luther said, clearly digesting the news. “How does it work?”

“I’m not a doctor, but the way Maya explains it is that when a vampire female wants to conceive, Maya injects her with human stem cells to prepare her body,” Katie started. “You see, conception was never a problem for a vampire female. But as soon as a fertilized egg tries to implant itself into the womb, the vampire’s body perceives it as an injury and heals it, killing the egg. So by injecting human stem cells, Maya in effect creates a human womb. During the entire pregnancy Maya monitors the vampire female and continues injecting human stem cells to keep up the right environment for the fetus to thrive until it’s time for the birth.”

“That’s amazing,” Luther said.

“Guess they don’t keep you up to date in prison,” Cooper said.

“Cooper!” Katie chastised, but Luther immediately squeezed her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Luther said.

Lydia looked up at Luther. “Dad filled us in. So we volunteered to bring Aunt Katie’s car back.”

“Thanks, honey, that’s nice of you,” Katie said and smiled at her niece.

She bit into a slice of pizza, ravenous now. She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten something. Oddly enough, she hadn’t even noticed until now. Maybe the fact that Luther had given her his blood to heal had kept the hunger at bay.

“Though Dad did say that you can’t go anywhere,” Cooper added now and glanced at Luther, looking him up and down.

Luther sat down on the chair opposite Katie’s, not saying anything about Cooper’s obvious curiosity. For a moment there was silence.

“Have there been any developments?” Luther asked, directing his question at Cooper, treating him like an equal.

Cooper immediately sat up straighter and pulled his shoulders back. “Nothing new. They’re looking into all the leads they have. Thomas and Eddie are going through all the databases to see if they can find any other hideouts this Forrester might have.” Cooper sighed.

“Did they match the voice on the recording to Forrester’s to get a positive ID?” Katie asked.

“Not yet. They’re trying to get a sample of Forrester’s voice from prison records.” Cooper tossed a look at Luther. “But apparently there’s been a bit of an incident at Grass Valley.” His eyes shone with admiration now. “So you’re some kind of badass, huh?”

“Cooper, please!” Lydia hissed. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“How am I embarrassing you?” her brother griped. “I’m just stating a fact. Everybody’s saying the same.”

“Yeah, but not to his face!” Lydia snapped, and immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. Ashamed, she lowered her lids. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry for me,” Luther said evenly. “I deserve everything people are saying about me. Nobody should have to whitewash what I am or what I did.”

Katie locked eyes with him across the table, trying to tell him with her eyes that she appreciated everything he’d done to help them find Isabelle. But Luther averted his eyes and instead looked at Cooper.

“I’m an ex-con, Cooper. There’s nothing romantic or admirable about that. Nothing anybody should aspire to.”

To Cooper’s credit, the kid didn’t back down. “Do you regret it?” He held Luther’s gaze.

Katie felt her heart pound out of control. Luther’s eyes shifted to her. They turned darker, became unreadable.

“Eat another slice, Coop,” Lydia said and broke the spell. “And don’t ask questions that are none of your business.” She turned to Luther. “I’m sorry. He’s only sixteen. He really doesn’t know when he’s getting on people’s nerves.”

“You’re one to talk,” her brother protested.

Katie reached for another slice. “And people wonder why I don’t want kids.”

“See what you did now!” Lydia ground out, glaring at her brother. Then she put her hand on Katie’s forearm. “Sorry, Aunt Katie. It’s just… well, we’re all under stress. And we’re all taking it out on each other. The waiting… it’s just killing me.” Tears formed in Lydia’s eyes. “Are we gonna find her?”

“Oh, Lydia.” Katie rose from her chair and pulled her niece into her arms, hugging her tightly. “We’re doing everything to find her. We’ll get her back. We will, I promise you.”

Pressing Lydia’s head to her shoulder and stroking her long red hair, Katie looked past her to Luther. His eyes shimmered golden now, and she recognized the promise that lay in them. Luther would do everything in his power to help them get Isabelle back.

“I’m sorry, I’m normally not such a watering pot,” Lydia wailed.

“That’s okay, honey.”

Unexpectedly, Cooper rose from the table and approached them. “Come on, sis, I’ll take you home.”