“That you were turned.” His eyes searched hers, looking for the truth.
“If you would have asked me that after it happened, then yes.” Jill wrapped her arms around his waist. “But the day you showed up and shoved Jeff’s face in the concrete changed that completely. So no, Slade, I’m not sorry because I would have never met you.”
CHAPTER 18
Once again, Jill found herself sitting alone in the kitchen. It had been three days since she had been at her parents’ house and the miracle of all miracles had happened with her mother. They had actually exchanged cell phone numbers and to her surprise her mother was a huge texter. She didn’t know if her sickness had changed her mom’s feelings, but she didn’t care. Life was too short. Even though, ironically for her it was supposed to be long, but that didn’t seem to be the case now.
Some would see her acceptance of her mom’s apology as something she should decline, but Jill loved and had always loved her mother, and this was a new beginning for them. In a weird kind of way, she understood her mother’s fear, and that was all that mattered. No one else’s opinion, other than Slade’s, mattered to her.
So far everything seemed to be going smoothly, and she smiled taking another bite of a cracker, the smile disappearing in a disgusted grimace.
“Taste like shit, don’t they?” Adam sat down across from her at the table. He grabbed a cracker shoving it in his mouth. “Why couldn’t we be able to stomach steak instead of fucking crackers?”
“Or blood.” Jill sighed, taking a sip of warm Pepsi.
“God, I’m so thirsty.” Adam grabbed her Pepsi and took a swig. “But not for this shit. I feel like I’m slowly starving, Jill.”
“I know.” Jill’s heart flipped and not in a good way. What he said was absolutely true. They were slowly starving to death. Without blood, they wouldn’t survive.
“Angelina is so afraid and I don’t know what to do, what to tell her.” Adam’s voice shook with emotion to the point where he cleared his throat. “Has Slade found out anything at all?”
“No.” Jill wished she could tell him something different, but she wasn’t going to lie. “I think he’s just waiting to turn me, but I’m not letting that happen unless the laws change.”
“So you’d rather die than let Slade change you?” Adam stared at her as if trying to understand.
“Slade’s a doctor, a VC Warrior, it would ruin him to change me,” Jill responded firmly. “I can’t live with knowing I was his downfall.”
Adam started to say something but Sloan walked in the room holding something in his hand. “Been looking for you.” He handed her a check. “Sorry it took me so long, that should cover whatever’s needed.”
Jill looked at the check and about choked on the cracker she had just put in her mouth. “This is too much.” Jill handed it back to him, but then pulled it back looking at it. “Exactly how much do I get paid anyway?”
Sloan’s lips curved up in a half grin. “Only part of that is your pay advance. The guys pitched in to pay for their part.”
“That wasn’t the deal.” Jill frowned again, handing the check back, which he wouldn’t take.
“They figured you’d say that and said to tell you that this is the deal, and if you didn’t accept it, then the weddings were off.” Sloan replied, then walked out before Jill could argue further.
“How much is it?” Adam plucked it out of her fingers to look at it. “Holy shit. Can I borrow a couple thousand?” He gave her a ‘pretty please’ smile.
Jill stood, plucking it right back out of his fingers. “Not a chance.” She grinned and headed out of the kitchen.
As she made her way to her room, she had to watch for any of the girls. She told everyone else to keep the secret, but she totally sucked at secrets. That was why she was sneaking down the halls as if she were on some covert operation with the VC Warriors. Rushing inside her room, she shut the door. Slade walked out of the bathroom totally naked drying his hair with a towel.
“Good thing it was me.” Her eyes roamed his body and a sudden heat flushed across her skin.
Slade’s smile was slow, his eyes roaming over her. It had been way too long since he had touched her and she knew exactly why. She turned away from him and gazed at herself in the mirror, something she tried not to do lately. Her cheeks were sunken as were her eyes, which looked flat. The paleness of her skin made the shadows under her mismatched eyes even more pronounced. Steve was right; she looked like shit. Closing her eyes, she shut out the truth of the situation staring back at her.
“Open your eyes,” Slade said from directly behind her. His heat surrounded her.