“What’re you gonna do now?”
Blake hesitated at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Try to make Lilo understand that we’re not all bad.”
“You’re gonna tell her the truth about Scanguards and about yourself?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Donnelly sighed. “We always have a choice. The question is what’s less painful? Coming clean or erasing what she’s seen?”
“Painful for whom?” Blake murmured to himself and left the office.
19
They’d barely spoken in the car. He’d told Lilo that they would talk once they were home. After all, the car wasn’t the right place to confess to her that vampires truly existed, and that he was one of them. What if she panicked and jumped out of the car, trying to run away? No, he had to get her home first, calm her down, and then gently tell her the truth. He could only hope that she would understand.
Blake opened the door leading from the garage to the hallway and ushered Lilo inside ahead of him. The voices of the boys were coming from the living room.
“Ryder?” he called out.
The twenty-year-old hybrid appeared almost immediately. He was mature for his age, one of the more serious and responsible of his hybrid charges. Ryder was less wild than Amaury’s twins, and less stubborn than Grayson, Samson’s eldest son. “You’re back.”
Blake pointed to him, while looking at Lilo. “Lilo, this is Ryder, one of our bodyguards-in-training.”
Lilo nodded, her “Nice to meet you” sounding automatic and distracted.
Ryder smiled. “Same.” He came closer. “I checked with the vet like you told me. Turns out Hannah did indeed keep her appointment for the dog. Wanna know what she had done?”
Blake raised a curious eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“She had a GPS chip implanted in her dog. You know, one of those you can trace in case the animal gets lost.”
“Good work,” he praised the young hybrid. “Let’s see if we can find the dog. Maybe he’s with her.”
Next to him, he noticed Lilo draw closer, hope lighting up her features.
“I’ve already put a request in to get the info for the chip. We should have it soon, and then IT will trace it,” Ryder reported.
“Thanks, Ryder, I really appreciate it.” Then he motioned to the living room. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Take the boys out for pizza. I need to talk to Lilo alone.”
Ryder cast a quick look at Lilo, then nodded. “Not a problem.” Then he called out, “Nicholas, Adam, Sebastian, we’re going for pizza.”
While the boys came running, Blake asked, “Sebastian is here, too?”
“His mother dropped him off earlier,” Lilo said.
Sebastian was already coming toward them. Blake pulled him into a quick hug. “Hey, buddy. Good to see you.”
The boy beamed back at him. “Hey, Uncle Blake.”
“We’ll hang out later, okay? I’ve just gotta do a few things first, while you guys go for pizza, alright?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Okay, guys, let’s go,” Ryder commanded. “I’ll take the van?”
Blake nodded. “Keys are inside.”
Moments later, the house was quiet. He looked at Lilo. She was shivering now, and there was a watery sheen to her eyes.
“Come, let’s talk.”
She sniffled, drawing up her shoulders. “They’re ugly, evil monsters.” She raised her face to look at him. “They’ve hurt her. I know they have.”
“Lilo, please, you need to calm down.”
“Calm down? I can’t. Don’t you see what’s happening? Our very existence is being threatened by these… these vile creatures. They’re abominations! They shouldn’t even exist. Blake, why is this happening?”
Tears dislodged from her eyes, and he couldn’t bear seeing her like this. Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her. “Oh, baby, everything will be alright. I promise you.”
“How can it?” she wailed. “How can anything ever be alright again when awful creatures like that exist? Vampires! Bloodsuckers! Out to kill us all.”
The words stabbed into his heart like blades. It wouldn’t be easy to convince her that not all vampires were bad. That in fact the majority of vampires he knew were good and decent people. People who’d vowed to protect humankind.
Blake pressed a kiss into Lilo’s hair. “Let’s look at the evidence first. We don’t really know what they’ve done.” Though he was certain they were behind Hannah’s disappearance. “Why don’t we talk?”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso. “I don’t want to talk. I want to forget. I want to not think about what I saw. I wish I’d never seen it. How will I ever sleep again? How will I ever be able to feel safe again?”
“Some things aren’t always like they appear at first,” he tried to pacify her.
“We’re not safe, Blake. We’ll never be safe again.” She looked up at him, her eyes round and brimming with tears.