There was another snarl and then a small whine. My heart tugged painfully. It did not bring me joy confronting her on this, but I couldn't let her make a mistake and possibly hurt someone.
I waited as her breathing slowed, and she got a hold of herself. A thought occurred to me. "Caroline, were you anywhere near German Village this afternoon?"
"What are you talking about?" Her questions sounded frustrated and confused.
"Just answer me. Were you near Third Street today?" Did you happen to attack a pair of humans getting into their car? That question went unvoiced for fear I'd lose her. The other fear, the one I refused to admit to myself, was that she'd been responsible for the attack, and even knowing that, she was refusing to come in.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Caroline—"
"No. I know you mean well, but it's not going to work." Her voice held a steely resolve that I knew from experience meant she wasn't going to budge. "There are things about this that you don't understand. I'm sorry I got you involved, and I'll figure this out on my own. Thanks for your help before; I appreciate it."
"Caroline!" A dial tone buzzed in my hand. "Shit."
She was gone.
Moving slowly, every movement precise, I set my phone down on the nightstand. I couldn't afford to break it as it was my only phone and the way Hermes contacted me for jobs. Breaking it would cut me off from the rest of the world, something I couldn't afford right now.
Oh, but I wanted to.
The urge to break, rend, and tear ate at me. Before I could give into it, I threw myself back on the bed and forced myself to take deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Again and again.
When I could think past the rage, I opened my eyes. The pain in my stomach helped bring me back to myself. My sigh was heavy.
That could have gone better. The conversation had revealed Caroline wasn't going to listen to reason, and I didn't know if it was because of the transition to werewolf, or the demon taint Brax maintained still infected her. I was going to need to track her down and force her to be reasonable. Before that however, I needed to figure out what I was going to do with her when I did find her. That problem could very well be more difficult than the other.
Until then, I needed to survive the pain in my stomach now that the adrenaline of Caroline contacting me was fading.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SOMETHING PATTED MY cheek. I waved my hand and rolled over, hiding my face against the covers. A hand shook my shoulder, and I groaned, trying to worm under the pillow. So tired.
"Nope, time to get up, baby vampire," Nathan's cheerful voice said from above. The covers were whisked off me, then a pair of hands gripped my ankles and pulled. I gave up after a brief struggle, and let my eyes close as he pulled me across the floor. Fighting him was too much work.
I was almost back to sleep as he dragged me across cool tile, then picked me up and set me down, so I was sitting up, my back supported against the wall. There was a small sound before freezing water rained down on me. I sputtered awake, gasping as the cold stole my breath. There was the sound of a camera clicking as I lurched for the faucet.
Nathan pocketed his phone as I shut off the water and turned to face him, dripping wet and wide awake.
"What the hell?" I snapped.
He shrugged his mammoth shoulders, not looking the least perturbed in the face of my anger. "You wouldn't get up. This seemed like the best way."
My eyes widened. "You put me in the shower and used freezing water on me."
He grinned, unrepentant. "It worked, didn't it?"
He took his phone out of his pocket and flashed it at me. The home screen said 5:24 on it, a full three hours before sunset. I stared at the time and felt a sense of wonder. Except for when Brax had woken me, I hadn't been up this early in years. Unlike yesterday, I didn't have the same exhaustion and mental fog pulling at me. I actually felt functional. It was something I had lost hope of being possible.
"Thought that might shut you up," Nathan said, his smirk satisfied.
I looked back at the water faucet. "All I needed to stay awake was freezing cold water?"
He snorted. "Hardly. Half of this is the blood Liam shared with you yesterday. The cold water helps. Shocks the system."
I blinked at him, and he rolled his eyes.
"Come on, get showered and then dress. If you hurry, you can see daylight before the sun sets." He sauntered out of the room as my heart leapt at the promise. Day. It had been so long.
I was showered, dressed and in the front hall in less than ten minutes. Granted, my hair was still wet and slicked back in a messy bun, my face bare of makeup, I wore a pair of capri yoga pants and a t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, but I was ready for the day.
Nathan smothered a smirk at the sight of my eagerness and looked to his right. I followed his gaze and blinked as Liam stepped into the hall, hands behind his back, his eyes warm as they surveyed me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't realized I'd have an audience for this little excursion.
"I wanted to be here for this."
I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes, considering his statement. Before I could finish questioning it, Nathan opened the doors, sunlight spilling across the foyer floor. I edged back when the light would have brushed me and stared at the golden rays as they danced across the wood. It was so pretty. It reminded me of summer days and cook-outs and chilling with friends by the pool.
I crouched and placed my hand right in the shadows next to where the sun's light faded. So close. All I had to do was move my hand an inch, and I'd be touching the sun for the first time in two years.
For all that I craved the light, wanting it with every fiber of my being—a great yearning that had been gnawing at me for years—I couldn't bring myself to move that last little bit. It was like I was stuck on a precipice, and one wrong move would send me tumbling into the abyss.
My desire for its warmth was only matched by my fear of its pain. The light had almost killed me once when I was too weak and starved for blood. How did I know it wouldn't hurt me this time? They'd told me repeatedly that I wasn't a typical vampire, my development somewhat delayed. How did I know this wasn't another area where I was seriously lacking?
Liam knelt beside me and set his hand next to mine. He held it there for several moments and then moved it, so it rested on top of mine. With slow movements, each one pausing to give me time to resist, he edged my hand toward the light.