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“He’s in tiny pieces. When they went back to the grave, they took him with them. ” Innocente hesitated, then said, “Why should I tell you any more?”

“I’m a vampire hunter, ma’am. I track down the old ones and kill them. I find the young ones and turn them back to mortals. My family has done this for centuries. I have a ritual from the Catholic Church that allows me to return young vampires to their human selves by using the ashes of their makers. If you can take me to where this vampire died, maybe I can dig up his remains and get what I need. ”

“He was in really small pieces,” Sergio said, wincing.

“Very small pieces,” Innocente agreed.

Ethan shrugged. “I just need a small piece for the ritual to work. ”

Innocente was surprised at how desperately she wanted to believe the stranger. The thought of Amaliya regaining her life was almost too precious to grab onto in fear of it being an illusion. “Are you sure you can do this?”

“Oh, I’m more than certain,” Ethan responded with confidence.

As the man launched into a detailed explanation of his investigation into Amaliya’s death and her body’s disappearance, Innocente gripped Sergio’s hand tightly. Even though she was still angry at Pete, she could see that the young man was desperate to believe Ethan, too. His expression was almost heartbreaking. Maybe he was an idiot, but Innocente realized he was an idiot who loved her granddaughter.

“So if we can go to where this vampire died and I can find a piece of him, even a fragment of bone, I can perform a ritual that will make her human again,” Ethan finished.

“We need to tell Amaliya,” Cynthia said in an awestruck, but elated voice. “We have to tell her!”

“She’s asleep right now,” Sergio reminded his wife.

“Where is Amaliya?” Pete asked.

Innocente gave both Sergio and Cynthia a warning look, but they had both already clamped their mouths shut.

“Well?” Ethan asked.

“Somewhere safe,” Innocente finally said. “We will help you get what you need for the ritual, but I’m not going to tell you where Amaliya is yet. ”

Ethan raised his eyebrows, then nodded. “Fair enough. You don’t know me. I get that. But I am your best shot at getting your granddaughter back. ”

“If there is any chance she can come back to us, you have to help him,” Pete urged.

“I agree,” Innocente said shortly. “But she’s my granddaughter and I won’t do anything until I can talk to her. And that won’t be until tonight. ”

“But we can go out to the graveyard now,” Sergio suggested. “We can drive down there during the day and get this rolling, right?”

“That we can,” Ethan agreed.

Cynthia nodded her head. “I’ll watch the kids. You can go with them Sergio. ”

“It will take us a few hours to get there,” Innocente said thoughtfully.

“You should stay here, Grandmama,” Sergio suggested.

“No,” Innocente snapped, “I shouldn’t. ”

“Okay, okay. ” Sergio surrendered immediately, knowing better than to rile her up again.

“I know I hurt Amaliya, Innocente, but I promise I just want to save her and make it up to her now,” Pete promised.

The sweetness on his face almost made her feel bad for him, but Innocente shoved the thought away. There was much to think about and the long drive would give her time to do so. With Bianca calling for help, she wasn’t too sure now was the best time to restore Amaliya. But then again, maybe if she was just human again the forces conspiring against her would leave her be.

“I’m going to eat, then get ready,” Innocente announced.

“We should leave soon,” Ethan suggested.

“We’ll leave when I’m ready,” Innocente informed him. She wasn’t about to let anyone tell her what to do when it came to her granddaughter.