Page 47 of Absolution
“So you both need to get away and fuck like bunnies.”
“Sam…” Jamie warned.
“What? You’re cranky. Seiran’s cranky. Gabe is nuts. Kelly’s probably cranky. I’m the only one who isn’t.”
“This isn’t cranky?”
“Nope,” I said. “This is about as good as I get.” I glared at the clock. Gabe should be back by now. He was going to be cutting it very close to sunrise. I could feel the heat of it rising even though I was underground. “Gabe needs to stop drinking QuickLife. I dumped it all out. Don’t order him more.”
Jamie frowned, seeming to think about that for a few minutes. “Is it that simple?”
“No,” I said honestly.
“He’ll unravel even faster without blood. That will kill Seiran.”
“It’s already killing Seiran. He thinks his love broke Gabe.”
Jamie was silent for a long time. I checked on the twins and Seiran again. Everyone slept soundly. Good. I hoped they all caught up on rest a little. When I returned to the living room Jamie was on the computer.
“I blocked all the links for ordering QuickLife,” Jamie said. “I’ll call the store too, make sure they don’t send any over.”
It was a start. “There’s plenty of the real blood in the freezer.”
“Yeah, I’ve been ordering it, and keeping it stocked. Making sure it was ready for your return. I didn’t think Gabe was drinking any of it.”
He probably hadn’t been. “Any idea where he would have gone?”
Jamie shook his head. “No, but he’s out almost every night. Rarely works at the bar anymore. Mike’s been running it.”
Chaos. Of course, I’d wake up to fucking chaos. The sun did another insistent tug, almost six a.m. and I was going to bed. Fires could be put out later. “I’m headed to bed.” I handed him the baby monitor. “Seiran said something about going back to work today? I think that’s probably not a good idea.”
“Agreed,” Jamie said. He let out a long sigh. “I’ll call Tanaka.”
“Better you than me,” I told him and headed to the baby’s room and my bed. It smelled like Seiran. He’d obviously spent more than one night in that bed trying to rest and keep an eye on his kids. I didn’t really mind. It reminded me that I was no longer in the grave, though I still had a million questions. Had I really turned into a bird? Should I tell anyone or was that just a bad idea? Not that it mattered much in that moment. The sun rose as I heard the door from the parking garage open, and Gabe’s footfalls enter the apartment. I closed my eyes hoping he would finally see the light and give us all a break.
My phone beeped, and I was suddenly annoyed that I’d forgotten to silence it. At least it hadn’t bothered the babies. I changed the setting and glanced at the text. It was actually a picture from Luca, in bed with Con, both looking warm and sleepy. It read:
You could be here.
Fuck.
Bastard.I texted back.Sun’s up.
But oddly, unlike before I’d gone to ground, while it tugged at me to sleep, it wasn’t a fierce smack down into unconsciousness. More of a “hey, you’re pretty sleepy.”
Apartment is sun-free. Blackout drapes everywhere,came the reply.
Which made sense since Seiran and Kelly both worked late hours sometimes, and Seiran was dating a vampire. I thought about it for a minute.
Jamie was here to watch after the twins and Seiran, and it wasn’t like Gabe was helping me with any vampire stuff. I looked over the picture again, the two of them wrapped up in the blankets, bodies close, sleepy eyes, and bed hair. Did I want to be part of that sandwich? Stupid question. Yes. Even if I was too tired to do more than the vaguest lift in attention.
I crawled out of bed, checked on the babies again, who slept soundly, and peeked out the doorway. Jamie was alone at the counter. He glanced up as if he could feel my eyes on him. He raised a brow in question.
“Is it okay if I go upstairs to Sei’s place?” Normally I wouldn’t ask permission, but I didn’t want to leave Sei or the twins alone with Gabe. “You’re staying right? To watch over everyone?”
“I’m staying,” Jamie agreed. “If you’re going upstairs, I’ll even be taking your bed for a bit. It’s more comfortable than the couch and then I don’t have to use the baby monitor which their powers keeps messing with.”
I swallowed a laugh. Of course they did. Normal babies, my ass. “That’s fine with me.” I found my slippers and put them on before carefully leaving the room, and tiptoeing around the apartment. I took two blood packs out of the freezer to bring upstairs. No reason to freak Con out by biting Luca when I woke up hungry. I glanced at Sei’s room. Would he be okay?