Page 92 of Blood Day: Part Two

I nodded, my gaze on Lily as she navigated toward the vent.Once you’re inside, replace the vent and start crawling.

“Want me to set off the sprinklers?” Damien asked.

“Once she’s inside the vent, yes,” I said, turning on my earpiece. “Then I’m heading in.”

Damien hit a button to initiate radio contact. “I’ll be here for as long as I can.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant—if the lycans found the van, he would abort the mission. Then I’d be on my own with Lily.

“Thanks for your help,” I told him. “The funds are waiting for you in the usual place, so if I don’t make it out of this…”

“I still get paid,” he translated, glancing at me with his golden-brown eyes. “But we both know how hard you are to kill.”

My lips twitched. “That we do.”

“Then I won’t wish you luck.”

I dipped my chin again. “Good. I wouldn’t want to risk you jinxing anything.”

“Sometimes you remind me of Ryder.”

“Sometimes I wish I was Ryder,” I admitted.

It would be nice to live in seclusion and avoid all the politics of this reformed world.

Alas, Silvano was my maker, and that sort of future would never be mine.

At least I’ll have my flower,I thought, my gaze on the corner of the morgue where Lily had just finished squeezing into the vent shaft. I didn’t need to remind her to resecure the grate; she was already doing it.

“Time to make it pour,” I told Damien, referring to the sprinklers and my intent to kill.

“Blood rain.” The vampire sounded amused. “My kind of party.”

“That’s why I invited you,” I returned, opening the door of the van. “Until next time.”

“Until next time,” he echoed.

Cedric?Lily whispered.

Start crawling, little flower. I’ll be there soon.

Chapter19

Lily

What am I doing?I wondered, the metal warm beneath my palms.

Crawling, Cedric replied, his voice loud inside my mind.

That hadn’t been what I’d meant, but I didn’t bother elaborating. Because I wasn’t sure I believed he was here.

No, that wasn’t true.

I didn’t want to believe he was here. Because that would lead to hope, and I couldn’t afford to feel that emotion. Not here. Not in this place. Not when I was so close to death.

Such darkness,Cedric whispered to me.I’ll find a way to return you to the light, sweet Lily flower.

I ignored him and kept crawling. Toward what, I didn’t know. This could all just be a nightmare, or a mental escape, or a suicide mission. I was in hell, as evidenced by the mutilated corpses I’d left behind.