Page 62 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Don’t you think I know that? I feel it too. But this isn’t something we can rush.”

“How is it rushing? It’s been like a whole month. We’re past Christmas.”

I couldn’t sit anymore. My body needed to move. I had to go and save them.

“I know.”

“If you know, then let’s go. We know where they are now.”

Aaron shook his head with a sigh. “It’s not that simple. If we lose here, it’s game over. There’s no reload screen. We don’t get more lives. Us losing means them taking us all.”

“And killing me,” Kimberly added.

I groaned. It made sense, but that didn’t mean it was right. In front of the warmth of the fireplace, I rubbed at the tenderness of my chest. My brothers were out there hurt. I couldn’t imagine the things happening to them. Would The Family torture them? Were they even being nice to them?

Heat resided beneath the ache. Like someone lit a match in my chest. I didn’t know how, but I knew it was Zach. I just did. Somewhere, someone had pissed him off, and I held onto it.

The fire cracked in front of me, matching the simmering heat in my chest, and I blocked out the conversation happening between Kimberly and Aaron. My brother was angry.Maybe I should be angry too.

JANUARY

Twenty-Four

Presley

“I can’t believe it,” I whispered as I marked off yesterday’s date on the kitchen calendar.

It had been almost a whole stupid month since I’d felt that strange pain, and though nothing had felt as intense as that day,the weight in my chest had gotten gradually worse. Not exactly sure how that was possible. I’d tried to explain it to Aaron in terms of his rock collection. Aaron had a ton of rocks back in the day. Lots of small ones in little plastic containers, then some bigger ones. Mostly ones we stole from places we should not have taken them from, but there were some bigger than my fist that I had to hold with two hands. That’s what it felt like. Like five of those sitting on my chest. Every. Single. Day.

I didn’t think Aaron felt it as much as I did, and I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about that yet. On one hand, good for him. On the second, how was it fair I got all the weird vampire phantom pains? It had to be because of how much blood of Akira’s I drank. I wasn’t sure I regretted that. I’d never tasted anything like it and knew I never would again.

“Ready?” I motioned to Aaron, who was standing in the kitchen fidgeting with some breadcrumbs on the counter. He was dressed and ready for a snowstorm, but there wasn’t one. Not that week, at least.

“Yep.”

It was time to hunt, and this time, it was just Aaron. Aaron and Kimberly had been kind of shady about their blood-drinking endeavors, but I honestly didn’t care. They could keep their damn secrets. I just didn’t want to go alone.

Mom came through the front door with her hair disheveled, stomping the snow from her boots on the welcome mat.

“Hey Mom. Aaron and I are going out. Need anything?”

“What about Kimberly?” she said as she dropped her empty lunch container in the sink.

“I think she’s resting in the cabin,” Aaron said.

“Okay, I won’t bother her, then. I think I’m going to go see a friend tonight anyway.”

“Got a hot date we don’t know about?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Mom snickered.

“Please tell me I’m not going to accidentally walk in on you and your lumberjack boyfriend named Hank, am I?”

Two things I’d noticed: there were a lot of Hanks here and all the guys were buff, blue-collar working men, and I wasn’t mad at it.

“Of course not . . . we’re going to his place.”

“Mom,” Aaron and I said it at the same time. Disgusting didn’t cover it.