Seating herself, she noticed the note on the desk. Dina and London were still with the shifters who’d been rescued from Ross’s lab. The house felt silent with everyone gone.
Determined to finish this, she pulled out Lester’s file and opened the folder. Jason’s photograph arrested her. She pulled out Sarah’s picture and recalled the girls abbreviated hospital stay.
Things were becoming heart-wrenchingly clear.
“You got your wolf back.” Rylan’s voice emerged from the darkness, his face unemotional as he tucked away everything that made him Rylan and her friend. She mentally reached out for him in the shadows, seeking reassurance. And met a cold wall.
Sorrow crept over her at the distance he was putting between them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“We’re friends!” That hurt, not to mention that his attitude pissed her off. “I had a right to know what kind of life I condemned you to suffer every time you fed.”
“Damn it anyway.” He rushed across the room in a blur, slamming his fists down on her desk. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You think everything’s your fault. This has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me. If not for my blood, none of this would’ve happened.” Just as furious, she stood and planted her palms on the desk, mimicking his posture.
Rylan didn’t say a word as he turned and walked toward the door. Her breath hiccupped in her chest.
“Don’t leave.”
He reached for the knob then paused, keeping his back to her. “You’re partially right.”
A bubble of pain grew under her ribs. She lifted her chin and pulled back her shoulders, bracing herself against his words.
“If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve died in the labs years ago.”
The door shut quietly, deflating her. When he left the house, the hum in the air slowly dissipated. But damn it, between the choice of him being dead or alive, she’d choose alive every time.
Taking a deep breath to deal with another vampire, she dialed the number Lester left for her. He answered on the first ring. “I believe I know what happened to your son.”
“You have my attention.” Her skin tightened uncomfortably. That was not something you ever wanted to hear from a vampire.
“You’re son dated a girl named Sarah Wilson. She was involved in a hit and run, leaving her in a coma that no one expected her to survive.” Raven paged through her notes.
“They were going to remove her from life support. Her pack was going to claim her body, so he bit her.”
“You’re sure?” The displeasure in his voice made her speak faster.
“Yes, but nothing happened. They took her off life support that afternoon. What happened next is foggy. I believe he thought there was still a way to bring her back. He went to the morgue later that evening.” An image of the broken morgue fridge flashed through her mind. “Something went wrong with the transfusion. She had enough human DNA to wake, but the few drops of her shifter blood prevented a full transition.” She grew quiet. “I think he recognized what she was in the end.”
“A ghoul.” The disgust in his voice was obvious.
“He must have found her when she woke, starved and confused. He tried to stop her.”
“And died. Thank you for your assistance. I’m sure you understand that this stays between—”
“You misunderstand. He succeeded. While distracted trying to contain her, Jason was murdered. Ghouls are rare. The chance to enslave one is even more so. It was a possibility the killer couldn’t pass up.”
“They’re an abomination.” The controlled emotion in his voice boomed in her mind like a bullhorn, the power coming to him automatically. Mind games. She doubted he was aware of using it this time.
“Be that as it may, your son died trying to save her life.” Prolonged silence filled the phone, leaving her uneasy. Smart people knew better than to disagree with a Vampire. You’d think she’d learn sooner rather than later to keep her opinions to herself and just report the facts.
“The killers name?”
“Dr. Patrick Ross. Dr. Ross ran into an unfortunate accident earlier this evening.”
Another pause, this one fraught with danger. “I thought we had an understanding.”
She had to tread carefully. The last thing she needed was a new enemy. “Our agreement stood until he kidnapped one of mine. I’m sure you understand.”
A disgruntled sigh crossed the line. “At least tell me he suffered.”
“Yes.” She thought back to Ross, his dying mother, his life and knew it was true. Until his mind snapped. “But not nearly enough.” Especially when images of the bloody lab haunted her, the glaringly empty cages, the near skeletal survivors that somehow managed to live.