Claire sat down on the bed beside Eve. Are you okay?
No, Eve said. I want to go look out the window. But I shouldnt, right? I shouldnt see what theyre doing.
No, Claire agreed, and swallowed hard. Probably not a good idea. She rubbed Eves back gently and thought about what to doand that wasnt much. It wasnt like allies were exactly falling off the trees around here. Besides Shane, they had nobody else. Their second-best choice was a vampire.
How scary was that?
Still, she could call Amelie. But that was a little like arming a nuclear weapon to take care of an ant problem. Amelie was so badass, the other badass vampires backed down without a fight. Shed said, I will make it known that you are not to be troubled. However, you must not further disturb the peace. If you do, and it is your fault, I will be forced to reconsider my decision. And that would be
Unfortunate, Claire finished aloud, in a whisper. Yeah. Pretty unfortunate. And there was no way that this didnt constitute disturbing the peaceor wouldnt, as soon as Shanes dad got rolling. Hed come to kill vampires, and he wasnt going to be stopped by any little considerations like, oh, his sons life and safety.
No, not a good idea to call Amelie.
Who else? Oliver? Oliver wasnt exactly at the top of Claires Best Friends Forever list, although in the beginning shed thought he was pretty cool, for an old guy. But hed been playing her, and he was the second-most badass vamp in town. Whod use them, and this situation, against Amelie if he could.
So no. Not Oliver, either. The police were bought and paid for by the vampires. Her teachers at schoolno. None of them had impressed her as being willing to stand up to pressure.
Mom and Dad? She shuddered to think what would happen if she put in a frantic yell to themFor one thing, theyd already had their memories altered by Morganvilles strange psychic field, or so she assumed, since theyd forgotten all about ordering her home for living off campus. With boys. Mom and Dad werent exactly the kind of backup she needed, not up against Shanes dad and his bikers.
Her cousin Rexnow, there was an idea. No, Rex had been sent to jail three months ago. She remembered Mom saying so.
Face facts, Danvers. Theres nobody. Nobody coming riding to the rescue.
It was her, Eve, and Shane against the world.
So the odds were about three billion to one.
It was a long, long day. Claire eventually stretched out on one side of the bed, Eve on the other, each wrapped in her own separate cocoon of misery and heartache. They didnt talk much. There didnt seem to be a lot to talk about.