And this time, Shane didn't resist.
"Asshole, " Michael sighed, and slapped his back.
"Yeah, " Shane muttered, stepped back, and scrubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Whatever. You started it. " He looked around and focused on Claire. "You. You were supposed to be home already. "
Crap. She'd hoped they'd forget all about her late arrival, in the explosion of Shane's freakout. But of course, he'd try to find a way to shift attention away, and there she was, a sitting duck.
"Right, " Eve said. "Guess you forgot the number to call and tell us you weren't dead in a ditch. "
"I'm fine, " Claire said.
"Amy wasn't. She was murdered and stuffed in our trash can, so excuse me if I got a little bit worried that you might be dead. " Eve crossed her arms, her dark stare getting even more fierce. "I already checked out there for you, before Shane decided to pull this crap. "
Oh, man. Somehow, in all of the stress of her afternoon with Myrnin, Claire had forgotten about Amy's death. Of course Eve was angry; not so much angry, really, as plain terrified.
Claire didn't dare meet Shane's gaze. She looked at Michael instead, helplessly. "I'm sorry, " she said. "I got -- I was at the lab, and -- I should have called, I guess. "
"And you walked home? In the dark?" Another question she had to avoid. She just shrugged. "You know what we call pedestrians in Morganville? Mobile blood banks. " Michael sounded cold, too. Cold and angry. "You scared the shit out of us. That's not like you, Claire. What happened?"
Shane moved to her side, and she felt a moment of relief that at least he wasn't angry at her. But then he yanked her shirt away from her neck on the left, then on the right, an efficient rough search that surprised her too much to fight him. He skinned up her right sleeve all the way to the elbow and turned her arm to inspect it.
As he reached for the left, she felt an electric bolt of alarm. The bracelet. Oh God.
She yanked free and shoved him back. "Hey!" she said. "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine! Fang-free!"
"Then show me, " Shane said. His eyes were steady and scared, and that broke her heart. "C'mon, Claire. Prove it. "
"Why do I have to prove anything to you?" She knew she was wrong, and it made her stupidly angry that he cared so much. "You don't own me, like some vampire! I just said I'm fine! Why can't you just trust me?"