“I don’t hate my brother as he surmises.” Cian’s boot heel ground into the dry earth.
Before he zipped away at vampire speed, she said, “Cian, I don’t know who this Kathleen is or what she means to you, but it sounds like she’s dangerous.” Ari gnawed on her top lip for a second. “Connell will always protect Ellie, but she’s already lost her mother. You know what I’m saying?”
His blue gaze landed on the child. His offspring. “I’ll remember that, Ariana.” He straightened his broad shoulders. “Yeah, I’ll remember that.”
When Cian departed, Ellie looked up at her and squinted against the bright sun.
“Who gave you that necklace?” Ari had noticed the cryptic markings on the medallion. Made of silver, the center held a red gem. Possibly a ruby.
“Aegeus gave it to me. He said it’s very old and special. If something happens to Grandpa, Grandma or Connell and I’m scared, I just have to hold it and think of him.”
Ari nodded. Ellie could transport herself anywhere. This was a device to guide her to safety in case something happened to the Connellys. Smart!
Suddenly, Ellie covered her ears and squished her eyes shut.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Lyons. He’s screaming.”
Lynn appeared at the front door of the main house and rushed down the steps.
Ari figured Padraig’s penance meant a slow death. “Can you block it out, Ellie?” Lynn joined them, concern creasing her brow. “She can hear what’s happening to Padraig.”
“I can’t!” Ellie said.
“What should we do?” Lynn asked.
“Doesn’t she have a set of ear pods? Play music. Drown it out.”
“Great idea.” Lynn raced up the front steps with Ellie and into the house.
“Quinn. I don’t know what you’re doing to Padraig, but Ellie can hear what’s happening and it’s scaring the shit out of her! I know you want him to suffer, but be done with it. His blood runs in her veins.”
There was a long pause before Quinn answered. “Sorry, sweetheart. We’ll deal with this away from the ranch.”
Ari tilted her head back, the warm sun melting the angst from her wary bones. Ivanna was dead. Padraig would pay his penance. They knew the details of the rebellion and hopefully, with Padraig gone, the BLM would start renewing leases for the ranchers. Tess was forever changed, but she had her thirst under control and could come home. And finally, Quinn was free of the fury. For now, Ari could call all of it a victory.
She eyed Quinn’s red Dodge parked next to the house. He wouldn’t mind if she borrowed the truck. Time to go home and get a few hours’ sleep. Not to mention cross off a few dozen chores from her list.
As Ari headed across the gravel driveway toward the truck, she counted her blessings. Some arrived without a struggle, but the ones that meant the most were events that taught her something. She, Lynn, and Tess had bought a dilapidated ranch in Saguaro Gulch, Arizona, and with all the work came a whole new life.
She palmed her stomach. A life she never saw coming and wouldn’t give up for anything.
Chapter Twenty-four
Ari kneeled in the vegetable garden behind her house. Evening shadows crossed the desert as she loosened the soil with a hand rake and picked out weeds around the carrots. Two rows over, Lynn and Tess harvested the tall, sweet corn. They’d already filled four baskets that sat on the tilled dirt. Thankfully, Tess was able to exist outside after the sun dropped behind the mountain range to the west, which made her a whole lot happier. Direct sunlight still burned her skin badly, but she was determined to crush the record and walk in the daylight long before the hundred year mark.
Two weeks had passed since Tess moved back to the LariaT. Some things changed, some did not. She and Tess still argued. Lynn still played arbitrator. The rogue attacks stopped altogether and Ari felt the imminent danger was over for now. Besides, they had Tess, who was Anastíthike. She’d kicked Ivanna’s ass and if a Second Blood came around, she was stronger and faster than a copy with Donnor’s blood in her veins.
Tess kept her hunger in check, but that didn’t stop the one boo-boo she’d made. Ari and the blonde got into a heated argument over something stupid while sitting at their kitchen table a few nights ago. Regrettably, Ari called her a bloodsucker. In a nanosecond, Tess rounded the table and sank her fangs into Ari’s shoulder.