going into shock but was slowly dying in her arms. She had to convince Kirk to let her summon the Enforcers and get the girl the help she needed.
From where she sat in the middle of the living room, she could see the mass of cars and people milling in the street in front of the house. Kirk stood to one side of the windows, watching them through the slightly parted blinds. He’d remained there even while the phone rang for twenty minutes solid. Now both the phone and the house were silent, save for Janet’s ragged breathing.
“They haven’t moved,” Kirk murmured. “No one’s coming forward. It’s like they aren’t even trying to storm the house. Why?”
“They’re probably waiting for you to make some sort of demands,” Emily said and felt a rush of satisfaction when he jumped. “That’s why they called. They want to know what you want.”
He grunted. “What I want, I can’t have. They’d never give her to me.”
“Who?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“They may, if you’re willing to show some sort of goodwill in exchange.”
“Like letting you go?” He chuckled. “Forget it. You’re worth too damn much.”
“Then let Janet go. Please. She needs medical attention.”
His gaze dropped to Janet’s pale face.
“If you release her, they may be willing to negotiate with you,” Emily said. “But if she dies, you know the penalty for killing a human.”
He looked out the window. “I’m already a walking dead man so what’s one more human?”
“Let her go and I’ll do my best to make sure you see your girlfriend.”
Kirk was at her side before Emily could process that he’d moved. “You can do that?”
“I can try, but you have to let the Enforcers send in someone to help Janet.”
He hesitated for a moment and then reached into his back pocket. He handed over her cell phone. “Keep it on speaker and make it quick. No tricks. If I think you’re pulling a fast one, I’ll put a bullet in both your brains.”
She nodded and took the phone, dialing it with one hand while she kept pressure on Janet’s wound. As soon as the first ring sounded, she switched to speaker mode.
“Emily!” Varik’s voice sounded strained and tinny through the small speaker. “What’s going on? Has that bastard hurt you?”
“No,” she answered, watching Kirk. “I’m fine but Janet is badly hurt. She needs medical attention.”
“What the hell happened?”
Kirk shrugged and smirked.
“She was bitten and has lost a lot of blood.”
“Goddamn son of a bitch—”
Kirk frowned and pointed the revolver at Janet.
“Varik, I need you to listen to me very carefully,” Emily interrupted his profane tirade. “He’s agreed to let Janet go if he can see his girlfriend.”
Caution crept into Varik’s voice. “I’m not sure I can do that. We may have trouble finding her.”
“Bullshit!” Kirk jerked the phone from her hand. “Her name is Piper Garver, and she’s sitting her fat ass in the fucking Jefferson Police Department right now!”
He jumped to his feet, paced to the window, and peered outside. “You get her here—now—or a bitten human is going to be the least of your worries!”
“You listen to me, you little turdstain,” Varik growled. “You so much as breathe on either of those women, and I’ll hang your fangs from my rearview mirror.”
“Try it, motherfucker, and you’ll be mopping up the blood for days.”
Kirk pressed the button to end the call, cutting off Varik’s response.
From outside, Emily heard the Enforcer’s roar of frustration followed by a loud bang and a siren’s pitiful, short whoop. She glanced out the partially obscured front window and saw Varik walking away from a still-rocking patrol car, a large dent in its fender near the wheel well.
Janet moaned weakly as Emily peeled away the towel to check the bandage over the girl’s neck. The blood flow had slowed to a trickle but Janet wasn’t improving. Emily re-covered the wound and hoped help would arrive soon.
And that Varik would find a way to use the opening she’d created in Kirk’s defenses. If he didn’t, she would be left alone with an unstable young vampire. It wasn’t the first time she’d faced someone like Kirk. However, the last was before Bernard was killed, and then, she’d been the one holding the gun.
Peter slowly opened his eyes, allowing himself time to reorient to being in the physical world. His body felt heavy and stiff as he swung his legs over the side of the narrow bed on which he lay and sat up.
Transitioning from the Shadowlands to reality seemed to become