have been more suspicious. She wasn’t a heavy sleeper while on guard duty. “That’s when I sneaked down to your room.”
“She must have come downstairs, stolen the basket, and escaped while we were talking.”
And Hood let her get away with it. Maybe even called in a tip to her. That, or she smelled it on him first.
“Revenge will be swift and merciless, but that’s not important right now. What matters is finding your mom and Boaz.” I massaged my temples. “I attempted to get in touch with Addie after you left. She wasn’t answering her phone. I’m not sure if she’s an early-to-bed kind of girl or not, so I’ll try again after breakfast.”
“I can walk over and invite her for a chat,” Linus offered. “She can stay for a visit while she’s here.”
Mild annoyance that he was coddling me, essentially offering me a playmate to entertain me while he went about the serious business of finding his mother, crept up on me. The fact I couldn’t see over my belly to find his shins to kick them cooled the edge of my anger with an icy dose of reality.
“This isn’t forever.” Linus cradled my cheek in his hand, even let me bite him, and the fast catch of his breath did things to me. “Two weeks and you can evict to your heart’s content.”
“I’m sorry I’m such a cranky brat. I don’t mean to be. It’s just frustrating to feel like I’m being handled.”
“I have four siblings,” Corbin volunteered in a somber voice. “Mom put the fear of God in all of us during her final trimester. The last month? Forget it. She lost her ever-loving mind. She would throw pots, waddle through the house screaming, and use Dad as a punching bag.”
“That sounds…”
Violent.
Even for a family of vampire hunters.
Maybe I had gotten off easy being crabby, ravenous, and ready to bawl in sixty seconds or less.
“The point is,” Corbin said, grasping he hadn’t imparted his intended wisdom. “The second the baby was born, she became all hugs, smiles, and laughter again. Things will go back to normal. You will go back to normal.”
Tears threatened, but I punched them in the face to keep my eyes clear. “Thanks for the pep talk.”
Linus rested his hand on my knee, which was all kinds of distracting with thoughts of nibbling on him already in my head. “I brought you something that might brighten your outlook.”
“Oh?”
“Leisha Penduko.” He waited to see if the name registered. “She set the wards on the bunker.”
Interest piqued, I settled in to listen to the full update on how he had spent his day, marveling when he showed no signs of strain for having been up all night, all day, and had no choice but to keep on going. His stamina never ceased to blow my mind, in more ways than one, but I envied his ability to stay awake now more than ever.
“I’ll text Lethe and get her sent over.” I beamed at Linus. “It’s nice feeling useful.”
“You’re always useful.” He kissed my nose and then my cheek. “You’re just not as mobile as usual.”
“It is harder to cause trouble when I’m mostly under house arrest.”
As much as I hated to admit it, after this, I was done. I had wanted to work up until my scheduled due date, but I was being ridiculous. I might as well promote Linus and be done with it until my maternity leave ended. Maybe then I could focus on the baby’s health, and mine, instead of fretting over my city.
“Pity party over.” I checked with Corbin. “Are you going to feed me prior to this interrogation or…?”
Corbin held up a pan with greenish eggs in lumpy slime. “Your stove is broken.”
The lights overhead swelled in direct proportion to Woolly’s indignation, and I heard a bulb pop in the living room.
“I’m sorry, Woolly.” Corbin set the pan down and held up his hands. “I didn’t mean it.”
The presence of the house retreated in a huff, and I rubbed my belly as LJ kicked like a teeny, tiny mule.
“How did you do that?” I was mystified. “Food doesn’t last long enough around here to spoil.”
“It’s better than my last attempt,” he admitted. “That bacon stank up my apartment for weeks.”
A pang arrowed straight through my heart—or maybe it was my stomach—over a waste of good bacon.
“You could have ordered in,” I pointed out. “I would have been as impressed with takeout.”
Based on the emptiness of my stomach, I would have been