out his vampire boss. It didn’t matter how much Conlan hated her. She’d be out of his life soon enough. It was Rafferty who held the real power. If she could convince him to protect Maggie and Rose, she’d walk back out the gate of her own volition if that’s what it took. It was the best she could do for the girls, even if they wouldn’t see it that way. Her worst nightmare was for them to suffer any more because of her.
“Maggie and Rose have already lost both of their parents. They’re about to lose me. I came here hoping to find a safe home for them. That’s all. I didn’t mean to cause you any problems, Mr. O’Day. I honestly thought I’d made a clean getaway from New Eire. Obviously I was wrong about that.”
Conlan took a step closer, managing to block her view of the scion of the vampire clan. She took it to mean that he didn’t appreciate her attempt to appeal directly to Rafferty. Seeing that the vampire didn’t object, she’d play it their way.
“I brought all the necessary paperwork to sign off on the custody of the girls. Whatever happens to me, I need to know they’ll be taken care of. If you can’t promise me that, then at least give us enough of a head start so I can get them back to New Eire. I still have a friend there who might take them in.”
Okay, so that was a lie. The events of three years ago had cut her off from everyone she’d ever known. She held her breath and waited. Finally Conlan glanced back at Rafferty, who jerked his head in agreement. The band of tension across her chest tightened as she waited for one of the two to verbalize their decision.
Conlan spoke first. “The girls will be safe here. Now answer my question. What kind of trouble is following you?”
His demeanor remained cold and distant, but even so, she believed him. She didn’t know Rafferty except by reputation, but Conlan was the kind of man who meant it when he gave his word. Or at least he used to be. The relief that she’d found a sanctuary for her nieces had tears stinging her eyes. Time to pay up.
“I’m not sure who those guys were or how they managed to surround us. The girls and I fled New Eire in the middle of the night, hoping to make it to the gate without anyone seeing us.”
She closed her eyes, remembering the stark terror of being pinned down and waiting for death to find them. “They never identified themselves before opening fire. They flattened my tires with the first couple of shots, leaving me no choice but to hide Maggie and Rose under the transport while I did my best to hold them off.”
Before she could go any further with her explanation, Rafferty’s phone rang. He held up his hand, signaling her to stop as he took the call. She didn’t know who was on the other end of the line, but it was clear that Rafferty was growing angrier by the second. His eyes kept flickering back and forth between Conlan and her, while he spoke in monosyllables.
Finally, he shot Kat a puzzled look and stalked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. A few seconds later, music started blaring in the next room, making it impossible to understand even Rafferty’s side of the conversation. There was no mistaking the roar of his temper as he argued heatedly with the person on the other end of the line.
The doctor leaned back against the closest counter and stared at the closed door. “Whew! Glad I’m not on the other end of that particular discussion. I wonder what that’s all about.”
Conlan’s eyebrows rode low over his eyes and his stern mouth was a straight slash as he murmured, “No idea.”
Every instinct Kat had was screaming that the phone call had something to do with her and that it wasn’t good news. She forced herself to sit up straighter, refusing to cower before Conlan’s withering stare. With nothing left to lose except her dignity, she was determined to meet this latest disaster head-on.
Chapter 4
While Rafferty’s phone call dragged on, Conlan debated whether to continue his interrogation of the prisoner or if he should wait for the vampire to return. Then Kat shifted on the hospital bed, the movement causing the neckline of her thin cotton gown to pull down