His face grim, he pushed himself up and reached for his brother. "Dori-"
"Don't touch me, Ravyn." He curled his lip at Susan. "As soon as he's back to his senses, he needs to get out of here before the others turn on him again. Understood?"
"Yeah," she said, curling her own lip in response, "I completely understand. You're a heartless bastard and the rest of you aren't leopards. You're pigs."
His face hardened. "Be glad you're human and standing in a sanctuary right now. Otherwise, I'd rip your throat out." He cast one last hating glare at Ravyn before he vanished out of the room.
Unable to believe the gall of him, Susan turned back to Ravyn, who lay completely still. At first she thought he'd fallen unconscious again, but as she brushed his hair back from his face, she saw that his eyes were open.
The look he gave her singed her to the spot. There was so much anguish and self-loathing that it stole her breath. "I didn't want to be alone anymore. Was that so wrong?"
Her heart clenched at those heartfelt words. She knew exactly how he felt. "No, Ravyn, it wasn't wrong."
He started shaking uncontrollably as he reached for the blanket on the mattress. "I'm so cold."
Susan pulled the blanket over him, but his teeth continued chattering. She'd never seen anyone so cold. Figuring he was in enough pain from the raw emotions the drug was bringing out, she spooned up against him to try to warm him with her body heat. Poor man. And she'd stupidly thought she was all alone in the world. It was probably better to have no family than to have half of them dead while the other half hated you for causing the deaths.
She couldn't imagine anything worse. Well, maybe living with Erika, which he also did.
Ravyn continued to tremble in her arms. He covered her hands with his as she held him quietly in the dim light of the room. "Susan?"
She opened her eyes at his faint tone. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry about your friends. I wish it hadn't happened."
"Thank you."
He went suddenly limp in her arms as if he was unconscious again. Her first inclination to pull away from him, she laid her head on his muscular arm instead. How odd that two strangers would find themselves lying on a mattress in the basement of a popular singles club in the heart of Pioneer Square. They were both being hunted for a crime they hadn't committed and were trapped in a place where no one wanted them.
God, what a day.
Closing her eyes again, she let out a long, tired breath. What lay ahead was even more daunting than when she'd written the story about Senator Kelly and his questionable spending only to learn that her source was completely bogus. Even now she cringed at the memory of that day when her boss had tossed the paper with the story in it in her face and accused her of making it up.
Then she'd come under fire from all of her reporter brethren as they wrote story after story about her. There had been no kindness or forgiveness. Nothing but hostility and glee as they brought her down, and all because she, too, had trusted the wrong person to not lie to her.
And then there had been the lawsuits. Slander. Libel. Defamation. Not only had the senator sued her, but her own paper as well. It'd been the worst time of her life.
Up until now. Now she didn't even have Angie to hold her hand through it. No Jimmy threatening to kill the people who were hurting her.
Just say the word, Sue, and I'll arrest them for parking violations...
She was completely alone.
Like Ravyn.
Susan blinked back her tears as she toyed with his silken hair that made her skin itch. But she didn't care. She needed to feel his presence. This wasn't the time for weakness. She needed her strength. Especially since she had no idea how all of this would turn out. How to even begin to get her life back.
What was she supposed to do?
You're a reporter, Sue. What would a good reporter do?
Find the truth. The only way to get back her life was to expose whoever was behind all of this. Granted, she couldn't expose the vampires without becoming a complete laughingstock, but Jimmy had spoken of a cover-up, and she did trust him. He wouldn't have lied to her. Ever. Someone in his department was definitely working with the Apollites and Daimons to hide the disappearances, which were probably all murders. Now that she knew what was going on, she could find evidence and expose him or her... They could be brought out and exposed in a human court. Then the Apollites wouldn't have human help anymore.
Don't be stupid. The whole thing was ludicrous and she was living it. How could she sell this to people who couldn't see it for themselves?
Not to mention the small fact that going after a government official who was supposedly on the take was what had led to her disgrace.
"I'm too old to start over again."