Sucker Punch (First Fangs Club #3) - Kristen Painter Page 0,60
“Governor? I have your dinner.”
“Come on in.”
Charlie came to the bedside and handed Donna a big, warm mug. “Good to see you awake.”
“Good to be awake.” She took the mug and drank the contents down without stopping. The surge of power and well-being was almost instant. “That definitely helped. You said dinner. What time is it?”
“Around 5 p.m.” Charlie answered. “Are you going to rest some more?”
“No.” Donna pulled the covers off and swung her feet to the floor. Someone had put her in a nightshirt. She still had her underwear on, but not her bra. “Someone got me out of my battle gear, I see.”
“I did,” Cammie said.
“Thanks. Charlie, will you send Dr. Fox back in? I want this IV out, then I’m going to take a shower, and then I want a full briefing on everything I missed.”
Charlie nodded. “I’ll be in the office waiting.”
“I’m assuming you have things to brief me on?”
“Oh,” Charlie said. “More things than you can imagine.”
“Good or bad or—” Donna held up her hand. “Don’t tell me. It can wait until after the shower. Baby steps.”
“I’ll go get Dr. Fox.” She hesitated. “Will made it, by the way.”
“Will?” Donna gasped. “Will Ferris? I actually turned him? I thought that was a dream. He survived?”
“He did. You sired your first vampire. Congratulations. See you in the office.” She left.
Donna shook her head. “I made another vampire. How do you like that?”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later.” Cammie stood. “I’m just glad you didn’t die.”
“Me too. I’m really sorry you got kicked out of the order. But I appreciate you coming to help me more than I have words to express. I was feeling pretty sad about how things were between us.”
“Same,” Cammie said. “That’s why I made the decision I did. You didn’t choose to be a vampire, but I did choose to be a Venari. And so I made another choice. I don’t regret it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” Cammie grinned. “Use extra soap. You’re pretty ripe.”
“Thanks.” Donna smiled.
Cammie laughed. “Just teasing.”
Dr. Fox entered.
Cammie hooked her thumb toward the door. “See you out there.”
“Yep.” Just like that, things had returned to normal between them. But Donna suspected that it would take Cammie a bit to adjust to this change. How could it not? She’d been a nun, and apparently a vampire hunter, for nearly all her adult life.
Dr. Fox unhooked her from everything. “You’re free. How are you feeling since you fed?”
“Good.”
“Leg still hurts, I’d imagine.”
“It does. But that can’t last forever.”
“Maybe another day or two. If you don’t need me…”
She sat up a little straighter. “You’ve been here the whole time, haven’t you? Go home. I’m sure you need some rest. And your family must miss you.”
He smiled. “Call if anything changes.”
“I will. But it won’t. I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t overdo it. You still need rest.”
“Right. Order received, loud and clear.”
With a little wave, he left.
She got up and walked gingerly into the bathroom, babying her leg. She flicked on the light, almost afraid to look at herself. Despite having just fed, her skin was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her hair looked oddly dull too.
She ran her hands through it, combing it into place.
A few small, gray flakes drifted free.
Ash.
Donna leaned on the counter and cried.
Chapter Twenty-one
She stood under the hot water for an inordinate amount of time, as though the deluge could somehow wash away the pain of Artemis’s death. It couldn’t, obviously. Just like it couldn’t remove the purple and yellow bruise that stretched from her hip to a few inches above her knee. The whole thing was tender to the touch, although the puncture wound on her hip had healed.
She soaped up anyway. Pain was a reminder she was alive.
She was also bone-tired. There was no other way to describe it. Not tired of being governor, but tired of all the chaos. The weight on her shoulders had never felt heavier. Her life with the mob hadn’t been this hard. Had it?
Maybe that was hindsight through rose-colored glasses. But boy, could she use a week or two when the most stressful thing that happened was deciding which TV show to binge-watch.
She finally dried off, got dressed, and went to the office so Charlie could bring her up to speed. She ran into her admin halfway down the hall, distress marring her pretty face. Not a good sign. “What’s wrong?”
“Governor, we have a problem.”
“Of course we do. We were running low.” Donna sighed.