be using it again. No reason they can’t keep thinking that’s what’s making me immune.”
“That works.” He patted her hand, then picked up a menu. “If I order now, we could all eat together in the conference room. And then have our pie with the movie.”
“I’m in. I’ll go see what Charlie wants to eat.”
Pierce was right. The food came about the time everyone was sitting down. He and Charlie passed everything out. Neo had joined them, arriving a few minutes before Temo, but smelling very much like his cologne, which probably meant she’d gone to see him first.
Or had already been downstairs, as Donna had suspected.
Either way, it didn’t matter. Donna liked them as a couple very much. And if being closer to Temo meant Neo moved to New Jersey, Donna heartily approved.
She let everyone eat for a few minutes and get the small talk out of their systems.
When the food was mostly gone, she dunked a French fry in ketchup, ate it, then looked at her friends gathered around the table. Neo, Temo, Charlie, Pierce, and Cammie, plus Jerabeth via a laptop. “Thank you all for joining me.”
“Thanks for dinner,” Temo said.
She smiled. “You’re welcome. I appreciate all of you very much. And I am so grateful you all came through the raid on the fae safely.”
“You too,” Neo said. “I would have had to waste a lot more of them if they took my girl out.”
Donna laughed. “Thank you for having my back.”
“You know it.”
She took a moment, her thoughts focusing on the reason she’d called them there. “I have something on my mind. Something I want to discuss. And I’d like your honest opinion, so please don’t hold back. Understood?”
Everyone nodded, expressions ranging from serious to curious.
“Neo, everyone else knows this already, but I’ve been keeping a pretty significant secret. I trust that you’ll help me keep that secret, should this conversation not go as planned.”
She crossed her heart. “Until I turn to dust.”
“Thank you.” Donna knew Neo meant that. She’d become a good friend and a valuable asset. “Shortly after I was turned, I discovered I am immune to the sun.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Neo’s mouth fell open. “Are you for real?”
Donna nodded at her friend. “Yes. I understand it’s an extremely rare occurrence, although not unheard of. But sharing that secret with all of you isn’t really why I asked you here. What I really want to talk about is making that secret public. I’m tired of having to hide it. I’m tired of a lot of things.”
Charlie nodded. “You’ve had a heavier burden to bear than any new governor in a long time.”
Temo nodded. “For sure.”
“That’s all part of why I want to reveal this,” Donna continued. “My hope is that knowing about my ability would make my enemies think long and hard about coming after me. But I understand it would also likely make me a target and thereby put you all in that line of fire. So I want your opinion on whether I should do it.”
They all just stared at her for a moment.
Pierce spoke first. “I worry about you becoming a target. But I’ve seen what you’re capable of. And I support whatever decision you make. There’s a part of me that thinks it would absolutely make someone think twice about coming after you.”
Temo nodded. “I feel the same way, boss. And if we need to bump up security, we will.”
“Do it,” Neo said. “Who’s going to come after a daywalker? No one with a brain, that’s for sure.”
“You don’t think it’ll cause problems?” Donna asked.
Neo nodded slowly. “Is there any decision in life that doesn’t make someone unhappy? Blowback happens. Doesn’t mean anyone will act on it. Plus, people know you’re not alone. They know you have a killer team around you.”
“Yeah, they do,” Temo said as he popped a fry in his mouth.
On-screen, Jerabeth raised her hand. “Governor, would you rather tell people that I’ve come up with some kind of permanent spell that allows you to daywalk?”
“Thank you for the offer, but no. I fear that would only make you the focus for other vampires who’d want you to re-create it for them. And there’s no need for you to be in danger.”
She nodded. “I should have thought of that.”
Cammie hadn’t touched her food since Donna had started talking. “I was against this initially, but I’ve been thinking. It absolutely could work in your favor. Consider this. If I was a vampire, and another of my kind came out