specially made for vampires and fired at close range, had done an incredible amount of internal damage.
Saintcrow didn’t have to read the surgeon’s mind to know that her chances of survival were slim at best. He could see it in the man’s eyes.
When the operation was over, they moved Kadie into intensive care. As soon as she was settled, her parents hurried into the room. Carolyn Andrews grasped her daughter’s hand and held it tight, as if she could will her daughter to get better.
Ralph Andrews stood by his daughter’s bed, unmoving. The last two hours had aged him. His skin looked sallow, his eyes filled with quiet desperation and guilt.
Father and mother stood on opposite sides of the bed, not speaking, not looking at each other. Kadie lay unmoving, her face chalk white. The only sound in the room was her mother’s muffled sobs and the hiss and wheeze of the machines that monitored Kadie’s every breath.
Time lost all meaning.
A nurse came in periodically to check Kadie’s vital signs, rubber soles shushing over the tile floor.
Carolyn’s tears gradually subsided. When she spoke to her husband, her whispered words sounded as loud as pistol shots in the stillness of the room. “This is all your fault.”
The softly spoken words struck Ralph with the force of a blow. He reeled backward several steps, one hand raised as if to ward off her accusation, and then his face crumpled, his shoulders shaking as sobs wracked his body.
When Kadie’s vital signs grew weaker, Saintcrow materialized in the room.
“You!” Carolyn exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“Taking what’s mine.”
“No! You can’t! Ralph, stop him!”
“Carolyn, shut up.” Ralph Andrews drew a deep breath.
“He’s the only one who can save her.”
Ignoring Kadie’s parents, Saintcrow went to her side. After biting into his wrist, he parted Kadie’s lips.
Carolyn gasped and looked away as several drops of dark red blood trickled into her daughter’s mouth.
Kadie grimaced, her eyelids fluttering open as she swallowed. She gazed up at him, her eyes filled with confusion and pain. “Rylan? What happened?”
He took her hand in his. “Listen to me. You’re in the hospital. You don’t have long. . . .”
A sob rose in Carolyn’s throat. “No!”
Saintcrow ignored her. “You only have two choices. I can turn you, or . . .”
He didn’t have to put the second choice into words, which was a good thing, because he couldn’t bring himself to say it, couldn’t imagine continuing his existence without her.
Ralph moved to the other side of the bed, his eyes hard. “What the hell are you saying, vampire? Just give her some of your blood and she’ll be fine.”
“She’s too far gone.”
“I’ve saved dozens of people using vampire blood,” Ralph insisted, a note of desperation in his voice. “Kathy’s already doing better.”
“I doubt if any of the others were shot at close range with bullets meant for my kind. Dammit!” he snarled. “We’re out of time.”
“No.” Andrews shook his head as his daughter flat-lined. “No!”
Scooping Kadie into his arms, Saintcrow willed the two of them out of the hospital.
A thought took him home, to his lair in Morgan Creek.
He just hoped he wasn’t too late.
Chapter 38
Saintcrow stood beside the bed in his lair. There had been other times in his long life when what he wanted wasn’t right, but never before had he faced a decision like the one he had to make now.
Kadie was only a few moments away from death. Her body was shutting down. They had never discussed the possibility of her becoming a vampire. She had never expressed any interest in the Dark Gift. He knew that, deep down, she found his lifestyle repulsive.
Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he stroked her cheek. It was cold, so cold. Her breathing stopped.
Should he let her slip away into eternity?
Would she hate him if he didn’t let her go?
How was he to know what to do?
Desperate to buy a little time, he bit into his wrist and forced a few drops of his blood down her throat, hoping it would revive her long enough for him to ask her what he should do.
“Kadie? Kadie! Dammit, wake up!” He shook her lightly, then a little harder. “Kadie! You will do as I say and open your eyes!”
He hadn’t expected it to work, but a moment later she was staring up at him.
“Rylan?”
“Kadie, listen to me. You’re dying. What do you want me to do?”