Black Bird (Nevermore Duet #1)

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 3 2

THE VEIL

The club was packed tonight. The sound of dubstep and metal, beating in time with strobes throughout the smoky dance floor was a sight just like every other—only for some reason tonight, Tony found himself distracted by the lone man standing by the heavy door that led down into their chambers. Decclan hadn’t spoken to anyone in days, and seemed more put-off since Dahlia had summoned him, rather than happy that she’d finally asked him for something other than information. It wasn’t a secret to anyone in this coven that Decclan had feelings for their queen. He couldn’t blame him, either. After all, he’d been by her side for longer than Tony had been immortal. It was a very long time to be in such close conjunction with someone not to have some kind of feelings other than reverence.

“Hey! Bartender!” a slosh-drunk young girl called, throwing her arm across the bar a little ways down from where he was standing. “I’m still waiting over here! What do I gotta do, man? Flash my tits?”

“If that’s what you’re planning to do, I’ll go back there and pour it myself!” Devin grinned at the girl, who looked repulsed by his audacity, and he leaned himself over the bar to pluck an ale from the ice.

“Nevermind.” She rolled her eyes and joined her two friends back on the floor.

Tony reached over, snapping the cap from Devin’s bottle, and shaking his head. “You used to be better with the ladies. You’re gettin’ rusty, ol’ chap.”

Devin kept his smile as he turned the bottle up and took a long swallow. “Nah, she’s not my type. But then again, you don’t really have to have a type for some good ole titties.” He leaned an elbow on the bar and surveyed the room while Tony lit himself a cigarette. “What’s got you so strayed tonight, friend?”

“You ever get sick of this bloody music?” Tony frowned, taking a drag and adjusting the towel over his shoulder. “I swear I hear the shit in my sleep these days.”

“I get sick of all of it, mate.” Devin stared off, nursing his beer.

When a stifling silence passed between him, Tony felt it tug more than he realized. It wasn’t half a second later he realized they were both looking at Decclan. “Whadd’ya think happened there?” Tony asked, knowing he shouldn’t ask at all.

“I know what happened there,” Devin replied, his eyes never leaving his comrade. “So do you.”

“When does it end? ”

Devin turned around, giving him a look that told him to shut his mouth. That look was getting old. This life was getting old. “It’ll end a lot quicker than you expect if you can’t keep your thoughts to yourself, and you know it.”

“I’m tired of living in fear, Dev.” The words just kept rolling out, and he couldn’t control them. “This isn’t actually living. If this is an eternity of what we have to look forward to, then why are we hanging onto it so hard?”

“Look man, we’re all feeling some type of way after—after that. But unless you wanna be the next one locked out on a rooftop, then I suggest you keep the lid on your fluffy feelings.”

“She’s one person, Devin. One . What if—”

“Shut the fuck up, Tony.” Devin’s finger nearly tapped the end of his nose. “Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” He unfolded the rest of his fingers and laid them on his shoulder. “We’re not losing any more of our family. I’m sure as hell not losing you or Decclan. Y’all have to keep your shit together. You hear me, mate?”

Tony swallowed, bringing his cigarette back to his mouth and shrugging off Devin’s hand. “Yeah, alright …”

Devin raised his beer to him and turned away, passing through the dancers and joining Decclan by the back door. It wasn’t a surprise to hear Devin tell him to zip it. Decclan had tried so many times to tell Kane the same thing, but Kane got out … didn’t he? It was hard not to care for one another. Yes … he understood Decclan’s predicament very well … they were just all on a whole different side of it. Them and the rest of the coven, who, Tony noticed, were barely stirring a ripple in the throng of possible meals for the night. Everyone was different after Patrick’s sudden execution. He couldn’t remember seeing such a change in all of them. There was a storm brewing in the Black Bird coven. One Tony wasn’t sure any of them would survive. He turned toward a patron who was waving for his attention and grabbed a clean glass.

It had been hours, and Nick carefully checked Sarah’s vitals, as she’d gotten halfway through filling her third large bag of blood. He and Kane had convinced her to eat half of a sandwich that someone had stored in the break room fridge, but her condition was deteriorating little by little. She’d asked for two more of the blankets, and Kane bundled her up. She kept herself busy for a while, scrolling through social media, and checking news websites to see if there had been anything publicly issued about her friend’s disappearance. Nick had started to wonder about what Evie would think of his own disappearance, and Sarah informed him that they’d left a note in his room. It was creepy … how well they’d planned all of this, and seemingly in a very small amount of time.

He did take notice of how somebody as intimidating as Athan Kane could seem so much softer as he carefully tended to that girl’s every need. He never fathomed seeing this man so— caring ? Sarah’s eyes slowly closed, and she snuggled down into the layers of blankets.

“Wake me up when it’s over,” she said softly, tucking the blankets beneath her chin. “I need to shut my eyes.”

“Should you be doing that?” Kane asked, looking first to the monitor, and then at Nick. “ Should she be doing that?”

Nick read the numbers and nodded. “I’m surprised she’s gone this long without passing out. Sleeping won’t change anything. Honestly, I expected her to be far weaker than this right now.” The detective slid his stool closer to her and placed a hand on top of her blanket. Sarah’s body drooped in the chair, and both men shot their faces back up to the monitor. “She’s alright. Sleep took her quick.”

Nick watched on in silence for a few moments. He had so many questions. Questions that were more for his own curiosity than the predicament they found themselves in. About half an hour more, and Sarah would be dangerously close to being the first person he’d ever killed. His stomach flipped, and he found himself wondering why she was so desperate to do this. It felt like he deserved some kind of explanation if he was going to be involved—and they could decide to kill him anyway. Nick rested his elbows on his knees and leaned toward the detective.

“What is it that she’s planning to do with all this blood, exactly?”

Kane ignored him and stared between Sarah and her monitor. “She already told you that.”

“Kane, look … if she doesn’t make it through—”

“She will. She has to. I’m not letting her die, so if that’s what you’re worried about then you can calm down. Although, I’m not really sure why you’re worried when you’ve been playing just as fucking dirty as the rest of them where it concerns my mate.”

Nick drew his brows together. “Your mate? ” When Kane ignored him again, the wheels started turning, coming up with all kinds of extra questions and theories. As was the nature of a scientist, Nick supposed. “What is she? Is she like you?”

Kane exhaled deeply through his nose. “Not completely. I tried to keep it that way. Once her mind is made up, though … well …” He shrugged and Nick nodded his understanding. “Her blood brought me back to life. It does amazing things. That’s why you’re caught in the middle of a war. Everybody wants the elixir of life.”

“So … her plan is to give this blood to an entire coven to what—make them like you?”

Kane finally turned his head to look at him. “Yes. She’s going to give them the opportunity to change their immortal lives, on the condition that they turn on Dahlia. Once we get them to switch sides … we’re killing her.”

Nick felt the color drain from his face. “Shit …” His palm smoothed over his mouth and chin. “How?”

“We haven’t worked that part out yet.” Kane’s attention was back on the weakening girl in the chair, whose numbers were slightly dropping. Nick glanced at the bag. It was about three-quarters full now .

“How are you planning to offer them this opportunity without the leader figuring you out?”

He didn’t look at him when he spoke this time, and Nick could tell that Kane was noticing the change in Sarah’s pulse. “That’s the other part of your redemption, Nick.”

“Me?” Nick choked out, rolling back on the stool. “Wait, wh—what do you mean?”

Kane smirked at him over his shoulder. “She’s sending you into the club to fetch an old friend for me. You’re gonna help get him outside so I can talk to him, and then we use him to get the coven on board.”

Nick sprang up from his stool. “You’re trying to send me into the snake pit? ” He frantically shook his head. “Hell no. Absolutely not. I’m not going into a den of fucking—vampires, or whatever the fuck you are. Not on your life.” Kane slowly raised from his seat and turned to him, those strange eyes showing that familiar darkness that always had Nick testing his bladder.

“Well, Nick … for once this evening, you’re right. It’s not on my life. It’s on yours .” He took a step toward him, and Nick bristled. “You know, I find it so amusing. You’re still so worried about your pathetic life, but you were never worried about hers. You offered it up like a stack of banded cash, just to save your own ass. Have you ever once … done one selfless thing, Nick? That girl right there is draining the most vital part of herself to get the monsters off your back, and yet you still sit here and whine. Would it be easier for you to pretend it wasn’t her idea, and do it behind her fucking back? Like the coward you’ve proved yourself to be?”

“So, I’m not as brave as the two of you,” Nick stuttered. “Forgive me, Kane … but you know the things I have to lose. Now you have something, too. I see how important she is to you. I understand why you’d slaughter anyone for that girl. Call me a coward, but I don’t want to die . If I go, then who protects my wife? My son? It seems easy to say that shit when you don’t have them to worry about.”

His words must have hit home. Kane’s eyes softened, turning back to that staggering blue that even Nick couldn’t help but find breathtaking. The detective opened his mouth to say something else, but Sarah’s monitor started beeping loudly, startling them both. The borders around the screen flashed red, and her numbers dropped to the most dangerous low. The blood bag was nearly full. Nick leapt into action, uncovering Sarah’s arms and leaning her chair back so that she laid flat.

“She’s going into shock, Kane! I gotta stop it!” Nick panicked, about to pull the tape off her arm.

“No! She said not to stop it until you had what you needed!” Kane’s face was grave with worry and anguish, and he hovered over her, turning her face up to his and softly begging her to wake up under his breath.

Sarah didn’t wake. Her body went nauseatingly limp, and Nick watched the screen. “Kane … whatever you’re gonna do to save her … you better do it now. If you don’t, I’m pulling this out. I don’t care what you do to m e. I’m not killing this girl.” Her heartbeat barely stirred a ripple on the line. “Kane …”

The detective desperately looked between her and the monitor. Nick couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy. It was obvious how much he loved her. He couldn’t imagine Evie being in this situation, or what he’d do to spare her. He raised his face to Nick.

“Don’t take that needle out until that bag starts beeping,” he said. His voice was edged with something like regret. Nick checked the bag. Five more minutes. If she could hang on for five more minutes, it’d be done.

“You need to buy her time, Kane. I dunno what your plan is, but she needs just a couple more minutes. If we don’t do something, her organs will shut down, and her heart will stop.”

There was darkness all around her. The kind of darkness that felt like being in that space between sleep and awake, but—safe. Peaceful. Serene, even. Like there was some unnatural warmth to it that took you by surprise. She had the feeling of floating. Like floating in a calm sea, but—not quite. Instead of the heaviness of water, it was the weightlessness of air … of divine comfort. Like the darkness wasn’t just where she was but … what she was. It soothed her. She didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to open her eyes and find it all to be a dream. She could faintly hear someone calling her name. At first, Sarah chose to ignore it. But it grew louder—familiar. The tether that she had to the world she knew was fading, and she somehow understood it.

She couldn’t remember this calm being present the last time she’d come this close to death. While the previous experience was final, and brutally painful, this time Death greeted her as if he were someone who cared deeply for her. Like a loved one finally coming home. Her name was called again, and this time … Sarah opened her eyes. Before her, as she stretched her arms out, her skin seemed translucent beneath a soft, eerie glowing light. She flipped her hands over in front of her, inspecting the strange way that her tattoos still remained visible within it.

“Sarah …” the voice called a final time, shifting Sarah’s attention toward a face she was sure she’d never see again.

“Mom?” Sarah choked, rushing towards her. Initially, she thought she’d pass right through her, but the warmth of Katherine’s embrace filled every void in her heart with all the things that had been stripped away when they’d taken her. Sarah’s chin found the familiar place on her shoulder where she’d buried it so many times before—as a child … as a teenager … as a young adult. Every tear was more happy than the last. “Mama …” she whispered, clutching her tight.

Katherine pulled back, tilting Sarah’s chin up and taking her face in both hands. “Have you completely lost your mind, baby? Even when it’s a struggle to communicate with you, you’re still so damned hard-headed. I guess some things never change.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t get comfortable. You’re not staying.”

“What?”

“I didn’t go through all that trouble of pulling the two of you together to have you separated. You know that boy isn’t gonna let you jump without diving in after you.”

Sarah drew in a sharp breath, suddenly remembering what she’d left behind. “Athan …”

“Yeah … Athan .” Katherine rolled her eyes. “Geez, what a catch. Makes you wonder why you wasted two minutes on that dork back home, doesn’t it?”

Though that personality shined through her as if nothing had changed, Sarah found herself growing more frustrated by the second as the realization hit her. Her mother could be taken from her just as quickly as she had the last time. Sarah deserved an explanation.

“You lied to me, Mom.” Sarah conceded a step, taking her hands and lowering them from her face. “Did you know?” Her lip wobbled; the answer clearly written all over her mother’s face. “Did you know what I was?”

“I did … and you’re right. I kept it from you, and I shouldn’t have. I was gonna tell you when you were a little older, but—”

“Is that why you were killed? Was I next?”

“No … they’d never hurt you, Sarah. Stop seeking trouble and enjoy your life. You’ve found somebody that can understand you. Somebody that would lay his life down to protect you. Embrace who you really are, baby … let me go.”

“No! I wanna know the truth, Mom. You owe me that much. Tell me what happened, tell me who did this to you!”

Katherine’s shoulders sank and her eyes glistened with tears as she shook her head. “I can’t do that. I love you too much. You’re the best thing I ever had in my life. If you knew the truth it would only hurt you more. Put it behind you and move on. Please … do it for me.”

Sarah gripped her hands, shaking them with frustration, more tears rolling down her cheeks. “Everything I’ve done since you left has been for you, Mom! How can you tell me to move on? How can you ask that of me?”

“Because, Sarah. The truth of everything is better left buried with me. You can’t—”

“ You’re not buried! ” Sarah belted, growing angry. “I have shards, Mom. Just tiny pieces of whatever was left of you. No closure, no answers, no way to say goodbye. No family to lean on to help me through it. You’re gone, and all that’s been left is this gaping hole. And you wanna ask me to learn how to turn my back on it and pretend it doesn’t kill a little part of me every single day?”

“Sarah, he’s the only family you need now. You keep living in this dark part of your past, and you’ll never live . You’re my daughter, and I earned the right to want that for you. So, yes … I want you to move on. I wa nt you to go back, and I want you to only think about me if it puts a smile on your face.”

“I don’t wanna leave you again.”

Katherine wrapped her arms around her one last time and squeezed. “The veil isn’t made for lengthy visits, Sarah. When it’s your time … we’ll be together again. Until then …” She pulled away and placed her fingertips over Sarah’s chest. “Keep me right here. And stay out of trouble. You’ve always been reckless, but I didn’t think you’d be this stupid. Don’t ever do this to yourself again … understand?”

Wisps of night started circling them both, coiling like inky smoke around Katherine’s arms. Sarah watched every tendril, her eyes widening, and an overwhelming feeling of troubled waters warred beneath her skin. It itched, and prickled, and the translucence became less so. The glowing haze of light started to push away at the cold darkness that enveloped her mother. Life, Sarah realized then, was battling its way back into her … and it was becoming just as excruciating as when she had woken in the hospital after Athan’s assault.

“No,” Sarah breathed, a flash of memory from the night her neck was torn open cascading through her vision. She’d spoken that word then, too. “Mom, please … don’t go!” Sarah swatted at the force that was taking her mother captive. “Get off of her!” There was a shriek, and a hissing sound that warned her not to do it again.

“I’m already gone, Sarah. Neither of us can stay here. This time I’m leaving on my own. This is the goodbye we never got to say, baby girl. Go back. Travel. Fall head over heels. Hell … go make me a beautiful grandbaby, I don’t care how you live … I just want you to. Stop digging for answers that are just gonna break your heart, Sarah. I’m okay.”

Katherine was slowly disappearing behind the shadows that reached a thousand phantom hands around her. Every word lingered, and Sarah concentrated on each one. A grandbaby … if that were even poss—

“Mom?” Sarah lurched forward, reaching out to grab her fingers one last time. “Who is he? What’s his name?” Shrouds of night began to cover Katherine’s face, leaving her stunning eyes to shine with reluctant reply. She knew exactly what Sarah was asking and didn’t want to tell her. All it ever took when she was a child was to beg enough, and pout. Her mother was never strong enough to deny her something, if she wanted it bad enough. Searing pain started to slowly take over Sarah’s body and she cowered under it, desperate to keep her eyes on her mother. “Please, Mama! His name!”

When the last of her slowly disappeared, Sarah hit her knees and hung her head. Her arms wrapped around herself, and the pain continued to flood her like an unforgiving tide. The faint glow of her skin seemed to seep into her body, filling her once again with the life she wasn’t sure she even wanted anymore. “I love you …” she wept, hugging herself tighter.

“His name is John Allan,” a disembodied voice said as Sarah’s head jerked up. Katherine was gone, and as familiar whispers started clouding her mind and the darkness that was surrounding her, Sarah searched for her. “I love you, Sarah St. James.” Her vision clouded, even when she tried to focus on her physical body, and as the light finally died out beneath her skin, Sarah was forced to her back in an excruciating jolt. She tried to say goodbye, but her body seized … the cold darkness claiming her completely.

Athan’s physical heart thundered, while the one attached to his soul started cracking as he desperately tried to wake his mate. Nick continued to panic on the other side of Sarah’s chair, but every word was drowned out as he counted the seemingly endless seconds between her weak heartbeats. The lab was a blur. His mind was a prison cell filled with manic thoughts that threw one painful blow after another, with no way to escape. If he couldn’t turn her, he’d die right along with her. He should never have agreed to this madness. If he didn’t off himself for this, Rhaena would surely rip him apart. Or Wren … hell, maybe even the prick lawyer who claimed to love her once. Maybe he’d let him. He’d deserve it for being so stupid.

Sarah’s monitor suddenly alarmed them with the unfathomable sound of her losing her life … again. At the same time, the tiny indicator on the blood bag chimed with completion. Athan’s head thrashed back and forth between the two bellowing sounds. Nick’s mouth moved, screaming his name, and it was as if all of a sudden, the world moved in slow motion. Like it all existed under the deepest water. He could barely move … barely think … breathe. He called Sarah’s name, shaking her and turning her face toward him. She remained gray and lifeless in his hands. He threw off his jacket, tearing a good-sized hole in his wrist with his fangs, and held it over her parted mouth. His dark blood dripped onto her lips, a stark bleached color against the deep red.

Come on … come on! Drink!

His wrist pressed against her mouth, his blood flowing freely down her throat. There was nothing. Nothing but the sound of that fucking monitor by his ear.

Come back to me! Drink, Sarah! Fuck …

His breaths came in shallow, broken rasps. Nick stood, frozen in panic. Still, she didn’t move. The wound he’d made on his wrist started to thread itself back together, and Athan tore it open again, bigger this time. Deeper. The blood came faster, and he returned it to her mouth, every frantic beat of his heart pumping salvation into her body. It had to work. He couldn’t be too late. If he bit her again, she may not ever come back, and he couldn’t risk it. He reached behind her neck with his other hand, tilting her head back and letting the blood travel easier down her throat. He couldn’t tell how many minutes passed with that damned flat line remaining on that monitor. Couldn’t hear a word Nick said as he forced that needle out of her limp arm. All he could think about was that little piece of paper she’d left in his desk drawer .

“On the morrow he will leave me … as my hopes have flown before …”

His panic turned to rage. Then to the deepest heartache he’d ever known. He had to tell her one more time. That he loved her the moment his heart started beating again. That he’d never stopped thinking about her, even in sleep. That every single time her eyes met his, he no longer knew who he was—or cared. That she was the only light he’d ever had in his long life, even before that life became an immortal one. That every time he’d wished he’d let her kiss him cut like a blade in his heart. That even if she’d begged him to, he’d never ever leave her … because he couldn’t. He had to tell her one more time, that the answer to her burning question would always be the same. That he’d always be that dark thing that perched on her shoulder forever. That there was no other place he could ever be. He’d never let her go. Never … never …

“Nevermore …” Athan whispered. A broken, choked out sob. He tore his wrist away from her mouth, pressing his forehead to hers and taking both sides of her face as he hovered over her. “Nevermore, Sarah St. James. You better open those fucking eyes and kiss me, or I swear on Poe’s grave, I’ll—”

Sarah cut him off with a wide-eyed gaping inhale, bowing under him and grabbing both sides of his shirt as if she were pulling herself out from drowning. Athan felt his eyes burn with tears, allowing her another full breath before he let her latch onto his mouth. He tasted his blood. Tasted death, as he deeply kissed her. She moaned in agony against his mouth, and he sat up, pulling her against him while he wrapped both arms around her and held her close. Nick backed himself against the wall, watching on in horror. Sarah writhed in excruciating pain, screaming as her body became something else. He remembered in clear detail, how painful it had been the night that Dahlia turned him. Knew exactly what she was about to go through and couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it. At least she wouldn’t be alone. He tightened his arms around her, pressing his chin over her shoulder and cradling her head while she thrashed, screaming and violently shaking in his hold.

“I’ve got you … I’m here,” Athan soothed, rocking her back and forth. It went on longer than he’d wanted it to. Every second of seeing her like this chipped away a piece of his soul. Athan closed his eyes, holding her tighter as the last dregs of her former life started fizzling out. It took him by surprise when a sharp pain seared through his neck, forcing his eyes open when he realized she’d bitten him. His breath hitched, and his pain immediately found overwhelming pleasure as she drank from him, growling her satisfaction and pulling him closer. Athan groaned, his body melting into hers.

“Oh, what the fuck … what the fuck! ” Nick whined, trying to back himself further into the wall.

Athan’s vision started to blur, and he realized she was taking too much. It felt incredible, and he didn’t want to stop her, but if he didn’t, it would be all for not. “Sarah …” he whispered breathlessly, gripping the back of her shirt. She didn’t stop. If anything, it made her more ravenous. At han forced her back, the blood from her mouth dripping onto the shoulder of his white t-shirt. When she gasped, and her head fell back, Athan thought he’d die at the sight of her. Devastatingly beautiful in his blood … the way he always knew she’d be. Her tattooed skin was flawless, her ebony hair shining with an almost blue sheen, and those eyes—fuck … those eyes . The gold flecks were molten, and seeping between the inky darkness that flooded around them. She heaved desperately through fangs and a mouth stained with blood, and those eyes fluttered closed as she passed out in his arms.

He clutched her as her body collapsed around him, and it would have sent him back into panic had the monitor she was still attached to not started beeping again. Athan and Nick both glanced at each other, and then to the screen. Her heartbeat grew steady, and he realized then—she had one. His chest ached.

“Her numbers are astounding.” Nick observed, stepping closer and peering at the monitor. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

She wouldn’t be like the others. She’d be like him. Which meant there was a strong possibility that her being fully vampire wouldn’t alter the effects of her blood. It was a blessing as much as it was a curse, and it also meant that she hadn’t needed to die again. Not like that. Not at all. Sure, Wren was still out there, and Dahlia may very well have her and was using her silence as another way to toy with them … but Athan knew that it was too late now to toss around the “what if’s”. It was done. Nick had what he needed. And now … his mate was also his equal. She needed rest. Somewhere she could wake up and feel safe. Athan turned his face towards Nick, who was still watching her numbers climb in disbelief.

“I have to take her home.”

“What’ll happen to her now? How long do you think she’ll be like that?” Nick asked, folding his arms uncomfortably around himself and looking at Sarah’s bloody face.

“It’s hard to say. But I don’t want her to wake up here. Do you have what you need to do what she asked?”

“… I do.” Nick nodded. “Forty-eight hours. That’s the closest I can cut it.”

Athan wrapped her in one of the blankets, laying her down long enough to put on his jacket and grab her things. “She’ll need that time to get herself adjusted. Call me with all the updates. And Nick?” Athan faced him, pointing in his face. “She sacrificed everything to do this. You fuck her over—”

“I won’t do any such thing. Anybody that can go through what she just did has my full respect. I need to go home and at least get a couple hours of sleep, man. Let me put my wife’s flames of wrath out and get my head on straight. When I’m done … I’ll do what you want me to do.”

Athan nodded once and scooped Sarah into his arms. Nick followed him down to the entrance and helped him get her into the car. They paused, facing each other at his driver’s side door. “Look … I—” Athan started, not at all understanding why the fuck he could possibly feel sorry for the way they handled the situation. “Nick, you were right. You’re a piece of shit, and part of me still wants to make you suffer. A very big part. But … you were right, and I understand what you meant. If she’d died tonight, and the turning didn’t work … I dunno what I would have done without her. I’m not used to feeling anything … let alone feeling this much for one person. I’m sorry.”

Nick shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. “It’s fun being in love, isn’t it?” He smiled, “You were right, too. I was a selfish coward. No matter how much I wish I could excuse what I did. It doesn’t make it right, and she didn’t deserve any of this. I’m sorry for my part. Truly.”

Athan reached a hand toward him, and Nick winced at first, but eyed him carefully as he took it and gently shook. It brought a slight smirk to Athan’s mouth. “Thank you … for helping us.” Nick flashed a lazy smile.

“Get her somewhere safe, detective. I can find my own way home. Call you in two days.”

Athan dipped his chin and slid into the driver’s seat, starting the car, and making sure Nick went back inside. He wondered for a moment if he was putting too much trust in the guy, but at this point Nick had to know they were serious. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to screw them over another time. Sarah shifted in the seat beside him, resting her head against the console. He brushed her hair back, stroking her face. His eyes barely left her the entire way back to his apartment.