“You should know that she is infuriated by your interference. You have lost her a lot of money.”

Sam’s smile was crooked. “Trust me, Giles, she ain’t more infuriated than we are.”

Jared spoke then. “Your blood-link must give you some idea of her location.”

Giles shook his head. “Her gift conceals her even from me. It is impossible to find Diane unless she wants to be found.”

“Then you must get her to come to you,” Sam told him. “And then you must give her up.”

“I do not know where –”

“You can find a way to contact her,” interrupted Jared. “And I’m sure you can convince her to come to you. You’re her Sire, after all.”

“Five nights.” Sam hopped off the stool. “You have five nights to lure her to you or to find out her location. When we receive your call, we’ll come for her. Don’t disappoint me, Giles.” The latter words were hard.

Panic glinted in Giles’ eyes. “It will not be easy to find her.”

Jared snickered. “Neither will what we do to anyone who stands in the way of us and Diane – that includes you.”

(Ava)

“What do you think Giles will do?” Sprawled on top of Salem on a beach lounger, I propped my chin up on his chest, enjoying the feel of his fingers threading through my hair.

“If he’s got any sense, he’ll give Diane up. But my bet is that he’ll try to cover for her, worried he’ll lose the trust and loyalty of his nest if he gives up one of his own.”

“Then it’s a good thing that Sam and Jared have sent Sebastian to track her.” He was an expert tracker; the best The Hollow had.

“There’s no one that guy couldn’t find.”

“I called the infirmary earlier to ask Mary Jane how Rosa was doing. She’s getting better. Turns out, though, that a few more of the survivors came around.” I smiled wanly. “Despite Rosa’s assurances that they were safe, the newly awakened banded together and tried to escape. Can’t say I blame them for taking advantage of the fact that they were finally lucid. Thankfully, they calmed down once Mary Jane sent for Sam.”

“Did they have any useful info?”

I shook my head. “According to Mary Jane, their stories were the same as Rosa’s – even down to their Sires selling them. Sam and Jared are keeping them here for a while to be sure Diane can’t get to them. Plus, there’s a chance that the demons would track them down, hoping they know something. They’re safer here.”

“Do you think Max is right and there’s a leak at The Hollow?”

I cocked my head. “I’d like to think not. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I’d like to believe it’s not intentional; that someone’s not purposely betraying us.”

He slipped a hand under my t-shirt, smoothing it up and down my back. “Coach and Jared will probably ask Ryder to search the minds of every member of the legion.”

“The poor guy will be drained by the end of it. Why are you glaring at me?”

“Maybe it’s because you said ‘the poor guy’ in a soppy voice,” he grumbled, looking adorably petulant.

“You can’t seriously be jealous.”

His hand paused in caressing my back. “You called him pretty.” He spoke like I’d committed mass murder.

I had to smile. “Yeah? Well I prefer rugged, moody, and mentally unstable.”

“Mentally unstable?”

“Hey, I didn’t say it was bad. I like you just the way you are. Whether or not you continue to feel that way about me, we’ll soon find out.”

Salem’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Who made you feel you’re not good enough exactly as you are?”

I blinked innocently. “No one.”

“Don’t bother bluffing, Sam already mentioned it.”

Damn Sam for blabbing. “Like I said, it’s not a big thing.”

“Then there’s no reason why you can’t tell me.”

Crap, I’d walked right into that one. “When I was a kid, I had a mild case of ADHD. People found it hard to cope with me.” I shrugged, like it was nothing. Apparently my blasé act hadn’t worked, because that seemed to piss him off even more.

“What ‘people’?” When I didn’t answer, he growled, “Ava. I answered your questions when you asked.”

All right, that was a fair point. “My parents. My grandmother. My aunt. My foster parents. The last set of foster parents weren’t so bad, but that was because I got a little better as I got older. It was only Cristiano who accepted me as I was.” Until Salem.

His arms tightened around me as he muttered, “Bastards.”

“I really wasn’t easy to have around. I’ve always been a naturally upbeat, quirky person anyway. Add in the mild case of ADHD and it was no wonder they got tired of me.”

“They had no fucking right to make you feel so bad about yourself.” A look of realisation crossed his face. “You’re waiting for me to get tired of you, too, aren’t you?”

I could see that hurt him, which was the last thing I wanted to do. “I moved in with you, didn’t I?”

“But you still worry I’ll eventually reject you, don’t you?” My expression must have answered that, because he pinned me with a serious gaze. “It’s never going to happen.”

“You say that now, but –”

“There is no ‘but’, baby. Shit, if either of us will think about leaving at some point, it will be you.”

“Why would I leave my cuddly bear?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Ava.”

“You already told me about how you avenged the death of your parents by turning vigilante. I’m still here.”

“There’s a lot more.” It was a warning. “But it’s too late for you to run. I’ve told you before: what’s mine stays mine.” As if to punctuate that claim, he took my mouth with a force that almost hurt. Every flick of his tongue and every touch of his hands were sure and confident. And I was soon panting and desperate for more. Which, of course, was what he wanted.

I pulled back. “Okay, okay, I’m officially distracted. I won’t push you to elaborate. But you’ll have to tell me some time.”