“I’m sorry.”
“You remember something?” His voice caught on the words.
“Yes. I remembered why I was drawn to Jack in the first place. He reminded me of you.”
Theon jerked back. “What do you mean by that?”
“You took care of me and I took care of you. Jack reminded me of you, but it wasn’t really him I cared about.” She moved forward and put a hand on his chest. “It was you.”
Theon put a hand over hers on his sternum. “Why did you forget me?”
“They made me forget.”
Theon stared at her then behind her. A patrol of vampires marched up wearing Romeran clothing.
Theon looked at Roke with an unreadable expression on his face. “Thanks for taking care of Padraig. That was helpful. This will be easy now.”
He stepped forward and was joined by his lover from the first day she met him. His blond hair was rumpled and he still seemed out of it. Blondie kissed the side of Theon’s neck in greeting.
“And there is my better half. Time for me to leave now, Isa.” He motioned to the guards and pointed to the plane. “I will see you again soon. Your mother is in the hanger over there, by the way, I left her for you. Another gift. Unfortunately, we took all the research you found. That was your gift to me. We couldn’t break your father’s encryption, but you did. I always knew you had special talents. You said you could hack anything when you were young. Now we can continue the research. The council has already okayed more experiments. Isn’t that grand?”
“Why would you want that? If that is what hurt you, us, growing up?”
“What hurt me growing up was them.” He pointed at Serafina. “We were rejects to them, these vampires, and I’m going to prove to them that I’m not a reject. They will rue the day they marked me for death as they did the others. Serafin took ‘pity’ on me. She saved me. But the things she did...” His jaw clenched. “She deserved this.” He speared her head with his short sword and shook it.
Roke moved next to them. “I know, Theon. You know I realize exactly what you mean. Only freaks like Jack enjoyed the pain. But what are your intentions now? Toward us?”
“I have no intentions. Run back to the base. You need to hide again. Take Rosa home and hide. On the clan’s end, there was no data breach. There is no traitor. I can make up whatever story I want. You know that Serafin wouldn’t let anyone know the details of this encounter. She only had few true loyalists and I broke them long ago.
“But take solace in that, I, myself, take aim at the council. The clans need to fall and come under one leader. The separation must end, the lowers and humans alike protected. I will see to that.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Isa stepped around Roke who grabbed her hand but didn’t stop her. Without thought, she reached out her left hand and put it around Theon's nape. Standing on tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek, a fleeting caress.
Now and forever, friends.
I hope you mean that. That you remember this time.
Theon looked strangely vulnerable as he gazed at her. His hands cradled her face and he kissed her mouth. He tasted of tears he hadn't shed. Her fingers brushed his cheek. He bumped her forehead with his own.
“I will see you soon, Isa. My friend.”
“I will see you soon, Theon. My friend.”
He turned and curled his arm around his lover. With a last wink, he boarded the plane. But before the staircase rose, the rest of the patrols streamed in and scrambled on. One man caught her eye. She watched him walk up the steps to the plane. He turned at the last moment and looked over his shoulder directly at her. Her stomach dropped.
He had salt and pepper hair and a trim physique. There was an air of authority about him. As well there should be. He was the preeminent geneticist on the planet and her father, long thought dead. A little thinner maybe, and he’d let his hair go gray, but she would know her father anywhere.
He smiled at her and then got on the airplane. With the Romeran clan. The ones who'd tried to kill her. The ones who were about to kidnap her mom. Her dad was one of them. Her heart broke.
“How could that have been my dad?” Isa asked.
Rosa didn’t remember anything. She’d been in the bunker the whole time waiting for rescue. Theon had been true to his word and taken off.
“I don’t know, Isa.” Roke’s worried eyes followed her as she paced from wall to wall.
She turned back. “Would Theon tell us?”
He shrugged. “I thought I knew Theon, we’d been neighbors for years. None of what we found recently fits with what I know.” He paused. “What do you remember?”
“Not much, a tow-head smiling at me and in pain.” She sat next to him on the bed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
He shifted and pulled her in tight to his side. “What are all the implications?”
Isabelle's mind churned. She still couldn't grasp it. In a few short weeks, she found not just her mother still alive but her father, too. They both abandoned her in some way. Her father experimented on her. She was one of his projects. Maybe he never loved her after all.
No.
She rejected that notion. Her dad came to every play, every game. Every moment in her life. His joy was palpable. Her accomplishments were his. He loved his baby girl. Everything he did had been for her mom and for her. He had to be a prisoner. Isabelle would find him and have her answers.
Then there would be blood…
If you liked this book. Please leave me a review! mybook.to/BloodWillTell and check out my other books at my author page. author.to/ColleenSMyers
About the Author
Colleen plays many roles. Not only is she a veteran, a mother, and a practicing physician, but she is a writer of science fiction and contemporary romances. Colleen’s dreams include surviving her son’s teenage years, exploring every continent on this planet, except Antartica, cause that’s way too cold, and winning the Nobel peace prize. Dream BIG! Currently, she is working on Distant Memory, the third in her SciFi Romance series.
In the meantime, look for her at https://www.colleensmyers.com
Acknowledgments
There are so many people I need to thank that I’m afraid to list them all lest I forget someone. So, I will simply say, “Thank you.” You know who you are.
Blood Will Tell: The Blood is the Key (The Blood series Book 1) Page 17
