“Integrity? Hah! He betrayed me the first chance he got!”

Vera lifted her eyebrows, then turned to the girl who’d made up the room. “Is everything done?”

“Yes, Vera. The linen is fresh, and there are warm towels in the bathroom. Everything’s clean.”

Vera nodded. “Thank you, Karen, it’s very kind of you to help out. I know that’s not your job.”

“I don’t mind.” Karen left the room and pulled the door shut behind her.

The moment they were alone again, Vera’s face turned serious. “I’m sorry that you feel like that about Oliver. Maybe you’ve seen a side of him that I didn’t know. Anyway . . . ” She pointed to the nightstand. “This is a house phone, it only connects within the building. If you need anything—toiletries, food, or anything at all—just dial zero, and one of the staff will bring you what you need. There’s a selection of clothes in the closet. I’m afraid some of it won’t be to your liking, but there are some tame nightgowns and T-shirts among the items that will suit you.”

Vera turned to the door.

“I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you,” Ursula apologized, feeling bad because the woman had been open and friendly and all Ursula had done so far was complain. “I’m just . . . ”

“No need to explain. It’s none of my business, I’m sure.”

When the door fell shut behind her, Ursula threw herself onto the soft queen-sized bed and allowed her tears to flow freely. All she could think of was Oliver and the fact that he’d betrayed her.

27

Oliver ran faster than he ever had. Vampire speed could reach up to forty miles an hour for short bursts, and he was glad for it now. He didn’t care who may have seen him, questioning their sanity. All he was concerned with was to get home before his colleagues could whisk Ursula away.

His heart beat like a jackhammer, and his breaths rushed in and out of his lungs as he finally turned onto his street and ran up to the entrance door of his home. He jammed the key into the lock and opened it, then bolted into the foyer.

“Ursula? Ursula!” he cried out.

No reply. The beast inside him howled in frustration.

“Ursula, where are you?” he repeated and ran to the stairs when he caught a movement to his right. He whipped his head toward it.

Quinn stood in the door to the living room, his hands buried in his pockets. “She’s gone.”

Furious, Oliver stormed toward Quinn and pushed him against the doorframe. “Where is she?”

His sire shook him off with ease. “They took her to a safe place.”

“Where?”

“I can’t tell you.”            

Oliver narrowed his eyes. “You can’t or you won’t?”

“Both.”

“Then you’re against me.”

Quinn shook his head and gave him a stern look. “I’m protecting you. The state you’re in there’s no telling what you’ll do. Do you really think I would allow this kind of temptation to remain right under your nose and watch how you destroy yourself? I didn’t sire you to see you throw away your life!”

“You have no idea what’s going on inside me!”

He noticed that Rose and Blake had come out from the living room.

“None of you! You have no trust in me! I can make my own decisions. But you don’t believe that I can resist temptation. You think me weak! I’m not a child, goddamn it! I know what’s right and wrong! But you all believe that you have to think for me! Give me some fucking credit! All I wanted was your support and your love! And instead you suffocate me! You treat me like a juvenile delinquent who’s about to commit a crime! Damn it! I was never going to hurt Ursula! I care about her!” He took a breath of air, filling his lungs, before he continued, “She trusted me! And now?”

He knew what Ursula thought of him now. He didn’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure that out. She hated him—he was certain of it—because she thought that he’d betrayed her trust and broken his word. He’d promised her to keep her secret safe.

Oliver pointed his finger at Quinn. “If anything happens to her, I’m making you responsible.”

Then he turned and ran to the door that led to the garage. He descended the stairs, jumped into the minivan, then raced out of the garage and into the night. He had to find Ursula.

He reached Scanguards’ headquarters in the Mission a short while later and drove into the underground parking garage, letting himself in with his access card. After parking in his assigned space, he took the elevator to the executive floor. When the elevator doors opened, he noticed the frantic activity that made the normally-quiet floor buzz like a beehive.