“Sara, maybe he’s right,” Roland cut in. “I don’t want you to go but I don’t want you to get hurt either.” He spoke to Nikolas. “But maybe we should talk to Uncle Max first to see what he thinks.”

I blasted them both with an icy stare. “I see. So everyone gets a say about my life but me?”

Nikolas grabbed my shoulders and forced me to face him. “If you stay here, you or someone you care about is going to end up hurt or killed,” he said mercilessly. “Someone is trying very hard to get to you and they obviously won’t think twice about going through your friends to do it.” I thought about Peter’s stab wound and winced. “Next time it could be worse. They could go after your uncle. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not!” I would not let anyone hurt Nate. If I had to leave New Hastings to draw the people pursuing me away from him, I would, but it would be on my own terms. My mind immediately began to formulate a plan. Remy would hide me somewhere in troll territory where no one, especially vampires, would dare to look for me. I just needed to find a way to get to him.

Nate would be home tomorrow. I had to talk to him, try to explain things to him before I up and disappeared. He was not going to understand and he would struggle with the things I was going to tell him, but he deserved to know the truth. After everything he’d done for me, I owed him that much at least. I felt a pang of regret that we had never been as close as my dad would have wanted. I always thought there would be time to fix it somehow.

“Talk to Maxwell all you want,” I conceded. “But I am not going anywhere until Nate gets home tomorrow. And if you make me go, I’ll run away the first chance I get.”

“Fine. You will stay with me and Chris until then,” Nikolas stated firmly.

“I don’t think so.” There was no way I’d be able to contact Remy from some Mohiri safe house or wherever they were holding up. “I’m going home and you are free to follow me if you want.”

Nikolas shook his head. “That location is not secure.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Trust me. The devil himself couldn’t get into that building.”

“Um, guys, can we just figure out where we are going?” Peter called from the car. “Bleeding here.”

Nikolas raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled out his phone and called Chris to tell him to meet us at my apartment. I turned toward Judith’s car and saw the Mustang. “What are we going to do about Scott? We can’t leave him here like this.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Nikolas said, following close behind me. “Once we get you safely to your fortress of an apartment, we will take care of your friend.”

“Those guys are looking for a red Mustang. We can’t take a chance of them finding Scott before you come back. Besides I think he needs a doctor.”

Nikolas went to the Mustang and looked at Scott, peering into his eyes and checking his vitals. He pulled out some of the same nasty green stuff Chris had given me after the crocotta attack and forced Scott to eat some.

“I think he’ll be okay in a few hours,” he told us. “If he’d been permanently damaged, he’d be catatonic. I gave him something to speed healing. By tomorrow he won’t remember any of it and he’ll feel like he has a bad hangover.”

And banged up his car, I thought guiltily looking at the dented right fender and smashed headlight.

“How will he get home?” I had to make sure Scott was okay before I left. I was leaving no casualties from this mess.

Nikolas called Chris again then held out the phone. “Chris is on his way here. If one of you can tell him where your friend lives, Chris will drive him home.”

Roland took the phone and gave the other Mohiri directions. I walked to the Honda to wait for him without a backward glance at Nikolas. I didn’t need to look behind us to know he was right on our tail for the short drive to my place.

Roland parked in Nate’s spot and the two of us helped Peter up the stairs and into the apartment. I refused Nikolas’s offer of help and he followed us with a stony expression, bolting the door behind us. Instead of putting Peter on the couch, we carried him up to my room where he would have enough space and privacy to shift and heal. I wanted to stay with him until Roland reminded me that Peter would have to disrobe to change. That sent me down the stairs pretty fast.

I found Nikolas going around the apartment checking the windows and doors as if a vampire was going to burst through them any minute.

“I told you, this place is safe. I warded it myself.” I grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. “Anyone thirsty?”

Nikolas stood by Nate’s office doorway. “You warded it?”

“Don’t look so shocked.” I poured juice into a tall glass and took a long gulp. “I told you before, I’m not helpless. And I got away from those guys, didn’t I?”

Roland came into the kitchen and I handed him the juice carton. “I’d believe her if I was you,” he said to Nikolas. “Sara knows things and if she says we’re safe here then we –”

“Argh!” he yelped a second before the carton hit the kitchen floor and orange juice sprayed up my legs. He jumped in front of me and pushed me back against the refrigerator. I heard Nikolas shout something and fear rose in my throat.

“Sara, stay behind me,” Roland shouted as I struggled to push his weight away so I could see what was happening. Had something gotten past the ward? No. It was just not possible.