because it sounds so insane, but it was the only way I could keep from snapping. That place was where I housed my emotions, not my heart, because it can’t handle the burden.
It ended up being the last place where Brady and I were together. I can never go back there again.
I hold up the photo and know that this will never feel the burn of flames. Like the document next to it, the Genesis of the Fourteen Families, this is the beginning of Mom and Dad. There’s something pure and perfect about it. So I take it with me when I leave. I figure Calvin would forgive me if he knew.
The other things that I’ve taken, though, my father’s journal and notes—he probably wouldn’t forgive me for that.
Chapter 6
M y stolen items tucked securely in my backpack, I take the elevator up to the lobby floor and head for the door. Avoiding eye contact, I keep my head down. The last thing I want is for someone to stop me for a conversation, delay my exit, and possibly discover what I’ve “borrowed.”
“Dawn Montgomery.”
A chill skitters up my spine and I slam to a halt. The very, very last thing I wanted was to run into Roland Hursch. Since day one he had a problem with me being the delegate and he wasn’t shy when it came to being vocal about it in front of cameras: I was far too inexperienced, far too immature, and definitely far too young.
I turn on my heel and angle my chin defiantly. The wealthiest man in town is decked out in a sharp gray suit. His salt-and-pepper hair is perfectly styled. “Mr. Hursch.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered from your ordeal.” He’s wearing a smug expression. I might try to read something into it if he didn’t always have his face set the same way. It’s like he wears a mask. “Lila’s been concerned about you.”
Lila. His daughter, my nemesis. If she was worried it was that I’d pull through.
“Thanks, but she doesn’t need to worry about me.”
“You must be relieved to have the burden of being delegate removed from your shoulders.”
Alarm bells ring in my head. How does he know? Victor told me only last night. It’s not official. Neither Clive nor Rachel has said anything. “What are you doing here?” I ask, knowing his distaste for the Agency usually keeps him far away from here.
“I’m meeting with Clive, to get my marching orders.”
I study him, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “I don’t understand.”
He grins widely, his eyes filled with the righteous indignation that accompanied his TV rants against vampires. “Why, Miss Montgomery, I’m the new delegate to Lord Valentine.”
“Roland Hursch? Really? Roland Hursch?”
Rachel jumps to her feet like a bomb has gone off beneath her desk when I burst into her office, slamming the door behind me, but going to Clive wasn’t an option since Roland Hursch was on his way there. I can only breathe the same air he does for so long before I start to feel poisoned.
“Who told you?” she asks.
“He did. In the lobby just now.”
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way,” she says. “I was told only this morning. It’s the reason I was called in—to put the reports together for him. I was going to break the news to you tonight.” She comes around her desk to face me. “I know this isn’t what you expected after all the sacrifices you’ve made for the Agency, for the citizens—”
“Has Clive totally lost his mind?” I can see the distress in her eyes because she thinks I’ve just learned I’ll have to step down. But Victor already told me that my delegate days were over. I just didn’t think he meant, like, right that second. I start pacing as Rachel leans her hips against her desk and folds her arms over her chest.
“Roland Hursch?” I repeat because my brain just doesn’t want to absorb that possibility. “He’s always spouting anti-vampire propaganda. For years, he’s been advocating that we stop giving blood to vampires.”
“It wasn’t Clive’s
It ended up being the last place where Brady and I were together. I can never go back there again.
I hold up the photo and know that this will never feel the burn of flames. Like the document next to it, the Genesis of the Fourteen Families, this is the beginning of Mom and Dad. There’s something pure and perfect about it. So I take it with me when I leave. I figure Calvin would forgive me if he knew.
The other things that I’ve taken, though, my father’s journal and notes—he probably wouldn’t forgive me for that.
Chapter 6
M y stolen items tucked securely in my backpack, I take the elevator up to the lobby floor and head for the door. Avoiding eye contact, I keep my head down. The last thing I want is for someone to stop me for a conversation, delay my exit, and possibly discover what I’ve “borrowed.”
“Dawn Montgomery.”
A chill skitters up my spine and I slam to a halt. The very, very last thing I wanted was to run into Roland Hursch. Since day one he had a problem with me being the delegate and he wasn’t shy when it came to being vocal about it in front of cameras: I was far too inexperienced, far too immature, and definitely far too young.
I turn on my heel and angle my chin defiantly. The wealthiest man in town is decked out in a sharp gray suit. His salt-and-pepper hair is perfectly styled. “Mr. Hursch.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered from your ordeal.” He’s wearing a smug expression. I might try to read something into it if he didn’t always have his face set the same way. It’s like he wears a mask. “Lila’s been concerned about you.”
Lila. His daughter, my nemesis. If she was worried it was that I’d pull through.
“Thanks, but she doesn’t need to worry about me.”
“You must be relieved to have the burden of being delegate removed from your shoulders.”
Alarm bells ring in my head. How does he know? Victor told me only last night. It’s not official. Neither Clive nor Rachel has said anything. “What are you doing here?” I ask, knowing his distaste for the Agency usually keeps him far away from here.
“I’m meeting with Clive, to get my marching orders.”
I study him, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “I don’t understand.”
He grins widely, his eyes filled with the righteous indignation that accompanied his TV rants against vampires. “Why, Miss Montgomery, I’m the new delegate to Lord Valentine.”
“Roland Hursch? Really? Roland Hursch?”
Rachel jumps to her feet like a bomb has gone off beneath her desk when I burst into her office, slamming the door behind me, but going to Clive wasn’t an option since Roland Hursch was on his way there. I can only breathe the same air he does for so long before I start to feel poisoned.
“Who told you?” she asks.
“He did. In the lobby just now.”
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way,” she says. “I was told only this morning. It’s the reason I was called in—to put the reports together for him. I was going to break the news to you tonight.” She comes around her desk to face me. “I know this isn’t what you expected after all the sacrifices you’ve made for the Agency, for the citizens—”
“Has Clive totally lost his mind?” I can see the distress in her eyes because she thinks I’ve just learned I’ll have to step down. But Victor already told me that my delegate days were over. I just didn’t think he meant, like, right that second. I start pacing as Rachel leans her hips against her desk and folds her arms over her chest.
“Roland Hursch?” I repeat because my brain just doesn’t want to absorb that possibility. “He’s always spouting anti-vampire propaganda. For years, he’s been advocating that we stop giving blood to vampires.”
“It wasn’t Clive’s
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