parents?” He couldn’t help asking. Why was this girl all alone?
She rolled her head toward him. A don’t-ask look crossed her face. She quickly wiped it away. “No.”
Her answer didn’t quite ring true. “What happened to them?”
Her mouth drew down in a frown.
“That’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time to listen.”
She dragged in a breath. “It started about a year ago, before Katrina. I don’t have to tell you how Amanda and I became infected, except to say that after the Telave dumped us, we both began to show signs of the infection. You know how people are out of it, as if they’ve been hit with a super case of rabies.”
“Right.”
Her jaw tightened. “The cops who picked us up took us straight to the Emergency Room. It didn’t do much good, though. Amanda died less than an hour later.”
“Then the officers recognized you were showing signs of the infection?” he asked, cutting into her narrative.
Jesse nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t as if you could miss the warnings in the news to stay away from stray cats and dogs.”
“The authorities always think those bites come from rabid animals.” Maddox shook his head. “Very few people make the connection to vampires. Even when faced with overwhelming evidence, people cling to their ignorance. And the Telave are so well hidden in our society.”
Jesse nodded. “Anyway, I was still in the hospital when Katrina hit,” she explained. “They managed to evacuate some of us, and I was sent to a facility in Texas. The flood took the house and most everything we owned, so we moved to San Fernando to start over. My dad’s parents live there, and we stayed with them awhile.”
“California’s a long way from Louisiana. Why didn’t you stay there with your family?” It would have been a wiser choice, maybe even safer , he thought. But he didn’t say it out loud.
“I couldn’t.” Freeing a hand, she tapped her index finger against her temple. “Not with all the strange things going on in my head. I was afraid I’d hurt them, so I left.”
Her confession carried enormous weight. Maddox comprehended better than anyone the terror behind the physical changes her body was undergoing. “And you’ve been on your own ever since?”
She nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I figured if I kept moving, whoever did this to me wouldn’t find me again.”
“You think they’re looking for you?”
“Yeah, I do,” she answered without hesitation. “To finish what they started. And now I find out people like you want me dead.” She shook her head slowly from side to side. “Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shit. I can’t win for losing.”
He grunted. “Coming back to New Orleans doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do, then.”
“I’m tired of running,” she answered with simple honesty. “Tired of hiding. It was time to come back, and bring the fight to them.” She paused to watch the effects of her words ripple over him.
Maddox thought a moment. She did have a point. Then he remembered her ineffective attempts earlier in the cemetery. She was so scrawny, she probably didn’t have the strength to swat a fly. Determination was no match for brute strength. And he had the latter in spades.
“You’re still so far from ready. It’ll take months to get you into shape—if ever.”
Her voice floated into his ears. “I want this,” she insisted. “My life is nothing. If I die fighting, maybe I can take a few of them with me.”
He grunted. “Let’s not talk about death. First we rest. Then we fight. Best thing to do now is get some sleep.”
“I’m not tired.” Jesse went silent as he turned to face the wall, but it didn’t last ten minutes. Just as Maddox closed his eyes, she said, “Can I ask you something?”
The notion that he’d get any sleep tonight fled. “No guarantee I’ll answer,” he grumbled.
“When were you taken?”
Maddox’s throat involuntarily tightened. The life he’d
She rolled her head toward him. A don’t-ask look crossed her face. She quickly wiped it away. “No.”
Her answer didn’t quite ring true. “What happened to them?”
Her mouth drew down in a frown.
“That’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time to listen.”
She dragged in a breath. “It started about a year ago, before Katrina. I don’t have to tell you how Amanda and I became infected, except to say that after the Telave dumped us, we both began to show signs of the infection. You know how people are out of it, as if they’ve been hit with a super case of rabies.”
“Right.”
Her jaw tightened. “The cops who picked us up took us straight to the Emergency Room. It didn’t do much good, though. Amanda died less than an hour later.”
“Then the officers recognized you were showing signs of the infection?” he asked, cutting into her narrative.
Jesse nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t as if you could miss the warnings in the news to stay away from stray cats and dogs.”
“The authorities always think those bites come from rabid animals.” Maddox shook his head. “Very few people make the connection to vampires. Even when faced with overwhelming evidence, people cling to their ignorance. And the Telave are so well hidden in our society.”
Jesse nodded. “Anyway, I was still in the hospital when Katrina hit,” she explained. “They managed to evacuate some of us, and I was sent to a facility in Texas. The flood took the house and most everything we owned, so we moved to San Fernando to start over. My dad’s parents live there, and we stayed with them awhile.”
“California’s a long way from Louisiana. Why didn’t you stay there with your family?” It would have been a wiser choice, maybe even safer , he thought. But he didn’t say it out loud.
“I couldn’t.” Freeing a hand, she tapped her index finger against her temple. “Not with all the strange things going on in my head. I was afraid I’d hurt them, so I left.”
Her confession carried enormous weight. Maddox comprehended better than anyone the terror behind the physical changes her body was undergoing. “And you’ve been on your own ever since?”
She nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I figured if I kept moving, whoever did this to me wouldn’t find me again.”
“You think they’re looking for you?”
“Yeah, I do,” she answered without hesitation. “To finish what they started. And now I find out people like you want me dead.” She shook her head slowly from side to side. “Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shit. I can’t win for losing.”
He grunted. “Coming back to New Orleans doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do, then.”
“I’m tired of running,” she answered with simple honesty. “Tired of hiding. It was time to come back, and bring the fight to them.” She paused to watch the effects of her words ripple over him.
Maddox thought a moment. She did have a point. Then he remembered her ineffective attempts earlier in the cemetery. She was so scrawny, she probably didn’t have the strength to swat a fly. Determination was no match for brute strength. And he had the latter in spades.
“You’re still so far from ready. It’ll take months to get you into shape—if ever.”
Her voice floated into his ears. “I want this,” she insisted. “My life is nothing. If I die fighting, maybe I can take a few of them with me.”
He grunted. “Let’s not talk about death. First we rest. Then we fight. Best thing to do now is get some sleep.”
“I’m not tired.” Jesse went silent as he turned to face the wall, but it didn’t last ten minutes. Just as Maddox closed his eyes, she said, “Can I ask you something?”
The notion that he’d get any sleep tonight fled. “No guarantee I’ll answer,” he grumbled.
“When were you taken?”
Maddox’s throat involuntarily tightened. The life he’d
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