Flutter (My Blood Approves #3)(95)

This time, I thought the best solution for her was staying away from vampires. She needed more help than we could give her.

After that, we left in a hurry. Olivia went back to her place, and Leif disappeared into the night. I’m not sure where he’d go, but he assured me he’d be alright and he’d see me again. Peter had driven his Audi, and Milo and Bobby volunteered to go with him. It was only a two-seater, but Bobby didn’t mind sitting on Milo’s lap.

Since Jack had taken the Lexus, Ezra had been forced to take the Lamborghini, which he generally thought to be too flashy to drive around. Jack sat shotgun, and I curled up on his lap, resting my head against his chest.

On the ride home, I realized that the cathedral had constant staffing. Ezra explained that when he’d arrived, he’d charmed them into leaving. With his charisma and good looks, he could convince humans of anything. I suspected there might be vampire glamour along with that, but I didn’t ask.

“Oh my god, it’s never felt so good to be home,” I sighed when we walked into the house. Jack grinned at me, squeezing my hand. The night had felt longer than any other one before. I just wanted to go up to bed with him.

“Tomorrow is going to be another long day,” Ezra said, following us in. “I’ll have to spend all day trying to convince the police we had nothing to do with this.” Ezra went over to the fridge and got a bag of blood out of the bottom of the drawer of the fridge. All the blood used to be kept in the basement, but Milo and I were pretty lazy.

“Why would they even think we were involved?” I asked. I had my back to Jack, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I leaned back against him, and he kissed the top of my head.

“Because the Lexus is still there.” Ezra opened the bag of blood and took a long drink. “I’ll have to get it from the impound. I just hope that I have chance to sleep before they come looking for us.” His expression changed, growing perplexed. “That’s funny. I saw Mae’s car in the garage. I thought she’d be wondering where we all were.”

“Maybe she’s in bed,” I shrugged. The sky had already started to lighten slightly already.

“Maybe,” Ezra didn’t look convinced. He finished his blood quickly, then cocked his head. I listened, but I couldn’t hear anything. Not even Mae, but the night had left me exhausted so all my senses were dimmed.

I heard the garage door open, and a few seconds later, Peter walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. Milo and Bobby followed right behind him, and thanks to that nice, long nap Bobby had, he didn’t seem to feel any of the weariness the rest of us did. He was following right on Peter’s heels, asking him a million questions.

“So you cut off his head using a cross?” Bobby was completely wide-eyed. “I’m Jewish, and even I think that’s pretty damn awesome!”

Bobby noticed me in the room, and he gave me a weird look. It wasn’t adoration, exactly, but I returned some of the sentiment. It made Milo bristle and put his arm possessively around Bobby.

“I just need to take a hot shower, and be done with this night,” Peter grumbled and walked out of the kitchen. He hadn’t looked at me or Jack since everything had ended, and I wondered if he ever would again. I had nearly been killed tonight because of how much he loved me, but then again, that wasn’t the first time.

“Me, too,” Milo said. He looped his arm around Bobby’s waist to start leading him out of the kitchen, but Bobby stopped and looked confused. “What?”

“Where’s the dog?” Bobby asked. “She’s always knocking me over when we get home.”

“Where is the dog?” I echoed, and Jack tensed up. She always greeted Jack after he’d been away. I couldn’t keep her away from him.

“Matilda?” Jack called her and stepped away from me. “Mattie? Where are you, good girl?”

Matilda barked loudly, and it was coming from Mae and Ezra’s room. She scratched at the door, and Jack and Ezra exchanged a look. Mae shushed her, and she opened the bedroom door, letting Matilda come charging down at us, and Mae immediately shut the door.

“That was weird,” I said. Jack had bent down to start praising Matilda, but he looked just as surprised as the rest of us.

“Something’s going on,” Ezra said, more to himself than us. He tossed his empty blood bag in the garbage can and walked down to his room. “Mae?” He started to open the door, and she pushed it shut. “Mae? What is going on?”

“Nothing!” Mae shouted. “Go away!”

“Mae, open the door now, or I’ll open it for you,” Ezra said. When he talked like that, his voice was one of the most intimidating sounds I’d ever heard.

Slowly, the bedroom door opened, and Ezra stepped inside. There was complete silence, and Bobby took a step forward, trying to get a better look. Milo stopped him from going farther.

I looked up at Jack to see if he had any insight, but he just shook his head. We all waited expectantly, but Ezra never said anything. A minute later, he just turned and stormed out of the room.

“Get that out of my house!” Ezra growled walking away.

“She’s not a that!” Mae ran after him, almost pleading. “And we can’t travel right now! Not when she’s like this.”

“I don’t care!” Ezra roared, and he wouldn’t even look at her. “I want her out!”