Lyla stared at the dirty ceiling, floating in a serious amount of euphoria. She'd never had sex that was as good as what she'd just shared with Lennon. Her mind was still scattered, still lost to the unbelievable feelings.

Those feelings soon turned to thoughts of Eloise. Lyla felt that she'd wronged her by submitting to a carnal need that was not important. She'd failed her daughter.

"I'm never going to get her back, am I?"

Lennon shrugged, pulling on his pants. The complaints about the lack of condoms were pointless. He could see that Lyla was spent. If their time together continued, she'd get used to a vampire's stamina. As for right now, Lennon thought that Lyla looked like she might fall asleep at any moment.

"I don't know, but you'll never forgive yourself if you give up."

With a tired sigh, Lennon laid back down and pulled the blanket over his body. The neighbours mating call had settled. Lennon wondered if they realised how paper-thin the walls were.

Lyla turned onto her side, looking at the curious vampire. Her opinion on their race had changed. She still feared them, but Lyla knew that they weren't that bad. At least, this one wasn't. The creep that had her beloved Eloise, he was the worst of their kind.

"Is this out of character for your daughter?"

She was about to nod but stopped, thinking about the past few days. If she'd seen the signs, the little hints that gave Eloise's agenda away, Lyla knew that she would have caught her before she'd walked out the door.

"At first, it seemed so inconsequential; you know? I didn't want to nitpick on the little things because they didn't really matter. Eloise knew that I said no piercings until she was eighteen, but a month ago, she came home, and her nose was done. I said I wasn't impressed but she could keep it so long as it did not become infected. The first sign of it and I'd drag her ass to the doctor and it would come out, never to return. She screamed at me that I was trying to control her and it was her body. I had no say in it. I couldn't say anything more because she stormed off to her room. Was I wrong?"

"Seriously?" Lennon scoffed. "If I had a kid then went against what I said, they'd be grounded for a year, and yeah, she'd lose the metal in her face."

For a moment, Lyla felt relieved that she wasn't the monster that it felt like she was. Then she remembered that Lennon was not a parent and didn't understand how difficult it could be to raise a hormonal teenager testing the boundaries and seeing how far she could push her mother.

"She started coming home later and later. When I said something, Eloise said that she was going to stay at her father's for a while. I accepted it because she often goes to see him."

Lyla bit her lip, looking up at Lennon. Uneasily, she smiled.

"I might have fibbed just a little."

"Bad girl," Lennon whispered cheekily. "Spanky time."

She laughed softly, teasing her fingers through the soft patch of hair over his sternum.

"I didn't think anyone would help me if I said that I was looking for a runaway."

Lennon thought about it for a moment, but he disagreed.

"She's with a vile roach, so yeah, I would have. I didn't know who had her, but given that she's young and female, the choice of roach is limited."

"I rang my ex to tell him that Eloise was on her way to him, to let him know what kind of a mood he'd be faced with. That's when he told me that he was in China and would be there for a little while longer. I asked him how long he'd been there because she'd gone to see him several times. It turns out that was a lie. He said that the working holiday was into week three. Then he asked me to go to his house. I think he feared the worst."

"She has a key?"

Lyla nodded.

"How much has she taken?"

"A lot. I don't know how much because I've never been to his house until then, but dust marks tend to be a good sign that something is missing. I dread the moment he walks into his house and realises that his little girl is not the sweet and innocent thing he believes she is. Eloise has her father wrapped around her finger; he'd do anything for her."

"Then why do you dread that moment?"

"Because I know he's going to forgive her. He's going to ignore it and probably give her money. Her father thinks that money can solve the issues. Complaining daughter, here's some money, go buy something pretty. I'm just as bad. She wants something, and I give it to her. Eloise is spoiled."

"Being spoiled doesn't always create monsters. The environment that she's walked into has created these issues. The roach we're chasing, he would be invading her mind, whispering things so that she sees issues with her home life. He's a parasite of the worst kind, infecting those who get too close."

Lennon sighed heavily, wishing that things were different. Even if it was just a fraction, it might be enough.

"The problem is that if she's creating this kind of disharmony and you've noticed it, it could mean that it's too late."

He saw the sadness grow in an instant as Lyla nodded.

"She's creating a wedge so that walking away won't be difficult. That's how he separates the girls from their lives. So many of them have walked out of their homes in anger, leaving a broken family behind. This is still fairly new, so there's a high chance she will remain alive for a while longer. We'll keep searching, but I want you to brace yourself for the worst. Expect to walk away without her."

"She'll fight me on leaving him?"

Lennon nodded reluctantly. Tears slid down Lyla's cheeks as she accepted that Eloise would never return home.

"If you prepare for the worst, then you will be ready for anything. It will hurt, no amount of preparation will change that, but it's better than walking into this with the belief that everything is going to be perfect."

"Yeah, I guess."