Song - Blow Me - Pink

There was only one choice here. I had to hide, then leave once Otis was gone. Of course, having to deal with a dead body would create more of a delay, but I had to accept that I'd taken too long and was now paying the price for it.

Quietly, I opened the door to the hall cupboard and lowered to the largest gap, which was the floor where we stored the vacuum cleaner. Pushing it aside, I climbed in and moved it so that it sat at the front. Then, I reached through the gap at the bottom and pulled the door shut.

I could hear heavy footsteps as Otis climbed the stairs, continually calling out for Noah. Did Noah ask him to come here, or was this just a drop-in? I could not recall a single day in my life with Noah when Otis just dropped in for a visit. The only time he came here was when Noah decided to invite him to dinner.

"Oh god, Noah," Otis cried out in an anguished tone.

I could hear scrabbling as Otis cursed the vampires.

"Come on, boy," he growled.

Then, there was an almighty gasp.

"Oh, thank the heavens."

"Dad?"

Shit. Noah was alive. How did that happen?

"What the hell happened here?" Otis snapped.

"Date went wrong."

"You're dating vampires?"

"No," Noah scoffed. "I didn't know she was a vampire."

Why wasn't Noah telling his father everything?

"Cameras?"

"No, I disabled them for Dani's abduction."

Them? How many did he have here? He only just said there was one in the doorbell and no more. Maybe he was lying to save his ass.

"Well, then use your brain and turn them back on. We have them for a reason."

"Why are you here?" Noah asked, sounding sleepy.

"You weren't answering your phone, and we have a problem. The IT guy was running the end-of-year check and found something that wasn't marked with a code."

"What is it?"

"A backdoor into our system. The night of the Christmas party, were you watching the catering staff?"

"Of course I was."

"Then how come Steve and Jack are dead? I've covered for you as best as I can, but Barney is pissed that his son is gone. We've written it off as a lone vampire taking an opportunity, but now that this has been found, I don't know anymore. They're attacking us."

"Maybe it's not Lewis,"

"Oh, of course it is. He's determined to control the UK completely and is angry that we're in London."

"But why now? Why all of a sudden?"

"I'm sure they're using Dani's death as an excuse, creating a martyr out of her. I told you not to marry her."

Otis sighed heavily.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Just rest for tonight. You need to let the formula do its work. Otherwise, the venom will overpower it and destroy your organs. Stay in bed. That's an order."

My body tightened as Otis clunked his heavy boots over the floorboards, leaving the bedroom and passing the cupboard. The sounds slowly drew away as he descended the stairs. I didn't move until I heard the door slam shut.

"You can come out now."

Damn it.

Pushing the vacuum away, I opened the door and climbed out of my hiding spot. Noah was sitting up in the bed, smirking at me.

"Welcome back, drama queen."

"Thanks, asshole."

Noah chuckled.

"How did you know I was still here?"

He gestured to the clock.

"Time didn't change."

"Why didn't you tell your father I was still here?"

He shrugged, pulling the blankets over his body.

"Maybe I wanted this to continue. You've changed, and I gotta say, this new persona is far from how you used to be."

"Well, my husband tried to have me killed, so I guess it's understandable. I saw you on the news, crying as if you were actually mourning my loss. It was an outstanding performance."

"You should have come forward, have me tried in the court system."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"That wouldn't have worked. You ensured you were seen as the perfect husband, giving me everything I wanted."

The sound of a motorcycle passing the house made Noah turn to the window. He ignored it and returned his devious gaze to me.

"You look good. Have you been working out?"

"I've always gone to the gym, Noah. If you ever paid attention to me, you'd know that."

"Are you still going to kill me?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Even after I said nothing to my father? I saved your ass here, Dani. I think you owe me."

"I don't owe you anything."

Noah frowned momentarily, almost like he wanted to say something against the statement, but he didn't. He sighed heavily and gave me an uneasy smile.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry. I know it won't mean much to you now, but you're right. I wasn't allowed to divorce you. Dad kept saying that I'd been warned, but he never said that ending the marriage would be done with death. All he said was don't marry Dani. You can't become a hunter if you do. At the time, I wasn't interested."

"But it all changed when you realised you were missing out on the fun weekends away at the retreat."

That was something I realised in my research of his sordid files. The file dates didn't start until we were married for six months. There was just a small moment in our history where he didn't go to Mon Crief. Well, he didn't have the images on his computer, at least.

Noah twitched with a slight shrug, almost disinterested.

"I married a civilian, which I was punished for."

The motorcycle passed again, but there was no rev of the engine. I could understand the message, even if Roman couldn't say it. I was taking too long, and he was worried.

"You need to message Roman and tell him to back off. I'm talking to my wife."

"We're not married anymore. Your wife is dead. Steve killed her."

His eyes narrowed, and lights passed over the window. I had no idea what that meant, but I wasn't going to stand around talking to Noah all night anyway.

Like he sensed I was about to bolt, Noah shifted to the edge of the bed. I backed away.

"You were told to stay in bed."

"Dad's just being a worrier. It's an antivenom, and it works instantaneously. I'm not in any danger."

Noah stood, and I turned, rushing down the stairs. By the time I reached the door, Noah was standing at the top of them.

"Until next time, darling."

Noah grinned like he had the upper hand.

"Yeah, next time."

Roman slid to a stop, holding out the helmet. By the time I got it on and he turned to leave, I saw Noah at the door. It was just a sliver as it slammed shut but it was enough. I saw the defiance in his eyes. This was not over and I knew he'd keep the secret just to keep the game going.

The battle had just begun.