“I was and I wasn’t,” Bethany said softly. “I mean . . . that’s what I meant to happen at the beginning. That’s how it started, that’s what I went looking for. I got lost along the way. A lot lost. And I’m sorry. I never meant to abandon you. I didn’t. I never meant to leave you alone to deal with all their shit and take care of Brandon. But I’m back now. I was weak for a while, okay? Maybe for a long while, but now I’m strong. You can move out, get a life. Quit worrying about Brandon. I’ll make sure nothing bad ever happens to him.”

Damn. If you’d told me that after eight years of being a sniveling, clingy blood-slut, Bethany Cassopolis would turn out to be one badass vampire, I wouldn’t have believed it. Aside from a few flakes of charred skin clinging to her glossy black hair, she even looked good, already healed from the blast of artificial sunlight.

“What do you think, Bran?” Jen asked her brother.

“About Bethany?” He looked up from his video game console, his face stony. “Are you kidding? I think it’s straight up epic.”

Okay, so apparently I was wrong about the blocking-out thing, and Brandon was just fine with his new vampire sister. I couldn’t blame him.

“Yeah?” Jen tousled his hair. “Okay, then. Are you going to be okay on your own while I run Bethany back out to the House of Shadows?” she asked him reluctantly. “Daisy and Officer Fairfax have to take Skelet—” She caught herself. “Lee, I mean Lee, to the emergency room.”

“It’s all right,” Lee said ruefully. “I don’t mind. People I work with in Seattle think it’s cool. They call me Skel all the time.”

“I mind,” Jen said in a firm tone. “Lee, you’re kind of the big hero of the night. I think that deserves a proper name.”

He blushed. Hmm, interesting. “I can stay with Brandon until you get back,” he offered. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

Jen eyed him. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Your hand’s starting to look kinda puffy.”

“Brandon can ride with us,” Bethany suggested, a little too languidly for her sister’s liking. “I bet he’d love to visit the House of Shadows.”

Jen shut that one down fast. “Um . . . no.”

“I’m okay staying by myself,” Brandon said, not sounding entirely convinced of it. “It’s not like I need a babysitter.”

Cody reentered the room. “Ready to go?” he asked Lee. “I’ve got the go-ahead to run you up to the ER in Appeldoorn. Daise, can you pick him up? I’ll drop you off to get your car.”