“Thanks. It was a long time ago, but I still have nightmares about it. I don’t think they’ll ever go away.”

“Which is part of the reason Napoleon went on a rampage last night,” Bennett said, looking over the seat. “On the night Ruby’s family died, she overheard the men drop Napoleon’s name, tying him to the murders. The council has always suspected Napoleon had something to do with it, and now they have proof, and he knows it.”

“And he came after me because he thought you somehow had something to do with Ruby coming forward?” Lisa said, jerking back her head. “That makes no sense. How would you know she was alive?”

“He came after you because there was no longer any reason not to. Napoleon’s read the writing on the wall. He knows he won’t be able to escape the council’s wrath this time, and since he’s loathed me for centuries, what better revenge than to eradicate everyone I care about before he’s locked in a coffin for a hundred or more years? And remember, he went after your brothers and Gus and his family, too.”

“Bastard.” Lisa took a moment and thought over what she’d been told. “And Ruby, you actually stuck your hand in my chest?”

“Yep,” Ruby said, lifting her eyes to the mirror again. “Your heart had stopped, but I thought if I could keep blood flowing through it, you had a chance. The only thing I didn’t bank on was how long it would take for the change to occur, which led to what came next.”

“You guys rushing over to Napoleon’s castle to avenge my death.”

“It’s a faux castle,” Bennett said, snickering. “And like I said, at first, I planned to do that alone.”

Lisa squinted at Bennett. “Which, by the way, would have been sooo stupid.”

Bennett turned in her seat, and her laugh lines came into view. “Please don’t feel the need to hold anything back.”

“Well, it was!” Lisa said, slapping her thighs. “Geez, honey. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t in my right mind, Lisa. You had died in my arms, for Christ’s sake. I was devastated.”

The car got quiet for a long moment before Lisa broke the silence. “And Napoleon has a secret army of zombie vampires?”

Amused by Lisa’s rehashing of all they told her, Bennett and Ruby smiled in unison. “They aren’t zombies, but they’re definitely emaciated,” Bennett said. “Which is what makes them so dangerous and why we need to talk to Max. See how he wants to handle things.”

“But why wait until now? Didn’t you waste an entire day?”

“Are you saying this morning was a waste?”

Lisa’s cheeks grew as red as her grin did wide. “Absolutely not.”