“And assumed it was vampire related. Because who else would rob a blood bank, right?” Allie guessed, and didn’t miss the winces that went around the table at her use of the word vampire.

“Basically, yes,” Tricia said. “And because of that, Tybo and Magnus were sent to the hospital to investigate.”

Allie nodded, supposing her attempted theft was vampire, or immortal, related. She’d been stealing the blood to feed Liam, who was apparently an immortal, not a vampire. Actually, she preferred the word immortal. At least in regards to Liam . . . and Tricia and Teddy, and maybe even Tybo and Magnus, she decided. She wasn’t sure about Mortimer yet, but Lucian . . . Yeah, she’d call him a vampire with all his growling and glaring.

A snort of laughter from Tybo caught her attention and he bit his lip, and then cleared his throat and said solemnly, “You should have made the attempt much sooner. You were too weak for such an undertaking by the time you tried it.”

Allie could hardly argue with that. Fainting halfway through the job pretty much proved that she’d been too weak. Sighing, she explained, “I got the job there three months ago, intending to find a way to get blood for Liam. I came up with the plan pretty quickly and earned my boss’s trust enough to be given keys more than a month ago, but . . .” She grimaced and admitted, “It took a while to convince myself to actually do it.”

“That is understandable,” Magnus murmured, shifting in the seat he’d chosen next to her. “I’m sure fear would make most people hesitate to commit a felony.”

“It wasn’t fear that made me hesitate so long,” she assured him. “I mean, I was afraid, sure, but I was more afraid of dying if I didn’t find another source of blood for Liam.”

“Then why did you wait so long to try to rob it?” Tricia asked with curiosity.

“Guilt,” she said bluntly. “I’d never thought much about blood banks before Liam came along, but working there I learned how desperate they are for blood. They’re constantly struggling to keep enough on hand to keep up with the hospitals’ needs and here I was planning to steal some.”

“To keep your son alive without killing yourself,” Tricia said firmly. “You should not feel guilty about what you tried to do.”

Allie glanced around the people at the table. She was kind of glad it had all happened because now she might be able to purchase blood from these people and not have to steal. “Where do you get your blood?”

“We have our own blood banks,” Tricia said reassuringly. “We pay donors for it just as the blood bank you worked for does.”

Allie nodded, but then frowned as she realized Tricia had used the past tense, as if she wouldn’t be working there anymore.

“I—” she began, but Lucian cut her off.