“What’s going on? Where’s Nathan?” Max scanned the room as if he’d see him there.

“Gone.” I don’t know if it was my relief at finally having an ally in my nightmare or if the reality of the situation had finally set in, but my voice cracked and tears rolled down my face. “He’s just gone.”

“Oh, God. Carrie.” Max dropped to the bed and put his arms around me. His jacket smelled like leather and cigarette smoke where I buried my face against his shoulder. He only held me a moment before he pulled away. Making a motion of a stake going through his heart, he asked quietly, “Gone?”

I shook my head and wiped my eyes. “Not like that. He was here. His body was here. But he wasn’t.”

“He was possessed?”

“Not exactly.” How could I explain it? “There wasn’t anything of Nathan left at all. Could you turn off that radio?”

Max nodded and fumbled with the alarm clock until “Go Your Own Way” cut out in the middle. “I hate that song, anyway.”

I covered my eyes, and he pulled me into his arms again. No matter how good the physical comfort felt, it did nothing to dull the ache in my heart.

“What happened?” he asked softly.

I didn’t let go of him. “I felt it through the blood tie. Something was wrong. So I went downstairs.”

When I couldn’t finish, he shushed me and patted my back. For all his come-ons and attitude, Max was actually a very understanding man. “Listen, I’m going to go downstairs and look around. You stay up here where you’ll be safe.” He leaned back and looked me in the eye. “Okay?”

I followed him to the living room and watched him pull some stakes from his bag. “Be careful.”

He looked up, the most fake smile I’d ever seen on his face. “I can take care of myself, Doctor.”

“No, not that. I mean, if Nathan is down there…”

Max followed my gaze to the stake in his hand. When our eyes met, his expression broke my heart more than it already was. “Give me a little credit, Carrie.”