Cyrus watched her until she disappeared at the top of the stairs and closed the door behind her. He raced up and locked it, mentally berating himself for not requesting the key or whatever other method Angie had used to get in.

Mouse still perched on the edge of the bed, her thin arms wrapped around her middle. She leaned over her knees, sniffling softly.

“Damn it.” Cyrus couldn’t help the curse as he hurried down the stairs. “What’s the matter?”

She looked up, large eyes red with tears. “What will happen when you’re gone? What will they do to me?”

“It will be all right.” He hated himself for the empty promise. He had no idea what would happen when his father sent for him. But he sat beside her on the bed, unable to stop the hollow vows tumbling from his lips. “I’ll make sure no one hurts you.”

You weren’t able to save the rest of them, a mean voice in his head taunted. It didn’t bother him so much to be reminded of his past failures to save his companions, but that he suddenly thought of Mouse in the same category.

“And what if they…change you?” It seemed as though the words were hard for her to say. “If you become one of them, will you kill me?”

Probably. He thought of what his father had done to Nolen, forcing him to devour the one person he’d wanted to protect with his last human breath. If the Fangs decided to change Cyrus and lock him up with Mouse, the time would come when he would kill from necessity. And if his father did the deed himself, Mouse still might die at his hands.

Cyrus didn’t tell her that, though. “No. I won’t become some mindless monster. I promise, I will never hurt you.”

But he had the distinct impression they were both already dead.

Chapter 8
Victim of Circumstance

Max Harrison had never liked Michigan . Yet somehow, he kept ending up there.

He’d seen Carrie off in Ziggy’s old heap of a van with a silent prayer and a dozen false assurances that the vehicle would make it. He didn’t like lying, but they didn’t have another option. He’d need his car to track down Nathan, and the van’s windowless back would at least give Carrie shelter from the sun.

She’d left him the keys to the apartment and told him to make himself at home, but she’d wanted to make it as far as she could before daylight.

As if he could make himself at home in a city where everything shut down at nine o’clock.