Blood Draw: Book Two of the Blood Type Series (complete)

Behind Closed Doors

Two days passed before we heard from Andrew, two excruciatingly slow days during which I drove myself, and everyone else around me, crazy.

"So?" I said, impatient to hear what Andrew had to say when he finally showed up at John's house to report what he had found.

Andrew took a seat. "I'll get straight to the point. A few Seekers with whom I am acquainted have reported similar increases on the price of blood, all instituted by the Head Watchers of their jurisdictions, without evidence of there being an actual shortage of blood."

"Then the rumors must be true," John said.

"We can't possibly take a stand against this," Andrew cautioned. "We are three vampires. I suggest you let this play out however it will and make sure you end up on the right side."

"What you're suggesting is that we give up," I said.

"What can we possibly do to stop them?"

"If you won't help us," I said, "we'll find other vampires who will."

"And who would that be?"

"We'll ask the vampires at The Marauder's Cove," I said. "This directly affects them."

Andrew shook his head and held up a hand, a slight smile curving his lips. "Right under Josiah's nose? You'd be signing your own death warrant."

"There is no one else," John pointed out.

Andrew's grin faded as he turned his attention to me, his eyes now holding a look of appeal that hadn't been there a moment before. "Why won't you stay out of this, Blake?"

"And watch my family and friends be used as human blood bags? I'm not backing down, so forget about trying to convince me."

Andrew's jaw hardened. "You are asking me to jeopardize my livelihood, as well as my personal and professional relationship with my employer."

"She asked the same of me," John said. "I'm not protesting."

Andrew's gaze wavered between us, his mouth tight. "If Conrad Abernathy discovers I've been complicit in your activities—"

"He won't," I said. "We'll be careful. But we can't ignore what he and others are attempting to do."

"Blake is right," John said. "So either you're with us, or you're not."

Andrew continued to stare at John for a long, tense moment before he allowed a ghost of a smile. "Conrad Abernathy will rue the day he accepted you into the family, Mr. Kelly." His eyes then traveled to me. "As for you . . . Well, I have a feeling you will be his undoing."

"Does that mean you're on board?"

Andrew closed his eyes. "God help me, but I am."

**********

I attempted to speak to Thomas again, but he was avoiding me. Short of a miracle, I wasn't sure how I would get him to open his eyes and see the truth about the kind of man his father was, and we desperately needed him on our side if we had any hope of convincing the vampires of The Marauder's Cove to stand with us against Conrad Abernathy.

One vampire I was able to persuade without too much arm-twisting was Donna. With her help, we selectively chose a handful of vampires who regularly frequented the Marauder's Cove to meet with us at John's house. To entice them, Andrew promised to provide free blood from his personal cache. He feared one of the vampires would turn against us and go straight to Mr. Abernathy, but I couldn't see that happening. Still, John agreed to compel their silence.