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Chapter 19

"She is not going to make it long," Jace's voice held an edge I'd never heard before. "You'd better get the information you want quick.You have two questions, and I'm taking her home."

"Do you dare stand up to me like that?" Dad pushed his chest against Jace's.

"Neil," Brian's sharp voice pushed through. "Do you really want a repeat of Katerina? Think. You can extract the information you want. Beatrix needs to rest."

Dad narrowed his eyes, but looked over to the chair Jace had helped me into. I was slumping over, holding my head. "Please, Dad," I squeaked out.

"Fine, take her home," Dad looked disgusted. "And don't worry about going back to the nursery. I want the three of you available if I need you."

"Fine," Jace nodded, then helped me up from the chair. We walked in silence to the car, and he helped me into the backseat. "Angel, do you have enough in you left to go through our heads?"

"When we get home, yes," I nodded.

"I'll get us there quick," Theo promised.

Jace helped me in, and into our bedroom. I sat on the bed and went through their heads as quickly as I could. I removed what I'd put in, but that's all that was new. Theo kissed me on the head, and said he'd go pick up dinner.

I was able to get myself undressed, and Jace helped me into bed. "Call me if you need anything, Rix. I'm not leaving the house until you wake up. I love you."

"I love you," the pillow felt so great under my head and my eyes closed.

When I opened my eyes, it was still dark. I couldn't believe I'd only taken a short nap. Blinking, I sat up and turned to see Jace sitting on the bed. He was holding a tablet computer that had been popular before the lights went out, and recently were seeing a resurgence in popularity. When he realized I was sitting up, he put it aside.

"Hey, sleepy head," he leaned over and kissed me. "Hungry?"

"What did Theo bring for dinner?" I smoothed some of my hair down.

"Last night we had burgers," Jace grinned at me. "Tonight we had chicken. There's some for you in the kitchen. Want me to bring it in?"

"How long did I sleep?" I turned to face him better.

"Almost twenty-four hours. You've never done that many before, and I knew Neil was pushing you. I was pretty mad at him," Jace reached for me and I went into his arms. "If you hadn't woken up in the next hour, I was going to send for Otka, and probably let it be known that Neil couldn't do this to you again."

"That's just a small taste of what he wants us to do," I whispered. "That would be our every day."

"Not happening," Jace kissed me again then got up. "Our body armor is here. We're supposed to start wearing it all the time. The attack can come at any moment, and we have to be ready."

"Seriously?" I looked at him.

"Go take a shower so you can wake up," Jace stood up. "I'll go get some food ready for you, then we'll try it on. Make sure we have clothes that will fit over it. Philip said Edward is very serious about this, he wants us out."

I did exactly what Jace said, and the shower woke me up, but I still felt very tired. I wanted to spend time with him, and would force myself to stay awake if I had to.

Dinner was good. Jace even had a piece of pie for me. I was starving since I hadn't eaten since the day before, but was afraid I'd get sick if I ate too much. I did eat that pie before I pushed away from the table. It was chocolate, my favorite, and no way was I letting that go to waste.