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She turned to Catch. “You haven’t had anything to eat?”

“I’m fine. I’ll drive there. Turner, you can drive home,” Catch said.

Matty glanced over her shoulder at the house as they pulled her out of the front door and blinked the tears out of her eyes.

“You’ll be back,” Turner whispered, and tugged her into his arms.

“Do you have the pages?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Matty snuggled against him on the backseat of the car and closed her eyes.

* * * * *

Gabriel stood next to the window of the hospital room, staring at the inert figure of Matty lying in the bed. Behind the curtain next to him, Nick was taking sloppy seconds from a paralyzed guy. Gabriel licked his lips, remembering the sweet warmth that flowed into his mouth a few minutes ago. No doubt about it, Plasmix was the worst invention ever.

“Enough,” Gabriel said to Nick, and the young vampire licked the puncture marks closed.

Dava had once shown him such slavish obedience. Never again. As Victor had bundled Gabriel out of Turner’s drawing room, he’d seen the knife in Dava’s chest and known she’d no longer be bothering him with her incessant whining chatter. He was almost grateful to Matty. Yet the rest of the scenario bothered him. They had outnumbered Catch and Turner. Catch had seemed weak. The pair had Matty to defend and yet Dava and Seth had been killed and Gabriel made to run.

He’d left Devlin downstairs with instructions to call him when Turner showed up while Victor slept in the motor home in the car park. Gabriel could hardly begrudge him that when he’d been awake all day keeping watch as they slept, but having one non-vamp as support wasn’t enough. Once Gabriel had the missing pages, he’d go back to his VRB apartment and regroup. Of course he couldn’t leave any witnesses to what he’d done, so several would have to die.

A nurse came into the room followed by a gray-haired man in a suit. Gabriel and Nick were ostensibly visiting—what was the name of their snack?—Mike Reynolds, in the other bed, but Gabriel had put a thrall on the nurses and a shadow over their presence in the room. Mortals would pay them no attention.

“Any change?” the man asked.

Ah, not her doctor, but her uncle. Gabriel recognized his voice.

“We took her off the ventilator again an hour or so ago but she only managed a few breaths on her own.”

“I’d like you to try again. If I talk to her while the tube is out of her mouth, it might help.”

“Usually we wouldn’t try again so soon. I’d have to ask the doctor. He has her written up for a transfusion. Her blood count is low.”

The nurse left and Bernard Strachan slumped in the chair at Matty’s side. “Why can’t you just fucking die?” he whispered.

Gabriel smiled.

* * * * *

As they walked to the hospital entrance, Matty recognized a face from the previous night. She tugged at Catch’s sleeve.

“Devlin.” Catch changed direction and pulled Matty with him.

Turner followed.

“How’s Seth?” Devlin asked.

“He’s okay,” Catch said. “Turner saved him.”

The black man smiled. “Thank you. Gabriel’s upstairs with that arse-licker Nick. I’m to call when you arrive. I could look the other way.”

“Where’s Golding?” Turner asked.

“He’s supposed to be asleep in the motor home but he’s gone back to London to speak to someone on the Council. I’m to stick with Gabriel until I hear otherwise.”

“Call Gabriel and tell him I’m on my way up,” Turner said.

“You sure?” Devlin asked.

“He’s expecting us. It keeps you in favor,” Catch said.

“Yeah, well, I’m sort of hoping his visit to the hospital was permanent.” Devlin laughed and took out his phone.

Matty chewed her lip and hoped the opposite was true for her.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked as they walked into the building.

“Give Gabriel these,” Turner held up the loose pages, “and wave goodbye to him. But you two are to stay out of sight.”

Catch bristled. “I’m not letting you face him on your own.”

“He won’t let you walk away,” Turner said. “He thinks you’re VRB and have to report in on him. I’d guess he’s already broken the terms of his release and yet he’s still at large. The SBI are letting him run on their leash and they don’t want anyone tangled up in it. You’re expendable. He might still want me around as insurance.”

“Might?” Matty whispered. “I don’t like that word. Nor expendable.”

“I’m not leaving either of you,” Catch said. “If he’s holding the other Matty hostage in some way, you need us both.”

Turner hesitated and then nodded. Matty had a feeling Catch would have followed no matter what Turner said.

At the door to the ward, Turner pressed for entry and they were allowed through, visiting time not yet over. The nurses on the desk paid them no attention as they made their way to Matty’s room. Her heart raced.

As Catch reached for the door, it swung open and a middle-aged man swept out.

“Uncle Bernard,” Matty whispered.

He glared at Turner and Catch. “Where are you going?”

“Visiting our friend Mike,” Turner said. “What business is it of yours?”

“She should be in a room on her own,” her uncle muttered as he stormed toward the nurses’ desk.

This time when they went into the room, Matty’s gaze flew straight to the bed. Gabriel lay next to her, the blood transfusion that should have been entering her vein, instead going into his mouth. Matty felt tension race through Turner and Catch. The other vampire stood in front of the window, watching them. Gabriel slurped the last drop from the bag and tossed the tube aside.

“The missing pages?” he asked.

Turner took them from his pocket. “Come and get them.”

“I don’t think so. Nick, check they’re all there.”

“Get away from her,” Catch said.

“You know, I’ve become rather attached to this Matty. There’s a lot to be said for women who can’t talk back.” Gabriel slid his hand over her breast.

Catch vibrated with anger and Matty stroked his clenched fist. “He’s probably fed up with women telling him he has a small dick,” she said.

Gabriel snarled and Catch laughed.

“They seem to be all here,” Nick said. “But how do we know he hasn’t doctored them in some way?”

Gabriel spread his fingers over Matty’s breathing tube. “What a good point. We don’t. Have you been writing fairy stories, Turner?”

“You mean like the one where you’re related to Captain Kirk?” Turner snapped.

Matty couldn’t take her gaze away from Gabriel’s fingers. Without the ventilator, how long before she died?

“Say goodbye,” Gabriel quipped, and yanked out the tube.

Oh shit.
Matty gulped as the room erupted in chaos. As Turner threw Gabriel off the bed, Nick launched himself at Catch. Matty jumped out of the way and stared down at herself. She flipped the switch to shut off the buzzing monitor. Matty didn’t need to hear that she wasn’t breathing as well as see it. She’d already started to feel it.

“Breathe,” she urged the other Matty. “Please.”

Her fingers hovered over the motionless hand. If she went back inside herself, maybe she’d be able to breathe. The pain increased in her chest and another monitor started to bleep. Was
this
why she had the pain? Matty flipped it off. The doctors couldn’t fix her. She had no choice.

And no time.

The pain wouldn’t stop if this Matty didn’t start breathing again. Matty had wanted to say goodbye in case she couldn’t wake up, but Turner and Catch were fighting for their lives.

Time was running out.

Before thinking could stop her, she lay down on top of her other self.

Matty expected warmth and light. Instead she felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Catch ducked Nick’s kick, caught his leg and twisted him over. Before the vampire had time to get to his feet, Catch picked him up, slammed him back over his knee and heard his spine crack. Nick fell limp in his arms and Catch dropped him. He spun round to see Turner pinned, Gabriel’s fangs about to sink into his neck as Turner struggled to hold him. Catch yanked Gabriel back by the hair and fixed him in a choke hold.

“What the hell is going on in here?” snapped a nurse. “Do I have to call security?”

“Lover’s tiff.” Turner scrambled to his feet.

“What happened to her breathing tube? Why are the monitors switched off?”

Catch kept Gabriel on the floor as Turner moved to stand in front of the nurse. “There’s no problem here. Go back to work.”

“No problem here,” the nurse muttered, and left.

“Do it,” Turner said, staring at Catch.

“No,” Gabriel pleaded.

Catch twisted hard and snapped Gabriel’s neck. He thrust the floppy body away and pushed himself to his feet. Neither Gabriel nor Nick was dead, but they wouldn’t be regenerating anytime soon. Never, if Catch had anything to do with it.

“Where’s Matty?” Turner asked.

Catch looked round. “Where’s she gone?” His gaze moved in the same direction as Turner’s. Her clothes lay on top of the bed over the other Matty, as though her body had dissolved. His heart went the same way. “Oh hell.”

“Matty, Matty,” Catch whispered. “What the fuck have you done?”

“She’s breathing without the machine,” Turner said with a sigh. “That’s got to be a good thing.”

“Not if she doesn’t wake up. Matty, can you hear us? Squeeze my hand if you can.” Catch held her fingers and waited, willing her to move. Nothing happened. “No,” he shouted. “No, no, no.”

He flung himself away from the bed and leaned against the wall, yanking at his hair. Turner held her hand.

“Make her wake up,” Catch choked out. “I promised her it’d be okay. This is my fault for not watching her. Oh fuck. We can’t lose her. Turner, do something.”

Catch felt something wet on his cheeks and dashed the back of his hand over his face. When he saw Turner looking, he faced the wall and leaned on his arm. Turner moved up behind him, encircled him with his arms and pressed his face into Catch’s shoulder.

“Maybe she’ll wake now she’s breathing on her own,” Turner whispered. “She might just need time. Before anyone else comes into the room, we have to deal with those two.”

“Ask Devlin. He can help. I’m not leaving Matty alone. I promised.” Catch turned to face him and didn’t try to hide his tears.

Turner ran his thumb up Catch’s cheek and licked the salty drop. “Okay.” He pulled Catch back to the bed. “Talk to her. Maybe she can hear us.”

When he left the room, Catch took hold of Matty’s hand and sat on the chair by her side. “Stupid girl,” he whispered. “You’re more impetuous than me. We should have talked about this.” Catch sighed. “You never got the chance to see the other side of me. My wolf. I never got the chance to tell you how much you mean to me. I used the word fucking but it was always more than that. Much more. I love you. Turner loves you.”

Catch carried on babbling when Turner and Devlin came back into the room with wheelchairs. Once they’d gone, he told her stuff he’d never told anyone. How when he was younger, he’d been with men and women for money, punters who liked to hurt him because Catch healed quicker than most. How he might look tough but he wasn’t. How Feynman had given him the name Catch and how it had stuck. How after he’d stopped sleeping around, a threat to reveal his past to a jerk he loved had forced him into the SBI only for Catch to find the guy didn’t love him back anyway.

“What are you doing in here?”

Catch spun around at the sound of the voice. Matty’s uncle glared at him. Behind him stood a doctor and nurse.

“Did you do this?” the guy in the white coat snapped and lifted the detached breathing tube. He began to work on Matty while the nurse switched on the monitors.

“No, I didn’t. It was like that when I came in,” Catch said.

“Who are you?” Strachan asked.

“A friend of Matty’s,” Catch said.

“You told me you were visiting him.” Strachan nodded toward the other bed.

“And Matty,” Catch said.

His gaze slipped to the doctor examining Matty. “Is she all right? She’s breathing on her own. Shouldn’t she wake now?”

“Will she?” Strachan asked.

“She
is
breathing on her own, which is good, but—”

Catch didn’t want to hear a “but”. If it wasn’t childish, he’d have stuck his fingers in his ears.

“I’m worried about her heart,” the doctor said. “The beat’s very erratic. We need to—”

“No,” said Strachan. “She’s a do not resuscitate. Let her go.”

Catch’s hands were round the guy’s throat before he could stop himself.

* * * * *

Turner and Devlin pushed Nick and Gabriel through the hospital in wheelchairs. It might have been possible to move around carrying them while using their thrall but this was easier.

“Should I ask what happened?” Devlin muttered.

“They were trying to kill two mortals and us.” Near enough the truth and enough to deserve a death sentence. “You won’t get into trouble for this?”

“I’m on my own. How could I get them back to headquarters? This is the only option.”

They took the elevator to the top floor and carried the pair up the final flight of stairs to the roof. Gabriel glared at Turner but couldn’t speak. Nick mumbled incoherently.

“Over there,” Turner said.

They put the two down behind an air-conditioning unit. The chances of anyone stumbling across them before dawn were very small. Turner removed the pages of the books from Gabriel’s pocket and stood.

“Don’t be too disappointed,” Turner said. “You promised your congregation a life in the sun and it’s only right that you should try it first. Maybe you wouldn’t recommend it.”

He shook Devlin’s hand and the pair walked away without looking back.

When Turner opened the door of Matty’s room, he found a snarling Catch with his hands around Bernard Strachan’s throat, and dragged him off.

“The bastard wants her to die,” Catch blurted.

Turner switched his gaze to the horrified people standing by Matty’s bed. Strachan rubbed his neck.

“She’s DNR,” Strachan snapped.

Turner glared. “While Matty’s uncle might have the legal right to determine her treatment, actively pursuing her demise and inheriting over a million pounds from her estate appears to me to be highly unethical—if not illegal, especially if the hospital colludes in the action.” Turner stared at Strachan and used his thrall. “I feel it’s in Matty’s best interests if you never see her again.”