Page 58 of Born Wicked

“I’m good,” she says, pushing my hand away.

I let it fall into my lap. “Thankfully, just an hour before you woke up, Sebastian called me, and I recorded it. So, now I have proof that he’s alive. So, she has no reason to keep holding Roman behind bars.”

My eyes shift to the window, and it feels like we’re crawling. For just a second, I’m tempted to yell at Patrick to drive faster, but that will only make me look like a dick. So instead of yelling, all that energy goes to my right leg, bouncing up and down rapidly.

Elena’s silence pulls my attention back to her. She stares at me for a moment, and I’m not really sure what that look means. There are big thoughts rolling through her head right now, but she’s not sharing. And I’m too distracted to care.

“But to get Roman out, it means we have to explain things to the new Superintendent,” Mason continues to fill his sister in. “I don’t see how we get around explaining the vampires, but I think we can present things in a way that we don’t have to reveal anything about the gifted.”

I nod. “I like that. There’s no rush to show all our cards.”

“Agreed,” Elena confirms.

The car stops moving and I open the door, all too antsy to get this over with. I don’t even wait for the others, I just walk right up the steps and waltz into the reception area.

“We’ve got an appointment with Superintendent Day,” I say to the man seated in front of me before he gets a second to ask if I need help.

“She’s waiting for you,” he responds, eyeing every one of us as the others walk in behind me. “Follow me.”

I know right where her office is. I’ve been there more than I ever wanted to. It occurs to me then that I should probably be calling Sylvano. But too late now, and I’m not waiting a minute longer.

Teresa’s eyes immediately find mine when I step inside. She stands, and maybe she was going to shake my hand, but she just looks over at the others, as one at a time, we keep filing into her office.

“This is Mason and Elena Godfrey,” I announce, feeling full of nervous jitters.

“Oh, I know who they are,” she says evenly. She’s trying hard to hide her confusion, but she’s not all that successful.

“And Tabitha,” I announce. “I hope you don’t mind, but they’ll be joining us today.”

“And what is this about, Dr. Doe?” Teresa asks. She sinks into her chair, though I note she slides it back as if giving herself some space from us. Maybe her instincts are telling her she’s alone in a room with four predators who could take her down in half a second if we wanted to.

I sink into one of the chairs in front of the desk. The others stand.

“I have proof that Sebastian Vincent is still alive,” I say, laying it out flat and clear. “We spoke on the phone just two hours ago.”

“He called you?” she asks doubtfully, arching an eyebrow.

“Yep,” I answer. I dig my phone out and pull up the recording. I press play and lay the phone on her desk.

“Perhaps you were not in on what was going on, but Roman has been watching you, obsessing over you since the minute you came to Chicago,”Sebastian’s voice rings out, clear as day. I watch as Teresa’s eyes widen in surprise. She knows his voice. It’s unmistakable.

“Not that it really matters at this point, but you’re wrong. Roman showed nothing but disdain and annoyance toward me. He may have shown a surprising amount of sympathy and compassion once you lost your mind, but there was never any hint of what you’re accusing,”my own voice cuts through the room.

“Sweet, blind Juliet,”Sebastian comes through.“Roman will eventually get what he deserves. But this isn’t why I called.”

I could hit pause right there. The conversation up to this point is normal enough, human enough. Just a bitter ex accusing his fiancée of having an affair.

But that would look suspicious. And we need more out of this conversation than simply gaining Roman’s release. So, I let the recording continue.

“Please, Sebastian. Tell me how to fix what you’ve done.”

My fingers tighten around the armrests of the chair. Here it goes.

“The antidote is in a fridge in labor and delivery,”Sebastian’s voice continues.“For the vampires and the gifted. But you’re going to have to disconnect the source that’s causing it.”

“I’ve already taken care of that,”I say. “We’ve been testing human blood. It’s been out of their systems for a week now.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” she asks, and a furrow begins appearing between her brows.