An image of Sydney's face appeared in my mind's eye, calm and lovely.
I believe in you.
My anxiety faded.
I took a deep breath and met the gazes of all those watching me in the room.
Who was I to do this?
I was Adrian Ivashkov.
And I was about to kick some ass.

My boyfriend was insanely sexy, vampire or not, and I couldn't keep my hands off him.

Escape plan number seventeen," I told her. "Run away and open a juice stand in Fresno."
"Why Fresno?"
"Sounds like the kind of place people drink a lot of juice.

Sydney spent a lot of time on my bed these days.
Unfortunately, it wasn't with me.

Did Belikov bend the rules of time and space to get here so fast? He can do that, right?

Well...I'm on birth control"

I was drinking the water again and choked on it. It took several moments of coughing before I could gasp out. "What?"

"It takes a while for it to start working, so I figured I should be prepared, just in case."

"Just in case," I repeated, still dumbfounded.