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Had he died protecting her?

Sean said nothing Face impassive, he moved to the opposite side of the bed, bent over, and felt for a pulse himself

Minutes passed Krysta didn’t kno many But with each, she felt shakier inside andelse building inside her

"He’s alive," Sean pronounced "His pulse is so sloould be declared dead in a hospital, but it’s there"

Despite her attempts to stop them, a few tears spilled over her lashes Krysta sank onto the side of the bed, all of her aches and painsway now that she wasn’t coht," Sean said as he strolled around to stand before her, "tell me where you’re hurt"

She scrubbed her hands down her face and hoped he hadn’t noticed the tears "My head is the worst I think I ht have a concussion"

Sean closed his eyes a e hands around the back of her head Seconds later, they heated and the pain slowly disappeared "What else?" he asked, teeth clenched against the pain that now bombarded him

"Nothing that can’t be patched up with Band-Aids, butterfly closures, and a few stitches" Healing the head wound would have taken enough out of hiashes he healed on her noould open on his own body She wouldn’t let that happen After the ht down on their heads, she wouldn’t make hiet out"

Nodding, she grabbed some clean clothes from her dresser "Do you want to lie down for a while?" His head riuest"

Krysta said nothing

What could she say? She had just welcomed one of the vampires she had sworn to kill into their ho into the bathroo her open cuts like salt, h her shower The runt or two

Das didn’t help She couldn’t be careful ounds when she was dragging a rough, soapy washcloth across them as quickly as possible because she feared what her brother

Or what Etienne ht do to Sean, if she weren’t there when he awoke

If he awoke

She barely took the ti a sports bra, tank top, panties, and shorts Leaving her hair to air-dry in whatever tangled rabbed a sishly, and hobbled back to her bedroo director’s chairs into the roo from the television to Etienne and back

He didn’t look up when she entered "Nothing on the news yet"

Jeeze She hadn’t even thought of that But how could what had happened tonight not make the news? A dozen or ht on an elite college campus?

Just what kind of soldiers had those men been? Military? SWAT?

Crap What if surveillance caht it all on tape? She knehere e campuses were positioned and lured vampires away from them so she could destroy the into the loading area just before the fight broke out They could have caught her and Sean loading Etienne into the car and fleeing the scene

What had she done?

"You need to tell ht," Sean said in a low, don’t-fuck-with- else that has been going on" His gaze went to Etienne, then rose toout on me"

And he deserved more than that After all he did for her, all he sacrificed for her

Nodding, Krysta started to sit on the side of the bed

"No Sit here I need to see to your other wounds"

She hadn’t even noticed the first-aid bag on the floor beside him

Krysta crossed to hih as he rose

"What is it with vas?" he muttered as he knelt behind her and went to work

It seemed to be one of their favorite places to strike

"I don’t know" She gritted her teeth as he began to stitch the wound

"So?" he prodded

"He’s been following ht I encountered hi out the vae them"

"That’s why you haven’t come home battered and bloodied lately?"

She nodded "He kills the vamps before I can even draeapons"

A pause "You should have told ht I knew va me, I was sure they had taken the bait But when I spun around to confront thehts I heard the sounds of a struggle a few blocks away and ran like hell to see as happening"

"You what?"