Page 121 of The Donor’s Dilemma

“Plenty of vampires,” Jesse said.

“The enforcers?” she clarified. If it hadn’t been for the weight of the discussion Theo would have felt a healthy amount of smugness for how Verity handled him.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “The enforcers are vampires. But there’s plenty of other vampires too.”

Verity paused. “But, there’s no Exchange.”

Jesse looked to Theo, not wanting to tell the human what Theo was now guessing. The breakfast turned to acid in his stomach.

“They’re… free feeding?” Theo asked as Jesse nodded.

The heightened thrum of her heart peaked as the blood drained from Verity’s face. “What the fuck is free feeding?” She spoke the words with the contempt they deserved.

Taking a moment to find a less horrifying way of telling her, Theo realised there wasn’t one. “It’s what the Henbrants call it. The freedom to take what you want.”

“You mean…” Verity stared at him, eyes wide, lip trembling until she caught herself. “So, it’s a free for all?”

The vampires only looked at her.

“Fuck!” she screamed, face turning from a sickly white to red with rage, fists clenched as she shook. “It’s happening here! So, vampires can just attack humans, like the Blessed?”

“Oh no,” Jesse said. “The Blessed have more control than what’s going on in Cliffhaven.”

“That’s not helping,” Theo snapped, jumping from his seat to hold Verity. “And it isn’t going to happen here. We’re fixing it, we have a plan. Remember?”

“Yes,” she said, pulling out of his arms. “It is. This isn’t an accident, Theo. They tried to kill you!”

“That was a coincidence.” But even Theo didn’t believe that.

“Oh, please,” Jesse said, shaking his head.

“Bullshit,” Verity snapped. “None of this is a coincidence. None of it.”

“But…” Theo tried.

“You can’t honestly believe that,” Jesse said.

“Di fucking Campbell,” Verity said and the brothers turned to her. The name felt familiar, but Theo couldn’t think where he’d heard it. One look at Jesse told him he didn’t know either.

“Who?” Theo asked.

“Have you got those Cliffhaven articles?” she asked and Theo shook his head. In his rush to get to her before the attack, he’d left his briefcase in the office. Verity went to find her phone. “I can turn it on, right?” she asked. “For pictures?”

“Just don’t call or text anyone,” Jesse told her.

The room fell silent as Verity turned the device on and started searching through her pictures. When she presented him with photos of the articles spread over his coffee table Theo was hardly surprised. Of course she wouldn’t let it go.

Leaving her phone on the counter she retrieved a newspaper from her backpack. It was the curfew story that had dropped the day of the attack, and under the headline was a name. Di Campbell. Verity zoomed in on one of the Cliffhaven articles and there she was again. Di fucking Campbell.

“I don’t understand,” Theo mumbled, looking between the various Cliffhaven clippings. The articles weren’t identical, but they weren’t far off.

“Is this real?” Verity asked, tapping the curfew headline.

“No,” Theo said. “I was furious about it. There’s been a few isolated cases of vandalism but nothing since the donor meetings stopped. I would never condone a daylight curfew for humans.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.” A small, sad smile tipped the edges of Verity’s lips and Theo realised whatever this was, Verity must have worked it out while they were parted. The Exchange told her he’d used her, cast her aside, and she still knew he wouldn’t allow such a thing. She still thought the best of him. What had he done to deserve such trust?

As much as Theo loved his brother, he wished he could have a moment alone with her. With the constant surveillance at the hospital, they hadn’t had a chance to talk, for Theo to really make sure Verity understood how much he cared about her. How devastated he’d been when he got his letter and how he would never do something like that to her. He prayed she knew, just as he knew, deep down, that she would never report him either. They were breaking the rules, but they were doing it together.