I hope he does.

I'm restless and anxious to get out of here. I'd be gone already if I didn't think David would kill me. I have a feeling one of the reasons he made the date with Tamara was to avoid spending this first night alone with Gloria. I need to stay at least until she's in bed-her own bed-and asleep.

"Anna?"

Gloria's breathy whisper pulls me back.

"I want to thank you for what you've done. Jamie was here this afternoon. She told me Jason spoke to the police. DNA tests came back, too. They found something on Rory's clothes. It's not my DNA. Now they'll have to widen the investigation. They're issuing search warrants for the homes of Benton's board of directors. And Rory's corporate offices. He has to have a copy of the contract with the French company somewhere. Laura had to retract most of her story. She had to admit that Jason was telling the truth about what Rory said that morning."

That, at least, is good news. "Did Jamie find out why O'Sullivan would sell the formula instead of going ahead with its production on his own?"

She shrugs. "Your father offered one possible reason. He told Jamie pharmaceutical companies operate like any private industry- for profit. Foreign countries often don't require the same kind of expensive, time-consuming clinical trials our FDA does to approve a new drug. They may have offered to buy the formula and proceed on their own. Rory saw a way to make a lot of money right away. Cash in now and not have to wait. Or share. He took it."

O'Sullivan got greedy and impatient. Look what it cost him.

Gloria adds, "Jamie thinks it won't be too long before charges against me are dropped."

"Unless, of course, they nail you for that stupid fake suicide."

Without missing a beat, she says, "It was stupid, I know. I got so sick. I thought I'd get woozy, maybe, since I didn't really take that much. Flushed most of the pills down the john. I really didn't expect-"

She's telling the story like the worst part was getting caught with puke all over her nightgown. "G.o.d, Gloria. You are truly the most self-centered b.i.t.c.h I've ever met. Do you know the trouble Jason could get into if his part in your asinine scheme comes to light?

He's a kid. Do you care?"

My voice shakes with the effort to keep from screaming at her. "Protecting him is the only reason I don't turn you in myself. You are a menace and should be locked up."

She looks so shocked at my tirade that if I weren't so angry, I'd laugh. The b.i.t.c.h really thinks she did nothing wrong.

David walks in then, and although he didn't catch the words that pa.s.sed between Gloria and me, he does catch the tension.

"Jesus Christ. I can't leave you alone for five minutes. If you think I want to sit through dinner with the two of you, you're crazy.

Anna, why don't you leave? I think you've done enough damage for one day."

"Damage? What damage? What did I do?" He glares down at me, hands on hips. He's snorting like a bull ready to charge.

He works his jaw a few times and says, "You really expect me to believe Tamara called you to break our date? Just like that. A woman you claim not to know very well. I think you were the one who broke the date. I don't know why. Yet. I'll find out. She can't avoid my calls forever. I'll get to the bottom of this. Trust me."

He starts back into the kitchen, pausing once at the door to add, "Did you hear me? You can leave, Anna. Now would be good."

Gloria remains wisely silent, doesn't so much as raise her head to watch me leave. So much for making sure those two don't revert to the old ways. If they end up f.u.c.king, David has no one to blame but himself.

I close the door quietly behind me.

Well, I got my wish, I'm going home.

Thrown out of two houses in two hours. A new record.

CHAPTER 68.

ON THE DRIVE BACK TO THE COTTAGE, REALITY hits. It's over.

I've done everything I can for Gloria. How her legal mess gets resolved is up to her lawyer and the police. As soon as she's strong enough, though, I'll make sure she moves back to the hotel. I wonder if I can sue for breach of promise if she tries to snake her way back into David's affections? One thing for sure, if she tries to renege on that, I'll make her life a living h.e.l.l.

As for my relationship with David, he's mad at me now. He's been mad at me before. We'll work through it.

And Sandra? I wasn't able to help her the way I had hoped. It's a battle she has to fight alone. At least with Tamara gone, the odds are even. I'd go back to fight right along beside her if I thought it would do any good. Sandra was right, though, one of us has to survive. I hope this time, Avery is gone forever and that there are no other supernatural loopholes he can jump through.

That leaves only one thing unresolved. I grab my cell phone and hit Williams' number on speed dial.

He picks up on the second ring. I don't waste time with niceties. "The vineyard my parents inherited, is it legitimate?"

There's a hesitation, then, "Anna. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I want you to answer my question."

"If you mean would it stand up in court if challenged, yes."

He sounds neither surprised nor relieved to hear my voice. He asks no questions of his own. It's possible he already knows what happened in Avery's house. He seems to know everything else.

"You'd better be right."

I disconnect and toss the phone onto the seat. The message indicator chimes that there are messages waiting to be picked up. I'll get to them later.

Frey reminded me that as long as my family is here, they could become targets. I may not always be around to protect them.

The decision is made.

As for Williams, there will be time to deal with him later. There's something much more important I need to do first.

CHAPTER 69.

ALL THE LIGHTS ARE ON IN MY PARENTS' HOME when I pull up. I run up the porch steps and let myself in. Trish, Mom and Dad are in the living room, taking ornaments off the Christmas tree.

"Hey. Did I miss something? Isn't it December seventeenth?"

The three turn at the sound of my voice and greet me with smiles all around.

Trish speaks first. "Grandma left about a million messages for you. We decided to spend Christmas in France." She dances up to me, trailing icicles in her wake. "You can come, can't you?"

I don't know what to say. I never expected this-that they'd be leaving so soon. I can't go with them. In the car, I was prepared to let them go. But not now. Not this soon. I wanted time to get used to the idea. Time to make them understand that my life is here.

Then a wonderful thing happens. My mother takes Trish's arm in one hand and mine in the other. She turns us toward the tree. "It's all right if Anna can't come this trip," she says, squeezing my arm gently. "We really haven't given her much notice. She has a business to run as well as a partner who depends on her. There will be plenty of opportunities for Anna to visit when we're settled."

I glance over at my dad, realize as he does what her words mean. Somehow he did it. He made her understand that my life is here.

We grin at each other.

Trish hands me a small, rectangular box from underneath the tree. "Then you have to open your present now," she says. "Go on."

I take a seat on the couch and tear away the paper. I recognize the symbol on the green box before I even open it. "Whoa," I say at first sight of the stainless-steel and gold Rolex. "This is too much, Trish. I can't accept this. You shouldn't have spent this much money."

"It's from all of us, honey," Dad says, joining us on the couch. "It's to remind you of your family. Each time you look at it, you'll know we're a plane ride away. This is just one Christmas. There will be others. We have all the time in the world." I look from one wonderful face to the other. Time. I'm hit with a surge of such powerful love it leaves me breathless. They can't understand what time means to a vampire. I don't fully understand it myself. Nor do I understand what lies ahead for me. What I do understand is the sacrifice my mother is making. For me. She's letting me go. The fissure between us is gone, healed with a single selfless act.

I slip the watch on my wrist. "I'll never take it off," I tell them, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks, not bothering to try to stop them or to wipe them away.

Soon we're all crying.

Crying.

What a magnificent, liberating, human thing to do.