Free A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer Page B

that she knew vampires well enough by now to know that no human could possibly be a match for them. No one. Taking others with her into that world was as good as signing their death warrants. Or consigning them to slavery for the rest of their lives. At least she knew how to get in and out. She’d gotten Zack into this mess. It was up to her to get him out. And Lily, too, if she could find her.
    If only the damn worlds would open again!
    She raked her hair back from her face, frustrated and impatient. Ever since she’d gotten home, she’d been a twisted bundle of nerves. If another sunbeam did break through, what then? She had no real plan other than to get back in, no idea where to start looking for him when she did. All she knew was that they’d been attacked close to the White House and that the vampire, Arturo, lived on F Street, on the other side of the White House in what had appeared to be a thriving vampire neighborhood. She was almost certainly going to have to head back that way if she wanted to find her brother. Even if the thought gave her nightmares.
    Her cell phone rang. She reached for it and glanced at the number. Shit. Pressing the answer button, she lifted the phone to her ear, fighting to keep her voice calm and level.
    “Hi, Dad.”
    “Hello, Quinn,” her father replied formally. Too formally, as if they barely knew one another. Or as if he didn’t know how to breach the chasm he’d long ago allowed to form between them. “Where’s Zack? I thought you said he’d be back from that sail two days ago.”
    Uhn. She’d been dreading this. It was a little hard to explain to one’s parent how you’d accidentally led his only son into an alternate universe where he’d been taken prisoner . . . or been killed . . . by vampires. No, not killed.
    “The cruise was kind of open-ended, Dad,” she lied. “I spoke with the outfit yesterday, and they said the fishing has been really good, so they decided to extend it a few more days. I’ll have him call you the minute he gets back, I promise.”
    “Your mother and I still don’t understand why he didn’t tell us about this before he left.”
    “She’s not my mother.”
    Silence. “I’m surprised he didn’t call is all.”
    “He’s skipping class, Dad. It’s not really something a guy wants to tell his parents. Not until after the fact, at least.”
    “That’s not like him. He’s never done anything so irresponsible before.”
    “One last fling before he enters the real world, I guess.”
    “And you didn’t try to talk him out of it?” There was accusation in his tone. As if none of it would have happened if he hadn’t been living with her. The worst part was, she knew damn well Zack’s being missing was all her fault. She was the one who’d led him to that strange column. She was the one who’d grabbed his arm as he reached for Lily’s pen. If she hadn’t touched him, he’d probably have picked up the pen without any problem, without ever knowing he’d breached the intersection of two worlds. He’d have passed through the sunbeam unaffected, just like everyone else. But she’d fallen victim to her curiosity—first mistake—and tried to protect him—second mistake. And gotten them both sucked into that world instead. At least her dad didn’t know he was missing. Yet. “I made my opinion known, but he’s twenty-two, Dad. He’s an adult.”
    Out of nowhere, the hair on her arms began to rise. Her breath caught as she recognized the energy that meant the worlds were once more bleeding together.
    “Yes, but you’re five years older. Your mother . . . Angela . . . and I think it’s high time—”
    “I’ve got to go, Dad. I’ll have him call you when he gets home.” Without waiting for a reply, she hung up, ran to the kitchen for her backpack, and raced out the door, ignoring the elevator for the stairs. Forty seconds later, she was flying out the front door of the apartment building. There, not ten feet away,