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done?”
    “Because that’s not my Jessica, she wouldn’t do those things and not care. Whatever Lily did to her, it changed her.”
    “Graham, she’s a vampire. We both know that only brings out the true nature. She had a darkness in her to begin with; getting vamped only amplified it all. But the choices she made, they were her own….”
    Graham slammed his fist down against the covers and gritted his teeth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I know my own daughter, and that wasn’t her. They made her do it, she’s innocent, I know it.”
    There was no point in arguing with him. He wouldn’t ever believe Jessica was to blame for the terrible crimes she committed with her boyfriend; he was blind to all of her faults. But I’d seen Jessica’s face when she’d tried to rip Graham’s throat out. She had wanted to do it; there was no remorse, no care. She had wanted him dead, and if Nic hadn’t stopped her….
    But there was no convincing Graham of that point. He just saw the good in her, the little girl who adored him, the one I’d seen in the pictures on his walls.
    “Your wife was here….”
    He snorted and I stifled a laugh.
    “I don’t know why she bothers. We split a long time ago. I’m not sure what she was expecting out of being here.”
    “She told the nurses not to let me in, behaved as though I was the one who’d put you in the hospital,” I said with a smile.
    “Bloody typical. Let me guess, she had her goon in tow?”
    “There was a man with her. She had a fit of the vapours outside your door when she realised I was in here with you. Collapsed on top of me. It was a sight to behold,” I said with a grin.
    Graham started to laugh, the sound lifting my spirits, and then he cringed, rubbing his hand across his chest as his expression shifted back to one of pain.
    “Are you all right?” I asked.
    “Yeah, just laughing makes me ache. I feel like I got punched in the chest by the Hulk.”
    “Well, as good as,” I said with a smirk before I pushed up onto my feet.
    Graham reached out and caught my hand, halting my movements. “Promise me you won’t give her the blade?”
    “I can’t do that and you know it, Graham. I almost lost you once; I’m not going to do it again.”
    “Amber, she’s too dangerous.”
    I shook my head. If he was going to be obstinate and refuse to see how remorseless his daughter was, then I was going to be just as obstinate and refuse to give into his demands. If Lily demanded the blade in exchange for Graham keeping his life, then that would be the trade.
    “I’m going to do what needs to be done, Graham, you know that. Don’t ask me to lie to you,” I said.
    He let his hand fall away from my arm and nodded. “I know you’ll do what you think is right. But my life is not worth putting something so dangerous into the hands of a lunatic….”
    I smiled and shook my head. “You still don’t get it. I need you, Jessica needs you … there is far too much work to do, and even if we lose this battle against Lily, she hasn’t won the war. I’d much rather have you by my side for the day we figure out a way to stop her.”
    My cellphone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump, and Graham nodded at me.
    “Go, you’ve got things to do,” he said.
    “I’ll come back. I won’t leave you stuck in here with bad television and terrible food,” I said with a grin.
    “Next time you see me, I’ll be at home,” he said, scooping up the remote control once more.
    My cellphone buzzed again. Whoever had rung had thought it important enough to leave a message.
    “Now go, before I have them kick you out of here again,” he said with a smile.
    Laughing, I headed for the door and paused with my hand on the handle. “I’m really glad you’re all right, Graham,” I said without turning to look at him.
    “Me too, Morgan, me too,” he said.
    Pulling the door open, I stepped out into the corridor and pulled my cell phone from my pocket. The missed call