Read Night Huntress 07 - This Side of the Grave for Free Online

doors opened and I went inside, not caring to listen to anything else. Normally I’d be worried about leaving Bones alone with Tate since the two of them mixed like oil and water. But now, all my thoughts were on my uncle. What was wrong with him? And why would he forbid anyone to tell me about it?
     
    I almost ran out of the elevator when it opened on the second floor, dashing down the hallway and through the doors marked MEDICAL. I ignored the staff I passed along the way, not needing them to tell me where my uncle was. Don’s coughing and muttering to someone in the last room on the right told me that.
     
    I slowed when I reached the door, not wanting to burst in if my normally debonair uncle wasn’t dressed.
     
    “Don?” I called out, feeling hesitant now that only a few feet separated us.
     
    “Give me a moment, Cat” was his response, sounding hoarse but not like he was in imminent danger of dying. Relief swept through me. Maybe Don had caught swine flu or something equally nasty, but now he was recovering.
     
    A nurse I didn’t recognize came out of his room, giving me a look that required no mind-reading skills to interpret.
     
    “He’s getting dressed,” she said in a crisp tone while the ammonialike scent of annoyance drifted from her.
     
    “I take it he’s not supposed to be up doing that?” I asked her.
     
    “No, but that’s not stopping him,” she replied bluntly.
     
    “I can hear you, Anne,” my uncle snapped.
     
    She gave me another pointed look before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Don’t let him overexert himself.”
     
    A round of coughing prefaced my uncle muttering, “I can still hear you.” My brows rose. Whatever was wrong with Don’s health, his ears were sharp as ever.
     
    After another series of fumbling sounds, my uncle opened the door. He had on a slightly wrinkled pullover shirt paired with gray pants that matched the color of his eyes. For a second, I just blinked, realizing this was the first time I’d seen Don with his hair mussed and wearing something other than a suit and tie.
     
    “Cat. I’m afraid you’ve caught me a bit by surprise.”
     
    The irony in his voice was familiar, even if his appearance wasn’t. In the months since I’d seen my uncle, he seemed to have aged ten years. The lines around his mouth and eyes were pronounced, his gray hair was nearly white, and his impeccable posture was slightly stooped. I swallowed the lump that worked its way into my throat.
     
    “You know me,” I managed. “Always a pain in the ass.”
     
    Don reached out to squeeze my shoulder. “No you’re not. Not even when you’re trying to be.”
     
    The way he said that, combined with the sadness that flitted across his expression, almost made me lose it. Right then I knew that his condition was terminal. Otherwise, Don would’ve told me with sardonic affection that yes, I was a colossal pain in the ass and always would be. Not held on to my shoulder with a grip that trembled even as he managed to flash me a smile.
     
    All the things I’d dismissed before came back in sharp focus. Don’s recurring cough the past several times I’d spoken to him, brushed off as “just a cold.” The plans canceled at the last minute, rescheduled just to be canceled again…
     
    I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the weight loss that his clothes concealed, taking in a deep breath that filled my lungs with the scent of antiseptics, sweat, and sickness. More tears burned my eyes that I blinked back. Whatever’s wrong with him, vampire blood will cure it , I reminded myself, trying to get a grip on my emotions. Don was probably just being stubborn and refusing to drink any, even though he of all people knew the amazing healing powers of undead blood.
     
    Well, I’d get him to rethink that stupid decision.
     
    “So, I hear you didn’t want me to know you were sick,” I said, managing to sound mildly chiding instead of hysterically worried. Point for