After the vampire exploded, Hope hypnotized someone to give Evelyn and herself a ride. They packed the clothes into the trunk and went on their way, dropping the bags off at the penthouse before rushing to an old friend of Hope's. Evelyn wanted to know who they were going to see, but Hope wouldn't tell her, and after a third attempt, she just went silent.
Since the attack, Hope had been on edge, focusing on where they needed to go. Evelyn could tell Hope had a plan but she also knew Hope wasn't going to share that plan either. A few hours later, they pulled into a subdivision, parking in front of a white house with red shutters; a cookie-cutter house that matched the others around it.
"Drive yourself home and forget you ever saw us. If anyone asks where you went just say you wanted to get some fresh air and took a drive to calm your nerves," Hope muttered.
"Drive myself home…" The woman repeated in a monotone voice.
Hope got out of the car and used her speed to appear on Evelyn's side, opening the door for her. Evelyn gave a small nod as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. As soon as the door closed, the woman drove off down the road and disappeared around the corner.
Hope and Evelyn turned toward the house as Hope played up her smile. She began to approach as Evelyn did a small run to catch up to her. "What friend are we visiting?"
"Someone who can help with my Triad problem."
The two came to stand in front of the door. Hope leaned forward and knocked three times. Silence followed. She went to knock again when the door flew open and a man stood on the other side. He was maybe 5ft 11in with brown eyes to match the semi-curly brown hair on his head. When he opened the door he was smiling, but when he saw Hope that smile quickly vanished.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a snip to his voice.
"I've come to have a little chat. Mind inviting me and my friend inside?" Hope asked, the veins under her eyes revealing themselves for only a moment before her face returned to normal.
Before he could say no, a woman came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She was maybe a foot shorter than him with bleach blonde hair and blue eyes. When she saw us, her smile widened.
"Who are these two?" she asked.
"Old friends of mine, and they were just leaving," Ryan snapped.
"I used to date his brother," Hope said with a shrug. "I thought I'd come by just to see how Ryan has been, but if you're too busy, we can come back another time."
"No, it's no worry. I just finished making a batch of snickerdoodles. Come in."
The woman vanished back around the corner as Hope met Ryan's unhappy gaze with a smug one. She stepped past Ryan into the hallway as Evelyn meekly followed suit. Ryan closed the front door as he escorted them into the living room. Evelyn took a seat on one of the plush couches as Hope gazed at the photographs on the fireplace, Ryan standing behind her with crossed arms.
"When I told you to get a life, this is not what I meant," Hope said, peering back at Ryan as she set a photo of Ryan, the woman, and what looked like a rat-sized dog back on the fireplace.
"I wanted normality and Trudy has given me that," Ryan admitted with a sigh. "Who is this you brought with you?"
"My bad, I forgot introductions. Ryan, this is Evelyn. Evelyn, this is my friend Ryan," Hope said, motioning to each of them.
Hope sat down beside Evelyn as Ryan looked from one and then the other. He sighed once more, coming to sit across from them on the other couch. He leaned forward and intertwined his fingers, his gaze returning to Hope.
"Why are you here?"
"I was attacked by a vampire who worked for Triad. Now that Malivore is dead," she admitted, surprise appearing on Ryan's face as she continued. "They are after me as I am the only one of my kind and they believe me to be a threat. I need to get into Triad's main facility, so I can figure out who called the hit and eliminate them before they eliminate me."
"Does that mean you killed Landon?" Ryan asked.
"Will you help us or not?" Hope asked, leaning forward while ignoring his question. "I know you know where the facility is and I also know you probably have the keycard codes memorized. I need you to get us in, I can handle the rest."
"I'm done with that life, Hope. Besides, what you're asking me to do is highly dangerous. If I get caught, I will be killed or … worse. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
Suddenly, movement could be heard from the other side of the room as they all looked to find Trudy with a plate of cookies. She placed the plate down on the coffee table, and when Evelyn and Ryan looked back, Hope was standing behind her.
She quickly grabbed the length of Trudy's hair and pulled her head back, Trudy giving a small, painful gasp as she did. Hope gripped tightly as she revealed more of Trudy's neck, her fangs in full view. At the sight of this, both Ryan and Evelyn got to their feet.
"Let her go, Hope," Ryan said, lifting his hands in caution.
"Agree to help me and I'll let her go. If not, well…" Hope muttered, sniffing Trudy's neck. "She does smell delicious."
"Hope, please stop," Evelyn begged.
She looked at Evelyn for a long moment but shook her head and returned her attention to Ryan. Clear worry appeared on his face as he tried to step forward, but Hope gripped Trudy's hair tighter, causing her to cry out in pain as he stopped mid-step.
"Are you going to help me, Ryan? Or do you want your precious Trudy to turn into my mid-afternoon snack?" Hope taunted.
Ryan looked at Trudy who was utterly terrified. He gritted his teeth and broke, nodding. "I'll help you."
Hope let go of Trudy's hair and flipped her around, making her gaze meet Hope's. Within seconds, she went limp. Hope whispered something to her as Trudy left the room, making herself go upstairs.
The three watched her leave the room as Hope shrugged. "Now, was that so difficult?"
"What did you tell her?" Ryan asked, glaring at Hope.
Hope shrugged. "I told her she needed some rest and is going to take a long nap. She believes you to be on a business trip for the next day or two, so you won't have to worry about her being concerned about your absence."
"We'll take my car then."
Ryan pushed past Hope, slamming into her shoulder as he walked by. He made his way through the kitchen and out into the garage, the door slamming open behind him. When the two were alone, Hope turned back to Evelyn to see her concern.
"What's wrong?" Hope asked.
"What you just did was not okay," Evelyn said, shaking her head. "You threatened to eat an innocent woman so Ryan would help you."
"And it worked, didn't it?" Hope asked.
"That's not the point and you know it."
Hope tried to grab Evelyn's hand, but she pulled away, following after Ryan. Hope shrugged to herself, taking one more look around the room before catching up to them. Hope decided to take the backseat to get some rest before the fight that was to come as Evelyn got in the passenger seat beside Ryan.
It was going to be a few-hour drive, so everyone got comfortable as Ryan pulled out of the driveway. Hope laid down in the backseat to get some shuteye as Evelyn and Ryan sat together in silence. At least they did until Ryan tried to make conversation.
"So … how did you meet Hope?" Ryan asked, peering toward Evelyn awkwardly. "She never mentioned you."
"We've only known each other for a few weeks. She saved me from killing my stepfather," Evelyn admitted, noticing the look reflected in Ryan's. "I'm part fairy, part witch, and I didn't know how to control myself. Hope and Alaric brought me to the school and tried to show me control, but I didn't get to enjoy it long before Malivore came back."
"So, did Hope kill Landon?" Ryan asked.
Evelyn nodded. "Yes, she had to become the tribrid and kill him to save everyone."
"Did you bring her across?" Ryan asked, noticing the bite on Evelyn's neck.
She noticed his gaze, pulling her collar over her neck. "Yes, and it almost killed me."
"I'm surprised Hope could go through something like that and survive the pain," Ryan muttered, putting his focus back on the road.
"She couldn't … why do you think she's so cold?"
Ryan looked back at Hope and then realization swept through him. "She turned her humanity off."
"The others and I tried to convince her to turn it back on, but she wouldn't listen. It ended up with her beating the others unconscious and her kidnapping me," Evelyn explained.
"Why haven't you tried to escape?" Ryan asked.
"Because I … care about her," Evelyn said, looking down at Hope with a sigh. "I'm going to stick by her side and pray that I can keep her from going over the edge."
"And if you can't?" Ryan asked.
"Then I'll have to stop her," Evelyn muttered.
"Do you think you'll have the strength to do that?"
"I don't know."