I removed the hand from my forehead and gazed levelly at him. "Yes, Merrill, I could tell that. Tate's mother was with the first vampire, as was Kevin's mom. The other female werewolf I didn't know and she didn't identify herself. I killed all four of them."
Merrill pulled out his cell, turned his back to us and waited for someone to answer his call. Wlodek responded with a greeting—my ears were still good, I guess. Lifting what remained of my fingers, I attempted to see if I still had ears and earlobes left. "Merrill says you hair protected your ears for a while; they were covered and your fingers and toes weren't," Franklin was reading my mind.
"Honored One," Merrill said after Wlodek greeted him, "Lissa can smell the taint on Saxom's get."
That statement earned silence on the other end for several seconds. "Then bring her tomorrow evening," Wlodek replied, his voice as smooth as water over river stones. Merrill agreed and ended the call.
"Is there anything we can get for you?" Franklin asked me.
"I want an iPhone," I said tartly. So far, someone else had picked out my phones and Merrill had taken away my last one. Now I wanted what I wanted and an iPhone would allow me to pick up my email messages a lot easier than the other phones I'd had.
Franklin laughed and it was a good sound. He probably hadn't done that for days. "Well, little girl, since I haven't gotten you anything for Christmas yet as I didn't know what you wanted, I will take myself out tomorrow morning and buy one."
"Franklin, you don't need to spend that much money," I said. "There's money inside an envelope in my computer case if you can get Merrill to give it up."
"That money is inside my safe," Merrill announced. Great. He had my backup stash. "Where did it come from, anyway?"
Gavin knew the answer. "Winkler paid her for saving his life and tracking the three that almost killed him last year. She hasn't used much of it at all."
"There hasn't been any opportunity to use much of it," I grumbled. And since when did he keep up with my finances?
"Winkler should have paid her more," Gavin did his own grumbling.
"I'm a cheap date, I guess," I said. "Can I get up or is it against the vampire law or something?" At least I was dressed in pajamas; somebody had bothered and it was most likely Franklin.
"You may get up and bathe and do whatever you have the energy to do, but Derlin suggests that you don't do anything strenuous until your fingers and toes regenerate completely," Merrill said. "You may wander about the house and aggravate anyone inside it as much as you want." I was ready to tell him that I'd tried my best not to be an aggravation to anyone when he smiled and I knew he was teasing.
"You may not go to the roof unless someone accompanies you," Gavin was back to laying down the law.
"Gavin, do not make that light die in her eyes," Franklin turned and lectured Gavin. Gavin actually looked apologetic. "Come on, little girl," Franklin was still holding one of my hands. He helped me sit up in bed and then helped me slide my legs over the edge. That gave me the first glimpse of my toes—they were just little nubs now and I wondered if I could even walk. Franklin was wondering the same thing; he just didn't say what he was thinking and held my hand tightly as I slipped off the bed. Yeah, toes are pretty important to walking, I discovered. Franklin helped me as I gimped along to the bathroom.
"Bath or shower?" Franklin asked as I stood unsteadily on my feet inside the bathroom, the Italian marble tile cold beneath my soles. The bathtub would be better in one respect; I could sit and get clean. The shower would be easier to climb out of afterward.
"Lissa, will you allow me to help you?" Gavin came in to stand right behind Franklin, his beautiful brown eyes pleading with me. Heaving a sigh, I considered it. So far, I'd managed to keep my back to the mirror. I was afraid to look at my image; too terrified to see the damage a few seconds in the sun had cost me. Now, Gavin was asking if he could help. Well, he'd probably seen me worse the last few days.
"All right," I agreed. Might as well get it all over with at once. Grabbing Franklin's hand to balance myself, I turned toward the mirror. The skin was intact, looked as fine as it ever did and I was thankful I still had eyelids to be honest, even though I had no eyelashes and was completely bald.
"I look like a bald girl in one of those sci-fi movies," I grumped, lifting my stubby little fingers to touch my head.
"You do not," Gavin said, stepping behind me. "You are more beautiful." His big hands gripped my shoulders as he leaned down to nuzzle my neck before placing a kiss.
"Honey, I don't feel very beautiful, right now." I pulled my gaze away from my reflection and hobbled toward the shower. Franklin made a graceful exit, leaving Gavin to take care of things. Gavin undressed me first and then undressed himself before lifting me off the sink. He allowed me to lean against him while I did my best to bathe. I had no idea how much that would tire me out so he helped dry me off and got us both dressed afterward. My clothes were quite loose. Gavin tried to convince me to drink as much blood as I could, but I couldn't get past the amount I normally consume. He also carried me downstairs and that's when I learned that Merrill had given Lena time off with pay. Who knows what excuse he'd fabricated to accomplish that?
I sat on the kitchen island and watched Franklin put steak marinade together for his and Greg's meal the following day. "How long will it be before I have fingernails again?" I glanced up at Gavin, who was standing beside me.
"The physician says two weeks, perhaps, but these are tiny fingers," he lifted one of my hands and kissed it. "It should not take so much time to recreate them."
"Will I gain weight back?" I could put one hand inside the waistband of the jeans I wore and they felt baggy.
"Lissa, you lost mass," Gavin informed me. "I have heard of this happening in severe cases before when the vampire survived. Derlin supports this. Even your bones are slightly smaller, now. It's like a second turn and that consumes a part of you to complete. I have never heard of a vampire gaining weight."
"Great. Now all my clothes are too big."
"We can fix that as soon as you're able to shop," Franklin grinned at me. He was placing the steaks in the fridge.
"How long is Greg staying?" I asked.
"At least two weeks." Franklin was happy, I could tell.
"Good for you, Frankie," I said and smiled back at him.