Maggie felt like a dead woman walking as she stared at the brick building before her. You don’t have to do this!

Yes, you do.

She knew she did. She had to face her mother again, her past, her heritage, everything she’d written off years ago. Opening the car door, she didn’t pause to think before shoving herself out of the vehicle. Her shuffling gait took her from the car and to the bluestone walkway of the building. She didn’t look at Aiden when he fell into step beside her.

“Shortly after my mother killed the nurse, she was deemed incapable of standing trial due to insanity. They placed her here, in this high-security mental facility, which is essentially a fancier prison. If she’d gotten better, they might have freed her, but I don’t think she’ll ever leave this place.”

Aiden’s gaze traveled over the brick building with its brown vines creeping up the walls. They were most likely ivy vines, but their leaves had yet to bloom so he couldn’t tell for sure. Neatly trimmed boxwoods lined the walkway as they approached the glass front door. When they stopped before the door, the brass plaque on the wall beside it revealed the building was completed in 1852, but he saw nothing marking the name of the place or its purpose.

“It’s nice, for a state-run facility,” Maggie said.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she fiddled with her sweater again. He’d seen her jump-start a Savage with paddles in the ambulance and tell a vampire to pretty much fuck off without so much as breaking a sweat. Now, her skin was ashen and she looked petrified as she rambled.

“I was impressed with it when I came before,” Maggie continued. “Don’t get me wrong, most of the group homes I stayed in were okay, but you know, this is a place for those with mental illness. The people here are the ones the rest of the world prefers to forget. Everyone loves and feels sorry for kids who have nothing; they’re terrified of the mentally ill.

“So, when I first came here, I was expecting, you know, broken windows, dirty floors, and people leaning out the windows screaming. It’s not like that. It’s…. Oh, it doesn’t matter what it’s like. I should go in now. I probably won’t be long.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’m glad you brought me here, but you don’t have to deal with this.”

Steely resolve filled Aiden’s gaze. “I am coming with you.”

“I doubt there’s a threat in there.”

“I do too, but I’m not going with you because of that. You shouldn’t be alone for this.”

Maggie opened her mouth to protest further. She didn’t want him to see her mother, or hear the things the woman might say, but more than that, she didn’t want to be alone for this. It could be humiliating to have Aiden with her, yet she’d get through it better with him by her side.

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” he said. “Don’t ever thank me for caring about you, Maggie, or being here for you.”

She was about to ask him why he would do this for her or care about her when the door opened and a young man stepped out.

“Oh, hello,” he said as he held the door open for her. Maggie recognized the subdued tone of his voice as someone who had been to hell and back. He probably had a loved one inside, and not a loved one who worked here.

When she remained unmoving, unable to take the door from the man, Aiden gripped it. “Thank you,” Aiden said.

The man didn’t respond as he shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled away with his shoulders hunched up to his ears. That’s exactly how she’d walked the last time she left here.

“Maggie?” Aiden inquired.

Tearing her attention away from the man, she stepped inside the vestibule before continuing to the door across the way. Before she could reach the door, a buzzer sounded, and a man wearing white scrubs opened it for her. Maggie entered the front reception area and walked toward the desk. So polished, the white tile floor was nearly blinding in the overhead fluorescents glaring down on it.

“Can I help you?” the cute blonde woman sitting behind the desk asked her.

“Yes, I’m here to see Jane Doe,” Maggie replied in a steadier voice than she’d anticipated.

If the woman was at all astounded her mother had a visitor, she hid it well. She focused on her computer while her fingers flew across her keyboard. “And you are?”

“Her…” Maggie paused to pull at the collar of her sweater. “I’m her daughter.”

This time, the woman couldn’t hide her surprise as her eyes flew back up to Maggie. She didn’t doubt that most, if not all the people working here, knew her mother’s story and, therefore, part of hers. It wasn’t this woman’s fault, of course, but Maggie resented the woman’s knowledge she was the child Jane tried to cut from her belly.

“Can I see some ID?” the woman asked as she worked to cover her shock.

Maggie’s heart sank. She’d completely forgotten she’d required ID to get in here before. She wanted to kick herself in the ass. It wasn’t exactly a tiny detail she’d overlooked, and she had no idea when she’d get her license back.

Aiden rested his hand on the small of her back and stepped closer to the desk. The woman’s eyes widened on him and she smiled sweetly.

“I have our ID right here,” Aiden said. Reaching into his pocket, he removed his wallet and pulled out a license and credit card. “Here is mine,” he pointed to the license with his picture and a fake name. “And here is Magdalene Doe’s.” He indicated the credit card.

Maggie hadn’t heard the tone of his voice change, but there was a subtle shifting in him and a flow of power rippled across her skin. The woman gazed at the cards he held before her. Maggie realized he was holding them so the security cameras couldn’t see them

The woman’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m not sure where the license number is on Magdalene’s.”

“It’s right here,” Aiden said and pointed to the credit number. As he pointed, he read off a set of numbers and letters that weren’t on the card at all.

“Oh, yes. I see it now,” the woman murmured, and her fingers flew over the keyboard once more.

Maggie didn’t realize she’d stopped breathing until her lungs started burning. Aiden’s hand pressed more firmly into her back when her breath exploded out of her. She’d never tried LSD, but she had the unsettling feeling she was taking a strange trip.

Aiden turned toward the orderly who had buzzed them in when the man was drawn forward by his exchange with the receptionist. “Everything is fine,” Aiden said to him. “Return to the doorway.”

Maggie’s skin crawled when the man retreated. A muscle in Aiden’s jaw twitched as he met her gaze. He seemed to be bracing himself for condemnation from her. What she’d seen unnerved her, but he’d done it for her, and he hadn’t hurt anyone.

She gave him a wan smile; it was all she could muster in this place.

“I have to contact Jane’s doctor to let her know Jane has visitors,” the woman said. “Jane may not be up for seeing anyone today.”

Maggie knew this was the woman’s polite way of saying, Jane may be completely off her rocker today and might try to kill you again; we’d prefer not to deal with the paperwork.

But none of that mattered because Aiden would stroll through all of them with a smile and a few words. Maggie swallowed to wet her suddenly parched throat.

“Understandable,” Maggie said as the woman lifted the phone.

* * *

The petite woman, who was her mother’s doctor, gestured to where Jane sat in a chair in the corner of the large rec room. From her position, her mother could see out the bar-covered window to the parking lot below. If she’d been there when they arrived, then Jane might already be aware Maggie was in the building.

The doctor hurried over to some of the nearby orderlies who doubled as security in this place. She spoke in hushed whispers with them. The staff would be extra careful while she was here.

Maggie’s gaze traveled over the other patients in the room. Heavily medicated, most of them weren’t aware of their surroundings, but some were coloring, and one was reading. A handful had gathered on or near the TV to watch a rerun of the Family Feud, and a few of them were playing Scrabble.

It was impossible to judge their ages as they all had a haunted, knowing look that should only come from a vast number of years, yet many of their faces were unlined. One of the patients, a young man of maybe twenty, clapped his hands and gave an excited whoop over something on the Scrabble board.

The last time she’d been here, she’d met her mother in her bedroom. That small, concrete cubicle had been awful enough; this was so much worse. Like some of the foster and group homes she’d been through, the broken air here made it seem as if they’d all given up. Aiden stepped closer and settled his hand on her back.

“Take your time,” he whispered before brushing a kiss over her temple.

Maggie glanced up at him. She’d only known him for such a short time, yet the kiss felt natural, and his presence here strengthened her in ways she never would have believed possible. He hadn’t needed to use his abilities again after the front desk, but she knew he would have done everything he could to get her here. She gave him a brisk nod before striding through the chairs toward her mother with him at her side.

Aiden studied Jane as they approached her. Her auburn hair hung to just below her ears. Some white hair streaked the dark tresses, but what he could see of her face remained remarkably untouched by age. Her hands were on her lap, and she had a blanket draped across her knees. Like the other patients in this room, she wore blue scrubs.

The woman didn’t look at them when Maggie stopped before her. “Jane,” Maggie said. “Jane Doe.”

Maggie’s voice had a small tremor in it, but he felt the strength forging the rigid length of her spine against his hand. He lost contact with her when Maggie knelt before the woman. She reached out to rest a hand on her mother’s knee but pulled it away before they touched.

“Jane, I’m not sure if you remember me. I came to visit you six years ago.”

The woman’s head turned slowly toward her. Aiden braced himself to intervene if Jane tried to attack Maggie. He may not be able to stop the emotional damage this woman might inflict on her, but he would not allow her to hurt Maggie physically.

Able to see Jane’s face, Aiden took note of the strong resemblance between mother and daughter. Jane’s eyes were a paler shade of gray than Maggie’s, but they were the same shape, and their hair was the same shade. Both of their mouths were full and their cheekbones high. Maggie had a smaller nose and a more feminine chin than Jane’s square jaw, but there was no doubt Jane had once been almost as beautiful as her daughter.

“Mom,” Maggie breathed, then winced at the word. Jane had given birth to her, reluctantly, but she’d never been a mom to her.

Maggie’s fingers dug into her palms as she glanced nervously toward the doctor. The doctor had told them not to do or speak of anything that might upset Jane, but what she had to say to her mother was far from comforting.

Aiden rested his hand on Maggie’s shoulder as he surveyed the other patients gathered within. A few of them turned to watch Maggie and Jane, but most seemed unaware of their interaction. He doubted the Savages had a spy in this place, but he wouldn’t take any chances.

“Jane,” Maggie said, drawing his attention back to them. “Do you remember me?”

Jane scanned Maggie’s face before her head tilted to the side. The vacancy in her eyes cleared a little, and a smile curved her mouth. “You look like me.”

“I do,” Maggie agreed.

Jane’s hand fluttered up to her hair. “They cut it all off,” she murmured sadly. “Took it all away.”

Maggie had never seen her mother with long hair, but Jane said this to her during her last visit too. “It looks pretty.”

Jane’s hand fell away; her eyes went back to the window. “Watched you coming.”

Maggie glanced out the window and spotted Aiden’s car in the lot below. “Do you remember me?”

Jane remained focused on the window. Maggie didn’t know why she’d come here. What had she hoped to accomplish? What did she expect from her mother? Answers?

No, she wouldn’t get those. Jane knew less of what had happened to her than Maggie did now. Had she come to say she was sorry? Because she was so very sorry for what happened to this woman and for believing she was completely insane when she was unbearably traumatized. She wanted to apologize for being the reason this woman was so broken, but that wasn’t her fault.

Then, she knew why she’d come. Jane had to know she understood. That one person, out of Jane’s entire wretched life, saw her for who and what she was: a young woman who’d been traumatized beyond the limits of what anyone should have to endure.

Experiencing a rape was devastating enough, but to be raped by a monster and to have no one else believe you about it was something else entirely.

“I used to be so beautiful,” Jane murmured and touched her cheek. “Too pretty. It’s why…”

Jane’s mouth pursed, and Maggie couldn’t stop herself from resting her fingers on her mother’s knee to offer some comfort. “No matter how pretty you are, what happened to you wasn’t your fault.”

She probably shouldn’t be talking about this. She was certain the doctor wouldn’t tolerate it, but Maggie couldn’t allow Jane to blame herself.

Jane’s eyes were more aware when they returned to her. “You came to visit me before.”

“Yes, years ago,” Maggie replied.

“I remember. You are… You are—” Jane suddenly recoiled. “Magdalene.”

“Jane—”

“No! Monster! Vampire! Get away!”

Maggie winced and leaned back as her mother used her fingers to make a cross. She thrust the cross into Maggie’s face. “Get back vampire spawn!”

Aiden’s hand tightened on Maggie’s shoulder; he stepped closer when Jane leaned further away. From the corner of his eye, he saw the orderlies and doctor coming toward them, but Maggie was already rising.

“I know you’re telling the truth about what happened to you,” Maggie stated in a flat tone of voice.

Jane stopped shouting at her to get back when Maggie spoke these words.

“I won’t come back here, I won’t bother you again, but I needed to tell you that. I’m sorry for what happened to you, and I believe you.”

Jane’s hands fell into her lap; her mouth parted. “You believe me?”

Aiden intervened with the doctor and orderlies before they could pull Maggie away. “It’s fine,” he said to them as he pushed his power out to ensnare their minds in a trap. “Give them a few more minutes.”

The three of them stayed where they were, their faces slack as he kept hold of their minds. Aware of the cameras in the room, Aiden commanded them to talk to each other like they normally would.

“I believe you,” Maggie said again.

Tears spilled from Jane’s eyes with such intensity Maggie swore someone did turn on a faucet behind them. Her shoulders heaved until Maggie worried she’d harm herself.

“Oh, don’t cry,” she whispered and rested her hand on Jane’s shoulder. The bone protruding against Jane’s flesh dug into Maggie’s palm. “Please, don’t cry.”

Jane jerked her shoulder away from her, and Maggie’s hand fell helplessly to her side.

“You and your father destroyed me!” Jane wailed.

A sword to the heart might have hurt less than those words. They’d never had a relationship where love could develop between them, but it was heart-wrenching to be blamed as the source of a ruined life. No, she was not the source, that had been her father, but she was a byproduct of the miserable bastard’s destruction.

“I’m sorry,” Maggie said again.

Aiden clasped her hand and pulled her back as her mother threw up another cross and started screaming as if she were on fire.

“We should go,” Maggie whispered.

“Calm down, Jane,” Aiden commanded, and her screams became shrill bird-like cries. “You don’t remember us being here,” Aiden said to the other people still within his control. He couldn’t do anything about the numerous cameras in this place, but at least no one would stop Maggie from returning here if she should decide to try again. “Now, help Jane.”

When the doctor and orderlies rushed toward Jane, Aiden pulled a shaking Maggie against his side and hurried her toward the doorway. Once they were out of the room, Jane’s shrieks escalated until they followed them down the hall to the elevator.

“I wish I’d killed you!” Jane screeched as the elevator doors slid open with a ding.

Aiden released Maggie as she stepped into the elevator, threw back her shoulders, and lifted her chin. Images of tearing Jane’s head from her body flashed through Aiden’s mind when he saw the anguish in Maggie’s eyes. Jane had done nothing to deserve what was done to her, but no one should be allowed to hurt Maggie in such a way and live.

“I want to go,” Maggie stated.

Reluctantly, he entered the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors closed on Jane’s continued screams for Maggie to die.