I expected more of a reaction from Susan when she turned on the light and found me sitting in her living room. The sun was already down, with the curtains drawn, so the rooms had been dark when she’d entered. I noticed her flinch, but she tried to hide it. Other than that, she appeared perfectly calm, which slightly unnerved me.

“Hello, Matthew,” she said before I had a chance to speak, stealing the power away from me.

“Susan,” I said firmly. “We need to talk.”

“Yes; we do.” She was carrying a bag of groceries and brought them into the kitchen. Without seeming the least bit intimidated, she began systematically putting the food away while I was forced to wait for her to finish.

“It seems you’re in a bit of trouble with the Order,” I said, curious what kind of response the mention of the Order would elicit. I specifically left out the word vampire.

“The situation is under control,” she said. “When is my daughter coming home?”

“What makes you think she’s with me?” I asked, standing up for a better view of her, but remaining in the open living room.

“Let’s not kid each other, Matthew. I know where she’s been and I know you have her,” she said, closing the refrigerator and glaring at me. “I know you’ve been watching her for years. And it seems you still haven’t realized I’ve been watching you during that same time.” She took some cans and boxes out of the bag, opened the pantry door, then leaned in to put the items away. When she returned to her full height and closed the door, she was suddenly holding a semi-automatic pistol with a long noise suppressor.

I didn’t think she was actually going to shoot me, so I didn’t immediately react, which made me a fraction of a second too late. Several shots fired into my chest, the bullets exploding within my body, so there were no exit wounds. Searing bursts of pain erupted throughout my upper body and I found myself unable to breathe as I dropped to my knees. My arm slammed into the coffee table as I tried to keep myself upright. I was losing strength fast, and recognizing the sharp objects stabbing me from the inside, I had a pretty good feeling I wasn’t going to be healing anytime soon.

Susan was walking around the couch to check on me, her gun still aimed in my direction. “You’re still underestimating me,” she said, her face deadpanned. “I want my daughter to come home. She’s safer with me than you, despite what you may think.”

My arm shook violently under my own weight and I soon fell between the coffee table and couch. Susan took a seat on the farthest cushion, leaning forward with her forearms on her knees.

“And I don’t appreciate you breaking into my home. We need boundaries if we’re going to remain in each other’s lives. Is that understood?”

“What have you done?” I stammered, almost unable to get the words out.

“You must recognize the bullets your group created,” she said, amused. “I believe you call them sleepers?”

“You—you killed Martin,” I said. “The peacekeeper.”

“The assassin,” she said. “They’d sent a message to me, so I returned the favor. Seems only fair. They need to learn we aren’t to be messed with either.”

“We?”

“I’m not going to kill you, just like I know you’re not going to kill me. We have Fiona to thank for that. So, I will help you back to your car and you will bring my daughter home. Do we understand each other?” Susan stood, glaring down at me impatiently. “Get up, Matthew.”

“I can’t,” I said, trying to use my arms to lift my upper body, then falling back to the floor.

“I don’t want to hear that,” she retorted. “I know you’re stronger than that.” Susan stuffed the gun into the back of her pants, then grabbed one of my arms, tugging me upward.

With her help, I managed to get to my feet, then continued to use her as a crutch as we headed for the door.

“Who are you?” I asked, not knowing what to make of this entire interaction. I came for some answers, and instead would be leaving with even more questions. I thought we were the only ones with sleeper bullets. What had she been doing watching me all this time? How did she even know about me before I’d ever made contact?

“I thought you knew, Matthew,” she said innocently, sounding so much like Fiona.

We staggered through the parking lot and I directed her to my Land Rover. I unlocked the door and she helped me into the driver’s seat.

“Go home and get some rest,” she insisted. “I expect to see my daughter before day’s end tomorrow.”

“These bullets don’t work like that,” I said, cringing at the thought of what needed to be done. “I need to get someone to dig out the splinters.”

“They’re not your sleeper bullets,” Susan said. “They’re our modification to your design. The splinters will dissolve within a few hours. Now, go.”

She slammed the door and I slumped onto the steering wheel in pain. It felt like the fire in my chest was growing. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to drive home in this condition but started the car anyway. As I carefully pulled out of the parking lot, I noticed Susan still watching me, which it seemed she’d been doing far longer than I’d realized.