Lydia's Secret (The Secret Series Book 1) by Ditter Kellen Page A

only that he apparently reached someone at the compound.
    Unbuckling her seatbelt, Lydia hugged her daughter tight against her chest, slid across the seat, and pulled the door closed.
    Max tossed the cell onto the passenger seat. “Now, put your belt back on.”
    Lydia scrambled back to her side of the vehicle and buckled up without letting go of Jacie. Everything had happened so fast her mind couldn’t seem to process it all. “What’s going on, Max?”
    “Roman will take care of our tail. We’re almost to the compound where you and the little one will be safe. Just hold on.”
    “Do you think he will be okay? What if there is more than one of them?” The thought of Roman being hurt, or worse, scared her more than she wanted to admit.
    Max glanced in the rearview mirror. “Roman didn’t gain this territory by chance, Miss Lydia. And it doesn’t matter how many there are. They most likely won’t survive the night.”
    Lydia pulled Jacie’s blanket tighter around her frail body, grateful that she’d slept through Roman’s leap from the vehicle. Max’s words registered in her brain but did little to slow her racing heart. “I hope you’re right.”
    The rest of the trip passed by in a blur as images of vampires bleeding out in the streets played havoc with Lydia’s psyche. Among the many faces rested Roman’s, still and pale with lifeless eyes.
    Max’s voice broke through her morbid thoughts, bringing her out of her daze.
    “We’re here.” He pushed a button on the visor, and a big black gate slid open to reveal a massive white building with bars on the windows. Lights rested on both corners, spilling out over a yard surrounded by a cement wall.
    The site was remarkable with more lights than she could count. It reminded her of something straight out of an Al Pacino movie. Hello, Scarface .
    Max pulled through the drive, and the gate closed behind them.
    “What is this place?”
    He pressed another button, and a garage door opened, displaying a duplicate black SUV, a silver Hummer, and a red Corvette. “It’s Roman’s compound—or office as he calls it.”
    “He drives a ‘Vette?” Lydia couldn’t picture the big vampire behind the wheel of the little red car.
    “That’s Madison’s.”
    Jealousy, strong and sure, surged through Lydia with the strength of a train. She cleared her throat, keeping her voice as light and nonchalant as possible. “Madison’s?”
    It obviously hadn’t worked if Max’s expression was any indication. “Nothing to worry about there. She just works for him.”
    “Oh, I wasn’t worried. Just curious is all.” In this line of work, she probably looks like a man with muscles bigger than Roman’s.
    Max jumped out and opened Lydia’s door, nodding toward a sleeping Jacie. “Here, let me take her.”
    “I’ve got her.” Lydia climbed down on shaky legs, her back aching from her recent fall and Jacie’s added weight. The room tilted as she took a step forward.
    “Whoa.” To Lydia’s surprise, Max scooped her up into his arms, lifting her and Jacie as if they weighed nothing.
    He stopped in front of a large silver door and waved to something along the top that Lydia couldn’t see. The door opened inward to a brightly lit hallway with white walls and black tile floors. It reminded Lydia of a hospital.
    The pounding of Max’s boots echoed around them as he stepped over the threshold and stomped his way down the hall.
    “You can put me down now,” Lydia suggested when he came to a halt in what could only be described as the Batcave.
    “Only if you let me take her.”
    Lydia hesitated, staring into Max’s big brown eyes. Something in their depths told her she could trust him. “Okay then.”
    Max lowered her to the floor and held out his arms. “I won’t let anything happen to her. You have my word.”
    With a short nod, Lydia reluctantly handed over her precious burden. The weight being lifted from her person was instantly gratifying, and her shoulders