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“Maybe,” I say, but my gut is churning, refusing to believe I was wrong. I look around again before meeting his gaze. “If that’s the case, then where is she? Why did she run in here and disappear?”
“I don’t know,” he says, pulling me against his chest into a tight hug, “but we’ll figure it out. Let’s go home. We can continue our search tomorrow.”
I nod against his chest, and he leads me from the store with an arm around my shoulders. I look back one last time as we walk out, but I still don’t see the Steph-lookalike.
Am I going crazy? Imagining things?
Or is there something else going on here? Something crazier than a coven of witches trying to assassinate a vampire king?
Steph’s earlier words ring in my ears. Why can’t it be both?
Maybe I’m seeing things and there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
I’m under a lot of stress. Maybe I saw what I wanted to see because I talked to Steph this morning, and I wish she was here. My mind is cracking, playing tricks on me that are sure to only get worse.
Or…maybe Tamelen realized I have doubts about her and is sending her witchy friends to fuck with me so I look like an insane person. An unreliable source whose opinion should be negated. If they found out about my friendship with Steph, they could have used magic to make one of them look exactly like her, hoping to drive me crazy.
Either way, I’m totally screwed.
22
WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS?
Our search of Hollywood ended up being a total bust––my sighting of a possible Steph-doppelganger aside––so we came back to mansion. Despite Jesse’s promises of what he’d do to me the minute we closed ourselves in his room, I find myself here alone. Erik caught us the moment we walked through the front door, telling Jesse his father is awake and asking for him. So, he escorted me back here and left me with a searing kiss that ensured I’ll be ready for him when he returns.
After closing the bedroom door behind him, I lean back against it and sigh happily. It’s strange, feeling so happy and at peace when the situation I’m in is so volatile. I’m living in a house of vampires who may or may not resent my presence here while they deal with the threat of witches and the possible demise of their king. As a human, I’m insanely vulnerable. Add to that the fact that I’ve had magic used––either for or against me––without my knowledge or consent at least once in the last few days. And if my gut is right, that magic tea I drank on the plane wasn’t the only time.
And seeing not-Steph was a shock to the psyche I definitely didn’t need.
Yet despite all that, I feel safe. Jesse would never let anything bad happen to me, and I believe in his ability to protect me from any threats I can’t handle on my own.
Pushing away from the door, I smile as I head toward the bathroom. I want to freshen up before he gets back and fulfills all the promises his parting kiss made. My feet stutter to a stop, my fantasies disappearing as I cock my head and stare at the bathroom door.
It’s closed, and I’m almost positive it was open when we left this morning. Has someone been in our room? I turn in a circle, studying the entire space, but nothing looks out of place, and I don’t think anything is missing.
Huh. Maybe Jesse closed the door before we left, and I just didn’t notice? Shrugging, I reach for the knob and swing the door open. And the minute I step inside, it slams closed behind me.
I scream and whirl around, my hand flying to my chest as my heart tries to beat right out of it. I stumble back a few steps, all the oxygen whooshing out of my lungs when I see what––or who––closed the door.
“Jasmine,” I breathe, the curve of her lips making my skin crawl as she takes a step toward me. “What are you doing in here?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” she says, then gives me a small shrug.
“Oh, really?” I ask, my voice going too high and cracking as true fear spirals through me.
“You shouldn’t let a vampire feel your fear,” she says in a casual, conversational voice like she’s talking about the weather. “It feeds the bloodlust, making our hunger near-unbearable.”
My hand slides from my chest up to my neck, covering the expanse like that might somehow protect me from her sharp teeth. Her smile widens before tinkling laughter spills out of her. She shakes her head and holds up her palms.
“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you. If I were, your blood would already be filling my belly. I really just want to talk. A sister has a right to vet her brother’s girlfriend, right?”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You expect me to trust you when you’ve locked us in the one room where no one in this entire household can hear my screams?”
“Valid point,” she says, moving away from the door and perching on the edge of the massive tub. “You can leave whenever you want, but I hope you’ll stay and chat for a while. I want to get to know you.”
Her words are dripping with insincerity, but I decide to stand firm. If I run now, she’ll only ever see me as a weak human she can torture with her mind games. Even though she’s over a hundred years old, she obviously still has some of her old human teenage-mean-girl tendencies. And running from a bully never solves anything.
Stiffening my spine, I ask, “What do you want to know?”
