“Good evening!” Tannis announces loudly, strolling into the kitchen with a half-dressed mortal man in tow. “You’re up early.”
“Millie is missing,” I say, turning to them.
“Missing?” Tannis stops beside a coffee pot, which is full and made fresh. The mortal man beside Tannis takes a cup from the cabinet above the machine and pours himself some.
“I woke up, and she was gone.” The gravity of the situation doesn’t seem to sink in right away.
“Where did she go?” Tannis asks.
Frustration takes over my calm as I snap, “I don’t know.”
Tannis gives me a hard look when the man beside him nudges their arm. He holds out a slip of paper for Tannis. My cousin takes it and skims the message written on it.
“Here.” Tannis rolls their eyes dramatically as they wave the paper at me. “She left a note.”
I surge forward and snatch it. In a hurried message, she wrote:Heading to the club. Dax asked to see me. See you tonight!
If I had any breath left in my lungs, I would have sucked in the last bit of her scent, along with all of the air left in the room. She left to see Dax? So early? I know she works most nights, but she didn’t tell me she was going in at all before she fell asleep. It should ease me to know where she is, but the timing doesn’t sit right in my gut. What reason could she have for sneaking out? A few ideas come to mind, but none of them make sense, except for one. It wasn’t so long ago that I overheard their conversationat the boutique. If I remember correctly, Jill knows Dax, which means she and her sister might have fled to String Theory. I set the note on the table and face Tannis. Their mouth is working on the wrist of the human man, who is sipping their coffee, unbothered by the vampire latched to his arm.
“I need to borrow a car.”
Tannis groans as they pull away from the human. Red paints the inside of their mouth as they lick up a stray drop from their lips. The sight and smell of the man’s blood are enough to make me hungry, too, but I tamp down the need to feed and refocus.
“Are you going to defile it?” Tannis asks.
“This is serious,” I say. Something feels off. I don’t like that she left without giving me any kind of warning. Dante is still out there, and he’s made it very well known to all of us just how much he doesn’t want her around.
Not just him, I think, recalling my own error. Her stalker never died. Rather, he never stayed dead.
“So am I.” Tannis presses their lips together and leans against the counter. “My cars are expensive, and the cost of detailing? Astronomical. Not that I don’t have the money, mind you, but it’s wasteful.”
“Tannis,” I warn. If my heart was still beating, it would be pounding in my chest.
My cousin narrows their eyes and points a finger in my direction. “Don’t start with me.”
Worry wins out over my temper. I hold up both hands before me and bow my head. “No more sex in the car.”
“Good boy,” Tannis says. “We can take theVeneno. It’s one of my fastest cars.”
“We?” I ask, blinking.
“Yes,we,” they say, giving their companion a peck on the cheek. The man smiles and walks away, disappearing from thekitchen with their coffee still in hand. “No one drives theVenenobut me.”
The man returns a minute later with a set of keys and a shirt for Tannis. They thank him and he retreats again. My cousin jangles the keys at me and leads us out of the kitchen. In the garage, the lights flicker on, and while the smell of manufactured metal is strong here, I can still scent a glimmer of Millie.
“What was the point of all that back there?” I press Tannis, annoyed by their games.
“A lesson in humility,” Tannis says, stopping beside a sleek black car. “Now get in.”
I shake off my annoyance and climb into theVeneno. As the engine revs up, the garage doors open. Despite the darkness, white lights lining the driveway guide our way. Tannis puts the car in drive and pulls out slowly.
“To the club?” my cousin asks as they clear the drive.
“Yes,” I say, and the second the wheels hit the road, they hit the gas. Tannis wasn’t wrong about it being fast. While smooth, I can tell we’re going at a thrilling speed.
Good. The faster we get there, the better, I think, hoping to stave off my worry. I want to believe that she’s fine, and that all she’s doing is meeting with Dax to talk about Jill. It was bothering her to be at odds with her friend, but there would be a time and a place to make things right. Still, I knew Millie. She attracts trouble the way a flower attracts bees.
“By the way,” Tannis starts, drawing my attention back to the moment, “I found the solution to your problem.”
