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BLISS
The light rain that had been falling ever since War’s dad’s funeral turned into gusty blasts that hammered against the windshield as I took the winding road along the coast and up to the cliffs. I’d been here just yesterday, on the back of War’s bike, and yet tonight, the vibe felt entirely different. Tonight there was no warm body to wrap my arms around. Just a stormy darkness, well fitting for the meeting that was about to take place.
I peered into the rearview mirror, but I didn’t see anything.
The nerves that Vincent wasn’t there crept up my throat, threatening to turn into panic. But he’d said I wouldn’t see him, so I drove on, using my focus to stay on the slippery road instead of worrying about everything else.
My headlights flashed over the small signpost that indicated the lookout, and I put my blinker on, taking the turn slowly and carefully. The road beneath me turned bumpy, the asphalt giving way to gravel and dirt that led to the cliff edge that jutted out over Saint View Beach.
Well away from the ledge, I stopped the car.
I glanced around, feeling sick in the darkness. “What the hell are you doing, Bliss?” I murmured. “This is such a bad idea. You are one hundred percent the basic white bitch who’s about to get murdered or bitten by a vampire.”
I waited, but there was nothing. No headlights. No masked figure stepping from the shadows. Even the rain let up and the moon peeked through the cloud cover. It was still eerie as hell, but at least I could see a little better.
I was late. Only two minutes, but maybe that was enough for him to have left.
No. He’d want his money. He wouldn’t have given up that easily.
But maybe I was in the wrong spot. The bluff was long, and there was a walking trail that I couldn’t access by car.
That had to be it.
“I don’t even have an umbrella, thanks to War making me ditch it.” I grabbed the bag of money from the passenger seat, clutching it between my fingers, and opened the door. The dirt lot had turned to mud, and I grimaced when I put my foot down into it with an unappetizing squelch.
On instinct, I locked my car and cautiously moved for the walking trail, fighting the slippery mud with every step. The rain started up again, because that was just my luck, and I trudged along, my sneakers gathering more and more muck with every step.
I was soaking and annoyed enough that I almost missed the figure step out of the shadows.
I froze, but then a boom of thunder cracked, and I jumped a mile.
He didn’t say anything. His black hood covered his hair and shaded his face from the one tiny strip of moonlight.
I forced myself to breathe and act cool, like I did this every day. I tossed the money through the darkness, letting it arc up, and then land at the man’s feet. “It’s all there,” I called. “Every dollar. You can check it if you want.”
He didn’t say a word.
He didn’t make a move to pick up the bag.
I swallowed thickly. “I want to make a change in our agreement. Three times the product. So we can do a weekly party…”
I could feel his gaze on me. It crept over me like dirty, dark spiders, crawling and creeping, inching their way across my skin, searching for a way inside me.
I didn’t want to look intimidated. But my body took an involuntary step back before my brain could issue a command not to.
The man took a step forward.
“I’m good for the money,” I tried again, fighting to keep a tremble out of my voice. “I can pay more often than once a month if you want.”
He took another step forward, stepping over the bag I’d tossed to his feet.
My heart seized.
He wasn’t picking it up.
I stumbled backward, fumbling in my pocket for my car key. I clamped my fingers around it, pointing it in the man’s direction and praying that in the darkness it would look like a knife. “I’m armed!”
The man’s laughter cackled across the space between us. “You stupid bitch. Do you really think I’m that dumb?”
