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“The dead girl had a note pinned through her chest…with a kitchen knife. It read something like:This is in place of the one that got away.”
We all gasped, but he wasn’t done.
“AndWe’ll meet again, sweet party girl.”
Cecilia
As soon as Xander spoke those bone-chilling words from Jack 2’s note, the guys hurried me out of my apartment, barely giving me time to pack a bag.
We ended up at Aaron and Osric’s place. It was a luxurious penthouse with breathtaking views over the Kings’ Hills and the city, but I was too creeped out, my nerves too jangled to fully appreciate it.
In the early morning hours, we finally went to bed, but I mostly tossed and turned.
Even sleeping on Aaron’s luxurious king-sized mattress, with his tree branch arm wrapped around me and Jax’s large body nestled into me from the opposite side, the solid weight of his leg pressed against mine, I didn’t feel fully at ease. Or even fully safe. My worries over what could have happened, what fate would have befallen me, swirled inside my mind, causing me to doze off in brief bouts only to wake yelping, clutching at Aaron and Jax for reassurance.
Jack 2, the evil serial killer, who’d already slaughtered several innocent girls, wantedme. And he would have succeeded too, if not for the intervention of Aaron’s bear. The thought pooled nausea in the pit of my stomach, turning my forehead and neck clammy, damp with sweat.
NLPD had returned after the note had been found. Thinking there was a small risk of Jack 2 tracking me down to Aaron’s place, they’d stationed two detectives in an undercover car outside. Jax and Xander also had several of their biggest, strongest looking guys standing vigil in and around the penthouse, four of them keeping lookout from the massive, wrap-around balcony, and another group patrolling the posh suburban streets surrounding the apartment building.
I sighed. If nothing else, this crisis had brought vamps and wolves together in a way I’d never have imagined, especially after seeing their stand-off, that first day on campus. But at that moment, it gave me little comfort.
In fact, nothing seemed to.
My throat dry, I decided to go get a glass of water. I gently slid from under Aaron’s arm and scooted downwards out the bed, so as not to wake either him or Jax. They’d definitely earned a good night’s rest. And I’d woken them with my restlessness several times already.
The luxuriant carpet’s fibers were soft, spongy under my bare feet as I carefully opened the bedroom door and padded into the main living room. Open plan and at least ten times as big as my whole apartment, it was circular with a slightly sunken center, the two levels divided elegantly by a series of small steps.
The dimmer lights were turned up fully, for security reasons, I assumed. I looked through the balcony glass and saw wolves and vamps standing staring out over the hills’ dark shadows, towards New Lincoln’s hazy orange and neon glittering. One vamp was smoking a vape pen and a shifter was clasping a coffee mug in two hands. I was so grateful for them, but also felt a bit guilty they were having to do watchmen duties for my sake.
Also, lying asleep in the center of the largest couch, was Xander. He’d been offered a guest room but had insisted the couch was fine, as it was closest to the bedroom where I was. I felt bad about that, especially as he wasn’t feeling at his best. I would have been perfectly happy with him sleeping next to me if the mechanics of sharing one bed with three large guys had been more practical. It might be nice try it with an even bigger bed though, one day.
If I survived the coming days.
Forcing myself not to dwell on that thought, I walked to the nearby kitchen.
Tucked in the corner of the open-plan layout, it was magnificent, everything shiny steel and gleaming glass, spotless tiles and counters topped with state-of-the-art cooking technology and utensils. The coffee machine looked like it had been developed by NASA. I opened the cupboards as quietly as I could, searching for glasses. Taking a tumbler in hand and turning the tap, I misjudged the strength of the water pressure, and it came hissing out, hammering the steel sink loudly with its solid torrent.
“Hey,” I heard Xander mumble from the living room. “Can you get me a Bloodweiser out of the fridge?”
“Hey, sorry for waking you. I don’t think they’ll have vamp drinks. I’ll check.”
Sitting up and leaning back into the couch’s leather embrace, looking a bit better than he had in the woods, he replied, “I had Timon pick up a six pack. It’s the only bloo—it’s all I seem to get any pleasure from drinking just now.”
I swung open the heavy fridge door, found a few cans—he’d had three already—and brought him one, sitting beside him and sipping my water. Its cool flow over my tongue and throat was welcome.
He cracked open the can and sucked at the scarlet foam, guzzling for a few seconds before nodding at his drink. “Thanks, my orchid. I needed a few of these. Especially after all that madness earlier. You want a sip?” He held the can closer to my face. I caught the strong iron-rich whiff of beer and blood mixed.
I forced myself not to pull away and shook my head. I wanted him to have what his body needed, but drinking blood would never be for me.
Luckily, I had a perfectly good and honest excuse. “As you know, I’m not much of a drinker.”
But Osric seemed to be. At least, at the moment. The balcony doors slid open, allowing in a cool waft that washed over my face, and he sidled in, a large crystal tumbler of what looked like whiskey or rum in his hand.
His normal aloofness faded, replaced by slurred words and slightly glazed eyes, he sat in the recliner across from us and said, “Hello, you two. Ceci, everything okay? Can’t sleep?” He tapped the side of the glass. “Would you like a stiff drink? Might help.”
He’d never called me Ceci before. The name pinged in my ears. It sounded nice coming from his lips, even if he was saying it a bit tipsily.
“No thanks, I’m good. Are you okay? You seem…”
