What kind of medication looked like that?
The bathroom door opened.
Charlie spun around, still holding the bottle, to find Simon in the doorway. Hair damp, wearing fresh clothes, expression unreadable.
"Don't touch those."
The words cut through Charlie's thoughts and forced his hand to open.
Immediately, the bottle dropped to his feet.
Simon crossed the space in three strides, scooping the bottle up before Charlie could blink. His damp hair dripped onto his fresh shirt, darkening the fabric at his collar. “You don’t get to go poking through my things.”
“I—” Charlie’s throat tightened. “I couldn’t… I didn’t even mean to drop it. You said it and my hand just?—”
“Stop talking.” Simon slid the bottle into his pocket. His gaze burned when it met Charlie’s, hard and unreadable. “Some things you’re better off not knowing.”
Charlie swallowed hard, fighting the urge to retreat from the hunter.
What the hell were those pills for Simon to get this upset over them?
They'd looked almost like blood and Simon kept them in a room with his weapons. "Are they vampire poison?" The question slid from Charlie's lips before he could stop himself.
A dark expression flitted across Simon's features. "That's exactly what they are."
"So if I'd swallowed one..."
"You'd be writhing on the floor," Simon said flatly.
The confirmation should have terrified Charlie more than it did. Here he was, trapped in an apartment with a hunter who carried vampire poison in his pocket like breath mints. But somehow it just made him feel tired.
"Were you planning to use them on me?"
"These pills aren't for you."
"Then who?—"
"Sit down." Simon pulled out a chair for Charlie, then moved around the desk to sit down himself. "I need information."
"About what?"
"About the night you were turned. Every detail you can remember." Simon took a tablet out of a drawer and opened a map of the city on the screen. "Where exactly did it happen?"
Charlie sat on the edge of his seat, trying to organize his scattered memories of that night. "Behind Rosie's. You know, that dive bar on Maple Street?"
"I know it." Simon zoomed in on the map. "Back alley?"
"Yeah. I was..." Charlie rubbed his face. "I'd had a few drinks. Not drunk, just... trying to forget about a few things. I went out back for air."
"Time?"
"Maybe one in the morning? The bar was still packed."
Simon marked something on the tablet. "Description of the vampire."
Charlie closed his eyes, trying to summon the details. "White guy. Maybe thirty, thirty-five. Brown hair, kind of shaggy. He was wearing…" Charlie almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "A Nickelback t-shirt."
Simon looked up. "Seriously?"
