“I suppose…” she said, looking over my shoulder. “Wish I’d got a good look at him.”
“Don’t we all,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you need to leave. Come on, I’m taking you home.” I pulled the badge from my shirt and pressed it to the card reader. The door buzzed, the red light blinked to green and I opened the door and pulled us out of the building and to my car.
Her eyes scanned the property surrounding the building as I helped her into the passenger seat. I looked up at the building as I rounded the front of the hood. There was a single window that wasn’t covered with thick iron sheets. I could see the shape of Basil’s shadow in the window, staring out at me.
He was going to be insufferable at his therapy appointment tomorrow.
I got in the car and started it. Bree kept looking out the window as if she was searching for something.
“Forget something?” I asked. She turned and looked at me. There was a strange weight behind her eyes, assessing and loaded.
“No,” she finally said and I couldn’t tell if she was lying or being honest because she was just being weird. All the emotions were wiped off her face—just a blank mask as she turned forward and stopped looking around.
She was lying, I realized. She’d come with others. Why else didn’t she have a car? That confirmed something I already figured—that Bree had shallow friendships. She wouldn’t leave anyone behind she actually gave a shit about. That was good. It would have made things harder for me in the future if she had someone who would try to find out what really happened to her.
“Where are you taking me?” She asked.
“Your home, where you will attempt to stay put and out of trouble,” I said in exasperation. She was quiet for a while.
“That’s it?” She asked in confusion. “You aren’t going to report me for trespassing? You’re not going to call the courthouse? You’re not even going to inform my aunt?”
“I think it’s best we keep this little field trip between us for now.”
“Why?” She blurted out. “I don’t get it. I don’t get you! Why keep covering for me?” I stared out the windshield and thought about the truth. Because I’m a vampire and right this minute there’s someone in my basement, half dismembered. I’m not going to kill you though. I’m going to feed from you every day for the rest of our lives once the time is right. I’m not telling anyone all the shit you are putting me through because they’ll lock you up in county and I want you right where you are, right beside me, where no one can save you.
“Because you need to be close,” I said aloud. Might as well since I was about to make her forget. I waited for her to freak out but instead, she sat quietly in her chair, not speaking the entiretime back to her house. When we parked I lunged at her without warning. She gasped.
I gripped her head in my hands and held her in place.
“Forget about Verfallen Asylum,” I insisted, staring deep into her eyes and demanding she listen. Her mouth popped open and she inhaled sharply. For a moment, Bree said nothing and I grew concerned it didn’t work.
“Forget everything about Verfallen Asylum. Forget I work there, forget who you saw, forget it even exists.” Bree nodded. “Tonight you…” Why had she gone to Verfallen? I had no idea. She was lucky I was there, that I found her before anything happened. “Tonight you went for a walk. You were trying to break into the office we meet at. You saw me and I took you home.”
It was best to stick with things that were similar to the truth, then memories made more sense.
“You took me home,” she said back lifelessly.
“We didn’t say anything on the car ride home.” She nodded in agreement. Before I let her go I realized I could do more. I could taste her and make her forget.
“How old are you now, Bree?” I asked.
“Eighteen,” she responded blankly. Her mind was currently rolled—half hypnotized.
“That’s good,” I sighed, leaning closer. I had rules and eating children was a definite no. Serial killers always got caught because they degraded. I was not going to degrade, I was going to maintain my status quo. That meant rules that I followed strictly.
I buried my nose in her hair. Bree smelled delicious—savory and mouthwatering. I had rules I was supposed to follow strictly. She wasn’t a child but even so, eating Bree, even tasting her… it wasn’t right. Not yet. I had a plan and I needed to stick to it.
Instead, I pressed closer, setting my nose against the thin skin of her neck and listening to her heart beating. It was fast and strong, picking up speed the longer I stayed close. The sound filled my ears almost as if it could be my own long-dead heartbeat, thumping in my ears.
My mouth opened on her throat and I dragged my lips across the pulse, flirting with it, teasing myself. I shouldn’t taste her. My mind started spinning excuses why it would be okay. Why waiting was only torture. My fangs elongated against her, scrapping her pale skin. One little flex of my jaw and I’d sink inside her, fill my mouth with her, and swallow her down.
“You’re far too tempting,” I whispered against her neck. I mouthed the place I wanted to bite—dimpled the skin with my fangs. She squirmed in my grip. One little taste could ruin everything… could make me start changing all my plans. Bree and I were going to have so much time together, starting it messy meant it would always be messy. It meant I’d never be able to control myself with her and I needed control. Without control, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Not with her, not with anything.
I cursed and pulled back, looking into her blue eyes.
