I made a show of tugging the handle up on my suitcase. “Thanks for nothing.”
What do I do now?I thought miserably.
Well, there wasn’t much Icoulddo. Everything required identification these days. I had to get a taxi, go home, get my driver’s license, and come back. Sourpuss could doubt me all he wanted; Iwouldmake it. I hadto.
I’d promised the taxi driver a hefty tip if he put the pedal to the metal, and he didn’t fail me with his NASCAR-esque driving skills. “I’ll be right back,” I hollered when we pulled up at my place. I bounded up to the apartment like my feet had wings.
Once inside, I was stunned to see a familiar face. “Oh, hello. We’ve been looking for you.”
“Carl? What are you doing here . . . inside my apartment?” Given the way I’d left things with Robert, I probably should have been scared, since his driver had no business being there. But Carl being as nonchalant as he was, I was more confused than anything else.
From behind Carl, stepped Robert. I couldn’t deny that I was glad to see him, as much as I didn’t want to be. I nearly ran into his arms, but then I spotted a woman standing nearby. What the hell was going on?
“It’s me, Olivia.”
My knees buckled when the female stepped into the light. Carl was close enough to catch me, or else I would have cracked my skull on the ceramic floor tiles. He eased me down onto the sofa and turned on the lamp.
“Liz?” I gasped. “How?
“So, I’m dead, but notdead-dead,” she said with a wry smile.
Was I hallucinating? Having a nervous breakdown? I had so many questions hammering my brain, yet the first thing I could think to say was, “There’s a taxi outside with the meter running.”
Carl went outside to handle it.
Liz sat down next to me. Her movements were fluid, like Robert’s. I reached over and poked her pointy incisor with the tip of my finger. “Are you . . .?”
She nodded. “Sorry about the fangs. I don’t know how to control them yet.”
Stunned, I gaped at Robert.
“No, I didn’t turn her. We don’t know who did or why. Liz was attacked in the dark.”
“They were trying to kill me, not turn me. They bit, then I bit them back. Guess I swallowed enough of their blood to make me a vampire,” she explained with a shrug.
“Do you think this was done because of me?” I asked Robert.
“Why would you say that?” he said.
“There's no reason for any vampire to want to hurt Liz. Maybe they thought they were killing me, but it was Liz who Carl dropped off that night.”
Robert considered this. “It's possible. But I find it hard to believe a vampire would make that mistake. You two look nothing alike.”
“Okay, well maybe some crazy vampire didn’t like the idea of a decoy having a human best friend. Maybe they thought I’d eventually tell Liz what I do, with us being so close. Say I actuallywasbeing stalked, and when they weren’t convinced I wasn’t blabbing about vampires, they killed Liz.” I paused and tried to make sense of the thoughts racing through my mind. “This would also explain what happened to the other Dignitary decoys who disappeared; the killer went after the those they thought would give away their secret.”
“It’s certainly plausible.” Robert said. “But, what, they’ve changed course—instead of ‘disappearing’ decoys, they’re now killing their best friends?”
I shrugged. “Well, they’re crazy, so they’d be illogical. Or maybe they felt what they had done to decoys in the past was taking things too far, and so now they’re killing off those closest to us. You guysneeddecoys, but our human best friends have no direct benefit to vampires. If anything, they could be seen as a liability. I mean, it makes sense. I start working for vampires and then Liz is attacked by one. The coincidence is too great for this to be a random attack.”
“You do have a point. In any case, I doubt the attacker intended to turn Liz. We don’t know what they’ll do once they find out the mistake they made. They may reach out to Liz as a maker. If they do, I’ll be ready,” Robert said menacingly.
“If this is because of me, I so sorry, Liz!” I said, breaking into sobs. “Had I known you were going to be hurt, I never, ever, would have started working for vampires.”
“I honestly don’t know what you two are taking about, or even what the hell a decoy is. As far as I’m concerned, the only person—vampire—to blame here is the one who attached me,” Liz said, unfazed. She placed her cold hand over mine. “But Idoknow it wasn’t Robert, Olivia. He told me earlier how pissed you were at him, but he was telling you the truth about me going over to his place to give him advice. I’m sorry that I went behind your back. I was only trying to help, but I can see how it looked bad.” She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I forgot my ring after washing my hands is all.”
“Who cares about all that now!” I cried, throwing my arms around her. “I’m so happy you’re alive . . . not fully dead. You know what I mean!”
Liz chuckled morbidly. “I woke up in the morgue. I nearly bit the medical examiner, but I got scared and took off when she started screaming her head off.”
