Robert, now vampire again, had sprouted new fangs in place of the ones he’d lost. But that was irrelevant. Nick was in possession of items he’d had no business taking. Robert wantedhisfangs back, and I was going to get them. Fangs were sacred to immortals. They also gave Nick, a human and therefore a potential threat, tangible proof they existed, a big no-no in the vampire world.
There was more. While at their headquarters in Scotland, I’d overheard a VGO member making an offhanded joke about taking another vampire’s fangs. At the time, it had given me pause, but I hadn’t dared ask for clarification. It wasn’t my place to meddle in vampire affairs, and they’d just changed their mind about killing me. Better to quit while ahead, I’d thought. Since then, I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that it was imperative Robert got his fangs back from Nick—that, if he didn’t, something very bad would happen. What, I couldn’t imagine, but I sensed Robert and I wouldn’t like it.
“If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” I grumbled.
“Things will calm down soon, darling,” Robert promised, reaching for me. This time, I allowed him to take me into his arms. “Then, we can have that normal life you keep talking about.” He spoke as if amused.Normal life, like he was saying we could get a pet unicorn.
I supposed it was amusing. Life with vampires was anything but normal.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll believe it when I see it,” I said. “But I’ll tell you what. If Nick continues being a pest, I might be tempted to reconsider your offer to drain him.”
Robert grinned menacingly.
“I’m joking,” I quickly clarified. “Sort of.”
“I’m here if you change your mind.”
2
Idid my best to look haggard for the meeting with Nick. No makeup, stained t-shirt, baggy sweatpants, hair in a frizzy ponytail. An angry scowl completed my look.
I was a little self-conscious going out in public looking like roadkill, but the scowl came naturally enough. Earlier, Robert and I had gotten into another argument over Nick. We’d been having more squabbles lately than I cared for, and I was hoping getting my ex out of our lives once and for all would bring harmony back into our home.
I couldn’t pinpoint how the argument had started, but the why was easy enough. Robert was irritated that Nick was still a fixture in our lives. Which irritated me.
Did he think I liked having to deal with Nick? I wanted the pest gone as much as he did. Probably more.
Perhaps I could have been a trifle more delicate with my words. I’d pointed out to Robert that it wasn’t as if I hadn’t dealt with my own share of hardships due to my involvement with vampires. I’d asked him to please cut me some slack, since I’d never blamedhimfor things that were out ofhiscontrol.
Like, for example, the time his maker, Leopold, had used myblood to secretly develop a serum that made the VGO want me dead. What had happened at the time was a complicated mess, but it all began when Robert’s fangs fell out and he inexplicably turned human. Leopold had stepped in all too eagerly to help find a remedy and make Robert vampire once again.
So, he’d said.
The team of scientists Leopold hired discovered that my blood contained a unique enzyme or protein or something (it was still a mystery) that knocked the vampirism—and fangs—right out of immortals. Seeing an opportunity to make a few greedy bucks, Leopold went behind our backs and used my blood to make the serum, which he then marketed as a permanent “cure” for being a vampire.
The VGO, concerned that the serum could be a danger to the vampire race, was appalled by what Leopold had done. They burned down Leopold’s lab and killed his scientists to stop production. They also destroyed all his notes and samples, so that the formula for the serum was forever lost.
While they were at it, they also decided it would be a good idea to murder me. Luckily, I managed to set the VGO straight before they succeeded. Contrary to what they’d believed, I hadn’t willingly conspired with Leopold to make the serum. Plus, as it was later discovered, the effect my blood had on vampires was only temporary.
Keeping the peace with the VGO had required offering them a proposition. In exchange for sparing my life—andthe lives of Robert, my friends, and, yes, even Leopold and Nick—I’d give them my blood upon request. I’d presented it like this: Since, unlike Leopold’s serum, my blood had a short-term result on vampires, those who consumed it could take mini breaks into humanism. Vamps who’d spent hundreds or even thousands of years tasting only blood and walking outside only in moonlightcould now drink wine, eat decadent foods, and spend a day at the beach swimming in the ocean, if they so pleased.
The VGO had jumped at the chance. I’d now have to deal with them occasionally showing up to take my blood, but at least I was safe and under their protection. Although, ironically, they were the ones I needed protecting from most.
I might be indebted to the VGO for the rest of my life because of Leopold’s serum, but did I blame Robert for that? I did not.
The heated exchange with Robert had ended with him questioning what I ever saw in Nick, which I, frustrated with our bickering, had interpreted as a slight against my judgment. Had I known what Nick was truly like, I never would have given him a second glance, let alone become his girlfriend. Single men hardly walked around with a list of their deficiencies pinned to their shirts, did they?
I’d been relieved when Robert retired to his office to get some work done on a big project he had coming up. We probably would have continued arguing otherwise. Damn my petty, repulsive ex and the wedge he was driving between our domestic bliss!
Since Nick was mentally unstable, I’d suggested we meet by the large pyramid-shaped fountain that sat in a nearby outdoor mall. I felt it was safe enough. I’d never seen Lakeside Plaza when it wasn’t busy, and I’d been there plenty because it was my go-to spot for coffee when I was feeling too lazy to make it at home.
There were a couple other reasons why I’d chosen the fountain. The first was that it was located near a high-end children’s boutique that sold expensive leather teddy bears not intended for actual playing and mini cupcakes with candy toppings of choice. There were few things I could envision being lessromantic for a meeting with an unhinged ex than a steady stream of spoiled, sugar-high kids zooming by.
The second reason was more practical. The fountain was smack-dab in the center of the mall, with the parking lot enclosing all the shops within a ring. So, when Nick started making a scene, which I was fully expecting him to do, I’d have an easy getaway no matter where I parked.
He’d caught me off-guard the last time I’d agreed to meet him. On that occasion, it was under the guise of cutting contact with each other for good. After shrieking that he still loved me in a coffeehouse full of people, he’d then burst into tears, making it clear that he’d never had any intention of saying goodbye.
Lesson learned. This time, I’d be prepared.
