Dahliadidabandon Cecilia to live with Felix in United Washington. After she was accidentally turned into a vampire. And also after Felix goo-ified Devon.
She wasn’t a monster. Cecilia did feel a twinge of sympathy for Duke for the loss of his brother — even if Devon was a first-class prick who thought preying on his employees was a perk of the job. And if she were beingcompletelyhonest, she would say that Dahlia wasn’t the only person she was protecting.
A handful of Amauris had come to pack up Dahlia’s apartment less than twenty-four hours after she left. Even if she hadn’t warned Cecilia that they were dangerous, she would’ve known instantly. That special sixth sense she possessed pinged off the charts the instant she laid eyes on them.
Whoever the Amauris were and whatever they did, they were bigger predators than someone like Duke could handle.
He’d never done anything to her or anyone else she knew. If he was really just trying to find out what happened to his brother, she wanted to at least do what she could to keep him away from certain death.
Daring to lay a hand on Duke’s corded bicep, she gentled her tone. “I really am sorry you can’t find your brother. I wish I could help, but I don’t know anything — and neither does Dahlia.”
The sound of something crashing in the alley beside her apartment building made her jump back a step. Cecilia pressed her hand to her thundering heart and let out a nervous laugh, but Duke didn’t seem to notice the disturbance.
“He was last seen headed here,” he grunted, apparently unmoved by her sympathy. “The night he disappeared, he went to seeher.Are you telling me that you didn’t see or hear anything? That she didn’t mention it?”
“I definitely never heard or saw Devon come around after the explosion,” she confirmed. “And to be honest, Duke, no. Dahlia probably wouldn’t have mentioned it. You know why? Becauseyour brother showed up a lot. He was always doing creepy shit like that. It would’ve been normal to both of us.”
For a long, taut moment, it looked like Duke wasn’t going to let it go. He took a small step toward her but stopped short before she even had time to tense up. His head whipped to one side and his shoulders hiked defensively.
Cecilia’s heart jackknifed in her chest as a familiar feeling registered along the back of her neck: the certainty that she was being watched.
Her breath shortened. Sheknewthat if she peered into the darkness between the street lamps there wouldn’t be anything to find. There never was. No matter how hard she looked in reflective surfaces or from behind her curtains, she couldn’t spot the phantom that’d followed her nearly every night since she’d been accosted in the alley.
But he was there — and this time, he’d fixed on Duke.
She wasn’t sure how she knew. She justdid.
“You should go,” she warned, even more serious than before. Cecilia stepped backward, toward the short flight of concrete stairs that led to her apartment building’s entrance.
Duke’s head swung around, no doubt searching for the phantom. She doubted he’d have any more luck finding him than her. Even accounting for a vampire’s keen night vision, she didn’t think he’d see anything more than shadows.
Her phantom was very, very good.Mostly.
“Seriously, Duke,” she pressed, jogging up the steps. Her hand found its way into her purse and plucked out the old fashioned set of keys the landlord had given her when he promised to update the security system five years ago. They jingled when she added, “You should head home. It’ll be dangerous to be out here soon.”
It suited her just fine if he thought she meant the rapidly approaching sunrise.
Duke’s upper lip curled over his fangs, but he didn’t follow her up the stairs or stop her from unlocking the door. Backing away from the entrance, he told her, “We’re not done.”
Summoning her tried and true defense, Cecilia’s lips pulled up into a wide, air-headed smile. “Of course not! I’ll see you at work. Have a good rest of your night, huh?”
She made her escape as quickly as possible, but she had no real hope that something as flimsy as the apartment building’s old locks would keep someone like Duke out if he really wanted to get in.
A sick feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she power-walked up the four flights of stairs and down the musty hallway that led to her door.
She slipped into her unit and pressed her back against the door with a relieved sigh. Her studio stretched out before in all its dim glory. Trying to liven the place up with soft yellow curtains, verdant plants, and funky acrylic art pieces hadn’t been able to entirely eliminate the air of neglect that permeated the entire building.
It hadn’t bothered her when Dahlia was around, but it wasn’t quite so easy to ignore after a night like the one she’d had.
Peeling herself away from the door, Cecilia forced herself to take a deep breath. Not bothering to turn on any lights, she shucked her shoes and jacket as she made her way to the tiny kitchenette. She set her phone down on the counter without looking at Dahlia’s last message.
Worry churned in her gut as she watched her frozen dinner spin in the microwave.
Telling Dahlia about Duke’s questions was the smart thing to do. It was what her friend had asked her to do. It was the reasonable, mature course of action.
But Dahlia was so happy, and her relationship was complicated enough without adding worry for Cecilia into themix. It smacked of the abandonment issues she totally, superdidn’thave for her to run screaming to her friend the second things got a little hinky.
Duke had no reason to hurt her other than an association with the person he suspectedmighthave been involved in his brother’s disappearance. That hardly seemed like a good enough reason to disrupt Dahlia and Felix’s honeymoon period.
