She reached for his card tucked behind her phone, which sat charging on the nightstand, and turned it over. Her heart gave a little flutter when she saw his cell number written on the back. Debating what to do, she finally gave in and entered his digits into her contacts.
After she pushed this ridiculous attraction to the back of her mind, she moved the duvet aside and got out of bed. She went to the window, opened it, and caught a whiff of roasted coffee and fresh-baked bread from the bakery across the street. She loved this neighborhood. It still managed to maintain its kitschy feel while being only a quick train ride from the city.
She walked into the bathroom and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. After she brushed her teeth and washed her face, she added some of Delilah’s homemade moisturizer they sold in the shop. In search of some clothing, she walked to the guest closet and found a pullover and sweats, then changed out of her borrowed PJ's.
Once she found a pair of Brooke’s old sneakers, she slipped her feet into them and decided to go for a run to clear her head. Her heart thudded against her ribcage. What if one of Lawrence’s thugs came after her? She took a deep breath and reminded herself that the vampires who’d attacked them were in custody. She would be safe. Besides, she wasn’t about to let them dictate her life and scare her out of her routine. She swiped the hematite crystal off the nightstand just in case and shoved it in the front pocket of her hoodie.
The moment she made her way into the dimly lit hallway, her whole body tensed. She found Brooke curled up on the couch in the living room, pale and covered in sweat, clutching the amulet on her key ring.
“What’s wrong?” Gillian put her hand on her forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“I don’t know what’s happening to me, Gillian. My body feels like it’s on fire. I’m crawling out of my skin.” When Brooke lifted her head, two red bite marks showed on her neck.
“Lawrence bit you?” Saying the words out loud made her stomach churn with revulsion. She swallowed the bile rising from the back of her throat. Gillian took the key chain from Brooke’s hands and stuffed it in the front pocket of her hoodie. Then she replaced the amulet with the giant quartz off the coffee table to give her a surge of healing energy. “I’m calling Saje, There has to a potion that can bring you out of this. I’ll be right back.” She was headed to the guest room to grab her phone when all the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
The front door creaked open. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Immediately she sensed a vampire in the room. Gillian turned and caught sight of Kurt Lawrence, along with his bodyguard, the hulking vampire from the hotel room. She froze, too stunned to move.
“You need to invite me in, Brooke,” Lawrence commanded.
Before Gillian could even utter a warning or protest, Brooke invited him in. Her voice sounded desperate, hollow. The vampire swooped over to where she lay on the couch in a blur. He bent his head to her neck. “You’re bonded to me now. You go where I go.” When his fangs protruded from his lips and sunk into her neck, Brooke let out a blood-curdling scream.
Adrenaline surged through Gillian’s veins and forced her into action. She focused her mind on the quartz. With a flick of her wrist, the crystal soared up in the air and smashed into the back of Lawrence’s head.
When he turned around, his eyes narrowed into slits, filling with rage. “Don’t bother trying to fight me, you’ll never win.”
Before Gillian could look away, his gaze locked on hers, and just like before, her mind and body went rigid. Her magick stalled inside her body, frozen like a cold engine.
“It’s a shame because I found you charming, But let this be a warning: don’t ever get in my way again, witch, or next time I won’t be so nice.”
“Let’s go.” Lawrence motioned to his bodyguard and then grabbed Brooke by the waist and led her out the door.
Gillian blinked and the mental and physical hold on her drained away. She ran to the nightstand and grabbed her phone. Her chest heaved as she searched through her contacts for Mulroney’s number. When she found it, she pressed a button and inhaled.
Thankfully, he answered on the first ring. “M-mulroney?” Panting, she tried to catch her breath. “I…need your help.”
“Miss Howe? Is everything okay?”
“No! Brooke’s been bitten by Lawrence. He…he took her. The bastard tranced me. You need to send the police now!”
“You’re still at her apartment?”
She bit back a sob, and her eyes filled with tears. “Y-yes.”
“You need to get out of there. Now. Go to the Starbucks on Hudson Street.”
The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it hard to think or speak. “You need to find her. What if he—”
“I’m sending back-up to Brooke’s apartment as we speak. Maybe we can intersect him. I’ll be in touch,” he said, and the line went dead.
All Gillian could do was hope and pray that he wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter 6
Shaking from head to toe, Gillian got more than a few curious glances from the barista and the constant flow of customers lining up to get their drink orders. Too nervous to sit, she began shredding napkins and pacing back and forth—spilling the coffee she tried to drink all over the table. She probably looked like a crazy person. She tried not to think the worst, but it was impossible considering what she now knew about vampires. Brooke’s fate rested in the hands of Kurt Lawrence, a total psycho with a personal bodyguard and unlimited funds at his disposal. What did it all mean for Brooke?
A sudden tremble in her limbs made her sit down at an empty stool. The ache in her chest intensified. She refused to stand back and do nothing. She lifted her phone from her pocket and began composing a tweet.
#KurtLawrence, #vampireentrepreneur arrested amid #humantrafficking scandal.
