Page 83 of Twice Bitten

“I’ll be happy to.”

“See you tomorrow.”

I locked the door behind me, more as a routine gesture than to keep anyone out. Beckett had proven a locked door wasn’t much of a deterrent when a vampire wanted to get inside a house. None of the windows or doors were opened, and Edmund couldn’t help me because he’d lost most of his power the second the vampire cut the Wi-Fi.

The only thing I could figure was he either whammied a key from someone, quick-fingered one of mine—though that seemed far-fetched—or had made an extra somehow. I cursed myself for not changing the locks the moment I’d moved in. My sentimentality of keeping the original skeleton key lock had just cost me. First thing tomorrow, I’d call a modern locksmith.

Leo waited for me, holding the passenger door open. His face was somber, and he didn’t say anything when I got inside the vehicle. He didn’t speak until we were ten minutes into the drive.

“I’m sorry about tonight.”

I sighed. “You seem like a decent sort. For a vampire.”

Leo snorted. “Thanks. I think.”

“Your Prime wants something from me.”

“Unsurprising.”

His droll tone made me laugh. “I bet you hear that a lot.”

Our eyes met in the rearview. “He’s not the only one who capitalizes on others’ pain points. Every supernatural leader is the same.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to play his game.”

“True. What he wants will help us all and will help you too. Will you let your pride stand in the way of helping the vampires?”

I tugged my purse closer and closed my eyes. “I don’t have much pride, Leo. Never have. What I do have is self-preservation. I like being alive. What your Prime is asking me to do will likely end in my death.”

He fell silent for a moment.

“When you speak again, don’t you dare say something ridiculous like ‘is one life worth more than the entirety of a species?’ I’ll stab you when you’re least expecting it if you do.”

Leo snorted in amusement but didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive.

TWENTY-FOUR

Oh, to live like a Prime.

I lay submerged in an enormous tub filled with hot water and fragrant bubble bath. Music streamed from the fancy speaker on the counter, and I took my first deep breath in what felt like hours.

I was wading into uncharted territory. Two supernatural leaders wanted the same thing from me. Silas hadn’t told me why. Alric might be—probably was—lying to me about his reasons. Trying to lure Beckett out seemed a dumb way to fulfill my desire to keep breathing, but he was the key to all of this.

I reached for my cell phone, keeping a tight grip as I typed a text to Tiegan. Leaving out what Beckett had done to my house, I explained what was going on as best as I could and asked what she thought about everything.

Her response came within a minute.

Don’t mess with the vampire. Witches are powerful when it comes to defense, but we do not possess the physical strength or speed to take them on. Keep your head down and let them deal with their own mess.

Wise words. Heeding them might be another story, since Alric was involved. Silas had left me alone, but I had no doubt he’d come back around soon.

I sent Tiegan a text back to ease her mind and tossed my phone onto the towel on the edge of the tub, only for it to ring a second later.

I answered only to hear Alric’s crisp voice on the other end. Ignoring the way my heart leaped at his voice, I barked an annoyed, “What?”

“Letting the cleanup crew in would be easier if I had a key,” Alric said in a tight voice.

A loud bark of laughter escaped me. “Not a chance. I’ll be there to meet them tomorrow.”