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“Fuck, Thierry!” Tobias snapped, turning to glare daggers at the blond vampire.

“I’m being helpful,” Thierry retorted. “Better to rip the band-aid off quickly, rather than a millimeter at a time.” He turned back to Rico. “You’re here with us, so we can make sure you don’t turn into a murderous asshole like the monsters who kidnapped you. You’re welcome.”

* * *

Rico seemed surprisingly willing to take what had happened to him in stride. Grudgingly, I had to admit that Thierry was right: drawing out the explanation of what had happened to him wasn’t doing anyone any favors.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though.

Thierry went back upstairs, muttering something about having to make about a dozen phone calls to get us all sorted—whatever that meant—reluctantly leaving us with Rico, Bryan, and Tobias.

Danny and I both sat on the floor on the other side of the room with our backs against the concrete wall, watching Bryan and Tobias explain vampirism to Rico.

A bottle of booze would be nice right about now.

Danny gave me a sideways look.I wonder if vampires can get drunk? It could be another thing you gave up for me.

Well, I might have to try harder now, but I’m not a quitter,I joked, wagging my eyebrows at him.

Danny rewarded me with a small smile that almost reached his eyes.

When I met his gaze and held it, his smile deepened. And I could still feel the guilt in him, the shame and the sadness, but I knew that it would heal eventually. Once we had all fully adjusted, maybe.

“So, Bryan and Tobias explained what happened,” Rico said, coming over to join us. Bryan and Tobias trailed behind him,standing a few feet away from where Rico had plopped down. His gaze landed on Danny, who stiffened beside me again, now that he was literally face to face with the young man he had harmed. “They said it was an accident. You lost control.”

Just like that, Danny was braced for the blow he felt sure he deserved.

“It feels stupid to tell you I’m sorry,” he muttered. I could sense the way he had to force himself to meet Rico’s gaze, the shame coiled hot in his belly. “Even though I am.”

Rico nodded, frowning at him thoughtfully. He seemed oddly… calm. Considering he was sitting face to face with the guy who had ended his human life.

“It’s not… great,” Rico said, pausing in the middle of his sentence, like he’d been trying to find the correct words. He hesitated, then added, “But it’s still way better than what would have happened to me if you guys hadn’t come at all.”

“Because Bryan saved your life,” Danny replied, doggedly determined to not be let off the hook for even an instant. “He was the one who gave you his blood and stopped you from dying.”

I scowled at that.

“No,” Rico corrected him mildly. “It’s not just that. You don’t understand. I watched what happened to the others. And when the—” he broke off, like he couldn’t quite make himself say the word yet. He paused, then added, “When thevampireskilled the people they had taken, they didn’t do it quickly.” He swallowed, something going tighter in his expression. “And they made it hurt. Theyliked itwhen their victims begged.”

Danny’s eyes slid shut at that. “Fuck. I wish I could kill them all over again.”

“What you did sucked,” Rico said. “Literally. I won’t tell you it didn’t. But, um. It wasn’t as bad, I guess, as what I had been expecting?” He said that last part like a question. “It’s notokayor anything. But at least you were fast about it. You didn’t make me beg. It didn’t even really hurt all that much. It didn’t feel like anything at all.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Danny told him sharply. But I could feel the tiniest fraction of his guilt easing at Rico’s words. “This isn’t how things were supposed to go. I’m sorry.”

Rico shrugged. “Just don’t hurt anyone again, I guess?” He paused, then gave us a lopsided sort of smile. “And, anyway, there’s the upsides, right? Like living forever. Never getting sick. And apparently healing pretty quickly?” He turned and gave Bryan and Tobias a questioning look and Bryan nodded back.

“So, I mean, that’s kind of badass, right? And I’ve always been kind of a night owl. And once I’m safe to be around people again, I can go back to my old life.” Rico spoke more quickly, like he was starting to warm up to the prospect of being a vampire. “Or maybe I’ll start a new one. Ooh, maybe I could start a band.” He paused, then grinned. “And Tobias said that our blood can heal people. So, I mean, it’s notallbad.”

I stared at him, feeling my jaw drop with shock.

Bryan, Danny, and Tobias were staring at Rico with similar expressions. I was pretty sure we were all trying to decide if Rico wasactuallythis laid back or if he was just trying to make the best of it.

“I’m just saying, it might be fun,” Rico said brightly, no doubt catching our disbelieving expressions. “Plus, I can hypnotize people into doing whatever I want. Which is, like,socool.”

“We’re going to need to have a conversation about ethics,” Bryan said faintly, still staring at him. But Tobias was grinning broadly, his eyes shiny again.

“And, um, I guess I understand how you could have gotten so hungry that you would have made a mistake,” Rico added, more seriously, glancing back at me. That lopsided smile came back. “Because the cravings are pretty wild, right? Like, if there wasa human person here with me, I’m not sure I’d be able to stop myself either, ya know?” He winced and added, “It kind of feels like I swallowed a bunch of broken glass. That goes away, right? Cuz, I mean, ouch.”