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So why was he hesitating?

He already knew he wouldn’t get any useable intel off him. Not only was the other vamp batshit crazy, Nick was pretty sure his condition was deteriorating. Maybe parts of his brain were disappearing along with his arms and parts of his body. Maybe he was slowly losing his mind from the process. Maybe the doppelganger was right, and parts of him lived in two different dimensions now, ripping his mind in half.

Whatever the truth of it, Nick would have to find some other way to get an explanation for all of this.

He planned to start with Brick.

Possibly followed by Mal and his crazy paintings.

Possibly followed by Wynter, or even St. Maarten.

He wouldn’t get it off this guy, the doppelganger.

Again, there was some other reason Nick didn’t want to kill him.

Something less easy to quantify. Something a lot less rational.

Maybe some half-conscious superstition.

Nick didn’t want to kill him until he knew what the doppelganger’s death would mean for him. He didn’t want to kill him until he knew what his death could do to Wynter.

The other vampire must have seen something on Nick’s face.

He laughed.

Nick scowled.

Fuck this. He should kill him.

He should do it now, before Morley got too far.

He’d just reinforced his grip on the other vamp’s arms, when––

A gunshot went off downstairs.

Two more followed.

Then there was a heavy feeling silence.

CHAPTER22

THE WAY OUT

Nick jumped violentlyat the first shot.

Then he went totally still.

He counted four shots total. From the sounds he heard below, scuffling and cries, heavy breathing, and a faint smell of blood, at least one of those shots had hit its mark.

Nick hoped like hell it wasn’t Morley.

He listened intently as more heated words got exchanged.

Then the voices out on the driveway went silent.

Nick strained for more sounds, fighting to hear anything. One person was down, but Nick didn’t think dead. Well, not dead yet, anyway. He listened for more sounds, more talking, but only heard three different sets of breath, too jumbled together for Nick to know who was who. All of them were breathing hard, which didn’t help.

Then Nick heard a car start up.