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Knowing what it was didn’t make looking at it any easier.

The vampire had pumped his partner full of vampire venom and vampire blood.

He had drained Damon to the verge of death, then filled him with enough venom and vampire blood to kill him slowly, excruciatingly… but with a particular purpose. From a vampire point of view, there was only one reason to do that. There was only one reason to do any one of those things, much less all three in combination.

This fuck was most of the way there to turning Damon into a vampire.

Nick strongly suspected it might even be too late.

Looking at Damon’s face, Nick realized he was kidding himself.

Itwastoo late. That time had passed already.

No way would Damon survive this as a living, breathing human being.

If the blood loss didn’t kill him… the overdose of vampire venom and vampire blooddefinitelywould. The other vampire wasn’t threatening Nick with the life of his human friend. This doppelgangerfuckwas threatening Damon the vampire. The spear to the chest meant Damon the vampire might never come to pass… not that Damon the human might die.

That second part had already happened.

Clearly, Nick’s doppelganger wanted him to know that.

This piece of shit had killed his friend.

Something about that realization was enough to snap Nick out of his state of paralysis entirely.

He focused back on the other vampire’s clear, glass-like eyes.

He now saw the other’s face through a fog of red.

“Why would you do this?”

Nick’s voice came out calm, emotionless, cold as ice.

“Why the fuck would you do this, brother, when you know I’m going to rip your heart out of your chest for it?” Nick’s voice grew lower, more guttural. He sounded like an animal. “I’m going to rip out your heart and eat it right in front of you. You’re never going anywhere. Ever. Do you hear me? You twisted, psychotic piece of shit…”

The other being stared at him blankly for a beat.

Then, inexplicably, he slowly smiled.

CHAPTER20

THE WRONG NICK

That smileon that face was disturbing as fuck.

Morley seemed equally disturbed by Nick. The old man turned sharply when Nick spoke, staring at him incredulously.

Nick didn’t know if it was his voice or his exact words.

He couldn’t let himself think about it.

Morley’s stare at Nick didn’t last long.

Seemingly unable to help himself, he shifted his eyes back up to Damon. He must have followed Nick’s gaze up there before, or possibly he’d followed the handle of the spear the other vampire held, pointing its heart-shaped tip at Damon’s heart.

Either way, he’d seen the other detective. He’d seen those blankly staring eyes.

He might even know what it meant.