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“Of course,” Zand replied, his amber eyes filled with concern. He started the car, and the rumble of the engine seemed to echo how I was feeling.“Is she at your apartment?”

“Yeah, she’s still there. She’s working remote but I think she should be done for the day. It’s late. I think she’s off the clock.”

Zand looked at the dashboard clock. “It’s a little after seven.”

I leaned back in the seat, trying to steady my racing heart. The car pulled away from the curb, leaving the police station behind in the distance.

Zand’s presence was comforting. He offered me a sense of safety that I desperately needed right now.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Zand asked gently, glancing over at me.

“I’m okay, but I think talking to Morgan will make me feel better.” I admitted, twirling a strand of my hair nervously.

“I understand.”

“She’s always been there for me, even when things were terrible.”

“Friendship is a powerful thing,” Zand observed, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as we navigated the streets of Chicago.

“What about the bond you share when you make someone a vampire?” I asked, still curious about how this vampire stuff worked.

“It’s similar. It just depends on the person.”

“I’m shocked you made Donté a vampire. Why him?”

“When I went to the hospital to see you, my emotions were high. I let my feelings take over. I knew he hadn’t been dead for long. I just wanted to save his life.”

“But he can’t go back to his old life. He can’t see his family.”

“Yes, but he has a new family now. I wanted to give him a second chance at life.”

My thoughts drifted to the triple murder I witnessed and the sound of Lonzo’s gun firing. This had to be what PTSD felt like. Even with Lonzo dead, I couldn’t shake that initial feeling of panic.

“Coming to Chicago was a second chance for me.” I explained. “I just wanted to get my life back. Now that he’s gone, I’m hoping things can go back to normal, whatever that means now.”

“Normal is relative.” Zand replied. “The only thing that matters is that he’s dead. Things will go back to normal in due time.”

As we approached the apartment complex, I took a deep breath. Gathering my courage, I tried to steady my breathing.

“Thank you for bringing me here.” I whispered as we pulled into the parking lot. “For everything, really.”

“I would do anything for you.”

I believed him. He killed someone for me. That was next level.

As we went into the vacant parking spot, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. This was the place where I met Zand. This was the place we exchanged our secret notes. To me, Zand would always be my dear Mr. Vampire.

“Let’s go to my place first. I want to pick up a few things and then I’ll walk you upstairs.” Zand offered.

“Okay.”

We both stepped out of the car and made our way across the parking lot, walking hand in hand.Zand opened the door for me, and we took the elevator down.

We entered his basement apartment. He went right into the kitchen and removed two small bottles of wine. After a millisecond of thought, I believed they were bottles of blood. I didn’t want to ask.It seemed rude.

Zand lifted one of the bottles and looked at it closely. “Huh, I thought this was full. I don’t remember drinking from it. I’m going to get my leather jacket from the bedroom. Wait, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”