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“Where?”

“At the same club. I was outside alone. This was before I spotted Marisol. Teresa exited the club earlier, and I followed her.”

Harlen’s words pressed against me and forced me to stand straighter.

“You followed her? Where?” I asked.

“A university dorm.” Harlen replied, deliberate and careful. “She left a mess. She didn’t even clean up after herself.”

Anger flared inside me. I knew what he meant, although he hadn’t given me enough information. My fists clenched and then loosened. The restraint I had was a bitter reminder of my self-control.

“She’s trying to get attention.” I said, my voice strained under the weight of my suppressed fury. Teresa’s recklessness was both typical and unprecedented. She had acted out right after she was turned. She went off and killed a few innocent people without my knowledge.

“It was more than just attention,” Harlen replied. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “The young girl’s body, Zand.” He shook his head as if he was visualizing what he’d seen. “She ripped her apart. The death was brutal and unnecessary. She left the girl in the dorm, right there for someone to find her. It was like she was sending a message.”

Teresa was chaos incarnate, but this was different. “A message for who?” I asked, unable to keep the edge from my voice.

Harlen shrugged. “For you. It’s an invitation.”

“What invitation? Why would I care if she killed some random college student? I don’t know any students. You saw the body. Who was this girl?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to look for any identification. I didn’t want to touch anything. She was just a young Black girl.”

“Black girl?” Did Teresa really kill some Black girl as a stand-in for Chanel? It was the first thing that came to mind.

“But that could be a coincidence.” Harlen stated, but I was sure he didn’t even believe his own statement.

“This is Teresa. I’m sure it’s not. She’s doing everything she can think of to get to me.”

“Well then, it’s a warning, a message, an invitation of something that’s coming.” Harlen blurted, as if testing the idea on his tongue.

“A threat.” I stopped and faced him. “She threatened me in the alley at The Castle, and this has to be a part of her scheme. She has to know I would never let her get close to Chanel. Teresa is ju?—”

“But can you watch Chanel forever?” Harlen cut in. His voice was sharper than I expected.

“I don’t have to watch her forever. I only have to keep her safe until Teresa sees her final death.”

Teresa was reckless, but not usually suicidal. Didn’t she know that this was the end of the road for her? I only wanted her to leave town and now I was forced with ending someone I turned into a vampire. Did she think she was untouchable, or worse, that I wouldn’t follow through on my promise to end her?

“She must have a plan.” Harlen said.

“Same plan she always has. Destroy the people around her first and figure it out later.”

Harlen knew this all too well. Teresa destroyed the relationship I had with him and my father. This was why Harlenwas so eager to repair our connection. The room felt too small, too crowded with memories of Teresa’s previous chaos. I left L.A. to escape her, and she eventually followed me here to ruin all that I built.

“She doesn’t get to destroy anything else. I’m going to take care of her.” Harlen declared.

“No, no. I can handle Teresa. Your job is to take care of Marisol and her people. Humans are easier to deal with. Is there a reason Marisol and Teresa were at the same place?” I asked, though I knew I’d get no comfort in the answer.

“I don’t know.” Harlen admitted. “But it’s not likely a coincidence, both of them showing up now.”

“Did you see them together?”

“I didn’t, but Teresa, at a Latin nightclub, doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Me neither, but I don’t know what to think. Marisol’s been careful.” I said, more to remind myself than him. “This isn’t her style.”

“They might be working together.” Harlen suggested. “Different goals, same endgame.”