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Symbols like the ones tattooed on her own fingers. Ink was still fresh from their ceremonial branding done by women they’d known since infancy, in preparation for the approaching wedding.

Now, those women were dead, like so many others.

Her lips were wet from tears, still she leaned forward and pressed a gentle, last kiss to his mouth.

“Forever, you are mine.”

Without another word, she ran. She ran until she met her fate. How wretched and unfair it was to know the cost of saving him meant losing him.

CHAPTER 1

Adira

Dracula’s bridewas going to fall on her face in the next breath.

Blood coated her throat and a plastic knife flailed about in her hand while she attempted the impressive feat of balancing on one stiletto heel.

“Damn shoe. Go.On.” She rammed the black heel on her foot, cursing and ranting when her toes kept catching on the edges.

“Wrong foot.” I kept my attention on my sudsy hands in the gilded sink.

The vampire woman blinked her gaze to mine. Thick eyeliner rimmed her bright eyes, and her red lipstick faded into dribbles of blood from the corners of her lips. The false fangs in her mouth were too large, and when she realized I’d spoken, she slurped her spittle from the trays and removed them.

“What’d . . . what’d you say?”

“You’re putting your shoe on the wrong foot.” I dried my hands with a paper towel and gestured at the heel.

Two seconds, five. The woman slowly peered from the shoe she’d managed to tackle onto her right foot, and the right heel still in her hand she was trying to cram over her left.

Then, a shrill, squeaky laugh belted from somewhere deep in herbelly. Truth be told, I wasn’t certain how she didn’t vomit everything in her stomach the way it rolled through her body.

“Holy. Hell. Duh.” She used the heel of her hand to smack the center of her forehead. “Like, how did I . . . thanks, girl.”

With fumbling steps, she stumbled against me. I caught her around the arm, and she never noticed the way I slid the slender silver bracelet off her wrist. She had at least ten more on the other side, I could take a consolation prize for her being part of my Halloween night being interrupted.

The highly intoxicated, blood-sucking bride placed her heels on the proper feet, then, emboldened, decided in that moment I deserved some reward for my good deed.

Her slender, glitter coated arms wrapped around my shoulders.

“Thank you,” she breathed out, alcohol fresh and potent on each word. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” A prickle of unease lifted the hair on my arms. A sick sort of churning overturned my gut as though her touch had morphed into a thousand creeping legs running up my arm.

“Are you good?” I asked, stepping back, nearly colliding with another woman who exited a stall, wobbling on unsteady feet.

I locked eyes in the mirror with the other woman, and for a moment, I thought I knew her. We had the same general costume—cat ears with a black dress—but I couldn’t place her face. She blinked away and left the casino bathroom.

“Thanks, girl.” The vampire said a few seconds later and swayed away, struggling with her phone’s lock screen.

Too simple.

Like her bracelet, I slung the stolen jacket over one shoulder. From the pocket, I removed the credit card she’d foolishly shoved inside ten minutes ago.

“Many thanks, Janie. Consider your debt settled.” I added Janie Lewis’s card to the faux leather messenger bag near my feet, tossed her bedazzled jacket aside, and faced the mirrors to—again—wash off the unseen grime from my hands. A sort of compulsion that came whenever I had to lift something off an unsuspecting mark of mydevilish employer.

I was slowly making my descent into the life of a snake.

Lloyd owed me for this. The loan shark I had the misfortune of callingbosswas more ass-holey than usual tonight, dropping two debtors on me at once. I’d nearly missed Janie’s mark when I’d collided with both a Cher and frantic Madonna lookalike in the casino earlier.