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“No, this is really important,” Pete insisted.

Ethan finished eating his taco as Innocente set a serving on a plate and stared at it.

“What is it about?” Innocente asked.

Pete hesitated, then said, “Amaliya. ”

“She’s dead,” Sergio said quickly and nervously.

Innocente caught the exchange of looks between Pete and Ethan. Curiosity gripped her and she said, “What about Amaliya?”

Pete cleared his throat and again looked to Ethan for guidance.

“We know she’s not dead and buried,” Ethan said at last. “That why we’re here. ”

“No, you got that wrong. She is dead. She was murdered,” Sergio said in a tumble of words.

“She was dead. And buried. But she got out, didn’t she?” Ethan asked. He pushed back his plate and settled back in his chair.

Cynthia swept Anna Belle into her arms before looking out the window to check on her kids, all the while backing up to where Sergio kept the revolver tucked into a cranny behind the refrigerator. Innocente could see the fear in her daughter-in-law’s eyes. Innocente wasn’t afraid, but she was very curious.

“Why would you say that?” Innocente asked, a challenge in her voice.

Pete shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable. “I saw her Easter night. After she was supposed to be dead. ”

“You puto! You do remember!” Innocente exclaimed.

The recollection of Amaliya whispering to her all that she had endured after rising was vivid in Innocente’s mind. It was during one of her visits to Austin to see her granddaughter that Amaliya had laid with her head on Innocente’s lap and told her all the terrible things that happened before she had finally made her way to her grandmother’s house. Pete’s terrible rejection of Amaliya in the hotel room had infuriated Innocente. Though Amaliya had not gone into great details about what had occurred, she had cried bloody tears when recounting how Pete had panicked and tried to flee from her presence. Maybe she was being unreasonable, but the thought of anyone hurting her granddaughter infuriated her.

Pete visibly paled. “Not right away. Just recently!”

“You hurt her! You made her cry! You abandoned her when she needed you most!” Innocente shouted at him, snatching up a frying pan and heading in his direction.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Sergio dove across the kitchen and wrestled it from her grip. “Grandmama, calm down!”

“He abandoned your cousin when she needed him most! How can you forgive him?”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Sergio protested.

The man called Ethan stood up and the action drew all eyes to him. “The fact of the matter is that Amaliya is a vampire. We all know it. Let’s just cut to the chase. I am trying to find her because I can turn her back to human. Pete’s helping me. ”

Silence filled the room as shock registered across the faces of Sergio and Cynthia. Anna Belle gnawed on her fingers thoughtfully as she stared at the adults. Innocente felt the room tipping as her vision narrowed. It was Sergio’s big arms that slid around her and lifted her up. The world dimmed while worried voices echoed around her. Innocente faded into a strange waking dream where her long dead husband kept whispering everything was going to be all right.

When the world came clearly back into focus again and the words spoken to her once more made sense, Innocente found herself sitting in her living room clutching a glass of cold water. Sergio and Cynthia sat on either side of her, the baby cooing on Cynthia’s lap. Ethan and Pete sat across from them in the two recliners. Everyone wore a look of concern, but Innocente felt the pulse of urgency just under the surface.

“You can make her mortal again?” she asked, her voice slightly cracking.

Ethan nodded. “I need to know where her master is. The one who made her. Once I kill him, I will use his ashes to bring her back. ”

“He’s dead,” Innocente answered. She set the glass on a coaster on her coffee table. Her hand was trembling.

“We killed him,” Sergio added.

Pete glanced worriedly at Ethan. “What does that mean?”

“What did you do with the body?” Ethan asked, ignoring Pete.

“He was torn apart. . . by. . . zombies,” Sergio said, obviously not sure what he should, or shouldn’t say.