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“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. ”

“You don’t find that strange? That someone that’s not her family is trying to make her human again?” Pete lifted his eyebrows, turning to view the driver. ”

“The world is a lot more complicated than you realize, Pete. It’s not all nice and tidy like most of humanity thinks it is. Those who become aware of the truth, that the monsters really are lurking in the dark, either go crazy or adapt. I have adapted. My employer has as well. ”

“That’s not answering my question. ”

“Maybe not. Besides, you’re going to get what you want. Amaliya human again. ” Ethan said pointedly. “Am I right?”

Pete frowned as he stared at Sergio’s truck speeding along before them. “Yeah, but I don’t get why you were hired. ”

“Maybe my employer just wants one less vampire in the world. ” Ethan shrugged slightly. “Did that occur to you?”

“So someone hired you, a vampire hunter, to go and kill Amaliya’s creator and then make her human just because they want one less vampire?” Pete pondered on his own words, mulling them over. Could it be that simple? Maybe it was. Why couldn’t it be possible that someone out there was so afraid of vampires they wanted them dead or turned back to mortals?

“Again, does it really matter what the motives of my employer are? I’m a vampire hunter. People hire me to eliminate vampires one way or the other. I’m good at it. It’s what I do. Be happy that I’ve been hired to make her mortal, not stake her through the heart and chop off her head. ”

“You’d do that?” Pete gulped, the mere thought making him a bit sick to his stomach.

“It’s the only way to make sure they don’t come back. ” Ethan shrugged slightly. “But your girlfriend is lucky. She’s young enough for the ritual to work. She can go home, say she was in hiding, and start her life all over again. ”

“Yeah,” Pete said thoughtfully, picturing it all in his mind. A smile tugged on his lips and he glanced out the window at the hills streaming past him.

“It’s a second chance. Most people don’t get those, do they?”

Pete shook his head. “No they don’t. ”

“So stop worrying and relax. We’ll find a few bits of that bastard’s body, burn it, and prepare the ritual. Easy as that. ”

“Easy,” Pete said, his voice full of wonder, hope, and a little fear. “Can it really be that easy?”

“Why not?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Grinning, Pete settled in his chair. Maybe this was God’s way of working it all out and he just had to accept it. He was helping rescue the woman he loved and it was a good and noble thing.

Chapter 18

Samantha stared out the passenger window of Jeff’s battered Land Rover at the crowded sidewalks lining Congress Avenue. Even though the thermometer had tipped over the 100 degree mark, there were plenty of people out and about. Dogs trotted in front of owners while babies in strollers stared out at the world through tiny sunglasses.

The food trailers clustered in a lot were under siege by hungry shoppers. Women in filmy summer dresses and sandals and men in shorts and t-shirts huddled in the shade sipping water and eating delicious entrees or sweet desserts.

It made Samantha want to cry. It was all so beautiful and normal. Families, young couples, old couples, friends, siblings, pets with their owners, all living their lives without the knowledge that the world was

not as it seemed.

Among them, Samantha could now clearly see the specters of those who had passed on. They wandered amidst the crowds, unseen and unnoticed. A few of the dead looked confused by the chaos around them, but others tilted their heads to gaze at her when the SUV drove past. A male ghost in a pink thong, boa, and big sunglasses stood on a corner and waved to her as she passed. Samantha returned his smile and blew him a kiss.

Jeff turned down a residential street and the shade of the trees was a welcome relief from the blazing sunlight.

“Are you okay?” Jeff asked, reaching out to touch her hand.

“There are so many ghosts,” Samantha answered. “I never realized. ”

“You’re growing stronger, aren’t you?”

“I think so. ” Samantha tore her gaze away from the hazy figure of an old woman sitting on the porch of a house. She looked straight ahead and curled her hands into fists. “It feels weird not being human anymore. ”