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But now, here I was, learning that I’d been acting like a close-minded little shit for the best part of a decade. With Murray and Wyatt around, it was my responsibility to question my beliefs more deeply. I still wasn’t sure what I believed, but it was time to get my head on straight.

I pulled out a chair at a table by the front window and wrapped my hands around my coffee, breathing in the steamy sweet scent. A stale croissant gave my hands something to do while I thought. While I mulled it over, I followed the palewinter sun as it caught patches of melting snow, the morning light diffused by a layer of mist and cloud.

Fact one: they’d killed Jonathan first – and it turned out he was Murray’s descendant. Nicholas had claimed he wouldn’t kill his family, and Wyatt wouldn’t do that to him, either. But I’d seen vampires kill their own before. That was the start of a disturbing lack of proper facts.

Then there was Adam. He’d seemed initially concerned about Murray being off the wagon, but was now insisting neither he nor Wyatt had hurt a fly in years.Slight exaggeration, Erin.

So what remained? I swallowed down a bite of dry croissant in an attempt to bypass the lump in my throat. A third, unknown party. That was the only other option.

A new player, who knew everything about Murray and Wyatt’s M.O – which might really only be Murray’s M.O, come to think of it. I mean, what were the chances?

I took a deep breath, and a shiver ran through me.Huh.I cast my senses out quickly, but there was nothing unusual nearby. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched – again.

A glance at my phone told me it was time to get the shop open anyway, and the busy café mercifully distracted me from any further pondering or worrying. As my exhaustion finally set in, my focus shifted to more practical concerns: I needed to hire staff. I couldn’t manage alone much longer, and Tom’s erratic behaviour made him unreliable.

The sun went down just before four in the afternoon, and itwas long after dark by the time I drove home, my headache finally fading after copious amounts of espresso and a greasy lunch. Once again, the house was dark when I pulled up outside. Unreliable Tom may be, but I missed him. The old Tom, anyway. My friend from before all of this. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to get him back.

Hunger and that gross feeling you get when you sleep in your clothes onlyslightlyoverpowered my need for sleep. I showered, put on pyjamas, and made pasta from a packet on the stove. It wasn’t exactly a complete pyramid of needs, but it would do for now.

I took my time over my meal, staring at the window from my usual seat at the kitchen table, but I saw only myself reflected in the black glass. I hadn’t been out on a hunt for days, what with so many other things to think about, and the guilt was beginning to eat at me. There were other vamps in the world, I reminded myself – not just my own little drama. Jonathan would have said as much. I’d just have to put my moral quandary to one side for now.

Abruptly decisive, I dropped my unwashed dish in the sink, pounded upstairs, and changed into jeans and a heavy green knit that I reserved for only the coldest winter nights. I could go over to Adam’s, tell him what had really happened the night before, then do a quick round through the parks afterwards, to appease that part of my conscience. Tomorrow, I’d get hold of Tom, and we’d decide what to do next,together. There was still justice to be had for Jon and Maggie, after all. Only I wasn’t sure who I’d have to kill to get it.

???

Isped toward Locke Manor through empty streets, the stark white streetlamps casting pools of light across the empty, slushy pavements. It seemed like the chill in the air had forced the usual pedestrians to stay home.

My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as I rehearsed what I’d say to Adam. Down the street from the main gate, I pulled over and was about to climb out when a movement in my peripheral vision made me pause.

Adam and Nicholas emerged from a concealed side door, the moonlight betraying their presence as it caught Adam’s pale hair. They drifted along at a casual pace, speaking occasionally, clearly unconcerned about being seen or followed. I scowled at the dashboard clock. Adam had seemed genuinely surprised by Nicholas’s arrival in town, yet here they were. Maybe I’d read him wrong, but I was usually pretty good at that sort of thing.

My heart pounded at the unexpected sight of Nicholas – seeing him again made my skin tingle in a way I barely understood, and the way he wore theshitout of yet another leather jacket wasn’t helping matters. But right now, I was unwilling to fight the sensation. I tried to push it down and ignore it instead. The rational part of my brain knew I should be more concerned about what this late-night excursion meant, but my body had other ideas about where to focus its attention.

Waiting until they’d disappeared around the corner, I followed on foot, easing the car door shut. I walked in the road, and stuck close to the curb, avoiding the untouched snow on the pavement. Out here, away from the city centre’s warmth, it hadn’t yet melted, and it filled my nose with the cold, cleantang of winter.

I had to move fast to keep up. Trailing them, almost half an hour passed before I lost them on an empty road of boutique shops, their windows dark and shuttered for the night. I despaired for a moment as I peered around at the tall brick buildings. Then I heard it – jazz music floating from a fire door at the end of a side street, quiet but unmistakable.

I hesitated at the doorway, my hand outstretched. I wasn’t sure what I would find on the other side, be it a strip club or a vamp den. The music filtered through faintly, but my heightened senses remained oddly quiet. There was no telltale prickling to indicate vampires. Still, I cursed at myself under my breath for leaving my weapons in the car.Amateur move, Erin.

The empty street stretched dark and silent in both directions. I could at least peek inside and see if following them was worth the risk. My breath gathered in a cloud before dissipating into the winter night as I reached for the handle.

Pushing my way in, stale air hit me in the face, filled with the uniquely human fragrance of warm bodies, expensive liquor and overpriced perfume. It was one of those places where everyone was pretending to like jazz, but mostly the clientele just thought it made them look sophisticated. I shivered as I took in the busy room with a practised eye: noting the exits, how many people there were and where. A highly polished bar dominated the right side of the club, alongside a row of plush booths.

Small round tables filled the other side of the room, all occupied. On a raised stage at one end, three musicians played over the chatter of the crowd – human, as far as I could tell. Itwas so dark inside that I struggled to see: the only light came from the small, fringed lamps decorating each table, and the backlight of the bottle-filled shelves behind the bar. I waited for my eyes to adjust, mentally comparing the place to something from a Fitzgerald novel as I breathed in the stuffy atmosphere, sweltering in my jumper.

Closing the door behind me, I tried to make myself as invisible as possible as I made my way over to a recently vacated booth. It was a trick I’d had plenty of practice at, keeping my head down and consciously closing myself off from onlookers. As I’d hoped, the few customers who noticed me quickly lost interest.

From my new and improved position, I spotted Nicholas and Adam seated on tall stools at the furthest end of the bar, chatting with two brunette women in their early twenties. Adam appeared to be more interested in the musicians than the women, who were both flirting heavily – that much was obvious even from this distance. Leaning in close to talk over the noise of the room, the taller of the two was clearly about to make a move.

I scowled, watching Nicholas’s reaction to her as she gazed up at him through her eyelashes. He smiled and whispered something in her ear – the same measured, charming smile he’d given me so many times. But this time it seemed mechanical, like he was going through motions he’d practiced a thousand times. He seemed distracted, though maybe I was just hoping that was the case. Unsure what to make of it, I directed my attention to the barman just to look away. He, too, was watchingthe group, a scowl marring his otherwise friendly face.

After a few uneventful minutes, Adam stood abruptly and led the second woman over to a table that had cleared. Once there, he glared resolutely at the stage, apparently uninterested in anything she had to say. Visibly offended by his inattentiveness, she got up to leave – but she didn’t return to her friend. The friend Nicholas was now angling his body toward, head tilted in that attentive way that I knew made her feel like she was the only person in the room. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but his eyes seemed to be looking through her rather than at her.

I retreated more deeply into the shadowy corner of my booth to see how the scene played out, though I wasn’t sure what role Adam played in this whole charade – since I now realised that was what this was. This was Nicholas hunting, which made sense; but surely Adam had no part in it? I watched him, watching his vampire friend with barely hidden indifference.

Without warning, Nicholas got up and wove his way towards the front entrance with the brunette in tow, her hand resting awkwardly in the crook of his elbow as he picked up the pace, practically marching her to the door. Mirroring him, Adam followed at some distance. He never took his eyes from the woman who clung to his friend’s arm, even as she stumbled, unsteady on her feet and still talking animatedly.

I got up to follow too, but Adam paused in the doorway, his profile frozen in the light from outside. Slowly, he turned and stared across the room at me, his gaze cutting through the crowd. With no change in his blank expression, he nodded inmy direction and left.