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The word engagement made my heart ease on down the road. Zand was dead serious about me. Why did I think dead serious? Poor choice of words from my jumbled brain. This wasn’t a traditional proposal. It was so much more. We were getting engaged in the basement of a crematorium.

“I’ve lived alone, Chanel. I’ve had a few companions, even a dreadful wife once.” He acknowledged, glancing briefly at Marisol as if to emphasize the fate that awaited Teresa. “But I’ve never had someone I loved and trusted in every way possible. Not until you.”

My fingers trembled slightly as they hovered over the ring, not quite touching it. “This is what the surprise was about? A proposal and an execution?” I joked as my nervousness entered the chat.

“Yes.” He admitted without apology. “Macabre maybe, but two sides of the same commitment. I’m a vampire, and I want you to understand that and love me, anyway.”

“I love you and I saw the real you with my own eyes and I’m still here willingly.”

“This is true.” He admitted. “I want to share everything with you. I want you forever. In sickness and health. Till death do us part, like the humans say.”

“I want the same thing.” The nervousness left my body and was replaced with pure joy.

“So, is this a yes? You will be my queen, wife, soul mate and life partner.”

“Ah, hell yeah!” I jumped into his arms, and he lifted me off my feet and spun me around a few times. His lips pressed into mine and passion oozed from him and into me.

When he placed me down on my feet, I shook off my dizziness. Like a sleight of hand magic trick, the red velvet box was back in front of me. Zand removed the ring from its box. He gently slid the platinum band on my ring finger. I held it up before me and admired the beauty of it. The black diamond caught the harsh light of the basement and transformed it into something exquisitely beautiful. It looked like it cost a pretty penny, a noteworthy nickel, a delightful dime, and a cutesy quarter.I is getting married now!Broken English be damned! Our eyes met over this symbol of our everlasting union, and I was in awe of the perfection of this moment.

My smile almost cracked the skin on my face. Then I remembered that black don’t crack, and I could smile as hard as I wanted too. I peered at Zand to notice his face was a mirror of mine. My Mr. Vampire hooked me all the way up. This ring was a dream. I was in the clouds and my mister vampire put me there.

“Hey, you gotta do one more thing before we leave this place.” He reminded me of my task.

“Oh yeah, her.” That bitch! “And after I kill her, what happens to her remains? Her ashes?”

The question seemed to surprise him. I could see it in the slight raise of his brow. “Virgil will toss her in the garbage, per my instruction.” He replied with a shrug. “Or I don’t know the lake, river, somewhere. It doesn’t matter once they’re reduced to dust.”

Something in me shifted. My smile was gone, and vengeance altered my features. “I want her ashes.” I stated with a voice I didn’t recognize as my own.

“Marisol’s ashes?” He clarified.

“Yes.” My voice was firm and commanding. “I want to keep them. For myself.”

Zand tilted his head. He was studying me and there was a look of confusion, or maybe surprise, in his hazelnut eyes. “May I ask why?”

“That bitch.” I glared down at Marisol. “Attacked me. Put me in the hospital. Came into my life to fuck it up.” My words emerged precisely formed, each one carrying the weight of my recent trauma. “I want something to remind me that this raggedy ass bitch can never hurt anyone again.”

“A trophy.” A slow smile spread across Zand’s face.

I knew my request was unexpected, but I was on ten. This bitch was trash. She already was a part of Lonzo’s criminal organization. I saw her brother kill, but I was sure she had done the same. She was my enemy, and I wanted to keep her close even in death. I had to keep my head on a swivel because of her family.

Now I wanted to make sure I never forget to keep my eyes opened and brain fully activated. If Zand was calling for me to be his queen, I needed to act like one. I couldn’t be afraid of the people that did me dirty. I could hold my head high and wear them around my neck in a chain. I wasn’t going to tell Zand I wanted to wear a bit of her ashes in a necklace. He might think I was crazy. I could save that part for another time.

“Then her ashes will be yours.” He conceded, with a look of pride on his face. Zand closed the ring box and returned it to his pocket. “I’ll tell Virgil to collect them and have them messengered over to the loft right away.”

“Thank you.” I smiled inside.

“First, love, you need to create those ashes.” Zand stepped back from the control panel, gesturing toward the red button. “The honors belong to you?”

Without hesitation, I moved forward. My fingers flipped up the protective cover, hovering over the red button for just a moment. I looked directly at Marisol, whose eyes now were registering pure dread.

I gave her my evilest eye. “Go to hell, you stupid bitch!” I said because I felt like I had already called her fifteen thousand raggedy hoes.

I admired my engagement ring as I sat there on the button, and I pressed it firmly. The mechanism engaged with a low hydraulic hiss. The stone bed seemed to activate. I rushed the few steps to get a closer look. This was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I really wanted to see this bitch burn. The stone door opened and the flatbed that held her body slid forward. It carried Marisol’s bound form into the opening of the cremation chamber. The fire was intense. It was alarmingly hot, five alarm fire hot. It was hotter than the fourth of July. Baby, it was ba-dee-ya, say do you remember, ba-dee-ya, dancing in September hot.

Marisol’s fingers twitched. Her toes did the same.

“The serum is wearing off.” Zand coolly explained as he stood beside me. “You hit the button just in time.”