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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ZAND

M y footsteps echoed against the silence as I entered my loft. I was home before sunrise, and Chanel was still asleep. As much as I wanted to spend more time with her, I felt like I had to go to The Castle every night. That was, at least until I took care of the threats against my people. I wanted things to go back to normal. I wanted my girl to feel safe.

The elevator doors shut behind me, but I sensed I wasn’t alone in the open space. There, hunched like a crow on the edge of my leather sofa, was Harlen. He was waiting for me. Why? What was so urgent?

“She didn’t see me.” He whispered. “But I saw her.” His face was grave, not at all like his normal fun and games expression.

Harlen’s unexpected seriousness overrode my physical and mental exhaustion. I dropped my keys on the table. My eyes moved back to Harlen. I stood there waiting for more.

“She?”

“Marisol Lopez.”

I nodded, more of a gesture of understanding than a greeting. “Well?” My single word hung in the air between us.

Harlen ran a hand through his hair. He glanced toward the steps that led upstairs to the bedrooms, ensuring our privacy. I sensed Chanel and Morgan’s sleeping presence, felt the thrum of their heartbeats.

“Where?” I asked.

“At Club Bailar Caliente. She was with two other Mexicans.”

“What? That’s the place Teresa was last spotted. That’s the place Natasha sent you to watch out for Teresa.”

“I know, and that’s what I did. I went inside and I saw Marisol sitting in the VIP section with two other people.”

“Who are these people?”

“I didn’t recognize them. They could be her family. She kept them close like security. Real close.” Harlen’s eyes were alert.

I paced the wood beneath my feet. My mind raced ahead, calculating possibilities, the danger, the need for action. “And?” The question was both impatient and inevitable.

“I couldn’t exactly do anything in a club full of people.”

“Yes, but did you follow her and see where she slept?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I had Morgan with me.”

“What? Why?” His careless actions always affected me.

“I wanted to go inside and blend in with everyone else. I asked Morgan to join me.”

“So, you lost Marisol because you had to bring a human as your sidekick.”

“Morgan isn’t my sidekick.”

“She’s human, and you put her in danger. Natasha sent you there for a reason, not to go on a date.”

“I know. I shouldn’t have called Morgan there, but Marisol didn’t see me. She doesn’t know me at all. I can go back.”

“There’s no guarantee she’s going back there.” I explained, thinking we missed an opportunity to capture Marisol.

“What do you mean? She’s here. Too much time had passed. There’s no way she doesn’t know her brother is dead.” Harlen leaned back on the leather sofa.

“It’s not just her. She’s got backup. Now I have to kill more humans than I imagined.” I stopped pacing and stood still. My brother’s eyes searched mine, looking for assurance or strategy or something I can’t yet give him.

“What’s our move?” Harlen asked.

“Let me think. We need to be smart.”

The loft was too quiet. I felt the pressure of time. This cat-and-mouse game had to be brought to an end.

“Did you tell Natasha about your Marisol sighting?”

“No. I came here directly. I dropped Morgan off, and I wanted to tell you as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make some calls.” I rested my hands on my waist.

“Listen, you don’t have to get your hands dirty. I can handle these humans.” Harlen offered.

“Can you?”

“Yes, of course. This is a problem for you and me. If I get rid of Marisol and her people, it’s safer for my girl, too. If she can’t get to Chanel, she might set her sights on Morgan. All you have to do is give me the okay, and these people are as good as dead.”

“Quietly, I can’t have this blow back on me.”

Harlen stood. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’ve killed people with zero remorse before we decided to be good vampire citizens.”

I remembered those reckless, impulsive times. “I need Marisol dead as soon as possible. I need at least one of my two problems taken care of.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. Once it’s done, I will let you know.”

“Okay, you only have to kill them. You don’t have to get rid of the bodies. I have a guy that will come and get the bodies and burn them at a crematorium. I want no trace of the Lopez gang.”

“There’s more.” Harlen said, and I instinctively knew his night might’ve been filled with more madness than mine. “I saw Teresa tonight.”

“Where?”

“At the same club. I was outside alone. This was before I spotted Marisol. Teresa exited the club earlier, and I followed her.”

Harlen’s words pressed against me and forced me to stand straighter.

“You followed her? Where?” I asked.

“A university dorm.” Harlen replied, deliberate and careful. “She left a mess. She didn’t even clean up after herself.”

Anger flared inside me. I knew what he meant, although he hadn’t given me enough information. My fists clenched and then loosened. The restraint I had was a bitter reminder of my self-control.

“She’s trying to get attention.” I said, my voice strained under the weight of my suppressed fury. Teresa’s recklessness was both typical and unprecedented. She had acted out right after she was turned. She went off and killed a few innocent people without my knowledge.

“It was more than just attention,” Harlen replied. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “The young girl’s body, Zand.” He shook his head as if he was visualizing what he’d seen. “She ripped her apart. The death was brutal and unnecessary. She left the girl in the dorm, right there for someone to find her. It was like she was sending a message.”

Teresa was chaos incarnate, but this was different. “A message for who?” I asked, unable to keep the edge from my voice.

Harlen shrugged. “For you. It’s an invitation.”

“What invitation? Why would I care if she killed some random college student? I don’t know any students. You saw the body. Who was this girl?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to look for any identification. I didn’t want to touch anything. She was just a young Black girl.”

“Black girl?” Did Teresa really kill some Black girl as a stand-in for Chanel? It was the first thing that came to mind.

“But that could be a coincidence.” Harlen stated, but I was sure he didn’t even believe his own statement.

“This is Teresa. I’m sure it’s not. She’s doing everything she can think of to get to me.”

“Well then, it’s a warning, a message, an invitation of something that’s coming.” Harlen blurted, as if testing the idea on his tongue.

“A threat.” I stopped and faced him. “She threatened me in the alley at The Castle, and this has to be a part of her scheme. She has to know I would never let her get close to Chanel. Teresa is ju?—”

“But can you watch Chanel forever?” Harlen cut in. His voice was sharper than I expected.

“I don’t have to watch her forever. I only have to keep her safe until Teresa sees her final death.”

Teresa was reckless, but not usually suicidal. Didn’t she know that this was the end of the road for her? I only wanted her to leave town and now I was forced with ending someone I turned into a vampire. Did she think she was untouchable, or worse, that I wouldn’t follow through on my promise to end her?

“She must have a plan.” Harlen said.

“Same plan she always has. Destroy the people around her first and figure it out later.”

Harlen knew this all too well. Teresa destroyed the relationship I had with him and my father. This was why Harlen was so eager to repair our connection. The room felt too small, too crowded with memories of Teresa’s previous chaos. I left L.A. to escape her, and she eventually followed me here to ruin all that I built.

“She doesn’t get to destroy anything else. I’m going to take care of her.” Harlen declared.

“No, no. I can handle Teresa. Your job is to take care of Marisol and her people. Humans are easier to deal with. Is there a reason Marisol and Teresa were at the same place?” I asked, though I knew I’d get no comfort in the answer.

“I don’t know.” Harlen admitted. “But it’s not likely a coincidence, both of them showing up now.”

“Did you see them together?”

“I didn’t, but Teresa, at a Latin nightclub, doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Me neither, but I don’t know what to think. Marisol’s been careful.” I said, more to remind myself than him. “This isn’t her style.”

“They might be working together.” Harlen suggested. “Different goals, same endgame.”

“Teresa wants me. Marisol wants Chanel.” I argued.

“Teresa probably believes getting rid of Chanel?—”

“Don’t say it. I would never go back to her. Never. Ever.” I spoke the truest words.

“I don’t think she believes that.”

“She doesn’t have to believe it. She only has to die. I need to know if they’re working together. But if you have the opportunity to kill Marisol, do that.”

“I could torture the truth out of her first.”

“No torture. Just death. I’m not going to let anyone else in Alonzo Lopez’s family fuck with my girl.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Harlen replied. the casualness gone, replaced by something I wanted to believe in.

“No distractions. You can’t bring Morgan around these dangerous people.” I warned.

“I know. That was a mistake I won’t make next time.” He promised. His resolve looked different this time. Solid, like he meant it. “I’ve got your back, Zand.”

I wanted to doubt, to hold on to the skepticism that years of Harlen’s unpredictable nature had forged, but there was something in his voice, sincerity.

“And Marisol?” I pushed, needing to know how far his commitment went.

“Yes.”

“I want you to drain that bitch dry. Leave Teresa to me. Natasha will help me stop her. Is there anything else, anything you forgot to tell me?”

“No. But be on the lookout for the news story about the murdered girl in the dorm. I’m not sure how the law is going to handle it. Maybe they will go with an animal attack.”

“If it was as bad as you say, I’m sure they will. CPD doesn’t want too many violent crimes getting out to the public. The mayor covers up anything that would make the city look bad.”

“Should I tell Natasha what happened tonight?”

“I will give her a call and fill her in on everything that happened tonight.” I said as I crossed my arms. “When you take Marisol and her crew out, make sure you’re not seen.”

“I got you.” He nodded once. The set of his jaw and the intensity in his eyes told me he was listening to my instructions.

“I have a cleanup crew. But don’t make too much of a mess.”

“I won’t. I can do this. I can handle a few humans.”

“I know you can. I just want this problem to be over with as soon as possible.”

“It will. I’m going to go back to the apartments and get some sleep. Later tonight, I’ll be right back at Club Bailar Caliente. If I see her, she’s done.”

“Avoid as many surveillance cameras as you can. I will get Natasha to wipe all CCTV evidence that she can, but it’s better if there isn’t much of it floating around.”

“Bro, don’t worry. I got this,” Harlen said.

“I know. I’m not worried. I just don’t want there to be any complications.”

“I’m going back to the apartments, and I will text you when something happens.”

We held each other’s gaze. We were two brothers tied together by blood. “Harlen, watch your back.” I said, wondering if I should send someone with him.

“I always do. You taught me that much.” Harlen grinned and gave me a final look. He stood and then moved towards the elevator. The sun had risen and soon he would be ready to slip back into the night that belongs to us.

I looked out the window from the second floor living room. After a few minutes, I watched Harlen get in a sedan that was parked across the street and pull away from my loft. I should’ve felt relieved that Harlen had volunteered to remove one of my problems. But I couldn’t feel it until the deed was done, and Marisol was dead.