Page 28

“O kay,” Tom said, his voice cutting through the tension. “If we’re going to do this, we need to act fast. Get a plan in place to keep potential targets safe.”

“My parents,” I said immediately. “They need to be out of here.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Tom nodded, tugging at a tuft of black hair. “Yeah, I can handle that. They were away and came back for… well, I already told them one story about your crash. What’s another lie at this point?”

I nodded. That was one less worry. Sort of.

“We should examine the applications for the manageress position,” Isabel suggested. “If Lauren Truelove applied, there may be others we need to watch for.”

“Agreed. We don’t know if Lauren was a target because she applied or because she—” Tom stopped short, not meeting my eye. If only he knew I hated the thought of Nicholas feeding as much as he did.

“And Bradley, from the morgue,” I added. “After what he saw with Maggie’s case…”

The door creaked open and Adam and Nicholas slipped back inside. Though his face remained carefully neutral, tension radiated from his broad shoulders as he settled onto the arm of my chair. His hand found the small of my back, and even through my shirt, his touch sent sparks of electricity dancing across my skin. I really needed to get a grip on that.

“It might be beneficial to understand how they have been observing us so closely,” Isabel continued. “The applications, the club, knowing when Nicholas feeds…”,

“Jolt has cameras inside and out,” I offered. “And there’s CCTV on the street outside.”

“Then perhaps we start there. Find their vantage points.” Isabel’s fingers drummed against the diary in her lap. “It might help us make this deception more convincing.”

“Speaking of which,” Tom leaned forward. “If we’re going to fake a falling out, it needs to look real. These wankers notice everything.”

“Then we give them something to notice,” I grinned. “I can punch you. You’d look great with a broken nose.”

Tom gave me the finger in response.

As we fleshed out the details, I could feel Nicholas watching me. He said little, but I worried what he really thought about this plan – and about me, for suggesting it.

Nicholas lingered in the doorway after the others left, the streetlight casting shadows across his cheekbones. Adam tapped his foot impatiently at the bottom of the steps.

“How would ye feel if I came back in a few hours?” Nicholas murmured, his voice a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through my chest. He leaned closer, his lips barely brushing my ear. “I have an idea that could be of use.”

My pulse quickened. “I’ll be awake,” I managed. “I’m sure you can let yourself in.”

His answering smile held a hint of something that both thrilled and unnerved me. “Aye.”

The kiss, when it came, was swift but deliberate – a brush of cool lips against my cheek that left me more breathless than a real kiss would have. Then he was gone, leaving only the ghost of his touch and the lingering scent of pine in his wake.

The house felt cold and empty in the quiet afterwards. I tried to make conversation with Tom as he tapped away at his laptop – hacking into some CCTV footage from the look of it – but he seemed nervous and unwilling to indulge my need to do something. Isabel and Adam were working to get in touch with any others from the club – which wasn’t a job I wanted any part of. Tom was going to contact Bradley and my parents… and I was left in limbo, with nothing to do but ponder how we could find these fuckers before they figured out our ruse.

After twenty minutes of staring blankly at the closed curtains, I gave up and went upstairs, pulled on my painting jeans, and climbed the ladder to the attic. My mind kept circling back to Nicholas – to the pain in his eyes last night. Everything I’d read today. How it felt to sit beside him, close but never together. In the three days I’d been gone, something fundamental had shifted between us. All pretence of simple attraction had burned away, leaving behind a raw longing that was undeniable.

As was always the case in the winter months, the topmost part of the house was chilly enough that my breath gathered in clouds, before dissipating like smoke. I pulled out the old electric heater I kept in the corner and plugged it in, checking the temperature wasn’t high enough to dry out my supplies.

The mural was still spread out on the bare floorboards. Unfinished, like everything these days. Art used to be the normal, human thing that I did – something that wasn’t hunting or the coffee shop. Now it was just a reminder of the life I’d pretended to lead.

I knelt down to gather up the paints – there was no point in convincing myself I’d ever finish the damn thing. Throwing them haphazardly into a drawer, I stared around the room, full of impatient energy. There must be something better I could be doing.

I closed my eyes for a moment, casting my senses out on low. Tom was still in the living room two floors below, his heat a pulsing presence in my mind despite the wood and brick and mortar between us.

Without a doubt, he still didn’t trust our new friends – and given what we were planning, it had never been more important that he did. At the very least, he needed to believe they’d had nothing to do with Maggie’s death – something I wasn’t sure he did yet.

At least he’ll be convincing tomorrow.

Still, everything about this situation felt wrong – the planning, the waiting, the forced inaction. I craved the simple clarity of my old hunts: spot vampire, kill vampire, go home. Not… whatever this was.

Closing my eyes again, I massaged my temples, waiting for the laptop to boot up. The sound of something heavy landing on the roof jerked me from my thoughts, the impact reverberating through the old timbers overhead. I froze, throwing my senses as far as I could manage. Beyond the closed blinds, a shadow moved across the moonlit glass. Something scraped against the tiles overhead, the sound skating down my spine like ice.

In four long strides, I was across the room. I threw open the window, fighting with the stubborn latch as I strained to hear any further movement. The night air bit at my exposed skin, carrying the clean scent of impending snow. There was nothing there.

I pulled the window to. “Tom?” I called down through the trapdoor, proud of how steady my voice sounded. “Tom!”

A moment later, he appeared in the bedroom doorway.

“What’s up?” he asked, and I leaned forward to see him better from my precarious position at the top of the ladder.

“Did you hear something down there?” I asked, my words jumbling together. “There was a noise on the roof outside…” I trailed off.

Seeing the bemused expression on his face shattered the fear of a moment before, even as he shook his head.

“I had my headphones in, sorry. You want me to go out into the garden and check?”

I pursed my lips, thinking. “No, it’s alright. It was probably a bird or something. I must be getting paranoid,” I sighed, falling back onto the sofa again as Tom stood waiting.

“After the last few days… and someone watching our every move… we could both do with being a bit more paranoid.” He frowned.

“I suppose.” I made a conscious effort to slow my breathing. “Someone could have been here before, without us noticing. We might even have been home at the time.”

He didn’t look convinced. “You’d have sensed them, surely?” He pointed out. “Even if you were asleep.”

“In theory, yeah. But I can't always sense Isabel or Nicholas, can I?”

His face soured, though he tried to hide it. “Maybe that’s who was in here, then.”

He had to be joking. “Tom…”

I glared at him and his ears burned red.

“Hey, it doesn’t matter what I think anyway.” He held up his hands. “We’re going with your plan – and it’s not like you’re going to consider the idea they can’t be trusted at this point.”

“Haven’t they earned the benefit of the doubt? Just a little bit?” I asked.

“Sure. Cause they’ve stopped feeding, right?” He fixed me with a hard look. “Except they haven’t. Adam admitted Murray was still at it – and after everything they told you about how it’s transmitted. But you don’t care,” he added.

“I care, Tom.” My voice grew quiet, and I resisted the urge to climb down there and hit him. “I fucking care, okay? But he didn’t kill her. He didn’t even hurt her really. So try saving all your pent up bullshit for tomorrow.” Now it made sense that he’d been so quiet before. His hostility wasn’t gone at all; he’d just bottled it up.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’ll save it up somewhere else, though.” He disappeared from the doorway and I heard him stumble on the stairs. A minute later, the front door slammed.

I pulled my head back into the attic, and sat cross-legged on the floor, rubbing absently at my temples. I shouldn’t have snapped back so easily. But then, he’d been so civil this morning – it had felt like things were back to normal, or getting there, anyway.

The silence was louder now that I knew I was alone. It was too cold to be up here. I clambered down the ladder with my laptop and switched off the attic light, all thoughts of the noise outside gone.

???

I n the kitchen, I poured myself a cup of coffee, savouring the warmth of the mug in my hands, and headed to the sofa with the laptop to wait for Nicholas. He hadn’t said where he was going, but I suspected he and Adam would be paying the jazz bar a visit. I tried not to think about it, and opened up a search page instead.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. émilie. Hélène. That’s what I should be looking for. But I hesitated, and changed my mind on the spot, typing ‘ 1889 Paris World Fair ’ instead.

My internet connection was pathetic – but it was the cheapest tariff available, and I wasn’t made of money. I sank back into the cushions, watching the loading bar at the bottom of the screen chugging along. My eyes drifted closed against the light of the screen.

When I woke, a golden light forced harsh shadows into contrasting shapes across the room. My laptop lay dark on the floor, forgotten. I reached to pick it up before realising I hadn’t switched on any lamps before dozing off.

Nicholas stood in the window, one shoulder against the frame. He’d drawn back the curtains, and the streetlight turned him into a dark silhouette, catching the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones.

I rubbed sleep from my eyes. “How long have you been watching me?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Long enough to hear you talkin’ in your sleep.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. “If you’d been here earlier…”

“Had a wee errand to run.” He moved away from the window. “Now I’m all yours.”

I busied myself with the laptop charger, trying to ignore my suddenly racing pulse.

“Go on then,” I managed. “What’s this bright idea you couldn’t share earlier?”

His hand on my arm was cool, but it burned like ice. I spun to find him mere inches away, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. The familiar scent of earth and pine wrapped around me.

“Do I make you… uncomfortable, Erin?” His low rumble turned my name into something intimate .

I shook my head, though my voice came out barely above a whisper. “No. Not like that. It’s just… this is all new.” I searched for the words to explain what I meant. “A few months ago, I’d have killed you on sight for being what you are. Now things are different, and I’m trying to make sense of it, but you’re…” I gestured helplessly between us. “Distracting.”

“I see.” His hands came up to cradle my face, fingers threading through my hair with impossible gentleness. Time seemed to stop as he pressed a kiss to my forehead, then stepped back. I instantly regretted my words.

“I didn’t mean…” I hated the space between us. “I’m sorry.”

“Dinnae apologise,” he murmured. “I’ve waited centuries to find you, aye, but that doesnae make this any less new. Everythin’ about ye still amazes me.”

I peered up at him through my lashes. He ran a hand through his hair, looking endearingly uncertain for an immortal. I’d almost expected a cheeky retort, but instead…

“We could figure it out together?” I offered softly.

His green eyes met mine, the low light in the room reflecting in the golden flecks of his irises. “I’d like that verra much.”

I couldn’t help but mirror his smile. A car passed outside, its headlights sweeping across the ceiling. The brief flash of light reminded me why he was here.

I cleared my throat. “So what did you come here to tell me?”

Nicholas straightened, a predatory stillness returning to his frame. “I believe it’d be beneficial to visit your local… information hub, as it were. ”

“You want to find Solace?” I huffed. I’d forgotten all about the eternally teenage vampire, with all that had been going on. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. If anyone could tell us how this killer is spying on us, it’d be her.”

“Aye. Tom mentioned she sensed me here afore anyone else did. I suspect she may have a talent for it.”

I laughed shortly. “You have no idea.”

I brushed past him toward the hallway and pulled on his ancient, soft leather jacket. His sleeve caught mine as he glanced down at it, amusement dancing in his eyes, though he didn’t comment. The simple touch sent sparks racing up my arm, and I dropped to the bottom step, yanking my boots closer to hide my reaction.

“She’ll expect payment, though. Solace doesn’t do anything for free – and I already owe her for the last time.”

???

S ince I no longer had a vehicle to speak of, Nicholas drove us across the city in the sporty black Maserati I’d seen Adam and Isabel climb out of once before. He sped along the empty streets, the car purring beneath his touch – though whether it was fancy engineering or his skill as a driver was hard to say. Regardless, it was strange to see him doing something so normal.

After a few minutes, Nicholas spoke up.

“Are ye okay, love?”

I continued to stare out of the window, watching the streetlights blur past. “Yes. No.” I sighed. “I don’t really know. ”

“If it’s the plan…” he trailed off. “It’s no the safest way to do things, and I cannae say I like it, but it’s no a bad plan.”

I nodded. “I know.”

He waited a moment before replying. “Mayhap I can distract ye from your worryin’.”

I turned to him to find a small smile playing around his mouth, the lights on the dash reflecting off his eyes in the darkness. “What sort of distraction?”

He hummed in the back of his throat. “I can think o’ plenty, but for right here and now, perhaps we could just… talk?”

“Talk?” I smiled despite myself. “About what?”

“Anythin’. Everythin’.” His fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel.

I watched his profile, my eyes tracing the strong line of his jaw. “How long were you in the city before we met? That night in the park, I mean.”

Nicholas’s mouth quirked up at one corner. “I was wonderin’ when you’d ask.”

He expertly navigated a sharp bend in the road, the powerful car responding to his slightest touch. Behind, the twinkling city lights spread out below us as we climbed higher.

“And?” I prompted.

“A few days,” he admitted. “I caught your scent the first night I arrived. Thought I might be imaginin’ things at first. So I spent my nights… followin’. Catching glimpses.”

“You were stalking me?” I raised an eyebrow, though the revelation didn’t really bother me.

He shrugged. “I prefer to think of it as… reconnaissance. ”

“And what exactly were you reconnoitring ?”

“You,” he said. “I had to be sure.”

“Of what?”

“That you were the one.” His voice dropped, becoming almost reverent. “The first time I saw ye – truly saw ye – was outside that coffee shop o’ yours. You were locking up, and you had these huge headphones on,” he loosely cupped his ear with his free hand. “You stopped and closed your eyes, and I could see the way the music was affectin’ ye. The headlights of a passing car caught your hair, turned it right to fire, and I…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I kent then what my heart had been tellin’ me all along.”

I looked away, heat rising to my cheeks. “So… you arranged our meeting at the park?”

“No,” he laughed softly. “Twas pure chance. I’d been followin’ ye that night, worried about you bein’ out alone after ye’d been drinkin’. It wasnae exactly the right moment. But then you went and fell right into my arms – almost literally.”

“Lucky you,” I said dryly. “I had bruises for weeks after that fall.”

“Lucky me, indeed.” The sincerity in his voice was unmistakable.

We fell silent as he paused at a junction.

“What about after?” I asked. “Between the park and when you met me on the hilltop?”

His expression darkened slightly. “I tried my damnedest to stay away. I could feel ye were… hesitant. That you had a lot going on in your life. But I found myself right where ye we re anyway.”

“When you were still calling yourself Cole,” I said, remembering the morning he’d helped me wash dishes before the funeral.

He nodded, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Aye. I told myself I was checkin’ on you, but truthfully? I couldnae stay away.”

“And after that? Before I saw you at Adam’s?”

“Twas easier to keep my distance once I’d spoken to ye again,” he admitted. “I knew what I’d be askin’ of ye, when you found out who I was – what I still ask of ye. Tis no small thing, especially for someone like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“A hunter,” he said. “With every reason to hate what I am.”

I couldn’t argue, though with every passing hour, it seemed there were more shades of grey to consider. “You were… still watching me, weren’t you? After that. I could feel you, sometimes.”

“Aye,” he confessed without apology. “The moment the sun set. Makin’ sure you were safe.”

But you already knew all that, Erin. Deep down.

“Your turn,” he said, shifting gears. “What got ye started as a hunter?”

I hesitated, but honesty was the only path forward. “There’s not much to tell, really. I’ve always been able to… sense things. It scared the shit out of me as a kid, but my dad sort of got it. I sometimes thought maybe there was something there with him, that he could…” I didn’t finish the thought. If my d ad really could do what I could, then he’d been an even shittier parent than my mum had been – and she’d been pretty awful over the years.

Nicholas nodded, but his mouth turned down into a small frown. “And when did ye start actually… hunting?”

“The first time… it was an accident. More self-defence than anything. But by the time I started university, and met Jon, I’d been avoiding the idea for a long time. He caught me red-handed, sneaking in one night. I was a mess, exhausted, and I couldn’t think of a plausible lie – so in the end I told him the truth.”

I stopped. It felt like forever since I’d thought about those early years – and how much had changed since then.

“Did Jon—?”

“It was Jon who convinced me I basically had a moral obligation to do the right thing. He was so bloody curious about every little detail – which is pretty much how Tom found out. Jon drunkenly running his mouth off.” I twisted my hands in my lap. “Tom didn’t believe us at first. Not until I took him out one night, and he saw for himself. After that, he was happy to take my word for it.” I swallowed, remembering. “He’d have died that night if it hadn’t been for Jon. He was a mess.”

“But he didnae die.”

“No. Something… shifted, though, after that. In me . For the first time, I had people I wanted to protect.” I closed my eyes briefly. When I opened them again, we were passing under a railway bridge, and the sudden darkness made the interior of the car feel even more intimate .

“And you’ve been huntin’ since?”

“It never felt like a calling until Jon turned it into one.” I looked over at him. “He showed me that being a hunter was what I was meant to do. That I was built for it.”

“I ken that,” he said softly. “Clarity of purpose.”

“Did you have that? Before… everything?”

He smiled, though there was something sad in it. “Before I became a vampire, ye mean? I was to be a tailor, like my pa. And I had no interest in it whatsoever. I only wanted glory and adventure.”

“So you joined the army.” It didn’t seem that adventurous to me, but then the world was… smaller, back then.

“Aye.” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “Found nae glory nor adventure, mind ye. Just death and regret.”

I reached out, covering his hand with mine. His skin was cool beneath my touch.

“What about now?” I asked. “What do you want now?”

He glanced at me briefly, his eyes reflecting the pale white streetlights. “Peace, I think. Redemption. Though I’m no sure such a thing exists for me.”

“And me?” I hadn’t meant to say it, but the words were out there now.

“You, Erin,” he breathed, “are the dream I ne’er thought I’d truly find. Or deserve.” His fingers twined with mine. “What about you? What do ye want? Beyond hunting, beyond all of this?” He gestured vaguely.

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know yet. I’ve lost too many people lately – and I’ve learned to value the people I still have. So I suppose… to find something that makes all the pain and loss worth it.”

“And have ye?”

I studied our joined hands, thinking of him. Of Tom and Adam and Isabel. “I’m beginning to think I might have.”

He brought my hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. “We’re more alike than ye ken, you and I. Both fighters. Both stubborn as the day is long.”

I laughed. “I am not stubborn.”

He raised an eyebrow, humour dancing in his eyes. “Aye, and I’m the Queen o’ Scots.”

“Fine,” I conceded. “But only when it’s important.”

“Tis one of the things I admire about ye,” he said. “Your determination. Your fire.”

“Even if it’s directed at you?”

“Especially then,” he grinned. “A wee bit o’ danger makes life interesting, love.”

I shook my head, smiling despite myself. “You’re impossible.”

“So Adam tells me. Frequently.” He squeezed my hand gently. “But I’m also yours, if you’ll have me. Impossible and all.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. We fell into a comfortable silence, fingers still laced together as he steered with his other hand. Outside, the streets grew narrower and darker as we left the city centre behind. The knot of anxiety in my chest loosened a little with each new breath .

When we pulled up at Seven, the warehouses loomed like great concrete monoliths against the night sky. The industrial district was always eerily quiet at this hour – no workers, no machinery, just the occasional skitter of something in the shadows and the distant hum of the city.

Nicholas held my door as I climbed out of the car, and paused at the edge of the lot, his gaze sweeping the warehouses with military precision.

He frowned. “She doesnae allow weapons, aye?”

I nodded – it hadn’t stopped me from bringing my sword along, but I’d tucked it under the passenger seat and planned to leave it behind.

“Perhaps we should break her rule this once. There’s somethin’ no right about this place. The scent…” He didn’t finish, but I was already strapping the sword on, its weight settling against my spine with the familiar click of harness buckles. My fingers moved through the motions – thread, tighten, secure. I raised a quick eyebrow at him, and he grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkled with barely contained amusement.

Brushing past him with a grin of my own, I headed straight for the largest building, and rapped my knuckles against the door. There was no sound from inside.

“I come seeking Solace?” I called. He was right – something was wrong. I’d never had to wait before.

Nicholas put a hand on my arm and shook his head, one finger to his lips. I wasn’t surprised he’d sensed something I hadn’t – Seven had always been a bit of a block for me. Everything up to the entrance was fair game, but once my mind hit those walls, my senses came back with, well, nothing.

Caution in every movement, he leaned past me to push lightly at the door. It must have been locked from the inside, as it didn’t shift at the slight pressure. But Solace’s guys were usually quick to respond to anyone on their lot.

Closing my eyes, I threw my senses out like a net for the third time tonight. Nicholas was a new, flickering presence beside me, but something inside the warehouse made me shiver – and I’d never sensed a damn thing from Seven before now. Not from the outside, anyway.

“This isn’t right. We need to break it down,” I said, stepping back to ram the door. Before I could, Nicholas stepped in front of me and pushed down the handle forcefully. A snapping noise came from within the mechanism, and with another light push, it swung open. So much for her fancy reinforcements.

Stale air hit us as we crossed the threshold, carrying a sour tang that made my stomach turn and my mouth fill with a hint of copper. The prickling across my skin grew more familiar, but it was different – more intense, like thousands of tiny needles rather than the usual low static.

My footsteps were muted against concrete, each step producing a wet, sucking sound that was even more disgusting in the pitch darkness.

The warehouse swallowed every sound. No voices, no footsteps – nothing stirred in the gloom ahead. I continued in the general direction of where I thought Solace’s platform was. Behind me, Nicholas rattled with something and huge industrial lamps groaned into life as the generator came on, casting harsh shadows between the steel support beams. Something skittered in the distance – a rat, or something worse. Without thinking, I drew my sword at the sight before me, fiery adrenaline flooding my system.

The harsh, overhead lights were still flickering, revealing the massacre in stuttering frames. First, the lake of dark fluid where pools of blood had converged beneath at least a dozen vampires. Then the pale limbs scattered across the ground. Finally, my eyes reached Solace’s shattered throne, its pieces strewn like bones across her dais.

“What evil is this?” Nicholas breathed, but a coughing sound interrupted him. Trying to avoid stepping on anyone, we made our way toward the noise.

Solace lay sprawled on the ground behind her platform, her head resting against a shredded velvet cushion that had once been part of her throne.

She laughed weakly, looking up. “Erin Alexandra Elizabeth Conrad,” she murmured. “Of course.”

“What happened here, Solace?” I asked, sheathing my sword and kneeling to see her better.

She was a mess. Her legs were bent at unnatural angles, clearly broken. A patch of drying, black blood marred the front of the red dress she wore, right over her heart. The fabric sank inward, where I could only assume someone had struck her with enough force to pulverise the bones and organs beneath. But I had no idea what would be strong enough to do that to a vamp.

“Can I assume this is the fabled Nicholas Murray you’ve brought with you?” Her words were ragged, but she forced her head up anyway. “My, how you’ve changed, Erin.”

“What happened?” Nicholas repeated, quiet menace in his voice as he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her upright so that her legs dangled uselessly, her toes brushing the dirt. She choked.

“Nicholas don’t—” I put out a hand to stop him, but he’d already released her. She slumped to the ground, trying to pull herself into a sitting position.

“She did,” she dragged her gaze to me, her dark eyes accusing. “You happened.”

Nicholas turned to me, about to speak.

“I didn’t do this—” I began.

“Not you directly, you idiot.” She coughed again, her words tumbling into each other. “You asked too many questions. Killed April and Will.”

“They were nobodies,” I argued. “Feeding off a kid they’d found—” I broke off, disgusted at the memory and what had become of the girl.

“You were seen ,” Solace hissed, glaring at me. “Talking to them. They were working for him ,” she swallowed. I’d never seen her this nervous. “I didn’t know, I swear I didn’t. I thought it was Murray, like you.”

“They were working with the killers ?” I spoke quickly, worried she might fall unconscious. It didn’t look like she’d hold out much longer, and I needed answers. “Have you got a name, Solace?”

“Help me, and I’ll tell you what I know. You owe me.” She fixed me with that knowing look I hated, even through the pain. We both knew I had no choice.

“I’ll be back in a second,” Nicholas whispered, turning to me. “Dinnae do anythin’ rash while I’m gone.” Before I could blink, he’d flit, disappearing in an instant as only a vampire could.

Solace shifted, coughing again. What little colour she’d had was almost gone, and for all the world she could have been another dying teenage girl. If it hadn’t been for the goosebumps all over my skin, I’d have mistaken her for just that. The arrogance of the Solace I knew was gone, though the sly bargaining wasn’t.

“He’s pretty,” Solace slurred, eyes closing. “I get it.”

I fixed my gaze on the blood-slicked floor. The last thing I needed was Solace reading anything else off me.

Nicholas appeared beside me again and I relaxed, despite how unsettling it was when he moved that way. In his hands were three unmarked pouches of blood. He bit into the corner of one, tearing a small hole which he held to Solace’s mouth. She gulped down the liquid noisily, taking it from him. To her credit, she didn’t spill a drop.

“You’ll have more when we’re satisfied you’re speakin’ the truth,” he said frankly, stepping back from her.

“Why would I lie?” she replied. Her tongue flicked over her teeth, seeking every morsel.

“Tell us everything. From the beginning,” I told her, watching as her face regained some warmth.

Solace dragged her broken legs around in front of her before answering, already stronger than she’d been minutes ago. I winced as she eased up her dress and pushed the exposed bone of her left femur back into place, where it had been snapped in two.

“Like I said, this is all because of you,” she croaked, waving a hand at the room. “All I knew was there was a new power in the city, and more of us were dying than usual. Which is what I told you when you came asking, since I clean up enough damn bodies for you.” She pushed her tongue into her cheek, her jaw working. “Turned out my people weren’t as loyal as I’d hoped. April and Will were taking their orders elsewhere, using my organisation as a cover.”

“Organisation?” I scoffed. “Is that what you think this is?”

Solace threw me a dirty look. “Regardless. My guys got it back to me they’d seen you with him ,” she indicated Nicholas without looking at him. “I decided not to worry about it. I figured you’d have killed him by now, though from the energy I’m sensing it looks more like it’s going the other way,” she paused. “Anyway. The deaths didn’t stop. The bodies started to pile up, and I had to start digging.”

“What do you mean?” Nicholas asked.

“Haven’t you noticed what’s been going on lately?” She laughed half-heartedly. “I suppose only the redheads matter to you, right?”

Nicholas snarled low in his throat, the threat clear. I ignored him, thinking.

I normally made it my business to keep track of the death toll in the city – Tom and I had set up a program that pulled information from local hospital databases and collated it so we could investigate anything unusual; locate hotspots and such. I had to admit; I hadn’t checked it in weeks. But Solace had said vamps were dying, too.

“They’ve been feeding,” I said flatly, understanding. “Not just on the ones we know about.”

“Whoever this is, there’s more to it than just a frame job,” Solace addressed Nicholas. “They’re killing three and four times a week. And they’re not hiding the evidence, either. It got to looking too suspicious for my liking, so I had some people investigate. They didn’t come back.”

“But what has this got to do with… April and Will?” I wasn’t a fan of humanising scum like that with nice, normal names.

“They’ve been getting information from them, from all my people. About you two and Wyatt. From what I can tell, they’ve been listening in from the empty place next door to your shop, tracking when Chowdhury’s online – you name it, they know it. And now they’ve got everything I had, too.” She stopped speaking to cough up blood for a minute, before continuing. “Either the two guys I sent are dead, or they were working for him as well. It doesn’t matter. Seems like he decided I’d gone too far. A woman came by this morning. Half of us were sleeping, a few guards keeping an eye out…”

“One woman did all this?” How strong was she?

“I think so. I thought it was Wyatt at first, but the vibes were all wrong. She wasn’t as old, but she was… hungry. Crazy with it.”

“She fed on them?” Disgust laced Nicholas’s tone.

“I’ve been losing people for weeks,” she coughed. “And not just killed, either – drained. The woman who did this… she walked in here in broad daylight. No one should be able to do that. She’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever come into contact with.” She took Nicholas in. “So far.”

Her eyes lingered on the other pouches Nicholas still held, and he handed one over without speaking. Solace tore it open, swallowing loudly.

My hand twitched for my sword hilt. A vampire that could walk in daylight and take down an entire nest single-handedly? Everything I thought I knew about hunting them – about their limitations – was so far beyond inadequate it was actually almost funny. Even Nicholas’s presence beside me couldn’t reassure me. I shuddered, though it wasn’t the cold that was the problem – my blood was on fucking fire .

“It’s taboo. It’s… it’s no done,” Nicholas murmured as Solace discarded the second pouch. “You’re sure this was one woman?”

“Yes,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I trust my senses.”

Unfortunately, I trusted her senses, too.

“What does it mean?” I asked.

“That our enemies are more dangerous than we kent, but there’s a limit to their spyin’, at least.” He stood, throwing the last pouch at Solace and pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his coat as he walked away.

“You’re not going already?” Solace protested, groping for the blood. “You can’t leave me like this!”

I glanced back at her with a shrug as I pulled the door closed. “You’ll live.”