Hailey Edwards's Blog, page 2

Badge of Honor Now Available!

NOW AVAILABLE!

Hadley has worked her butt off to earn her title as Potentate of Atlanta. All that’s left for her is the gauntlet. A show of prowess for the citizens of Atlanta. A taste of what their new POA can do. She’s ready to dazzle them and bring home the prize.

Until an old friend gets kidnapped. The price of his freedom? Her flunking the gauntlet.
Either she gives up on her dream or her friend.

For Hadley, there’s only one choice.

You know you wanna get spooky with us.

Click the link above to join my Mighty Network.

Three First in Series Freebies!

March 4th-8th

US Only.

Dog with a Bone (Black Dog)amzn.com/B00O99U15C

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How to Save an Undead Life (The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy)amzn.com/B074YDTNBS

UPDATE! The Redemption of Boaz Pritchard

I’ve debated how to handle releasing Redemption. It was a blog serial, so I would like everyone to have free access to how the story ends. But it’s also a big investment for me (editing and cover art and time).

So, I’ve decided to make the complete serial (now a chunky novella!) free for one week. Then it’s going up on Amazon and in KU.

If I earn back my investment, I would be open to more Addie and Cass (and Boaz) adventures.

If I don’t, then I’m glad I got to share this bit of backstory that’s been rattling around in my head for a while now.

https://claims.prolificworks.com/free...

THRICE CURSED ANNOUNCEMENT!

I’ve received a lot of worried emails, DMs, tweets, and posts about the cancellation notice Amazon sent out today for Thrice Cursed. I would like to address that here, so you guys understand what has happened and what will happen.

I heard back from my developmental editor on Thrice Cursed last week. She asked me to do a full-scale revision on the book, which means I’ll be rewriting it from the ground up over the next few months.

That also meant I had to cancel the pre-order.

There weren’t a lot of them, but I still hate to disappoint you guys.

I’ve worked with my dev editor for ten years (no, eleven years now!), and when she tells me a book isn’t there yet, I listen. She’s proven to me time and again that her advice is golden.

Actually, the last time she and I had this chat was about the original version of How to Save an Undead Life.

Here’s hoping Thrice Cursed will come back as strong from its facelift as that one. But maybe not require two years to get there like Grier and Linus, who took their sweet time.

Update on the Blog Serial

Our family suffered a great loss last month with the death of our fourteen year old dachshund, Cookie. She was our first family pet, and her passing was sudden.

I’m easing my workload for now, while I grieve the girl who earned the nickname “Boss” ten times over. That means I’ll be breaking from the blog serial until January.

Right now, my heart isn’t in it. It’s just too broken.
Thank you for understanding.

Thirteen

Boaz had earned a reputation for haring off alone after leads, but Honey was still pissed to arrive at the Whitaker place to find it vacant. He knew this because she called him seconds after he left to ream him out over wasting her time. She wasn’t mollified when he invited her, and her ride-a-longs, to join them. But she respected his gut enough not to press the issue. For now.

“Your friend Honey…” Cass caught his eye in the rear-view mirror and wetted her lips. “She’s single?”

“Yes.” She wouldn’t have come onto him otherwise. “Fair warning, she’s straight.”

“Mmm.” Cass returned her attention to the road. “She sounds absolutely delicious.”

Addie had chosen to ride in the cramped backseat with him while Cass drove her matchbox-sized sports car. It didn’t have to mean anything, but it made his chest go tight when he glanced over at her. She was protecting him. He was the Elite sentinel, and she was worried he might get hurt going out on what amounted to a routine call for her and Cass.

Aside from Grier, no woman had ever worried about him or his ability to handle himself.

There were parallels there, yeah, and no. He wasn’t about to study them too hard. Not now.

That would come later, during the long days when his restless mind ought to be sleeping but couldn’t shut down. Guilt was a hell of a catalyst for insomnia, and he had been spending too much time watching sunrises lately.

“Vicious Cycle on South Orange Avenue or the Third Saturday Market on Walnut Street,” she said, her fingers gliding across a tablet screen. “That’s where I’m placing my bets.”

“Ari Willis,” Cass said, “would rather die than be caught dead at either of those places.”

“Obviously not,” Addie countered. “Or else she wouldn’t have been spotted there.”

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

“Now, Cass.” Addie clucked her tongue. “This is a job. It’s not personal. Let’s keep it professional.”

“Says the woman with her love muffin sitting on the rack beside her.”

Addie waited a beat then asked, “You set up a rack joke but didn’t follow through?”

Boaz wisely kept his mouth shut and his eyes on his hands where he folded them in his lap.

“I’m off my game,” she admitted. “I can’t believe Ari rabbited.”

“Ari was a member of Cass’s clan until about five years ago,” Addie explained to Boaz. “She switched to Clan Willis when she mated one of the founding members’ descendants.”

“Social-climbing hussy,” Cass said fondly. “She was a remarkable woman before Demaryius got his claws in her. Then she faded a bit, like a rose pressed between the pages of a book for safe keeping.”

“Cass and Ari dated.” Addie caught his eye. “For about a decade.”

“I wasn’t opposed to being climbed,” Cass lamented. “The social aspect is what split us apart. I came from nothing. I was used to being invisible. She came from a rich and influential human family. She was overlooked one too many times for her pride to bear it.” She shook her head. “She moved out one night while I was at work. The next time I heard from her, she was sending me an invitation to her mating ceremony.”

“I’m sorry, Cass.” Boaz dipped his chin. “We’ll do our best to find her and retrieve her safely.”

The vampire mashed her lips together and nodded, her attention hyper focused on the road.

“Goddess,” Addie cursed, “like this could get any worse.”

Cass glanced back at Addie on reflex. “What’s wrong?”

“Jean Patel is in town.”

Jean Patel, of Clan Patel, was not the sort of vampire anyone with an ounce of common sense wanted to meet in a dark alley. He was a bruiser with a vigilante strike a mile wide, a wet works man for any clan who could afford his fees.

Patel wasn’t a bounty hunter. He was a mercenary. His loyalty, morals, and experience were all for sale.

Ari’s defection must have been the last straw for her wounded clan’s pride. “Clan Willis hired him?”

Curling her lip, Addie scanned the information on her tablet. “Looks that way.”

“Why now?” Boaz turned this latest development over in his head. “Why call in the big guns now?”

“They’ve taken several hits to their membership roster,” Addie said, “but they can’t afford to let this one stand. Ari isn’t a victim. She’s a coward. She’s running scared. That makes her mate and her clan look weak. Weak clans don’t last long. They’re going to haul her back into the fold, kicking and screaming if need be.”

“I can’t blame them for outsourcing, really.” An elegant shrug lifted Cass’s shoulders. “They’ve paid us a lot of money for corpses lately.”

Addie grunted in agreement, her attention already back on a stream of information.

“You’re staring.” Without glancing up, she managed to catch his attention. “Do I have a bat in the cave?”

“That’s disgusting.” Cass huffed from the front. “And an insult to vampires everywhere.”

“It’s a booger.” Addie rolled her eyes. “Even vampires have them, so get over it.”

“You’re breaking my brain,” Boaz admitted. “I had this idea of how our lives would be, but this—you—are nothing like how I pictured.”

Lowering the tablet, she searched his face. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Good.” He couldn’t hide his smile. “You’re fascinating as hell, Addie.”

A flush warmed her cheeks, and he almost brushed his fingertips across them, but he made a fist on his lap instead.

“Left for the bike shop,” Cass interrupted. “Right for the market.”

Addie hesitated, but not for long. “Right.”

“Her gut is never wrong.” Cass sounded proud. “She would have made a fantastic vampire.”

Necromancers couldn’t be resuscitated. Only humans could be awakened as vampires. Otherwise, Boaz had the feeling Addie would have woken up sporting fangs one night and murdered Cass for stepping way, way, way over the line.

“Patel has been spotted in both locations within the last twelve hours.” Addie laughed softly. “I’m not sure eenie, meenie, minie, moe counts as infallible instinct.”

“Patel?” Leaning back to watch Addie work, Boaz asked, “We’re hunting Ari, right?”

“We’re letting him do the legwork.” She tapped the screen. “He’s got six vampires with him, and they’ve cleared all the usual places. That saves us time. The fact he’s still being spotted around town means he’s had no luck finding her.”

“Why circle back?” He scratched his head. “You said he’s already hit the bike store and the market.”

“There are only so many places for a high-profile vampire to go in town if she doesn’t want to be found.” Addie glanced at him. “We’ve got the homefield advantage, but Patel is a pro. He’ll ferret them out quickly.”

“What’s keeping her in town?”

“If she leaves, she’s out. No takebacks. She’s already walking a thin line, but she could still spin it at this point and save face. If she crosses the line, she’ll be considered a rogue. No home, no allies, no resources. We need to find her and return her to her clan before that happens, or else she’ll suicide. They always do.”

“Not always,” Cass murmured. “There’s a five percent chance she’ll survive on her own or until she can join another clan.”

A frown tugged on the edges of Addie’s mouth. “Will she swallow her pride and go back to Javier?”

“I…don’t know.”

“Only five percent?” Boaz scowled at the grim statistic. “The brass has never shared that number with us.”

Otherwise, he might have tried harder to rehome vampires caught in the crosshairs of their operations instead of assuming it was better to cut them loose to find their own way.

“Vampires might stare down their noses at wargs for being pack animals, but they’re not the lone predators they would have us believe. Most are old, bored, and pampered. Their afterlives are about prestige, glamor, and indulgence.”

“You make them sound like a race of undead one-percenters.”

“Do you know how much it costs to be resuscitated?” Addie snorted. “You have to be filthy rich to afford a necromancer. That carries over into the next life. Vampires are spoiled, pampered, and coddled.”

“Not everyone buys their way in.” Cass flicked her gaze up to meet his in the rear-view mirror. “Some of us are chosen for other attributes.” Her voice softened. “Some aren’t given a choice at all.”

As much as Boaz wished the issue was one he could hang on necromancers of the past, it was still a common practice. Vampires wanted immortal companions, and consent wasn’t high on their list of qualifiers. As long as the vampires could pay, High Society necromancers simply didn’t care.

“We had good timing.” Addie smiled. “The party is in full swing.”

“The harvest market,” Cass murmured with approval. “I had forgotten that was tonight.”

“There’s a harvest market?” Boaz glanced out his window and whistled. “That’s impressive.”

More than anything, it reminded him of a fair, but there were craft vendors in addition to the games, rides, and abundance of food vendors.

“Humans are in the mix,” Addie warned. “It’s a fall thing. There’s usually a…” she squinted against the night then pointed out behind the farthest rows of stalls, “…bonfire.”

“You two eat while we’re here. Mingle.” Cass turned into the lot and found a parking spot far enough away to prevent us from getting blocked in. “Couples are less conspicuous.”

“What will you be doing?” Addie leaned forward. “You can’t blend dressed like that.”

Boaz was starting to think every garment in Cass’s closet was leather, skintight, and missing a few yards of fabric.

“Don’t fret.” Cass awarded her a feline smile. “I intend to make some calls while you two clear the area.”

Addie frowned at her. “Gustav?”

“He told us Patel is in town.” She hummed. “Odds are he told Patel we’re on the case too.”

“Why would he do that?” Boaz rumbled. “That paints a target on your backs.”

Rival bounty hunters had been known to get aggressive toward their competition when the stakes were high.

“Gustav believes a little competition is good for the soul,” Cass said dryly. “He doesn’t play favorites. He does, however, hedge his bets.”

“How does he win if Patel collects the bounty?” Boaz wondered. “Wouldn’t he keep that to split with his team?”

“He’ll owe Gustav a cut since they’re operating in his territory. Not as big as what we would pay him, since we work for him, but a sizeable amount.” Boaz continued to stare at her until Cass sighed and explained, “All bounties must be awarded through a licensed broker. Patel isn’t one. He depends on brokers in whatever area he’s hired in to receive and disburse funds for him. Gustav is a rarity. He’s licensed in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. That means he gets regular business from guys like Patel, who freelance in a region rather than belong to a specific state or county agency.”

“Ari needs to make contact with her allies.” Addie stared through the windshield. “She needs to know the situation with her mate, and she’ll want to know what measures have been taken to secure her. She’ll have friends here. Meeting in public, with potential human collateral damage, is the safest she’s going to be, and she knows it.”

“All right.” Boaz didn’t like how the pieces fit, but they knew Ari. He didn’t. “Let’s do this.”

“I’ll give you an hour,” Cass cut in. “Then we need to move on.”

“Okay.” Addie got out then turned back to him. “Get moving.” She snapped her fingers. “I smell funnel cakes.”

Boaz let himself out his door, breathed in the night air, perfumed with fried foods and grilled meats, and his stomach rumbled in response. “You come to these often?”

“Uh, no. I avoid them like the plague.” She shrugged. “Unless I really, really need a funnel cake.”

“Does that happen often?”

“More often than I would like to admit.” She patted her stomach. “They’re so doughy and sugary and greasy. I shouldn’t want them, I know they’re bad for me, but how can I resist?”

“Resistance is overrated.” He cut her a look. “Eat the funnel cake.”

“I suppose I could always start dieting for the wedding after tonight.”

“I hate to point out the obvious,” he drawled, “but your dress will be white, right?”

“It’s tradition,” she agreed, sounding amused. “So probably.”

“Then I don’t see the problem. Let’s have funnel cake at the wedding. White dress, white sugar. Who will ever know?”

Surprised laughter shot out of her. “I like how you think.”

“I like you, Addie. Let’s try to keep it real between us, okay?”

“Done.” She flashed him a bright smile. “Real sounds good.”

Are you going to tell her about Grier?

Are you going to explain why your heart’s currently unavailable?

Are you going to be honest to pay her back for coming clean with you?

Once he broke the news of his engagement to Grier, he had no reason to tell Addie about her. Grier would cut him out of her heart, out of her life. That was the right thing for her to do, the smart thing. She deserved better. She always had, and he had been a fool to think he could live up to her expectations.

Bawk. Bawk. Bawk.

Hell, yes, he was a chicken.

Give him a bucket of paint and a brush, and he would swipe the yellow line down his own back.

Things with Addie were good. Far better than he had any right to expect. He didn’t want to start their relationship with the specter of Grier between them. Not when she was already haunting him.

“How do you feel about turkey legs and roasted corn on a stick for dinner?” Addie cut through the crowd, nodding here and there to folks she knew. “That will keep us mobile while we perform our recon.”

“I am the least picky eater you’re ever going to find. You choose. Whatever you want. My treat.” Her smile faltered, and he could have kicked himself. “That’s not a dig at your financial situation.”

“I know.” She kept walking. “I’m sensitive about it, so I tend to read more into things than is there.”

“I’ll let you buy me dinner, if you prefer.”

Addie glanced over at him then, and her smile was gorgeous. “I’d like that.”

They approached one of the fair food style trucks and got in line. Boaz didn’t expect much in the way of gossip, but there were always those among the preternatural set who didn’t care who overheard what. They figured, rightly, humans didn’t see what they didn’t want to see or hear what they didn’t want to hear. Out of context, most of their conversations came across as normal-ish.

The prickle of energy dancing across his skin informed him they were vampires, which perked his ears.

“We moved here to get away from danger,” a woman was saying. “This place is the opposite of safe.”

“The past few years have been quiet,” the man argued. “This too shall pass.”

“The children…” She stared off in the distance. “We’re taking a risk by bringing them here.”

“That’s why we’re going to stay, embarrass them in front of their friends, and make sure they come home safe.” He took her hand. “Peace, Gertie. Our little ones are protected.”

“Twyla’s parents thought so too,” she said softly, fear bright in her eyes.

The man pulled her into his arms, and they stayed like that until it was their turn to order.

“Clan Willis,” Addie said when they were out of hearing range. “I recognize them.”

“How many fosters do they have?”

“The numbers are a closely guarded secret, but they adopt more often than most clans.”

“I wonder why that is.”

“I don’t know. Cass doesn’t either. I asked her once.”

“I doubt it has anything to do with this case, but it is curious.”

He made a mental note to have the local sentinels assess the situation. Adoption of human children wasn’t a crime, but some of the things vampires got up to with the ones they collected kept him up at night after working particularly disturbing cases.

A ripple moved through the crowd, an unconscious parting of the sea of humans, and chills blasted up Boaz’s spine as four vampires prowled the stalls filled with arts and crafts.

“Patel is here.” Addie sucked in a breath. “This is—”

“Boaz Pritchard,” Patel barked. “What are you doing in Bumfuck, Florida?”

“You know him?” Addie hissed. “Why didn’t you mention that?”

“We’ve met,” Boaz admitted. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“Next time,” she grumbled, “I expect a heads-up.”

He met a lot of unsavory characters in his line of work, and the events surrounding those meetings were often confidential. There was no guarantee he could tell her all of what he knew under any given circumstances. That included who he knew.

The nature of her job must require similar restrictions. They would have to sit down after this and come up with a plan for what was and wasn’t fair game. It would require them both to be willing to trust, which wouldn’t come easy for either of them.

This relationship stuff was not for the fainthearted. No wonder he had avoided it for so long.

“I came to visit my fiancée.” Boaz shook Patel’s hand. “What brings you to town?”

“This isn’t a town. This is a speedbump between Jacksonville and Gainesville that someone decided to decorate with houses.” He cut his gaze toward Addie then shook his head. “Figures you would find your ideal woman out here in the sticks. You had to search every hole in the ground to find someone who hasn’t heard about your reputation.”

The dig shouldn’t have hurt. Not when it was partly the truth. But it did.

“Oh, I’ve heard the gossip.” Addie took Boaz’s hand in her much smaller one. “I just don’t care.”

Boaz whipped his head toward her, his palm slick with sweat as he wondered what gossip she had heard, if Grier’s name had been mentioned, how he was going to fix this, a million other things, but Patel had much the same reaction. Except in his case, it was as if he were surprised to remember Addie was there, let alone that she would dare speak to him.

“You’re pretty enough.” Patel assessed her with a cold sweep of his gaze. “You don’t have much sense if you don’t care about the reputation of the man you’re going to marry. Love may be blind, but you can’t afford to be. Unless you’re rich and powerful. No offense, but you don’t strike me as either.”

“Are you here for a purpose,” Boaz cut in, his jaw grinding at the insult, “or are you just in town to dispense romantic advice?”

“Work.” Patel dismissed Addie, and Boaz breathed easier for it. He had labeled her as chattel and dismissed her as being of any importance, let alone his competition. “You know how it is.” His canines were too defined. “I go where I’m needed.” He glanced at his phone, and his smile widened. “See you around.”

“Yeah.” Boaz watched him go. “I’ve got a feeling you will.”

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Twelve

I could have strangled Cass for putting me in this position, but she was already dead, and she probably would have enjoyed it anyway. There was nothing left but for me to be honest with Boaz and hope he could still see his way to marrying me after I was done.

Comfortable with the role of interrogator, Boaz started me off easy. “How did this begin?”

It was as good a prompt as any, I suppose. “I needed the money.”

“Maybe I should have asked this first.” His brow furrowed. “How did you meet Cass?”

“She was in line behind me at the grocery store. I was short a couple of dollars, and she offered to let me work them off in very naked and very creative ways.” I smiled at the memory of our first meeting. “I thanked her, put back a box of K-cups, and paid my bill.”

“What was a vampire doing in a grocery store?”

“Stalking her prey.” I realized how that sounded and amended it. “A bounty, I mean. Not food.”

Though she had picked up dinner while she was out and brought him home with her.

“How did you go from sexual proposition to friends to coworkers?”

“We didn’t.” I rubbed my hands up my arms. “I went from stranger to employee to coworker to friend.” A smidgen embarrassed, I explained, “She came up to me in the parking lot and offered me a job cleaning her house a few days a week as an apology.”

Elbows on the table, Boaz leaned in closer. “Did you take it?”

Maybe he had expected me to play hard to get, or to bite my nails over the decision, but I had needed the money too badly to experience more than gratitude. “Yeah. I did.”

“How did you go from maid to bounty hunter?”

“I figured out what Cass did for a living pretty quickly. She wasn’t shy about it.” The leather catsuits she wore had me questioning if there was an underground BDSM scene in town before she clarified the outfits were reinforced to protect her from teeth and claws. The low cuts, however, were bait for her trap. “She answered all my questions, which was probably a mistake on her part. I found it fascinating, so I was always pestering her for details. Finally, she told me if I was so interested, I ought to come along with her.” I grinned. “She didn’t expect me to agree.”

Chin in palm, he absorbed my every word with very un-Elite interest. “And you…liked it?”

“I love my job.” I hadn’t mean to say so with such conviction, but there you go. The odds of Boaz allowing me to continue moonlighting were none to none, but a girl could dream. “It’s interesting, and it pays well. Partnering with Cass means we split the bounties fifty-fifty, so less than if I went out on my own, but she keeps me on my toes.”

“And vampire reflexes come in handy,” Cass said dryly from her spot on the stairs. “Undead strength helps too.”

Both points were valid, but I could have taken more low risk bounties solo and cashed in too. But where would the fun be in that? Surveillance was as dull as dishwater. Caffeine by the bucketful and a friend to poke you when you started drooping was the best way to survive those long hours of staring until your vision blurred.

“She’s gropey at the best of times and tends to show her love through sexual harassment, but she really is my best friend.” I felt the heat ignite in my cheeks when I tacked on, “And there’s never been anything sexual between us. Except for the harassment, which I’ve already mentioned.”

“Addie.” He placed his warm hand over mine. “Your sexual history up to this point is your business.”

“That is such a player move,” Cass scoffed, her voice louder—or closer. “He’s forgiving your sexual history right out of the gate so that you have to pardon him too.”

A faint pink tinged his ears until they must have burned, and he slid his hand off mine onto the table.

“I didn’t hear that,” I said to him, leaning down to hook his gaze. “Did you?”

A slow grin spread across his face when he saw I was earnest. “Nope.”

“I’m willing to extend you the same courtesy,” I said to him over Cass’s loud groan. “The past has no place in our future.”

A flicker of emotion lit up his eyes. I was scared to label it hope. I was too afraid I might be projecting.

“I’m trying to get your career choice to make sense, but you blasted the lid off the box I put you in.” He retreated back to the comfort of discussing me, safe from his earlier pesky show of emotion. “I didn’t see you as the bounty hunting type.”

“I corrupted her,” came from the hall, definitely closer, but we both ignored Cass.

“I wasn’t until I met Cass.” I glanced around the old house I had held together alone for so long. “I didn’t have many choices, and none of them were great.” I settled my gaze on him. “She changed my life for the better. She changed me for the better.”

The time I spent with Hadley, especially there at the end, left me with no free time for friends or social engagements. I hadn’t grown as I heard new ideas or changed as I viewed different perspectives. I had been stagnant until Cass came along and set my still waters rippling with a touch of her hand. An inappropriate touch, but still.

Boaz’s gaze tagged the mug by the sink, the one that smelled like bourbon even from across the room. “I’m guessing your dad doesn’t know?”

“No one knows.” I itched to rinse out the mug, but this conversation was about honesty, and there was no hiding Dad’s deteriorating condition. “Cass is the face of our team to protect my reputation.”

Digesting this, he nodded, clearly turning the information over in his head. “Your presence at the crime scenes were all bounty-related?”

“Yes.” I flatted my palm on the table. “We collected, or we will, at all three.”

Mouth gone tight, he worked his jaw. “I don’t know if I can keep your name out of this.”

“Yeah.” The blood drained from my face is a cold rush. “I figured.”

“I’ll throw as much of it on Cass as I can,” he promised. “I’ll make her the point of contact in my report.”

“But the kiss is going to make it a hard sell.” I exhaled. “They’ll know I’m involved in some way.”

Of all the times for Cass to go exhibitionist, she had to choose an active crime scene to plant one on me.

“It’s going to be okay.” He covered my hand with his, and I wondered if he thought that was why I had left it there. Maybe it had been. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We’ll figure this out.”

I hated the tremble in my tone. “We?”

“There are a lot of things in my past I’m not proud of, Addie, and I didn’t do them for the noble reasons you did.” He linked our fingers in a show of solidarity. “I’m still in this, if you are.”

“Are you sure?” I would rather have it out now than get waylaid later. “What if I’m exposed?”

“Then my sister will still get a second chance at life. She deserves it. Even if it’s as the sibling of a notorious bounty huntress.” One corner of his mouth twitched. “You and I will figure out the rest as we go.”

“Your family would gain nothing.” I had no control over my mouth, apparently. That or I was pathetically insecure. I could guess which, but I hoped he couldn’t tell. “Are you okay with that?”

“I care more about my sister than the prestige.” He glanced away from me. “I would have liked to restore the family name for my little brother’s sake, but he loves Amelie too. He’ll understand, when he’s older. I’ll make sure of it. We can weather the storm together, as a family.”

It hit me then, that the only person not getting a thing out of this bargain was Boaz himself. He was protecting his sister, safeguarding the future for his brother, and attempting to mitigate the scandal for his family. He was stretching himself thin to do it, but he was willing to sacrifice himself to make it work.

I could learn to love someone like that.

One day.

Maybe.

“We’ve been a step behind the killer this whole time.” I got chills thinking about it. “How do we get ahead of them?”

The sudden mulish jut of Boaz’s chin warned me he was about to caution me against further involvement, but he must have realized the damage had been done. He shut his eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and opened them with a new calm. “I’m not sure.”

A stupid warmth spilled through me chest at his reluctant acceptance of my offer to help him.

“We’ve beat the sentinels to the punch each time,” Cass said from the doorway. “We’re useful to you.”

“He didn’t say no,” I pointed out to her.

“But he’s weighing our skills against his instinctive dislike of putting those he cares for in harm’s way.”

Those he cares for made that warmth spread, right into my cheeks, like I belonged in the high school we just left.

“You might as well join us, you creeper.” I cast an apologetic glance at Boaz. “I would say she’s usually not this bad, but it would be a lie. Believe it or not, this is Cass on exceptionally good behavior.”

“I can believe it,” he said with a chuckle. “She’s definitely unique. I’ve never met a vampire like her.”

“Why, thank you.” Cass sashayed in to join us. “I consider myself one of a kind, but it never ceases to please me to have my hubris justified.” She reclaimed her seat beside me. “Have I gotten you in very much trouble?”

For such a bold and confident personality, Cass was shockingly insecure when it came to the relationships that mattered. That’s why she tried to sex away conflicts before they became problems. She figured if she made someone feel good enough, they would stick around as long as she kept making them feel good. That I didn’t trade her orgasms for friendship both puzzled and pleased her, but it made for awkward times, like now, when she would rather jump my bones than hear I was mad at her.

“We knew we’d slip up eventually.” I just never figured Boaz would be the one to catch us. “It’s okay.”

“I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” I struggled not to let her off the hook too easily. It set a bad precedent for the naughty vampire’s already questionable behavior. “You knew what you were doing was wrong, and you did it anyway.”

“You know how I get.” She poked out her bottom lip. “That’s no excuse, but I didn’t mean to ruin us.”

“I do know.” Leaning over, I rested my head on her shoulder. “You’re very much you, and it’s one of the things I admire most about you.”

Her cool fingers brushed the hair falling into my face behind my shoulder. “Are we still…friends?”

“Of course we are,” I assured her. “I find your lack of filters and utter disregard for personal space endearing.”

Boaz afforded us as much privacy as he could with us having a conversation across the table from him. I could tell he was curious about our relationship. Not in a jealous way, but as if he was pegging our dynamic and how he might fit in.

Typically, a necromancer only had contact with vampires they had resuscitated. Even that was limited. Low Society necromancers didn’t have the juice to bring humans back to life, so there was no reason for them to interact with vampires socially. Cass and I were definitely an odd couple in that respect. I was lucky her master, Javier, found me amusing. And profitable. Otherwise, he could have put his foot down and prevented Cass from seeing me, let alone working with me, again. 

Boaz, as my future husband, held the same power since I was marrying into his family and dependent upon him to provide for my dad and keep the house where I grew up from crumbling.

“Have you made your decision?” Cass eyed him with equal curiosity. “Will you work with us, or get out of our way?”

“I’m not going to tell you two how to handle your business when I have my hands full making bad decisions for myself.” He twitched a smile at me. “You’re a capable woman, Addie. I trust you to know your limits, and hers.”

“How progressive,” Cass demurred. “I expected more chest-beating à la Tarzan.”

“I’ve tried that with women,” he confessed, his tone thoughtful. “It didn’t end well.” He shrugged. “I thought I would try something new.”

“He can learn.” Cass tipped her chin toward him. “Perhaps you chose better than I first thought.”

Given how low she had ranked him, she wasn’t saying much, but I appreciated her effort to be nice.

“I would, however, appreciate it if you kept me abreast of new developments.” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “I’ll do my best to respect your independence, but I’ll still worry.”

“I can respect that.” I held up a finger. “If you agree to do the same.”

“I can do that.” He stuck out his arm. “Partners?”

“No.” Cass swatted his wrist. “She’s my partner, and you can’t have her.”

I stifled a snort at her territorial display, which earned me a hard stare from Cass and a smile from Boaz.

“Poor choice of words,” he amended, respecting my overprotective best friend’s claim on me. “How about we all agree to keep in touch with one another and not sweat the labels?”

“Works for me.” I regretted, a little bit, not having the excuse to hold his hand again. “Cass?”

“I won’t have to stay in touch,” she said loftily, “because I’m not leaving your side.”

A buzzing sound filled the room, and Boaz reached for his phone. “Pritchard.”

The slight tilt of Cass’s head confirmed she would hear every word and report to me later.

Holding up a finger, at her or me or both of us, Boaz mashed the speaker button and set his phone on the table between us. “Go ahead.”

“Angelo Willis didn’t make it,” said a woman’s smoky voice. “I just got the official word.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Clan Willis is reeling from the loss of two members.” She exhaled. “Things are about to get ugly.”

A subtler buzz drew my eye to Cass, who frowned at her phone. I raised my eyebrows in question, but she shook her head and jerked her chin toward Boaz’s cell.

“Thanks for the update, Honey.”

“No problem.” She hesitated. “I heard a rumor your lady friend might be involved.”

“Oh?” 

“I can keep it quiet for a few hours, maybe, but you’re going to have to bring her in to make a statement. Her presence at the scene, plus her relationship to you, will make the brass twitchy otherwise.”

A quiver in my gut made me sick to think how close I was to all this blowing up in my—and Dad’s—face.

“I’ll take her statement.” He flicked his gaze up to mine. “But I want her name redacted.”

“That’s not going to fly, and you know it. You’re hardly impartial.”

“Then you come take the statement.” He frowned at the phone. “You’re only, what, ten minutes out?”

“Anyone who knows us knows I’m hardly impartial where you’re concerned either.”

Fingers twitching like he wanted to mute the call, Boaz made a fist to steady them. “How about Parker?”

“I’ll see what I can do. If he’ll come, I can bring Abernathy and park him in the car. They’re the only two who overheard Ms. Nunez, as far as I know. If we can make Parker happy, he can sit on Abernathy.”

“All right.”

The call ended, and Boaz found plenty of places to look that weren’t at me.

Cass, of course, waded into the breach. “Honey?”

“Jessica Honeywell.”

“And you two were an item?”

“For about a week, a few years back.”

“And you trust this fling to handle Addie like a dirty little secret?”

Boaz looked ready to spit nails at her tone, but he held his temper in check despite her poking at him.

“Honey is good people,” he said. “She’s also the lead on this case. We sell her on Addie’s innocence, and the sentinels will back off. They might take a harder look at you—hell, even me—in light of these new points of connection, but I can take it. Can you?”

Anger was an emotion Cass respected. It was honest, she always said. Not always deserved, but still. 

“Selling Addie’s innocence?” Cass wet her lips, diffusing the tension. “That sounds downright lascivious.”

“That’s…not what I said.” Boaz cast her a dry glance, willing to play along. “Bad vampire.”

Maybe they wouldn’t kill each other after all. It would definitely make my life simpler if they got along.

“You have no idea,” she purred then reeled herself in. “We know the killer’s next victim.” 

“You do?” Boaz asked as I whipped my head toward her. “We do?”

“Well, I do.” Cass stood, phone in her hand, thumbs flying over the screen. “Get in the car, losers.” She flashed us a pointed smile. “We’re going hunting.”

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Eleven

Boaz stood over Twyla Thorn, careful to avoid the coagulating puddle of her blood, and examined the gash across her slender throat that had ended her life. Her pale eyes stretched wide, even in death, as if she had never considered the reaper might actually come for her. And keep her. To be fair, raised among vampires, she would have had no fear of her mortal life ending. Most often, vampire fosters were excited for their new lives to begin.

Twyla wouldn’t get that second chance at walking the midnight path. She wouldn’t be walking anywhere ever again.

“This makes no sense.” Honey, who had a niece in marching band, had been the first on scene. “She’s human.”

Boaz played devil’s advocate. “Fostered by vampires.”

“She wasn’t made into a statement piece either.”

“You said it.” He rolled a shoulder. “She’s human.”

“You think our hunter didn’t know?”

“Maybe didn’t know or maybe figured it was a preventative measure.”

The girl was a vampire-to-be, no bones about it. Killing her as a human was ten times easier than waiting until after she had been resuscitated. She made a much more tempting target like this. But it was a break in the pattern on both fronts.

“Killers don’t change their MO,” Honey murmured, echoing his thoughts. “I don’t like this.”

“Killers make mistakes,” he countered, but the doubts were creeping in. “Who found her?”

“You’re going to love this.” She checked her notes. “Cassandra Desmond.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” He scanned the locker room one last time. “I don’t suppose she stuck around for questioning?”

“Nope.”

Thinking of Addie and her Zumba class, he asked, “Did you notice anyone with her?”

“No.” Honey glanced around again. “You think there are two of them?”

“Killers or bounty hunters?”

“Either.” She looked back at him. “Both.”

“I’m not sure on either count.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any witnesses?”

“Yeah.” She referred back to her notes again. “A Ms. Nunez followed Cassandra to the locker room. She’s a teacher and intended to warn her off wandering the school grounds, but she saw the blood and started screaming bloody murder.”

Easy enough to guess why Cassandra had gone to the locker room. She smelled the blood. But why had she been at the school in the first place? A bounty on a runaway? Seemed likely.

Her crossing his path during the course of this investigation once was coincidence, but this made three.

Rubbing his jaw, he eyed the door. “Nunez is still here?”

“Waiting on the cleaners to arrive,” Honey confirmed. “She’ll need her memory altered a smidge.”

Spells to alter human minds and memory were illegal, not that it stopped those in power from using them for the greater good. That was the company line, anyway. Boaz had seen enough folks garroted by policy to have his doubts, but he had the good sense to keep them to himself.

“I’m going to talk to her before that happens,” he decided, knowing she would be useless afterward. “Let me know when the cleaners get here.”

“Sure thing.” Honey stood watch over the girl who no longer needed a guardian. “The witness is behind the bleachers. She was sitting on a cooler last I saw.”

Nodding his thanks, Boaz went out to meet the woman, who was cradling her middle and rocking.

“Who could have done such a thing?” She asked the sentinels posted to either side of her. “Who was she? I don’t know all the children, of course, but I didn’t recognize her. What was her name? Maybe I’ll remember that.”

Abernathy and Parker kept their eyes forward and their mouths shut, but they nodded to Boaz.

“Ms. Nunez.” Boaz turned on his good ol’ boy smile. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

The woman perked at her name and then preened a bit when she spotted him before slumping back into her hunched posture. He got the feeling both reactions were equally authentic. That she enjoyed attention, being the center of it, but not this kind, not at this cost.

“I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

Aware the cleaners were en route, he didn’t dawdle. “Do you know Cassandra Desmond?”

There was little harm in giving out names, considering what the cleaners would do to her shortly.

“No.” She shook her head. “That name’s not familiar.”

A plain vanilla human had no reason to know a vampire, but it was a small community, and folks talked. Apparently, they just didn’t talk about Cassandra. Otherwise, he had a feeling this woman would know.

Polite as you please, he pressed harder. “Did you notice anyone or anything out of place tonight?”

“There were so many kids and parents and visitors…” Her gaze went distant. “Cassandra, you said?”

“Yes.” It pained him to wait for her to finish her thought, and he nudged her. “Cassandra Desmond.”

“I bumped into a friend of mine from high school tonight,” she confided. “She was with her girlfriend, Cass.”

Dread twisted through his gut at this confirmation of his worst fears. “What’s your friend’s name?”

“Adelaide.” She stared at a spot near the concession stand. “Adelaide Whitaker.”

The sentinels to either side of Nunez slid their gazes toward Boaz, aware of his connection to Addie. This link between his fiancée and the bounty hunter with a nose for trouble would blow up in his face if he didn’t hurry and diffuse the situation before the brass got involved in the case.

“You said they were together?” He held onto his smile by sheer practice. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure.” Her busybody persona surfaced with a smirk. “They put on quite a show.”

“A show?”

“They kissed,” she whispered as if sharing a dirty secret. “In front of God and everyone.”

“Adelaide Whitaker kissed Cassandra Desmond?”

“Yes.” A blush touched Ms. Nunez’s cheeks, macabre slashes against the pallor of her complexion. “Everyone in line at the concession stand saw it.”

So much for easy solutions. Sentinels were one thing, but a mass of unidentified humans was another. There were too many witnesses to erase the deed or to ignore the spectacle. People would talk, word would get around, and the dominos of his life—so carefully lined up—would start falling. Worse, Addie would topple alongside him.

And goddess, when had that happened?

When had Addie joined the small circle of people he would do anything to protect?

About the time she offered your sister a way out of her troubles, he reminded himself. Don’t go getting sentimental. You need Addie. Otherwise, Amelie is screwed. Not many women would have offered what Addie did. You can’t afford to botch this.

Yeah.

That was why.

Goddessdamn him.

He wasn’t supposed to care. Not yet. Not after what he had done to Grier. But Addie was good. Whatever this was, she had to have an explanation for it. There had to be a reason. He just had to convince Addie to share hers with him.

“Thank you for your help.” He kept his voice calm, despite his desperation to break loose and put eyes on Addie before someone else put cuffs on her. “The EMTs will be by to check on you shortly.”

Turning his back on her protests, he made his way to his bike, careful to keep an eye out for pursuit. The others would be just as curious about what his fiancée was doing at the murder scene as him.

Dialing Addie as he mounted his bike, he held his breath waiting for her to answer, working to modulate his tone when she did. “Where are you?”

“At home.” She sounded breathless, and he couldn’t shake the mental picture of what else she and Cassandra could be doing to make her that way. “I’m cooking dinner. If you’re not here in an hour, I’ll put yours in the fridge.”

Emotion scraped his nerves raw. Jealousy or fear or both. He couldn’t tell, and that bothered him. “I’m on my way now, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll, um, get moving then.” Pots clattered in the background. “See you soon.”

After the call ended, Boaz rubbed his thumb over the screen, wondering what he was about to walk in on and how he was going to handle this conversation. He had never cheated on a girlfriend. He could say that much for himself. He might not stick around, might not get serious, but he was honest about his intentions from the start.

Just like you were honest with Grier?

Shame and disgust twisted his gut into knots, but this was bigger than potential infidelity. The Society wouldn’t look kindly upon their union if Addie was carrying on an affair—in public—prior to their wedding. Their union had to be above reproach in order for them to each get what they wanted from the other.

The drive to the old Whitaker place blurred, his thoughts twisting as much as his stomach, and he took a moment to compose himself before he dismounted Willie and entered the house.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Addie called cheerfully. “Do you like onions on your pizza?”

“Sure.” He strolled in, the smells leading him by the nose. “I’m not picky.”

Popping a slice of pepperoni in her mouth, she smiled over at him. “How do you feel about ham?”

Easy, so easy, to imagine this scene as his life. Him, coming home from work, grim and sour. Her, bustling around the house, bright and happy. How he felt about that, he couldn’t say, but he could picture it. “As long as it’s not served with green eggs, I’m good.”

Her laugh was throaty and pleasant as she began the meticulous arrangement of their homemade pizza, using a ratio of vegetables to meat known to her alone.

The domesticity of it all cut him down to the bone, and he asked, “How was Zumba?”

He got his tone wrong. He could tell by the way she froze, the slice of ham trembling in her fingers, and then dragged her gaze up to his. He had let his temper get away from him when he knew he couldn’t afford to blow it, but she was still selling him on some idyllic version of their future he knew as false.

“I didn’t go to Zumba,” she confessed, fussing with her toppings. “I went with a friend to a football game instead.”

Yep.

He had overplayed his hand, and she was lying to him with the truth.

Might as well give up the pretense then. “Do you know a vampire by the name of Cassandra Desmond?”

Palms braced on either side of the stove, she studied the pizza for design imperfections. “Yes.”

“Did you attend the game with her?”

“Yes.”

“Did you kiss her?”

Boaz made a fist at his side, but it was too late. The question was out there, and her answer shouldn’t have mattered so much. Their engagement was a business proposition, not a love match. He had no right to her heart. As long as she played by the rules, they could make it work. He had to believe that.

The alternative was too miserable to contemplate, but it would be no less than he deserved.

“No.” She exhaled hard, rustling the shredded mozzarella. “She did, however, kiss me.”

“Addie…” he began, unsure where to go from there. “We have to talk about this.”

A warning tingle coasted down his spine as the presence of a vampire registered to his senses.

“You might as well tell him the truth,” a female voice called from what sounded like the head of the stairs. “He’ll arrest you otherwise.”

That was yet to be determined, but he had to question Addie for sure. Cassandra too. He was almost glad she was here. Almost. Because he wasn’t sure how he felt finding her in his fiancée’s house, calling orders to her in the sultry voice that vampires used on their victims. From upstairs. Where the bedrooms were located.

“You might as well get your butt in here then,” Addie yelled in response. “You’re the one who blew our cover.”

A long sigh gusted down the stairs, and a striking woman with curves bound tight in leather entered the kitchen with an impressive pout aimed at Addie on her full lips.

“Boaz, this is Cass.” Addie handled the introduction. “Cass, this is Boaz.”

“I would like to get one thing straight upfront.” Cassandra—no, Cass—stopped in front of him. “Addie did not cheat on you. I took exception to how an annoyingly perky and yet condescending human was treating her and misbehaved. It was not consensual, and it was wrong.” She flicked her eyes toward Addie. “I’m sorry.”

“Cass,” she squeaked. “He wants to know about the murders, not that.”

“He’s a man, and he’s engaged to you. He wants to know.” She turned a knowing smile on him. “I bet it was eating you up inside the whole drive over, wondering if you would catch us in the act.” Her teeth were bright and sharp. “I bet you wondered, if you did, if we would ask you to join us.”

Despite her apology to Addie, it was clear Cass’s defense mechanism was seduction. He wasn’t sure she could help herself, if she was even aware she was doing it. He also wasn’t sure she cared either way, except that Addie was there to witness it. There was definitely some bond between the two women.

But then, Addie was the rare kind of person who made you want to do better, be better.

“Ignore her.” Addie snagged Cass by the wrist, hauled her to the table, and shoved her into a chair. She manhandled her more than most vampires allowed. “She lives to rile up people.”

“I’m dead,” Cass countered. “I don’t live to do anything.”

“You know what I mean.” She pointed a finger at the vampire. “You are not helping.” Turning her attention to him, she clasped her hands in front of her. “You have questions?”

“So many,” he breathed, gesturing between the women. “What is this?”

Eyes glinting, Cass wet her lips. “I’m her—”

“—friend,” Addie finished for her in a rush. “My best friend, actually.”

“Best friend,” he repeated, doubtful. “And she wants, what? To be best friends with benefits?”

“Yes,” Cass answered as Addie flushed scarlet and yelped, “No.”

Hands covering her face, Addie slumped into the chair beside Cass and braced her elbows on the table. “I hate you.”

Flicking her friend an unsure glance, Cass frowned, causing faint creases to bracket her mouth. “No, you don’t.”

“Oh, yes,” Addie mumbled. “Right about now, I do.”

The vampire appeared to wage some internal battle that resulted in her dropping the seductress act and measuring Boaz with predatory intent that lifted the fine hairs down his nape.

“I’m a bounty hunter.” Hand on Addie’s shoulder, Cass got serious. “Addie is my partner.”

A bolt of lightning striking him between the eyes would have shocked him less.

“I’m sorry.” He rubbed his forehead. “It sounded like you said Addie is a bounty hunter.”

“Oh good.” Cass smirked at him. “Then your hearing works.”

Addie slumped further, until her forehead rested on the table.

“I’m sure you’ve run my license. My employer will be happy to verify if you would like to give him a call.”

“I’ll do that.” Boaz lost his steam, and he sat at the table too. “Can Addie and I have a moment?”

“I’ll overhear your conversation,” she told him, an honest admission, “but I can go back upstairs.”

“I would appreciate the illusion,” Boaz gritted out. “I need to talk to her alone.”

The growl in his voice, yet another slip of his temper, set Cass on edge. “Addie?”

Without raising her head, she flicked her hand and muttered, “I’ll be fine.”

“Addie…” Cass bit her bottom lip as she rose. “I am sorry.”

“I know.”

“I was only playing.”

“I know that too,” she repeated herself, but lifted her head a fraction. “Now go eavesdrop like a good little vampire while the necromancers talk.”

Once they were alone, Boaz rubbed the base of his neck. “You two really are friends.”

“Yeah.”

Unable to bear her misery, he tapped her arm. “Talk to me.”

Peeking up at him, she slowly straightened in her chair. “What do you want to know?”

“All of it,” he said. “Everything.

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Ten

“Boaz knows,” I muttered, resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder. “He freaking knows.”

“I doubt it,” Cass demurred. “He doesn’t strike me as the knowing type.”

Cranking my head toward her, I considered yanking her bouncy ponytail to get her attention, but vampire. She would bite me, I would punch her, and it would go downhill from there. “He’s a sentinel, an Elite, which implies he has some skill.”

They wouldn’t have let him spearhead a murder investigation that crossed state lines otherwise.

“Or that he banged his instructor.”

From the rumors I had heard about him, I couldn’t defend him on that point. Honestly? I didn’t want to think about it. Which is probably why Cass kept throwing it in my face. “I can’t afford for him to get tangled up in this.”

The Whitaker family name was the only reason he approached me with an offer of an alliance—I meant—marriagein the first place. The whole hanging with vampires and working as a bounty hunter thing would torpedo that. I couldn’t let that happen. His family, and their money, was the only ticket out of this cycle for me and mine.

“You could always dump him and come live with me. I could take care of you and your father.” She slanted her eyes toward me. “I wouldn’t ask for anything you weren’t willing to give him.”

So sex, sex, sex, and light housekeeping. Maybe blood on holidays or special occasions.

Yeah. 

No.

“As generous as your offer is,” I said, exhaling through my nose, “this is about more than me.”

The Whitaker line would die out with me. There was no changing that. I had agreed to give up my family name and become a Pritchard, but our family home could be preserved with a big enough cash infusion to counter decades worth of neglect. That was something.

“Your father would have to sober up before he noticed or cared where the money originated.”

Fingers curling into balls in my lap, I kept my anger leashed. “I would notice, and I would care.”

Cass partnering with me on jobs already felt like charity. I couldn’t move in, take her money, and still look at myself in the mirror. With Boaz, it was different. I was bartering my family’s reputation in exchange for his family’s money. It was a balanced trade. Plus, I had already made the deal.

The Society wasn’t a big believer in take-backsies.

“I whored for a living all my human life,” she said coldly. “Do you think less of me for it?”

“You secured your own power and independence in a time when women had neither. I admire you for choosing the road less traveled and—”

“Oh, my road was traveled plenty.”

 “Goddess.” I banged my head against the back of my seat. “You know what I mean.”

“You’re a silly romantic.” She curled her lip. “You want to love, and be loved, and have—” she made gagging noises, “—babies.”

Babies were part of the bargain. Did I want kids? It really didn’t matter at this point. I would do my duty.

Eager to get the spotlight off me, I dragged her attention back to our job. “So…about Twyla.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Sex fiend.”

“Aww.” She stroked the length of my thigh with her fingertips. “Thank you.”

“Ahem.” I knocked her hand away. “Twyla?”

“Most children fostered by vampires run away with other humans rather than other vampires. They get curious about their parents, their species, the whole mortal experience. They hit puberty, develop urges, and decide to experiment with the living.”

“I’m aware.”

“So where would a human girl with no life experience go to get some?”

“Depends on if she’s got a boyfriend picked out, or if she’s still shopping.”

“I can’t believe I have to point this out to you.” She indicated lights in the distance. “It’s a Friday night.”

“That doesn’t narrow the scope even a little.”

Slanting her eyes toward me, she frowned. “How long have you been out of high school again?”

“Oh.” I got it in a flash. “A football game.”

“It’s a rather obvious choice, but as we have no other leads, I thought we might start there.”

“You pay more attention to humans than you let on.”

“I’m a predator, Addie. I must know my prey in order to be a successful one.”

A shiver coasted down my spine, a reminder that Cass was dangerous. She might be my best friend, but she was also had urges. Most of the ones involving me were X-rated, according to her, but vampires had impulse control issues that often made them lethal lovers. Yet another reason not to take her up on her offer.

“In my defense, I’ve never been to one.”

“A football game?”

“Yes.”

“Hadley,” she said softly in understanding. “You gave up so much of your life for her.”

“She was worth it.” A lump formed in my throat. “I would do it all over again.”

“I know you would.” Cass shook her head, her ponytail swinging. “Your heart is the thing I admire most about you.” She pursed her lips. “Most people who survive what you have turn cold or indifferent, they wall themselves off from the world that hurt them, but you’re still soft and warm with an ooey-gooey center.”

“Why did that sound like you were comparing me to a cinnamon roll?”

“I haven’t the foggiest.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

What did one do with cinnamon rolls? One bit into them.

The stadium appeared through the trees, and Cass turned into the drive leading up to the high school as if she had done it a thousand times, which raised questions to which I didn’t want answers. 

A trio of parents worked the incoming traffic lane, collecting their five dollar parking donations and waving cars through to the lot. With a bright smile, Cass paid her money then continued on to locate a strategic spot in the event our hunt proved fruitful, and we needed to make a quick escape with our quarry.

A roar of sound swept over me when I exited the car, and I gawked at the number of spectators.

“Who are all these people?” I examined the packed stands. “Band parents, cheer parents, and athlete parents?”

“Locals content to relive their glory days, faculty, security.” Cass shrugged. “A little of everything.”

“Are the games always this slammed?”

“You paid no attention whatsoever in school, did you?” She chuckled. “Hornets versus Lions.”

High school meant showing up, collecting my straight As, then going home to help with my sister.

Friends and boys and football, the entire teenage experience, wasn’t as important as Hadley.

“Ah, yes. The Lions.” I did vaguely remember that much. “The school’s archrivals.”

“Well, at least you received that much of an education.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “I texted you the photos of Twyla and Belle. Keep your eyes peeled. We’ll need to interrogate anyone she or they are with after we contain the situation.”

Odds were good the bestie had circled back around to our runaway, thinking they had gotten away with their little rebellion.

“Split up?” I checked my phone to refresh my memory. “Or search together?”

“Two of us are conspicuous.” She scanned the area. “This also places us in public together.”

Dangerous for word of our partnership, let alone our friendship, to get out. This might be a human school full of human students, but Low Society families enrolled their fledging necromancers here too. That’s how I ended up sporting mandatory Hornet tees in gym class for four years.

A fresh shudder rippled down the length of my spine.

Gym class.

Ugh.

High school was the absolute worst.

I would have gladly homeschooled, but Mom wanted at least one of her daughters to have the authentic experience. I never told her being poor, smarter than my classmates, and uninterested in losing my virginity to a slobbery boy in the back of his mom’s car had earned me the nickname Nerdelaide and crushed any hope of a social life.

“Meet me behind the bleachers on the away team’s side.”

Jerking my attention back to Cass, I narrowed my eyes on her. “No funny business.”

“I said behind, not under.”

Cackling, she sashayed off toward the home team’s side, attracting far more attention than I could have if I stripped naked and streaked across the field.

Setting out for the opposite side, I scanned the sea of faces for one of the girls.

A warning tingle stung the base of my neck, alerting me to the presence of a vampire, and I slowed my stride to give me a moment to pick them out of the crowd. No one had the decency to flash fang or wear a cape, so I didn’t get far in narrowing down my search. There were too many people, and vampire parents had as much right to be here as anyone.

Shrugging off the sensation, I dodged teen couples and adults alike as I passed the concession stand. The line was long, but the food smelled amazing. Some of the dads who volunteered to grill cooked like pros. I might have skipped the football games, but I dated a guy who played baseball for a hot minute. The only reason I stuck around as long as I did was the free—and excellent—food leftover after the games.

Eventually, the guy caught me sticking burgers in my pockets to take home instead of eating them with the team, and when he attempted to blackmail me into getting horizontal with him to buy his silence, I kicked him in the junk. The next day, he got his revenge by telling everyone I was so poor I dug food out of the trashcan.

The guy was a waste of oxygen, clearly, but the food… Goddess, the food! Oh how I had missed the way his dad buttered and toasted the buns on the nights he worked concession. 

“Adelaide?”

Fixing a smile on my face, I pivoted toward the voice. “Yes?”

“You don’t remember me?” A red-cheeked woman laughed. “We had homeroom together for years.”

“Ah. Yes. Right.” I snapped my fingers like I remembered instead of blanking. “How have you been?”

“Oh, you know how it is. You graduate, get married, start having kids. Where does the time go?”

No, not really. “Do you have a kid on the team?”

“We’re not that old.” She made sure to include me in her statement. “I teach sophomore math. I’m here to support the team.” She made a fist and raised it overhead. “Go Hornets!”

“Yeah.” I mimicked her. “Go team, go!”

“I haven’t seen you since graduation.” She glanced to either side of me. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw the lights and got nostalgic,” I lied. “I thought I might buy a burger or pom-poms or something.”

“The spirit booth is just over there.” She pointed to a gathering of women. “I’m working there tonight.”

“Oh great.” I eased past her before she hauled me to vomit money in her booth. “See you later.”

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask.” She pressed a hand to her heart. “How is your sister?”

Aside from kindergarten and half of first grade, Hadley hadn’t attended public school. No classmates remembered her, aside from her being the sick kid, but she rode with Mom to pick me up whenever she felt up to it. She smiled and waved, glad to see other kids, but I always had to hear the next day that my little sister was a freak.

Probably why I got into so many fights in school.

Which explained why bounty hunting felt like a natural fit for me career-wise.

Oh well.

“Hadley is…” I cleared my throat and stuck to the script Boaz and I agreed on, “…great.”

“I’m glad to hear she’s doing better.”

The tingle that announced yet another vampire left me antsy to get away from her. 

“I should go.” I hooked a thumb toward the stands. “Find a good spot on the bleachers.”

“You do that.” She beamed. “Come see me at half-time about those pom-poms.”

“I’ll do that.”

Winking, she leaned in. “They’re half off then.”

“I…” I gritted my teeth at the subtle reminder of my poverty. “Thanks.”

“Oh, there you are.” Cass strolled up from behind the woman whose name I had yet to recall, captured my face between her palms, and kissed me long and slow. “I was getting worried.”

Hand to her throat, the woman backed away. “I’ll just let you two get back to…”

“You do that.” Cass flicked her hand. “Go on.”

The woman scurried away, thoroughly scandalized, and I glowered at Cass until she dropped her hands.

“It got rid of her, didn’t it?”

“You didn’t have to put on a show for that.”

“No,” she allowed, “but I do love performing for a crowd.”

The weight of curious eyes on my shoulders hunched them. “I hate you.”

“Don’t be such a prude.” She wrapped an arm around my waist and tucked me against her side. “It was one harmless little kiss. I barely used any tongue. Besides, you can’t tell me you honestly care what these people think of you.”

“I am engaged, Cass.”

“So you continue to remind me.”

“I can’t put on free shows with you in public without the risk of it getting back to him.”

“With a reputation like his, I doubt he would blink at his fiancée bringing a friend to the party.” She studied me. “For sex.”

“I get it.” I swatted at her. “You don’t have to break it down for me. So loudly. And in public.”

Leaning in, she smiled, slow and wicked. “I worry all that virginity is clogging your ears.”

Again, the temptation to yank her ponytail itched my fingers. “Did you find anything?”

“Other than you rekindling old friendships?”

“Yes, aside from that.”

“No.” She thinned her lips. “There are several vampires in attendance, but they had the poor taste to wear booster shirts in public, so I must assume their wards are enrolled at this school.”

“I’ve sensed a couple of vampires on my side too.”

“Unusually high numbers,” she murmured. “I wasn’t aware there were that many in the area.”

“This side ought to be the visitors, but yeah. They must keep a low profile to turn out in these numbers.”

Most vampires in rural parts of the country blended with humans in order to survive. They kept their clans small, their resources hidden, and their members in line. Otherwise, folks like Cass and me paid them a visit. And no clan master wanted that.

“Addie…” Cass dug her fingers into my side. “I smell blood.”

Heart kicking up a notch, I reminded her, “There’s a game happening several yards away whose only point I can tell seems to be boys running up and down a field while knocking the crap out of each other.”

Head angling toward the away team’s locker room, she said, “No player bled this much.”

And lived went unspoken.

“Let’s hope you’re wrong.”

But I got a bad feeling she was right.

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