Chapter 24
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 They had gotten the green light to go to the beach, provided that they kept their eyes opened for the Wanderer. Daphne had begged off, saying she will search in the shopping district.

The two men were sure she would just go shopping on the agency’s expense, but didn’t comment. After all, today was all fun and no work for them, too.

They made it to the beach and got spots. Laying down under the umbrella, Andrew turned around so that Erin could put sunscreen on him. As Erin lightly rubbed it on him, Andrew imagined how good it would feel for him to go in the water.

But, they just laid on the blankets after they got covered in the thing, looking around. There were a couple of surfers. More people that just enjoyed the sun on blankets and loungers. Then, there was also a yacht.

Erin pointed at it.

“Looks posh. And there are women in there,” yes, Andrew supposed that it was. But, there was no guarantee that the Wanderer would notice it, too. Besides, there must be many yachts in Fort Pierce.

“There is a lady in a conservative dress on there,” said Andrew as Erin handed him the monocles. “What are the odds that the yacht is hers?”

A man came from behind the woman and embraced her from behind. Andrew observed the other inhabitants of the yacht. Scantly clad women, a couple of men. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“We might want to keep a watch on her,” said Erin. They did so, trading the monocles every so often. Finally, Andrew couldn’t stand the sun anymore.

“Come to the water. We are way overdue for a soak,” said Andrew, and Erin stood up. They went and swum around. They got to the deeper regions and stopped. Andrew sent Erin a mischievous look and splashed some water his way.

“Well, if this is how you want it,” said Erin, and he dived. Andrew looked around. The current was strong here. He shouted Erin’s name, and then, he felt slender shoulders beneath his behind. He was lifted to him from the water and then plunged inside it.

They were not so far in that the ocean’s floor was a chasm beneath them. Andrew could see the corals. So vibrant, so fascinating. And the fish too. They darted away from him, and he even saw an octopus swimming away. It was like another world down there.

Andrew looked down. Erin was still half-carrying him. Then, Erin kicked off and got them above water again. Andrew’s hands found Erin’s shoulders, and he laughed.

“Ok, ok, you win. You got me all wet. But, Now you are wet too,” Andrew’s ginger curls were straighter now and dripping with saltwater. He wiped them off his eyes as Erin let him go and dived again.

Andrew dived in after him and followed him underneath the water. Erin was by far the superior swimmer. However, they were both stopped when they saw something white and massive coming their way.

They surfaced and saw that it was the yacht. The woman in the white dress was captaining it and was brining it to them.

“What are you doing so far in? Aren't you aware that it is dangerous?” She shouted, looking peeved. Erin and Andrew shared a look.

“We were just playing,” said Erin, and the woman huffed.

“Get on board. Before you drown,” she said, and one of the men let down a ladder. The two got on, and their eyes found the man who had embraced the woman. He looked human, salt, and pepper hair and T-shirt with shorts. He was dressed more for a tennis court rather than the beach.

“My name is Edward,” said the man, as he extended his hand. Erin went to shake it and something made him pause. More like, the lack of something. The man didn’t have a pulse. Could it be? The Wanderer?

The man must have noticed the same about Erin because he quirked an eyebrow.

“Anna, those two fine young men will be coming home with us. For dinner,” he said. He looked happy and carefree. Not the normal image of someone who killed people and gauged out their eyes.

“Are you certain, Edward? After all, we don’t know them,” Anna was looking Andrew and Erin up and down. Edward just shrugged.

“I think they are like me,” said Edward, and Anna’s eyes got a flash of realization in them. “You both are among friends. We are all vampires here. Well, apart from Anna.”

Erin looked around. Could it be that the Wanderer was actually a group of people? That complicated matters. They couldn’t take on all these people. Erin looked around worriedly.

“That is a nice offer, but Andrew is not a vampire and I like to keep him to myself,” Andrew did his best to look bashful around, as if the proximity of all those vampires was bothering him.

“Well, we will drop you off to the port then. My offer still stands. I will give you an address and wait for you both,” said Edward, sounding disappointed. Anna got the yacht to the port and dropped off Andrew and Erin. Then, they returned to the ocean.

“That was close,” said Andrew, shuddering. “How could it be that there are so many of you?”

“No idea. And they looked rich. That is something I haven’t thought I would see,” said Erin. He looked at the visit card that Edward had given him. “We can just report them. We know where they live. Before they kill Anna.”

Andrew nodded.

“We need to go back to the hotel. Our phones are there,” he said, and Erin sighed. He had forgotten about that.

“Maybe Daphne would have come back by now too. We need to tell her about this,” they made their way back to the beach and collected their things when they reached it. Then, it was a trek to the hotel. Both were lost in thoughts. Something about the vampires didn’t fit the profile of the Wanderer. Could they report them, knowing they might be wrong?

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