My hand went numb as I stared down at the picture on my phone. Fear gripped my heart and all I could do was stand there in my computer room, staring at my phone like a fish out of water hoping the vampire in the picture would somehow change into something that was human and non-lethal so I wouldn’t have to worry about my friend tonight.

But he could be different, I reasoned. He could be like the couple I came across when I first arrived in this city…

But why would he be on a dating app, picking up human women?

No. Something wasn’t right; I could feel it. Amara was in danger.

The bleating of my cat brought me back to reality. He was on his hind legs, his front paws lying on my calf as he looked up at me wanting attention, or was asking for food. I blinked down at him, my hand moving without my consent to Amara’s name in our chat, and before I knew it, I was hearing her voice-mail chime through my phone speaker. 

“No!” 

Reality came crashing down. Amara had a date with a vampire! She was out with him now and didn’t have a single clue she was in immediate danger! And it was all my fault. If I would have paid attention yesterday… if I were more involved in my friends’ lives… Amara would be safe.

But I may have just killed my friend. 

Damn it, Ally! This is no time for a self-pity party! Get your ass into gear!

I still had time. Amara was smart. She wouldn’t go off with a guy alone; she’d be talking his ear off and getting as much information out of him before she made any drastic decisions. 

But, damn it, Amara did like to have fun occasionally. And this guy was exactly her type. His looks were in the same league as Chadwick Boseman, and Amara loved her some Black Panther magic, as she would put it.

But Amara was also very perceptive. She’d catch on to any alternative motives he may have, and she would turn her phone back on without drawing attention to the action, notifying the police, or using us as scapegoats. 

Amara wasn’t like I was in my teen years when I lost my…

Taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I scrolled through our text messages to read what Amara had said about her date. Again, her intelligence shined as she went into detail exactly where and when they were going, and their first stop was to a fancy restaurant named The French Gourmet.

I didn’t hesitate to get up and grab my keys and a jacket. My cat bleated again when I made my way to the door, but before I closed it behind me, I promised him all the treats in the world once I got back. He deserved that much, with as little attention as I’d been giving him as of late.

When I got to my car, I punched the details into Google maps, and took off down the road.

◇♡◇♡◇♡◇♡◇

Parking my car a block away from the restaurant, I made my way to an alleyway across the street and tried my best to peer inside. The restaurant was dark inside; all the chairs were stacked on top of the tables. The place was already closed for the night, and from what I could tell, they’ve been closed for a while now.

My phone lit up as I scrolled through our chat again, reading through the text messages. Amara wouldn’t make a mistake like that, and going through Google’s pages, the restaurant should have been open at this time of night for another hour. Even recent reviews of the place didn’t mention the place being closed, raving about the Soupe a l’oignon.

This wasn’t good. Where the hell was she!?

A sting on my bottom lip calmed me enough to take a deep breath and think. Thumbing my bottom lip where I bit down a little too hard to ease the sting, I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sting of my lip. 

Just because the front looked like it was closed, that didn’t mean the back wasn’t open for business. And if Amara was here, she’d make a sex joke out of that.

Pushing off the bricked wall of a shop I was leaning against, I walked across the street to the building. My senses were on high alert as I moved, and as I got closer to the building, my worse fears came to life as a felt an electrical current caress my skin, giving me visible goosebumps as I got closer to the building.

Creatures of the night inhabited this place, and I hoped to whatever god that was out there that Amara wasn’t here.

My stomach dropped as the realization settled in. This had to be some joint for the supernatural. I’d come across places like these before, walking down the streets of the city. It felt like a static bubble, and the bigger the bubble was, the more supernaturals congregated in that area.

Memories of a certain someone surfaced, threatening me about visiting places such as these, but I quelled the recollection as he didn’t matter at that moment. I’d deal with him later if he ever found out.

My phone rang, and without a second thought, I stopped right in front of the restaurant and answered the phone without looking at the caller ID, hoping beyond hope it was Amara.

“Amara?” My voice rang out, sounding breathless.

“Are you trying to piss me off today?”

“Jesus, mother off–!” Hearing his voice almost toppled me onto the sidewalk, but I caught myself before I face planted in the concrete below me. 

It was him, my stalker. He was calling me. Talking to me. The last time I heard his voice was the night he compelled me to work with him, threatening the lives of the people closest to me. 

The same night I killed one of his.

I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t have any time to talk to him. The more time I wasted, the more time Amara was with that more-than-likely killer.

But I had to respond. I didn’t want to give him time to make demands or threats yet. I needed to steer the conversation to a quick conclusion.

If only I was witty as Amara, because quick debate wasn’t my strong suit.

Come on, Ally. Say something brave and interesting!

“Terrible timing. I’ll—uh—call you back in a bit. Promise. Gotta take a piss.”

That was not it. What the hell is wrong with me?

“And that toilet of yours is near The French Gourmet on Fifth Avenue? Have a fetish for eating French baguette on the latrine?” he growled, sounding none too pleased at my blatant lie. His voice sent uncontrollable shivers down my spine. And they weren’t the good kind, either.

I should have been surprised. But I wasn’t. I had a sneaking suspicion he was tracking my whereabouts through my cell, despite me turning it off in fear of him doing just that. Especially when I tried to use a burner phone for personal use, and he texted me on there only five minutes after turning it on, telling me I wasn’t as clever as I thought.

My face burned at his accusation. “What I’m into is none of your concern,” I barked back, anger getting the better of me. “It’s not like a vampire remembers what it’s like to be human and have needs other than sucking necks.”

God, that sounded so lame.

“But I remember how weak humans are, and if you don’t stop what you are doing, you will die tonight.”

My heart pounded into my chest, but I took a calming breath before I continued this conversation. Egging him on was not in my best interest. “You know why I’m here. If you’re so concerned about my safety, you’ll tell me where Amara is. Wouldn’t doubt you keep tabs on my friends, too.”

It didn’t escape my attention that he called to warn me about this place. Guess he didn’t want his human that could keep tabs on the supernatural in the city without getting noticed by said targets magically disappear. Probably would cost him too much money.

He was silent on his end. And after a couple of beats, I opened my mouth to say something else, but he cut me off. “I don’t know where your friend is.”

The way he said friend didn’t go unnoticed, but I ignored it. Instead, I felt my anger rising. “Then this conversation is o—.”

“She is most likely dead. Leo’s bootlickers are quick in their work. It’ll be a waste to lose your life over someone who is already dead.”

My heart lurched in my chest. His words were not quite registering yet in my mind. “You knew she was meeting a vampire tonight? Who’s Leo?”

“No. Not until I saw someone remote access the storage on your cell phone did I notice your friend’s predicament and your stupidity.”

My breath came out ragged. Tears threatened to fall, but I blinked them away. Now wasn’t the time to get emotional about the what-ifs. 

“You’re lying,” I began, my voice sounding worn even to myself. As I continued to speak, I looked down at my phone and scrolled back through our messages to find the picture of Amara’s vampire date was indeed gone. “She’s smart. She would have known something was wrong. I will not abandon my friend because some vampire told me she’s dead!”

“She wouldn’t know if he compelled her into believing he was safe as soon as they met up.” His deep voice sounded so cold and so distant. 

“That’s a myth. The vampires I’ve killed never tried to compel me to stop.”

The two that I killed. But he didn’t need to know that detail.

“The power to compel a human doesn’t work on you. I would know as I tried it the night I visited your apartment. If memory serves, you also believed I couldn’t enter your dwelling without an invitation. I wonder what other myths you believe in, child. I’ll be more than happy to educate you on my kind.”

This time, tears fell from my eyes. Amara couldn’t be dead. She was strong and independent. She’d get through this. If not… it was all my fault.

“I can’t stop. Not until I know for sure.”

He barked something else into my phone, but I hung up before I could hear what he was saying. My cell rang again from an unknown number, but I ignored it. Instead, I hit the volume button until my tone switched to vibrate for every call and notification and then stuck it into my pockets. 

I walked to the side of the empty restaurant and turned the corner while whipping the tears from my eyes, but stopped when the door attached to the side of the building opened…

And out stepped a very pale vampire, his dark brown eyes locking with mine when he closed the door behind him and crossed his arms, never blinking as he stared at me halfway down the alleyway. My eyes momentarily shifted to the closed door, knowing that was my ticket to getting into whatever supernatural club this joint harbored. 

And it was at this moment I remembered I was only wearing my short pink shorts and a white t-shirt with no bra on, barely covered by a red, flimsy jacket, that I realized how boned I was. 

And the vampire knew this as he smiled at me, his fangs on full display.