Page 30 of The Vampire Trap

“If something happened to you, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

“I’ll be fine. Go,” I say, giving him a slight push.

As much as I want to be of use, I’m unsure of how I’d react to seeing the crimes I’ve only heard details about. Right now, the last thing anyone needs is a distraction.

“I won’t be long.”

Whips of fog follow in his wake as he disappears in the blink of an eye. Voices call out from the narrow alley, some with authoritative command, others with fear and questioning, though the words are muffled by the increasingly dense haze.

Minutes pass, and things quiet down as groups depart.

“Zadie?”

The sound of my name in a breathless, scratchy whisper startles me. I whirl and once again find myself face to face with someone I didn’t expect to cross paths with tonight.

“Demon shit, Benjamin, you scared me half to death. What are you doing here?”I’ve asked that question more than I would like tonight. It’s no wonder I get along with the two of them. We are all in the city tonight when none of us should be.

His jacket and cravat are disheveled. Despite the cool evening, sweat beads on his forehead, and his chest rises and falls as though he’s been running.

Instead of answering, Ben glares, then wraps his hand around my upper and drags me along as he forces me into a run and away from the commotion. Not once acknowledging my protests or demands to slow.

Ben doesn’t slow until we are a good distance from where I was waiting for Thomas. He glances behind us, then leads me into an alley.

Fed up with being dragged around like a rag doll, I twist and pull out of his grip.

I bend, bracing my hands on my knees to catch my breath. “Why are you here?” I ask again.

“I heard the scream and came running just like everyone else.” He peeks around the edge of the building. “Demons and saints, Zadie, why did you have to do something so stupid, tonight of all nights?”

Telling him I was with Thomas would only cause more problems and distract from the real issue, so I deflect. “Don’t act as if you’re any better—you’re here even though you gave me your word. Not to mention this is the second time today you’ve manhandled me.”

I’m ready to launch into a lecture about treating me as if I were helpless when he shifts back. Light from a nearby gas lamp reflects off something wet on his shoe. The night is thick with mist, but it hasn’t rained, and the streets are dry.

Slowly, I straighten and take him in, seeing his appearance for what it is. One spot on his cravat is darker than the rest.

The blood drains from my face as warning bells peel in my head as my intuition tells me what I’ve ignored for so long.

The details of the murders Benjamin had mentioned, combined with the information from the papers, send a sensation over me, like dozens of spiders crawling on my skin. The inconsistencies are evident as the unsettling understanding settles in.

The purple bruising around the victim’s mouth and jaw isn’t from a physical attack—it’s from the poison from a rare flower. One I’ve seen on many occasions growing on his property. It was even in the book I borrowed from Thomas and read on the way home.

“I’m sorry, Zadie—what’s wrong? You look like you’re about to be sick.”

Seized by panic, I shake my head. “I’ll be all right. I’m unnerved—then we ran. The murderer was close by.” The explanation makes little sense beyond half-formed descriptions of the past few minutes.

We’ve stopped halfway between the stables where I boarded the horse and where Thomas left me. Has he discovered I’m no longer there?

I see everything in a new light: I’m not standing in an alley with my best friend hiding from a murderer. I amwiththe murderer.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ZADIE

Benjamin makes a movement toward me. I jerk back. My heel catches on an uneven stone, and I bump into the building at my back. He drops his hands. Something undistinguishable about his face shifts, and it terrifies me.

“My legs are weak,” I say with forced laughter. “I must be hungry. Yes. I forgot to eat earlier. I must have been worried you’d try to do this on your own.”

There are only two ways out of this alley, and Benjamin is between me and the first…

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