Page 34 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Four

“You know me so well,” I answer.

Keys jingle in Sam’s hand. “Mom, I’m leaving!” she yells through her house. To me she says, “This is the only time I will ever get out of bed early.”

“What better reason than to go dig up dirt on a fae lord?”

“You have a good point.”

“I’ll meet you there in ten minutes?”

“Already walking out the door.”

We hang up and I hand the phone back to King. “Thanks. I’ll see you around?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He bows with a laugh.

Sam and I meet outside the mortal court. Her strawberry blonde hair is braided into two messy braids that hang over her shoulders. Several wispy strands flutter in the warm morning breeze.

There is an oversized vintage movie t-shirt tied into a loose knot at her hips so that the material hugs her waist. She’s wearing cut-off denim shorts, white tennis shoes, and sunglasses with a horn-rimmed flare to the frame.

Despite clearly throwing together this outfit as she stumbled from bed, she looks effortless. Neither of us has ever been particularly fashion focused, not like Kelly. But somehow Sam has always pulled off a look that feels intentional and rebellious at the same time.

“Good morning,” I tell her.

“You lied about the time.” She follows me up the cement steps.

“I rounded up.”

She scoffs and when we enter into the darker hallway of the courthouse, Sam slides the sunglasses atop her head. She may be tired, but I’d recognize that glint of excitement anywhere.

Sam’s big family may be chaotic, but they love their game nights, and Sam is always on the hunt for a win. This is just another game to play and she loves it, even if she’s complaining about getting out of bed.

In the clerk’s office, we find Alice behind the counter stapling packets of paper. When she spots me, her eyes get big. In the cubicle beside her, the dark-haired girl, who I recall was here when Bran and I fucked in the waiting room, stops clicking on her keyboard.

Alice yanks nervously at the hem of her blouse. “Jessie! Hi! What can I do for you?”

I lean over, as if I’m sharing a secret. “I need help finding some information on one of the fae. Is it possible you could help with that?”

She runs her tongue over her lips. “Um…okay. What fae are you looking for?”

“Arion?” I wince just hearing his name out loud, knowing that I’m technically breaking the rules and getting a little bit too nosy for my own good. I’m sure Bran has a much subtler way of getting this info, but the curiosity is getting the best of me and I’m not entirely sure Bran wants to dig up this information.

The dark-haired girl pushes away from her desk and disappears through a side door. I spot her name plate on the corner of her desk. Hailey. I can’t seem to place her at a House. Is she vampire, shifter, witch pledged? She doesn’t strike me as someone who would choose to be a virgin her entire life.

But can she be trusted?

“If you want to have a seat in the waiting room, I’ll see what I can dig up,” Alice says.

“Perfect. Thank you.”

The waiting room smells like it looks—like it’s a time capsule from another era.

“If your mom was still working here, she’d just let us go digging into the archives,” Sam says and pops some change into a soda machine.

“Not if we wanted to know about the fae.” I sit in one of the chairs next to the window that overlooks the parking lot. “Looking back, I realize she tried to keep me from interacting with the fae. Even when I babysat for the Leaf family, she would try talking me out of it.”

Sam ducks down to grab her can of cola. “Knowing what you know now, clearly she was trying to keep you from finding answers.”

“Yep.” I slouch in the chair and fold my arms over my chest. I’m not tired, exactly. Just worn out and afraid.

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