Page 154 of Monster in Disguise

"If you ever die, it won't be by my hand." He snaps his fingers in front of me, trying to get my attention. I frown at him, my comprehension lagging.

"Pl..." I'm about to say when someone sticks a needle in my neck. The effect is almost immediate, as my limbs become light.

I'm still conscious though as hands grab at my body.

"How come you're here?" Sisi asks.

"Let's just say I heard through the grapevine that someone was in trouble," Vlad remarks.

Their voices become a mere echo as I finally lose consciousness.

A WEEK LATER

"Nice to see you all chipper," Vlad slides into the seat next to me. "Did you rent out this whole church, or what?" he says as he scans the empty rows.

"Hello to you too, traitor," I reply tensely, closing my fist over the rosary I was holding.

I'd barely gotten myself out of the hospital and managed to dissuade the doctors from committing me. Instead, I'd agreed to have weekly therapy sessions. No matter how much I'd tried to tell them, they hadn't believed that it wasn't a suicide attempt.

Just yesterday I'd had my first appointment, and it had gone as well as it could, all things considered. I'd merely scratched the surface in what I'd told the therapist. At the end of the session, the doctor had point-blank asked me if I even wanted help, because my deflection wasn't helping anyone. On my way out, I'd told her that if I was any more truthful, then I'd have to kill her.

She'd laughed.

I wasn't joking. Not really. I'd had several therapists over the years and just when I opened up a little more, they had to report me to the authorities. Good thing I wasn't too trusting to begin with, and I'd been able to take control of the situation before it came to blows.

But now I am to be monitored by close family, Assisi being the one tasked with making sure I don't harm myself further.

Funny, because if I'd been just a little more selfish, I would have taken the plunge. But I know what awaits my sisters should that happen. Or Lina... There's still someone out there gunning for me, and by extension anyone who means something to me. Even if she continues to hate me for the rest of her life, I'll still protect her.

The incident with the glass had been... well, a slight lapse in judgment. I'd just wanted the high I know I can get every time pain floods my senses. For the first time, I might have taken it too far.

"You should thank me instead of whining," Vlad says, raising his legs and propping his feet on the row of benches in front of him.

"Stop it! It's a church," I grit. Even if no one's inside, it's disrespectful.

"Don't get your feathers ruffled, Marcello. I didn't come here to commit sacrilege, or God forbid,sin." He shudders visibly as he utters the word God, and I roll my eyes at him.

"So why did you come?"

"Your sister's worried about you. She says you don't come out of your office for days on end."

"I won't kill myself, don't worry." I purse my lips. "Since when do you talk to my sister?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Since she's the only adult in that house," he fires back, and I hold back a retort.

"Well, as you see, I'm doing fine."

"There's another reason I stepped inside this..." His mouth curls up in disgust. "dump." He motions to the church. I raise an eyebrow at him, but he continues. "Hastings has been working on our copycat's case. He's been going over every single crime scene again."

"And?" Seeing how thorough this Chimera has been so far, I doubt Adrian found anything.

"He found something," Vlad says and I whip my head around to look at him.

"What?"

"A partial fingerprint. It's not much but..."

"How partial are we talking about?"

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