Page 94 of Midnight Coven

Now he took in Nick’s face and paled. Nick watched in his peripheral vision as Morley looked between him and the other vampire, as if unsure what to do.

“You should get behind me, boss,” Nick advised.

“What are you going to do?” Morley sounded alarmed. “Nick. Damon. He’s got that spear jammed right up against––”

“I know. Get behind me. Now.”

But Morley didn’t move that time, either.

He almost looked ready to step between Nick and the other vamp.

“Don’t do anything crazy, Midnight.” Morley’s voice came out a warning. It was hard, taut, but shook a little. “Damon’s still alive.”

“No. He’s not.” Nick’s eyes never left the other vampire. “He’ll either die or turn now. This fucker’s killed him. He’s killed him as a human, at least.”

Nick felt as much as saw Morley’s face drain of blood.

For a few seconds, he didn’t speak.

When he finally did, the question was a near whisper.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Nick continued to hold the other vampire’s gaze. “You’re sure, too. Aren’t you, you piece of shit? That’s the whole point of this… whatever the fuck ‘this’ is. To show me you can get to anyone I care about. Whenever you want.”

“Maybe I just wanted a friend,” the other Nick said.

Morley and Nick both flinched.

That time, Nick exchanged looks with his human boss.

The fucker sounded just like him.

Even Nick could hear it.

Same California accent. Same timbre and tone. Same inflection.

“What are we doing here?” Nick asked. “What the fuck do you want from me, really? Why are you so desperate to get my attention?”

“You read the note,” the other said. “I saw you. I saw you take it.”

Nick scowled more.

He remembered the boxing statue and realized it probably had a camera in it, something the police drones missed when they scanned the house in Manhattan.

That, or this asshole figured out how to tap police surveillance.

At this point, it really could be either.

“I read it,” Nick said. “But it was a bunch of gibberish. What the hell was I supposed to take from that? You want to go somewhere? Withmymate? What the fuck for? And why would you believe, byanystretch of the imagination, that I would let that happen?”

The other vampire scowled.

He also pressed the spear upward.

The sharp edge dimpled the skin and muscle uncomfortably close to Damon’s heart.

Nick stared up at his friend, and felt sick.

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