Page 45 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

I spent the next few hours on the phone, doing my best to speak to all the parents without raising their hopes that their kids had been found. Every time they answered, I heard that thread of hope and just as quickly I heard it die. I was beginning to despise missing person’s cases.

My phone beeped, Interrupting me. It was a message from Connor.We need to meet. Now.

Chapter 27

Connor texted me a location where we could meet. I hoped the charm was ready because I was more than ready tospeakto the vampires stalking my town.

My house was on the way, so I stopped to feed and collect Shadow. He’d been cooped up all day and I didn’t want to leave him a second longer. Wrestling him into his Nomo’s vest proved tricky, but when I told him I’d leave him at home if he didn’t put it on he stopped resisting.

He curled up in the backseat, still visibly annoyed. ‘The vest is for your own protection,’ I said. He ignored me. Typical cat.

It was a couple of miles to the fork in the road that Connor had described and I dutifully turned left onto a muddy track. The barrier was invisible but anyone could feel it if they were close enough, and most old roads that went to it were marked with a sign. Sure enough, I soon encountered the one Connor had mentioned:Barrier 15 feet ahead. Do not cross.

I pulled up by it and waited. Rain started to mist the windows and I cranked up the heat.

I was surreptitiously watching Fluffy in the rear-view mirror. He’d gone into a doggy-depression mode; his head was between hisfront paws and his ears were loose rather than erect like a German Shepherd’s should be. Shadow had curled up against him, and I had to hope that helped; at the very least, Fluffy must feel the love. I hoped so, anyway.

I sighed. I was failing to help my friend. I decided to take Fluffy to his next appointment whether he wanted to go or not; he could be Fluffy through it all if he wanted, but he needed to listen to what the counsellor said. I’d call her and see what she advised.

I heard Connor’s truck straining up the hill. He pulled up in front of me, jogged over to my car in the drizzle and climbed into the passenger seat. ‘Hey, love,’ I greeted him.

For a vampire, he looked like shit. He’d lost weight and his eyes were almost bruised, like he hadn’t slept for days. His hair was more unruly than normal, and his flannel shirt was rumpled and wrinkled as though he’d been wearing it for several days in a row. But he still smelled like Connor: rich, evergreen forest and bergamot.

He looked at me like he’d been in the desert for three days and I was water, then he lunged for me over the console and we kissed. Flames licked up my middle and I actually brushed a hand down my shirt to make sure I hadn’t literally set the car on fire. Nope, just the hottest kiss ever.

Fluffy’s pointed ‘get-a-room’ bark was the only thing that forced us apart. Then Shadow climbed through from the back and batted Connor’s hand in a demand to be petted. ‘Hey, bud,’ he said. He looked at Fluffy. ‘Brute, how are you doing?’ Fluffy wagged his tail and looked a little less fed up.

‘How areyoudoing?’I asked Connor pointedly.

He sighed. ‘It’s not easy keeping my father’s men out of your way and still having them do something that won’t make them suspicious.’

‘Yeah, I imagine. What are you having them do?’

‘Sending them on leads, nothing special, but keeping them at my end of town as much as I can.’

I reached over and brushed a wayward curl off his forehead.

‘Look, I called you here for this.’ He held up a pendant. It was another emerald stone with a silver loop to add it to my necklace.

‘The charm! Thank goodness!’

He grinned. ‘I figured you must be hating ducking and diving by now. Liv’s worked really hard on it. It should hide your heartbeat and make you appear a little more vampirish than you do – especially when you blush. It’ll hide all signs of that too.’

He helped me unhook the chain around my neck that held my daylight charm and Nana’s triskele and slipped the additional charm onto it. I fussed with my shirt, letting the charms settle inside it. Their weight was a quiet comfort against my skin.

‘Woah, that’s freaky,’ Connor commented and Fluffy barked in agreement. Shadow came closer, padded over my lap and looked at me oddly.

‘What? What’s wrong?’

Connor shook his head and pointed at the rear-view mirror. I adjusted it so I could see my reflection; I still looked like me, just a shade paler and with no pink flush to my cheeks. I hadn’t realisedI had that blush until it wasn’t there anymore. Huh. Being hybrid had saved me a fortune on makeup.

‘Did you just say I was freaky?’ I sassed. ‘Because I still look the same, just a little paler.’

‘I saidthatwas freaky, not you! And it’s because I can’t hear your heartbeat anymore. I’ve sort of grown to love it – the occasional kerthunk is kind of reassuring.’

‘Aw, that’s cute. How come you never noticed it before we dated?’

‘I never thought to listen for one because I knew you were a vamp.’ He shrugged. ‘Most of the time I’m tryingnotto listen for heartbeats because they’re so loud and fast in humans. If you didn’t learn to tune them out, you’d get overwhelmed. It’s good you’ve been with other people when you’ve run into my father’s men – they wouldn’t think to listen for a singular slow heartbeat – but if you were alone with them they’d definitely notice. With this charm, you should be able to meet with them without fear.’

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