“Wow,” Cole said, aiming his phone’s flashlight in sweeping motions across the clearing at the top of the hill, panting slightly with exertion from the incline of the last mile. “This place is a dump.”
It was dark, but Brennan didn’t need vampiric night vision to see that was an understatement. Pike’s Point was an empty clearing with an old junker car rusting with half its tires missing, grass littered with bottles and cans and red plastic cups, condom wrappers and used condoms, the odd sock or shoe. In the center of the field, a dirt patch housed a pile of wood encircled by stones—a makeshift firepit—and an abandoned cooler and lawn chair set up next to it.
“Yeah, in terms of haunted murder spots, definitely not one of the nicer ones I’ve been to.”
Cole reached for Brennan’s hand. “We can do better for our next date.”
“Um, this totally doesn’t count as a date,” Brennan said. “Our first date can’t be all vampire stuff, and I wasn’t prepared, so—it doesn’t count.”
Cole’s laugh was bright and contagious and Brennan found himself smiling.
“You don’t get to call itnota date. A date is two people who are romantically involved spending time together and doing an activity. Look at us. Spending time together, doing an activity.”
“And this is an ideal first date for you?”
“It seems prettyus,” Cole said. “Besides, the pool was our first date. Or when you came over and listened to records.”
Brennan warmed thinking of it. He’d never listen to ABBA the same way again.
“Hm,” Brennan said. “I could be okay with that.”
“Yeah? Is that acceptable?” Cole teased. Then, “Come on, let’s look around.”
He popped up on his toes to peck a quick kiss on Brennan’s lips before whirling around to investigate further, and Brennan let himself revel in the bubble of affection before following.
“Have you ever been up here before?” Brennan asked. He scanned piles of trash, trees with initials carved into them, fallen branches and rocks. Nothing of interest, nothing that screamedscene of a murder,but there had to be something.
“I had some friends freshman year who threw a party here once, but other than that, I think it’s too far out for people to bother. You?”
“Nah, not up here,” Brennan said, and hesitated before adding, “But… the bridge we passed on the way—that’s where the crash was. Where I turned, or whatever, and Dom killed her sister.”
It was also where he tried to kill himself last year, but that seemed a bit much.
“Oh,” Cole said. “Shit. Do we think that’s a coincidence?”
The bridge was at the base of the hill, a long, winding, steadily inclining path between there and Pike’s Point. Close enough that it had reasonable connections to Dom.
“Unfortunately, probably not.”
They fell into quiet as they continued searching, but the more trash Brennan rifled through, the more he was convinced that Nellie and Sunny had already buried any evidence. That, or there was no evidence to begin with. A clean kill.
“Are you guys looking for something in particular?”
The voice came from right over Brennan’s shoulder and he jolted so hard he nearly headbutted the person, twisting to see—
“Travis?”
Before he could say anything else, like,You scared the living shit out of me,fifty pounds of excited dog barreled into Brennan in a blur of motion. Vampire instincts or not, he tumbled to the ground as Rosie the vampire dog slobbered all over his face.
“Rosie! Down!”
Rosie backed away so Brennan could sit up, wipe his face, and greet the dog more civilly, petting her all over as she wiggled and pressed closer.
“Aw, she likes you, mate!”
“What are you doing out here?” Brennan asked.
“My domain’s just downhill,” Travis said, Australian accent as aggressively thick as ever. “I heard voices, and with everything I’ve heard about this place recently, I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
