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Maurice looked irritated, keeping his mouth straight and flaring his nostrils when I asked my question, but I couldn’t understand why. Was he going to hide inside all day?

He relaxed his expression and grinned. “That’s why we’re moving there. There’s a witch in Los Angeles who’s a good friend of mine. She plans to create a more permanent solution for vampires. We lost all hope when we realized we were wrong about the witch we’d thought for centuries would be the key to removing the curse of the sun. So, now, we must figure it out on our own.”

As much as I still feared being this close to an actual vampire, the fact that he couldn’t enjoy the sun beaming down on him every day made me feel sorry for him. I went back inside the house and slid the balcony door closed when Maurice spoke again.

“I have a meeting with a few of my colleagues. I have a bookshelf full of books you love. How about you read something or watch a show on my computer in the office? Maybe they’ll trigger more memories.”

I looked past him and saw a man and woman standing in the family room. I didn’t recognize them, and no memories came back. They were both beautiful—flawless, like Maurice. An anxious feeling came over me as I narrowed my eyes at them. Maurice being a vampire is one thing. He was someone Iremember caring for. Those twoin the family room were strangers. Possibly undead strangers. My stomach twisted in knots, and I wanted to hide in my room until they left.

“Please, Mercy,” Maurice said, ordering me over with his hand. “Come meet my friends first.” I stared at him pleadingly, but he smiled and gently grabbed my hand. “Oh, relax, darling. They won’t hurt you.”

He escorted me to the front room, where the two stood, and gestured to the young-looking, dark-haired guy with a light scruff on his face. “Mercy, this is Julian. He joined my business a few months ago. And this is Jade.” I looked at the redhead next to Julian. She had dark auburn hair, and her skin was bright white with light freckles on her cheeks and nose. She almost looked like she had no pigmentation besides her red hair.

They both smiled at me awkwardly, and it made me uncomfortable. Their eyes spoke to me as if they knew something I didn’t, and they seemed to take pleasure in that.

“Jade and I have known each other for years. She’s been traveling around Europe this last year and joined my company a month ago,” Maurice explained.

I swallowed hard and felt a painful lump in my throat go down slowly. Something was off about all three of them.

“What do you do, Maurice?” I asked. “For work?”

He beamed, appearing excited that I was finally asking the important questions. “I run a blood donation corporation,” he said, and I looked at him with skepticism. “You see, not every vampire wants to drink from humans,” he said. “So, we provide a solution by draining blood from willing donors. Then we sell it for profit.”

“They’re all willing?” I asked. Just the mere thought of blood made me queasy.

A rumble of chuckling at my question between all three of them echoed off the walls. “Most of them, sweetheart,” Maurice said. “You see, that same witch, who we thought could save us, now wants to kill us off. We’ve also learned of witches who can manipulate someone’s face. If vampires don’t realize they’re drinking from her under this disguise, they will become human again. We can’t have that.”

I swallowed deeply. “Well, I don’t know. I’d think being a human would be a good thing, unless you enjoy being this way.”

The moment I said those words, I immediately regretted them. They all narrowed their eyes at me and tightened their lips.

I gulped but continued, hoping my voice didn’t sound too nervous. “How do you know the donors aren’t this witch? In disguise?”

Maurice reached up, brushed the hair from my cheek, and then leaned in and kissed it gently. “We inject them with a potion. If she changes back, then we know. If they don’t, we take as much as they’re willing to givewithoutkilling them.”

“That … that sounds wrong, Maurice,” I said.

He inched closer to me, and I backed up. “Which part, Mercy?”

I looked at the others, then back at Maurice. “All of it.”

His frown turned into a side smirk. “What’s the difference between a human donating their blood to save another human’s life and what we’re doing?”

I didn’t know how to answer this without upsetting him. Maurice had been kind since I awoke on that couch last night, but I didn’t know him, not like he seemed to know me.

Maurice shrugged when I didn’t answer. “It doesn’t fucking matter,” he said, his harsh tone sending me into a wave of panic. “Once we move, I won’t be running that business anymore.”

I looked at Jade, who snickered under her breath.

“Why not?” I asked, tilting my chin and suddenly finding a thread of courage.

“Because that witch is no longer a problem,” he explained, and that was the last thing he needed to say. I was a witch, which meant this other witch Maurice spoke of could be a friend. She could be my family.

“I’m going to go use the restroom. Please, excuse me.” I shifted toward the hallway, but Maurice grabbed my arm, and I winced at the pressure of his nails digging painfully into my skin. “You’re hurting me, Maurice. Let me go.”

His lip came up in a snarl. “Is there something else you’d like to say to me, Mercy?” he asked.

I swallowed down a painful lump. “Nope.” I shook my head. “I just really have to pee.”

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