Page 46 of The Second Deal

“Hedeserved better than what she put him through.Idon’t care if she’s his baby mama turned into a man-eating owl or whatever the fuck.”

Hegrabs the amaretto from the counter and takes a step back as he sips. “SoIdeserved you cheating on me?”

“No.”Icross my arms and look away from his intimate gaze, down at the gauze covering the puncture wounds on his neck. “Whatgot you out there?”

Hesays it so simply: “Youknow that story about fang baby offOldPearsall?”

Myeyes bug out of their sockets. “I’mnot fucking playing—”

“NeitheramI!”

Glaringat him,Isay loudly, “Vampiresaren’t real.That’sjust an old urban legend to scare kids into staying at home after dark.”

“Justlike la lechuza?”

Iscrub a hand over my face. “Zakary,Iswear to fuckin’God…OldPearsallis, like, fifteen miles away, forChrist’ssake!”

“Yeah, well, guess it went out for a night drive or fly or whatever vampires do.”

“You’rea big dude.Howthe hell could a baby attack you?”

Heshrugs. “I’vehad a lot to drink.”

Ithrow my hands in the air when he reaches for the glass half-full of amaretto. “Maybeyou should lay off the fuckin’ bottle, huh?”

Hescoffs, returning the glare. “Don’tyou think you showin’ up out of nowhere’s got me fucked up?Huh?”

Ababy cries at the door.

Thehair on the back of my neck stands at attention.

“Didyou make a deal with the devil?”Iwhisper.

Theair is eerily still, the whole house gone too quiet.Zakrefuses to look at me, nor does he answer.

Itake the glass from his hand and down the rest of the amaretto, shifting my weight uncomfortably. “DoesAdrianknow?About—”Igesture towards the front of the house, “—Krisbeing on her lechuza bullshit tonight?”

Zaknods once. “Itold him to stay away.”Then, he sighs. “Icussed at her and threw salt out the door, but we’re gonna have to wait it out ‘til morning.”

Scoffing,Imutter, “Bitchhates me that much,Iguess.”

WithKrisscratching at the door and crying, the scent ofAdrian’ssoap lingering on my skin andZak’sclothing hanging from my frame, the realization sets in.

Thisis hell.AndI’min for a long fucking night.

Pursingmy lips,Ireach for my phone to textMomso she doesn’t freak out on me like she did this morning.

Spendingthe night at a friends, had too much to drink.Sorryfor bailing butIpromiseI’llbe back tomorrow.

“Fuck,”Igrumble under my breath.Ibetter be back tomorrow.IfKrissomehow manages to eat me before sunrise,I’mgoing to besopissed.

“I’msorry about all this.”

“Zak,”Isigh, setting the drink and my phone down on the counter and facing him fully.

Everythingfinally hits me all at once, everything from what’s happened tonight to what happened atNewYear’sBall, violently colliding into my back and pushing me forward.

Myarms slip aroundZak’swaist, andIlay my head on his chest.Myeyes squeeze shut andIsniffle. “Whatif something really bad happened tonight,Z?”

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