She stopped only a few steps in when Rusty simply left his money on the table and left. Dread settled in her stomach. With Rusty’s exit, that left only a family of four in the back corner and Jane next to the window. When she met Jane’s gaze, the other woman gave her a sad smile. Olivia took it as permission to approach. At least Jane wasn’t making a beeline for the door without a word.
Jane pointed to the chair across from her. “Have a seat.”
“Are you sure? Seems everyone else thinks I’m contagious with something.”
Jane nodded to the empty chair, and Olivia slipped into it. “Word has gotten around the neighborhood that you’re seeing a vampire.”
Olivia jumped as if she’d been stung. “What?”
Jane leaned a little closer. “One of your neighbors saw you together, saw him jump from the street to your balcony.”
What should she say? Deny it? Try to explain.
“You are not the first and likely won’t be the last,” Jane said.
“I... You don’t seem upset.”
Jane shrugged. “It doesn’t affect me. I personally think people ought to mind their own business and not tell everyone else how to live.”
Olivia glanced across her nearly empty diner. “You seem to be in the minority.”
“Unfortunately.” Jane slid her glasses to the top of her head. “You ever wonder what I’m writing in here every day?”
“Yes. Mindy and I have actually debated many times. Our latest guesses are erotic novel—that’s Mindy’s guess—or spy thriller because you used to be a spy.”
Jane laughed. “Maybe it’s an erotic spy thriller.”
“Hey, new genre.”
Jane placed her hand on either side of her laptop. “No. I’m writing about human-vampire relations throughout history.”
Olivia scrunched her forehead. “Is there enough material for that? There really hasn’t been much interaction.”
“See, I don’t think that’s true. There are too many stories of vampires throughout history. I’m taking a look at all of them again, along with historical accounts of the same periods when the stories originated. I don’t think all of those tales are fiction.”
“I was told that those stories sprang up because of rogue vampires who killed too much and didn’t make sure no one saw them.”
“Maybe part of it. But I don’t think all the interactions were deadly. They’ve just been very well hidden or disguised. Do you think your vampire would consent to being interviewed?”
Olivia couldn’t imagine it in a million years. She gave Jane an apologetic smile. “I don’t think so. Besides, he’s a very young vampire. He wouldn’t have witnessed any of these potential historical encounters.”
Disappointment fell over Jane’s face. “Oh, well. It was worth a try.”
“You don’t fear them?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I’m not so adventurous that I step out of my building after sunset. But they do fascinate me. I want to know the reality versus the myth. Before the Bokor virus, I traveled to remote locations all over the world writing about little-known peoples and places, but this is like nothing I’ve ever worked on before. I feel as if I could peel back layers forever and still not get the entire story.”
“They were very good at hiding their existence.” Despite her relationship with Campbell, Olivia still found the vampire world frightening and the fact that they’d lurked in the dark for centuries creepy.
“The most secret of societies.” Jane took another sip of her coffee.
“Can I get you a fresh cup?”
Jane closed her laptop. “Sorry, no time. I have a meeting this morning.”
“Will you be coming back?” Olivia hated the hint of desperation in her voice. But her dining room sat as sparsely filled as it had in the days after she’d reopened following the pandemic. Just when she’d felt as though things were getting better, bam, the rug got pulled out again. At least Mindy wasn’t here to see what Olivia’s actions had done to their livelihood.
“Yes, dear. I’ll be back again tomorrow.” She looked at the empty tables around her. “Hopefully the others will come to their senses soon, too.”
Olivia sat at the table for several minutes after Jane left, watching people walk by on their way to work. Could she really blame customers for staying away? Not so long ago, would she have been any different?
She had to find a way to fix this, to fix everything.
Campbell would swear it’d been ages since he’d seen Olivia rather than the mere day since he’d left her apartment. He needed to feed later tonight, had confirmed with Ethan that there were a couple of units of AB- negative available. He wasn’t going to push himself to the breaking point ever again if he could help it. But first he needed to see Olivia, hold her in his arms.
The baroness’s words had reverberated in his head ever since she’d uttered them. He didn’t know if he could totally turn off the thoughts of her mortality or the danger he posed to her, but he couldn’t imagine never seeing her again either.
When he arrived at her apartment, she was lying on her couch watching TV. All he could see of her were her sock-covered feet hanging over one of the couch arms. Hoping he wasn’t disturbing her if she was asleep, he knocked on the balcony window.
It took her a moment, but she rose, turned off the TV and crossed to the door. “Hey,” she said when she opened it and ushered him inside.
Once he was standing in her dining room, she pulled the blinds closed over the sliding glass door.
“You okay?” he asked.
She offered a small smile. “Just a long day.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Are you too tired for company?”
“No.” She wrapped her arms around him and placed her cheek against his chest. “I want you to stay.”
Sensing her fatigue, he led her to the couch and urged her to curl up against him. He kissed the top of her head.
“How’s the abduction investigation going?” she asked.
Campbell’s muscles tightened. “We’ve got a suspect. Just have to find the evidence to prove it.”
“Do you...do you think those people are still alive?”
“I hope so.”
When she fell silent again, he knew something was wrong. He rubbed his hand along her arm. “You’re hiding something from me. What is it?”
“Just had a bit of a dip in the amount of customers today.”
“How much of a dip?”
She let out a long sigh. “A big one. It hasn’t been that bad since I first reopened after the pandemic.”
He knew the reason without her having to say it. “It’s because of me, isn’t it? Someone found out about us?”
She hesitated but then nodded. “I guess one of my neighbors saw you.”
He cursed, then closed his eyes and let his head fall against the back of the couch. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare blame yourself,” Olivia said as she sat up.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Who do you think is at fault?”
“Me, the neighbor who couldn’t keep his or her mouth shut, any vamp who has ever drained a human. Frankly, whoever is behind these kidnappings. It’s not just one thing, though it seems that way.”
“Maybe not, but I was the tipping point.”
“And I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”
