The irony is, I’ve been doing the exact same thing my entire life. My cloak is the unassuming librarian persona. No one would ever suspect that I am—was—a trained vampire killer. Not even Clive knew. My parents, both Keepers, had their own agendas.
Nice and I walk through the lobby toward the exit. “So how much of what I saw was real? The Fanged Love obsession, the lace, the bad poetry…”
“The chauffeur is waiting,” he says.
He doesn’t want to answer. Not yet anyway. But I suspect tonight is a test or a sort of game. He lives for those. And if I’m right, then the obvious question becomes, What does he intend to do if I don’t pass muster?
Once outside, the Miami night air is cool and moist. Nice opens the passenger door of the Town Car, and I slide in. I greet the driver while Nice comes around the other side and gets in.
“To the Mambo Theater, sir?” asks the driver.
“Yes. Thank you,” Nice says like a polite and sane person.
“I know you’re playing with me,” I say in a quiet voice. “So why don’t we just cut the crap? Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”
“Miriam, I am far too old and far too impatient to make up meaningless lies. My lies always have a purpose: survival. And while I did not expect you to knock on my door tonight, I had planned to come and claim you. Soon. Very soon. You are my fanged love. And now that you are like me, it is time for you to take your place by my side. For this reason, I am revealing myself to you. No one else in the history of my existence has seen who I am.”
I don’t know if I believe him, but I still have to ask, “Why now? Why me? What makes you so sure I’m the one?”
“I wouldn’t be giving you this chance if I were not absolutely certain. Your betrayal—choosing that pompous, violent thug Michael over a sophisticated bag of fun like me—was unforgivable. Had I thought you were just like any other woman out there, I would have killed you, not given you my blood and turned you.” He lowers his voice. “You are my soul mate. The two of us are bonded now. And tonight, we start our new life together.”
That’s weird. Now that he mentioned it, I don’t feel a thing. Not one little tingle of a bond or a sliver of loyalty. It makes me realize that the connection I have with Michael is something special. He gave me his blood a few times when I was human and close to dying, but I suspect what we have goes far beyond that. Nice is my maker. I should feel something for him, and I don’t. Maybe it’s because there’s no room in my heart for two vampires.
Nice continues, “Tonight, I am offering you one chance to earn my trust, Miriam. I have revealed my biggest secret to you. If this is a mistake, I will find out, and then I will end you, your sweet Stella, and her ridiculously weak father.”
Michael is anything but weak. Nice is just jealous. But his opinion of Michael isn’t what worries me. It’s what Nice might do if I betray him.
I look away, feeling his words like a sledgehammer to the ribs. “Well, at least you were honest about that one part of yourself.” I sigh. “Once a sadistic bastard, always a sadistic bastard.”
“I am not to be tested, Miriam. Not now. Not ever. And a deal struck with me must be kept, so I want there to be no mincing words. You’re in my world now. Welcome.”
“I understand. But like you said, a deal is a deal, so just remember to keep your part: Michael must live.”
“A deal’s a deal.” Nice smiles, and I clearly see the devil hiding behind a mask of humanlike flesh.
It’s then that I realize I can’t trust him to keep his word. He might save Michael and then turn around and kill him in a week.
I have to finish the job. I came to Miami for a reason, and I need to see it through.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
By three o’clock in the morning, after mingling with the cast, who seems to know Nice extremely well, we leave the speakeasy, and Nice finally agrees to take me back to the hotel to check on Michael. For some strange reason, Lula has not been answering text messages. Nice thinks she’s upset because their fling is over, but I’m not so sure.
“I really hope I’m wrong,” I say, “because whoever’s been trying to kill Michael and me is very, very knowledgeable about hunting vampires.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Nice says.
“Why?” I wonder if he knows something.
“When you are as old as I am, someone is always hunting you. They want your blood, your power; they fear you. But I have yet to find anyone who can outsmart or outrun me.”
“Well, I’m not nearly as old as you.”
He grins that sadistic grin. “That is why you will always be safe. As long as you are by my side,” he adds.
“I’ve heard that before,” I mutter under my breath.
The car pulls up to the entrance of the hotel, which reminds me of something straight out of American Horror Story: Hotel—ominous and looming with arched windows and a nice Deco flair.
Nice leaves the car and comes around to help with his outstretched hand. I pause for a moment, and we exchange combative looks. I decide that making him my enemy doesn’t help.
I slide my hand into his, noticing how hot his skin feels now. It’s because I’ve changed. Before, he felt like a cold fish on ice.
We walk hand in hand in silence to the elevator, which arrives almost instantly. When we step in, the doors close, and Nice
