“Bullshit,” he cut me off. “I just laid myself open here. Answer the question.”

Perhaps I also thought he might not remember this conversation in the morning, or maybe it was just his honesty. Either way, I answered him with the truth.

“Once. Years ago, before I met you.”

Tate didn’t blink, and his eyes bored into mine. “Who was he? What happened?”

I turned away, because now I was going to lie. When I answered him, it was as I walked out the door.

“You know who he was. He was the vampire I’d been sleeping with who wrecked your car the day we met. So you also know what happened to him. I killed him.”

NINE

WORK HAD BEEN HECTIC. IN SOME WAYS that was good. The frantic schedule over the last two weeks kept the awkwardness with Tate and me down to a minimum. It was hard to be gawky when your lives were constantly on the line.

Things with Noah weren’t rosy, either. Despite his best efforts, my frequent absences strained our already tenuous dating relationship. And lately he’d started to drop hints about wanting to “deepen” things between us. Not that I blamed him for trying-we’d been going out for over two months, but it wasn’t going to happen.

I already knew we wouldn’t work, no matter how great of a person Noah was. There were too many lies between us, all mine, of course, and the bottom line appeared to be that I still wasn’t ready to let go of my former doomed relationship. Hey, at least I’d tried. Now I had to let Noah down gently. I’d already told him I understood if my schedule was too difficult for him to handle. Either Noah was stubborn or he wasn’t taking the hint. I had to start employing more concise methods, but I wasn’t about to just say, We’re through! and hang up on him. I liked Noah, and I hated the thought of hurting him.

Then on a Tuesday, abysmally early, my phone rang. I vaulted up to answer it, already looking for clothes and cursing whatever pulseless creature was causing trouble before eight in the morning, when I heard Denise’s voice.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately.

“Nothing! I’m sorry to call so early, but I couldn’t wait to tell you. Oh, Cat, I’m so happy. I’m getting married!”

I didn’t go through any of the “Are you sure? It’s so sudden!” objections with Denise. She’d only been dating her new boyfriend, Randy, for two weeks, but Denise wasn’t normally impulsive and she’d said that she knew she loved Randy and he felt the same way about her. Seeing the bowled-over look in her eyes, I knew anything I said about rushing, waiting, or caution would fall on deaf ears, anyway. Besides, she had enough to deal with. Denise’s parents refused to even meet Randy, since he was Catholic and they were Jewish. His parents weren’t wild about their extremely short courtship, either. Who said falling in love was easy? Certainly not me.

I was planning a little chat with her parents. For years I’d been trying to harness the power in my eyes. They weren’t as potent as a vampire’s, but I was going to give it my best shot. Denise deserved a happy wedding, and I would do my damnedest to give it to her. What could go wrong? They couldn’t be more opposed to the wedding than they already were.

I insisted on buying the flowers, the photographer, and the cake. They were taking on the expense for the rest of it. Denise tried to decline, but I threatened her with my knives and my PMS. In my nonworking hours, we scrambled to pick out her dress, the bridesmaids’ dresses, the flowers, and the invitations. It wasn’t until four days before the wedding that I met Randy. To my selfish relief, he was moving into her house, not the other way around. Denise said he was an independent software consultant-a computer genius, she’d gushed-and therefore it was easier for him to relocate than her with her local nine to five job.

Denise enlisted me to help unpack, and when Randy pulled up in a U-Haul, I got my first look at him. He was five-ten with light brown hair, rimless glasses, and a slim athletic build. He was handsome in an easygoing way, but I liked his eyes the most. They lit up when he looked at her.

Randy held out a hand after kissing Denise hello. “You must be Cat. Denise can’t stop talking about you. Thank you for all of your help with the wedding.”

I ignored his hand and hugged him instead. “I’m so glad to finally meet you! And don’t worry about the help. I’ll probably never get married, so I’m living vicariously through her. Let’s get you unloaded. Denise has her final fitting tonight, and she can’t be late for it.”

Randy coughed. “Um, honey, didn’t you say we’d have enough help? There’s just the three of us.”

Denise laughed. “Don’t worry. Cat comes from a long line of farmers. Believe me, we could sit and watch, but that wouldn’t be polite.”

Randy looked doubtfully at me. Denise, true to her word, hadn’t told him a thing about my bloodline. He thought I just worked for the government.

Randy followed me to the back of the truck. “Are you sure about this? I’m meeting my friend tonight, one of the groomsmen, and he offered to help. I told him we didn’t need it because of what Denise said, but I could call him. You don’t want to strain yourself.”

“Randy, that’s sweet, but don’t worry. We’ll be done in no time.”

Half an hour later, Randy gaped at his furniture neatly arranged in Denise’s pretty two-story home. Sometimes being half dead didn’t all suck.

“Farmers?” he asked in disbelief, looking at me.

I smiled. “Farmers. Back five generations.”

“Right,” he said. Denise hid her giggle.

“Go shower,” I urged her. “We have to leave.”

“Randy, what time will you be back tonight? Should Cat and I grab dinner?”

“Yeah. I’m meeting my friend, so I’ll be a while.”

I cleared my throat with mock menace. “Okay, I’m going!” she relented.

“Thank you for all of your help,” Randy said again. “Not just the moving today. Or the wedding. Denise told me how you’ve always been there for her. It’s rare to have a friend like that.”

He stared at me without pretense, and I knew why Denise felt a connection with him. There was something very direct in his gaze.

“You’re welcome.” I didn’t say more than that. Somehow, I didn’t need to.

“I’m ready,” Denise chirped several minutes later.

I gave Randy one last hug goodbye. “It was great to finally meet you.”

“Likewise. Take care of my girl.”

“Oh, she does,” Denise assured him. “She does.”

Four hours later, after Denise’s fitting and then an uninterrupted-for once!-dinner, I dropped her off at home and arrived back at my house. It was nearly one A.M. Almost an early night for me.

I froze as I got out of the car and felt a faint charge in the air outside. There were no unusual sounds, just the background noises of people in the surrounding houses, and I didn’t sense anyone. Still, I stretched my hands and felt the empty air of the driveway like it had form. There was the barest impression of inhuman energy, not strong enough for the source to still be there, but something had been. Maybe it was just some creature who’d passed by. It wouldn’t be the first time. Something about the residual aura didn’t feel threatening. Vampires or ghouls gave off a different vibe when they were hunting to kill.

Mentally I shrugged. If some evil dead thing had found me and had malicious intent, they would be waiting inside. To be safe, I entered cautiously, then checked all the rooms. Nothing.

I took a shower and climbed into bed. No monster was under it-I’d checked as a stupid precaution-but still, that odd feeling lingered. I could have sworn it felt like someone had been in my house. But that was stupid. Jeez, I was getting as paranoid as Don.