“Oh, nothing, really. I ran into Bones on my way back from the bathroom, and he said a few less-than-gentlemanly things. Guess it just upset me, that’s all.”

Hennessey withdrew his hand and stood, a smile of perfect politeness on his face. “Would you excuse me? I suddenly feel the need to renew an acquaintance.”

“Please don’t,” I blurted, not wanting to have started a fight. Well, not yet.

“I’ll only be a few minutes, my dear. Just to let him know his rudeness wasn’t appreciated.” He left me there with my mouth still forming protests. Annoyed, I swallowed the rest of my tonic, and was about to order another one when Ralphie and Martin sidled up.

“Hey, there! Remember us?”

Their smiles were so genuinely artless I felt a reluctant answering tug of the lips.

“Hello, boys.”

They stood around me, one on either side again.

“Is that your date?” Ralphie asked, goggle-eyed.

“No. Yes. Well, he kind of is now. My other one didn’t work out, so this guy is keeping me company.” I was as vague as possible on any details that could somehow endanger them later. “He just went off for a little macho showboating, probably be gone about ten minutes. When he comes back, you scatter, okay?”

“Sure thing,” they chorused.

Martin held out a drink in his hand with a shy smile.

“It’s a gin and tonic, like you ordered before. After you had one, I tried them. They’re good!”

The boyish delight on his face was infectious, and my smile broadened.

“Here,” he said importantly. “It’s a fresh one. I’ll wait for the bartender for another.”

“Why, thank you.”

After raising it in salute, I took a long draught. It was slightly more bitter than the other ones I’d had. Maybe it was made by a bartender not as skilled as Logan.

“Delicious.” Hiding my grimace, I took another drink so their feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

They glanced anxiously at me and back and forth between themselves.

“Do you want to see my car?” Ralphie asked, eyes wide and intent. “It’s a new Porsche, totally loaded. It’s so cool.”

“Yeah,” Martin chimed in. “You gotta see it, it’s really trick!”

From out of his pants Ralphie pulled keys, one with the Porsche insignia. “I’ll let you drive it.”

Their combined glee at the vehicle made me wistful. When had I ever been so excited over a car? Then again, I’d never owned a Porsche. Money must be a neat thing to have.

With a firm shake of my head, I set my glass down. My mind had begun to whirl again. It was definitely time to go back to the soda.

“Sorry, guys. Can’t leave my date. Wouldn’t be proper.”

Complete sentences were something I couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around. I was anxious to get on with the plan so that I could go home and sleep. Sleep sounded wonderful to me right now.

Ralphie tugged my hands, and Martin gave my shoulders a push. I blinked at them in confusion and sat up straighter. Or tried to.

“Hey. Don’t get pushy. Sorry, but I said no.”

“Come on,” Ralphie urged, still pulling at my hands. “Just for a second! Hurry, before he comes back!”

“No!”

Now I was pissed. Everyone was trying to get me to do things I didn’t want to do. That I should never be doing, no matter how good they felt…

I pushed Ralphie off with enough force to make him stumble backward.

“You have to leave now.”

They exchanged glances again, surprised. Apparently girls really must like the Porsche. They were stunned they’d been refused.

“Go.” Putting more threat into my voice, I swiveled in my seat to turn my back to them. “Bartender,” I called out wearily, and Logan appeared after a minute. “Do you have any Tylenol?”

Hennessey and I left fifteen minutes later. When he’d finally returned, I felt like complete shit. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I couldn’t until we finished him off. Abruptly I suggested we leave and go to a different club, saying that I wanted to avoid another run-in with Bones. He accepted without hesitation and we were soon driving out of the narrow parkway in his loaded Mercedes. Was it a vampire thing, to own a Mercedes?

My head spun, and I could barely keep up with his pleasant conversation as he drove. In the back of my mind I wondered what my problem was, but it seemed too hard to concentrate. My eyes fluttered closed for a moment before I snapped them open. What was wrong with me?

“Too much to drink, Cat?”

For once, I wasn’t faking when I answered him with slurred words.

“Y-you don’t understand…” Talking became difficult, and the first pangs of warning shot through me. Something was very wrong. “I can hadddle…handle my drink.”

Hennessey smiled.

“I disagree. Perhaps we should journey to my place, where you can lie down and rest. You look too indisposed to go to another club.”

“No…noooo…” Vaguely I knew that would be bad, but I was having trouble remembering why. Who was this man in the car, anyway? How had I gotten here? My mind drifted away.

“I think so. You’ll feel better for it.”

Ignoring me, he was ignoring me! He was going to take me to his house, and something bad was going to happen. What was bad? Where was I? Had to get him to stop, to pull over. Then…I’d run away. Yes. Run away. And sleep.

“You have to stop,” I slurred, horrified at the dark colors encroaching on the edge of my vision. A dull ringing began to sound in my ears.

“No, Cat. We’ll stop at home.”

He continued on the same route. We were nearly out of the country roads and would soon be on the freeway. Something inside me knew to prevent him.

“I’m going to throw up,” I warned, and it wasn’t an empty threat. My stomach heaved dangerously. Gagging, I leaned toward him.

The car screeched to a halt so fast the air bags should have deployed. “Not in the car!” he gasped, leaning over me and opening my door.

At once I spilled out onto the ground, retching as promised. Some of it splattered my dress and I heaved until my stomach felt stripped of its contents. Above me, I could hear Hennessey make a sound of disgust.

“You’ve gotten it all over yourself! Now I can’t let you back in the car. You’d ruin the seats!”

This pleased me, but only a little, since I couldn’t remember where I was or why I didn’t want to go back into the car.

Suddenly I was moving, and painfully. He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me off the road into the trees as I tried to struggle. This was bad, it was very bad. My legs felt like boulders. Too heavy to move. My arms weren’t much better, but I futilely slapped at him with no strength. He finally came to a stop and reached behind my neck to unfasten my halter. The dress dropped to my waist, leaving only the strapless bra covering my chest.

“Beautiful,” he sighed, and undid the strap to bare my breasts.

“Don’t.”

I tried to scoot away, but my legs wouldn’t work. Hennessey knelt over me, careful not to get dirty, and pushed my hair aside. At once his face transformed into glowing eyes and fangs. One hand cupped my breast, squeezing roughly, while the other held my head. Slow tears leaked out of my eyes as I sat trapped, unable to move or think. There was something that could help me, something…if I could only remember what it was.

A sharp pain in my neck made me gasp. Oh God, he bit me! He was drinking me! My legs kicked weakly, and my watch tangled in his hair as I tried to push him away. A dim flicker of memory remained, fading fast with every hurtful pull of his mouth. There was something about my watch…

My vision blackened, but before darkness claimed me, I pushed a button.