He looked uncomfortably at the other officer and then he sighed. I knew I had him then.
“It will only take a minute. I promise.”
“Alright. Five minutes, or I’m coming in after you.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right back.”
I hurried off, crossing the gym and bolting through the doors into the hallway. Rather than making a left, however, I veered right, toward the auditorium. I could access the small hallway from that direction, too. That must’ve been how Bo got in there without being seen.
I opened the auditorium door, slipped through and let it fall quietly shut behind me. The only lighting was the red glow of the three exit signs; one behind me and one over the doors on either side of the stage toward the front. I scrambled down the sloped aisle and made my way to the steps that led up onto the platform.
I turned the corner to round the curtains and go back stage. That’s the only way I could get to the door that led to the gym, the door that led to Bo.
I jerked to a halt. Nothing but pitch black lay in front of me, between me and the door. A little shower of trepidation rained chills down my arms.
I listened closely for any sounds, but the only thing I heard was the muffled thump of my own heartbeat beating in my ears.
Quietly, I placed one foot in front of the other and entered the darkness. I struggled to make out shapes of things that stood in my path. Just barely, I could make out a rack that held costumes. It was pushed up against the wall. I saw the pale outline of the tall top of a cardboard castle they’d used in a set at the beginning of the school year when they’d put on Romeo and Juliet. I imagined that every high school in the free world had the exact same light gray castle turret.
I saw the thin stream of light coming from the top of the door that led to the gym and knew the short flight of stairs was straight ahead.
Then something moved in front of the light, blocking it out for an instant before it reappeared.
My heart lurched and my breath was suddenly trapped inside lungs that had ceased to work. My first thought was that something, someone—the same someone who’d attacked me in my room or the same someone who’d attacked me in the woods—was after me. What if it had been Summer all along? Or Drew?
Fear blinded my senses to everything else, so when hands grabbed my arms, I opened my mouth to scream, ready to fight like a hellcat and claw my way out of there.
A hand covered my mouth and a familiar voice had my fear draining away like storm water.
“Shh, it’s me,” Bo said softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I breathed heavily for a few seconds while all my vital signs returned to normal. “That’s ok. What did you find out?”
“There was at least one vampire here, but I don’t think it was a female.”
“So Bailey didn’t see Summer? Why would she say that?” I was immediately irritated that she might’ve maliciously blamed Summer for something so horrendous.
“I didn’t say Summer wasn’t there. I said there was at least one vampire there. But there was something else, too, something I haven’t smelled before.”
“Something you haven’t smelled before?” I asked in surprise. I would’ve thought Bo would be familiar with…well, whatever else was out there. It would’ve bothered me more if I didn’t just then remember that Bo’s memory had been tampered with. A lot. “Any thoughts on what it might be?”
“Well, I keep thinking about the biting. It’s not like a vampire at all. We don’t chew or take out chunks of flesh.”
“What does?”
“Lucius said that when vampires feed, we don’t just feed on the blood; we feed on life. He said that it can have side effects, draining away someone’s life like that and leaving them somewhat alive. He mentioned that it changes them, gives them a madness and a hunger of their own.”
“You think that someone’s been feeding on Summer?”
“I think it’s possible.”
“How would we know? And what would we have to do about it? I mean, is there any way to save someone like that?”
Bo shrugged helplessly. “I just don’t know. I need to see Lucius.”
“Then go,” I encouraged. “We’ll be fine.”
“No. I’m staying until you get home safely. I can go later. I may even wait until you’re at school on Monday.”
“Bo, you don’t have to—”
He put his finger to my lips. “Don’t argue. I’m not leaving you.”
Even though I, too, wanted answers, it warmed me, thrilled me to hear him say that.
Unbidden, the image of Bo with another girl popped into my mind, a faceless girl who was destined to be something to him that I could never be.
Angrily, I pushed the thoughts aside, determined not to let a bleak future ruin the only days I’d probably ever have with him. I refused to live anywhere but the present when it came to Bo. I’d hold onto him as long as I could and I’d relish every second.
I smiled. “Alright. What do you want me to do now, then?”
“I’ll be watching. Just wait your turn and when it’s time to leave, go straight to your car. Take Savannah home and I’ll meet you there.”
“At Savannah’s? What if she—”
Bo grinned, a sexy, lopsided tilt of his lips. “Trust me, I can be very quiet when I need to be.”
Flashes of our time in my bedroom and our interlude in the hall, just a few feet away, flickered through my mind and brought my blood instantly to a sizzling boil. Bo had an insane effect on me. He could block out everything else in the world, no matter how horrible or scary or important. He was like the sun in my sky, chasing away darkness and shadow. Everything melted away in the brilliance of his love.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he said. I heard the telltale hissing of the Ss and I couldn’t help but smile.
I stepped in close to Bo’s body. I could still feel the incredible heat of him; it poured off him in scorching waves.
I reached up blindly, sliding my hand up Bo’s warm chest, finding my way to his delicious lips. I traced the chiseled outline with my fingertip.
“I just wish we had time to further explore how quiet you can be.”
His lips parted when he caught his breath. I slipped my finger into his mouth and rubbed gently back and forth, testing the two pointed tips of his lower teeth.
Knowing that Bo was on fire for me—for my body, for my blood—and that any minute, someone could come through that door and find us was a heady combination, dangerously seductive.