A sigh gusted past my lips. “Does this have anything to do with me and my situation or…?”
Vampires often got swept up in their own mythos, donning silk-lined capes and fake Transylvanian accents, but Cass didn’t have that problem. Not exactly. She didn’t binge every single vampire movie and TV show, read every comic and book series, for the entertainment value. She considered it research. On how to kill vampires. Or even slightly inconvenience them. And then she did everything in her power to avoid those things happening to her.
Just my luck the one vampire I actually liked turned out to be a hypochondriac.
“You’re thinking how often we clash with law enforcement.” She was still chugging full steam ahead. “You’re wondering if you can give this up after your problems are solved by hopping in the sack with your husband, since he’s got enough money for you to retire and do whatever dull thing Society matrons do with their time.”
“You…might be onto something.” I hated admitting it, but there you go. “Who am I after I marry him?”
“A woman who did what she had to for her family.” Cass brushed her fingers across my cheek, comforting me instead of perving on me for a change. “We painted ladies don’t cast stones, Addie. Stop hunching like you expect to get hit.”
Forcing my shoulders back, I shrugged off her kindness, unable to stomach it.
“You kept your sister alive.” She wasn’t done with me yet. “You kept a roof over her and your father’s heads. You’ve busted your ass to make sure he doesn’t have to swim up from the bottom of the bottle he’s always floating in these days.”
Throat tight, I withdrew. “That’s enough.”
“He’s not the only one grieving. You lost your mom. You lost your sister. And now you feel like you’ve lost yourself.”
Crushing my eyes shut, I blocked out her and her acid-churning truths. “I have to call this in.”
“I’ll do it.” She shoved me toward the exit. “Go home.” She dug in her pocket then tossed her keys at me. “Take my car. I’ll find my own way.” She adjusted her breasts. “Handsome sentinels can be so gosh-darn helpful when properly motivated.”
The metal bit into my palm when I closed my fingers around my escape. “Are you sure?”
“I can take the heat.” She reached for her phone. “I’m out of the closet.”
Until I tied the knot with Boaz, I had to keep my extracurricular activities hidden from him. Otherwise, he would call off the engagement. After all, he was buying my family’s good name to expunge the scandal from his own. He would cut me loose in a hot second if I couldn’t uphold my end of the deal. If he found out about my unladylike pursuits, he would wash me off his hands before the mud splattered from my family name onto his.
Society engagements could drag on for years, but I didn’t have that long. As much as my heart wished otherwise, my obligations would force my hand. Until I put a ring on his finger, and he made a deposit into my account, I was the sole provider for my family.
I could not mess up with him. Could. Not.
Twitchy from the murder, and cold from the bargain I had made, I didn’t give Cass’s car a second appreciative glance. I had been brought too low for it to be more than transportation, too mad to care it was a dream to drive.
I startled when my phone rang through the speakers, the number familiar. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Boaz laughed softly, I think at himself, but I didn’t get the joke. “I brought takeout and a movie. I guessed on both. I hope you like dim sum and Keanu Reeves.”
The strain in his voice from trying caused a sympathetic twang in my chest. It’s not like arranging a marriage was his idea of a good time either. Neither of us had much say in our engagement, not with our families in such rough shape.
His little sister had gotten into trouble in Savannah. He didn’t want to talk about it, but it was bad. Bad enough he wanted to give her Hadley’s name to start over fresh somewhere else. Bad enough he was willing to court a woman far beneath him. Only the scandal had brought him so low, and wasn’t that depressing? Not half as grim as me agreeing to his terms in order to save what I had left, but still.
“You’re here?” I squeaked. “In town?”
“Surprise! I figured you’d be home this late.”
“I went for a drive.” My palms slipped on the steering wheel. “I have no objections to dim sum, but which Keanu are we talking here? Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? Speed? A Walk in the Clouds? The Matrix? John Wick?”
“You recited those like you’ve got a list in front of you.” He chuckled and seemed to mean it. “I might be in over my head here.”
“My best friend watched Bram Stoker's Dracula one too many times and fell in love with Jonathan Harker. Well, the actor who played him. Not the character.”
Cass viewed movies as falling into one of two categories: vampires and Keanu Reeves.
“Since you’ve already seen John Wick, I can download something else—”
“John Wick is fine.” I almost smiled. “I can respect a man who goes on a killing spree over his dog.”
“Bloodthirsty,” he teased. “I’m going to chalk Keanu up as the first thing you and I have in common.”
Common ground? He cared about that? It was more than I expected from him, and I couldn’t tell yet if it made me happy he cared or downright terrified I would flub this on some compatibility component.
“I thought you were already home.” I noticed an incoming call but didn’t know how to switch lines without dropping him, and the car didn’t provide any helpful pointers. “Did something happen?”
“That was the plan.” He sounded tired all of a sudden. “I stopped by the sentinel outpost to say hi to an old friend and got drafted for a project. Looks like I’ll be in town a few more days.”
Dread swam the backstroke through my gut, and its form was perfect. “What kind of project?”
“A vampire was killed here three days ago. A young one. His remains were found this morning.”
Cass and I hadn’t checked the news like we did on slow days. We had the Ron Willis case waiting on us, and we jumped on it. Otherwise, we might have heard the gossip from one of our sources and connected the dots sooner. Or at least been curious if there were dots to connect.
“It resembles a case I’ve been working on and off in Savannah,” he continued, “so I’ll be consulting.”
On and off? Existing case? Crap. Despite there being an entire genre dedicated to vampire hunters and slayers, vampire killings were rare.
“Oh.” I searched for my voice. “That’s horrible.”
And it was about to get worse once he found out there had been another murder.
“It’s a worry for tomorrow.” He tied off that conversation with a deft twist in topic. “We didn’t get much time to really talk. We just got down to brass tacks. My schedule is clear until I report in officially at dusk tomorrow, so I thought I would drop in to see you in a less formal setting.”
Part of me wondered if this date night was Dad’s doing too, but it was more likely Boaz wanted to check up on me after Dad called him to make sure I wasn’t following in his inebriated footsteps.