Sitting up, she frowned. There had been more to the dream. Why couldn’t she remember it?
Thoughts of last night’s dream vanished when, over breakfast, she turned on her iPad and brought up the morning paper. The fire at the theater headlined the news. How had she forgotten that dreadful ordeal? She read through the story, remembering all too clearly how quickly it had happened, how horrible it had been. The flames. The panic. The sheer terror of thinking she might die in the fire.
The article reported that the stage manager had sustained numerous injuries when he fell into the pit, the lead soprano had suffered minor burns, three people had been badly hurt in the rush to leave the theater, several others had also been injured. Andrei’s friend Colin had been reported missing.
Tessa shivered. They would never find his body.
Her appetite gone, she pushed her plate away. If she lived to be a hundred, she would never forget the sight of that poor man being engulfed by flames, or how quickly he had been consumed, leaving nothing but ashes behind.
* * *
Tessa wasn’t looking forward to lunch with Jileen. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss the grisly details of last night’s fire.
Of course, it was the first thing Jilly mentioned.
“I heard about the fire on the news last night,” she said, her eyes wide. “I tried to call you but . . .” She shrugged. “I guess your phone was off.”
Tessa nodded. “I didn’t think about turning it on until I got to work this morning.”
“You obviously got out okay. I almost hate to ask how the rest of the evening went.”
“He took me home. Neither one of us was in the mood to do much of anything else.” She saw no need to mention kissing Andrei.
“Are you going to see him again?”
“I guess so. He said he’d call me.”
“Why don’t you call him? Luke and I are going dancing Friday night. You two should come with us.”
“I don’t know . . .”
“Come on, it’s time our fellas met. Since they’re both hunters, they should have a lot to talk about. Besides, it’s Halloween. You don’t want to sit home alone.”
* * *
Tessa hurried home from work Friday night. Andrei had called her earlier in the week and when she mentioned going out with Jilly and Luke, he had agreed. At Jileen’s suggestion, they had agreed to meet Jilly and Luke at the local cowboy bar.
Tessa decided on jeans, boots, and a western shirt, since the club had a casual western flair.
When Andrei arrived, she saw that he had been thinking along the same lines, although seeing him in black jeans, a black cowboy shirt, and boots, casual was not the word that came to mind.
Outside, he opened the door of a dark gray Challenger for her.
“Another car?” she asked, sliding into the passenger seat. “How many do you have?”
“Three.” Rounding the front of the car, he climbed behind the wheel and the engine purred to life. “Hang on,” he said, and hit the gas.
Jileen and Luke had already scored a table when Tessa and Andrei arrived. Tessa noted several couples in costume, no doubt going out to Halloween parties later.
Luke stood as they approached. Recognition flickered in his eyes when he saw Andrei. He swore under his breath, one hand diving inside his jacket as he put himself between Jileen and Andrei.
Eyes narrowed, Andrei said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Jileen frowned.
“What’s going on?” Tessa asked, glancing from Luke to Andrei and back again.
“Tessa! Get away from him!” Luke hissed. “He’s a vampire!”
“Maybe we’d better take this outside,” Andrei suggested, conscious of the stares of some of the other patrons.
“So you can kill me?” Luke shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Andrei muttered an oath. Capturing Luke’s gaze with his own, and then Jileen’s, he said, “It’s time to go.”
Luke nodded, his movements wooden as he walked toward the door.
Jileen followed him.
Frowning, Tessa stared at Andrei. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain outside.”
“Tell me now.”
“Tessa,” he growled, taking her by the arm, “this isn’t the time or the place. Let’s go.”
She didn’t want to leave. There was protection, of a sort, in being surrounded by people. But something in his tone compelled her to obey and the next thing she knew, they were all in Andrei’s Challenger, heading out of the city.
* * *
Tessa glanced into the backseat. Jileen and Luke sat like zombies, not moving, not speaking. She faced forward again, her hands tightly folded in her lap. She was shaking and couldn’t stop.