“You can’t compel her to forget. You already know that doesn’t work.” Zoe tapped her foot impatiently. “So what’s your plan, Damon?”
This was all too weird for Sierra. Backing up until she was against the door, she felt for the doorknob behind her. She needed to get out of there.
She needed to hop in a car and leave—wait, she didn’t have a car yet. What if Damon could move as fast as Ronan had? What if they both ganged up on her? She wouldn’t have a chance.
The door behind her was pushed open and Ronan stood on the threshold.
“You might as well come in,” Zoe told him.
“Sierra can see ghosts,” he said.
“We know,” Damon and Zoe said.
For a surreal moment, Sierra wondered what her heroine Nicki would do. She’d probably kick ghost butt, but vampires and witches had never been involved in Sierra’s plotlines. She’d considered it, given the popularity of vampires. But she wrote what she knew. Ghosts.
Besides, she wasn’t Nicki. Sierra was scared. She was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering.
A sudden thought hit her. Did her distant cousins who had inherited the house before her really leave the house or had these … these vampire people drained them of blood and killed them?
Was she going to suffer the same fate?
Not without a fight.
Right. How was she supposed to fight two vampires and a witch? Maybe she’d fallen asleep and this was all a bad dream. She pinched herself hard. Shit. That hurt. Which meant she wasn’t asleep.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Zoe reassured her.
“Damn right you’re not.” She reached for the wide sterling silver bangle she wore and held it up. “Stay back!” Wait, did silver work on vampires or just werewolves? She wrote paranormal novels, she should know this stuff.
And what about witches? What worked on them? Hell if she knew.
“I realize this is a lot to take in, but you shouldn’t panic,” Ronan said.
“Sure. You’re right. The fact that you’re a vampire and my neighbor says she’s a witch is no big deal.”
Damon raised his hand.
“Right,” Sierra said. “You’re a vampire too. I’ll take your word for that.”
“I can show you—” Damon said.
“I don’t want to see,” Sierra said. She tried to think logically here. She’d seen stories on the Internet of people who’d had their teeth changed to become fangs. But were those retractable fangs? Because Ronan sure as hell hadn’t had fangs when she’d kissed him a few hours ago.
“Would you like to sit down and talk about this?” Zoe offered. “We could have some of Daniella’s cupcakes.”
“I need to leave.” After she spoke, Sierra realized it might not have been smart stating her intention to exit this craziness. “Do not try to stop me.”
Zoe put her hand on Ronan’s arm. “Let her go.”
Sierra wasted no time in getting out. Once in the cold February air, she tried to figure out a plan. She sure as hell wasn’t leaving without her laptop. Her book was on there. Yes, she’d backed up part of it to the cloud but that was several days ago.
She’d rush into her house and grab a few things and get out. She’d go to the cupcake shop and call a cab on her cell from there.
Ruby greeted her the moment she walked in.
“How could you not know he’s a vampire?” Sierra demanded. “You were here with him before I came.”
“I never saw his fangs until today. Besides, he couldn’t see me, so what difference does it make?” Ruby said.
“It makes a lot of difference to me.”
“Well, it doesn’t to me.”
Sierra’s anger flared. “And that’s all that matters, right? You.”
“No,” Ruby said. “You matter too.”
“Only because I’m useful to you.”
“Not yet, but I have hopes.”
“You are incredibly self-centered, do you know that?”
“Talk to me after you’ve been stabbed two dozen times and had to parade around in your underwear for decade after decade. I’ve been waiting forever.” Ruby paused as Sierra reached for a bag and quickly tossed a few fave books and a handful of clothes in it. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“But you can’t. You’ll lose the house.”
“I could lose my life if I stay,” Sierra said bluntly. She grabbed her laptop, purse, and the bag. Her furniture could stay. As for the box of her books, she’d ask her publisher to send more. She could just imagine the conversation with her editor, Lily Janeway.
“You know that box of books you sent me? I had to leave it behind for fear of being attacked by vampires and a witch plus a poltergeist ghost and Ruby the garter girl.” Yeah, right. Like that talk was ever going to take place.