Twenty-One

“And where are we gonna find a Lassie, who’s smart enough to deliver your potion to Yvette with instructions on what to do?” Gabriel ran his hands through his thick, full hair, tearing his pony tail apart before pulling it back into its rubber band.

“Didn’t you say she owned a dog that followed commands?” Francine asked.

Zane, Gabriel and Francine stood back near the vans where their voices wouldn’t carry to the building.

“Sure, but we can’t find the beast. Looks like it ran away. And we won’t have time to search for it now. It doesn’t even have a tag or a collar.”

Francine frowned. “Well, any dog or cat then. Just make it quick before he realizes that he’s surrounded by vampires. Witches can smell vampires, you know. Particularly if there’s over a dozen.” She gave them both a pointed look.

Busted! So much for trying to get something past a witch.

“You have to understand my position, Francine—” Gabriel was rudely interrupted by the hand she abruptly raised in front of her.

“No explanation necessary. I would have been disappointed in you if you hadn’t kept it from me. So how many do we have?”

“Eighteen vampires, one human, plus you.”

Zane scoffed at Gabriel’s word. If he’d been the boss, she wouldn’t have gotten that kind of frank information.

“Well, then get a dog or a cat. Preferably a dog. They follow commands more easily.”

It took over twenty minutes for one of the vampires to find a suitable dog that ran around the neighborhood and was docile enough to follow the man’s coaxing.

Francine tied a ribbon around the vial’s neck and affixed it around the poodle’s collar.

“And how are you making sure Yvette gets it, and even if she does, how will she know what to do with it?” Zane was still skeptical whether the whole idea had any merit. “And besides, I don’t know any dogs that open doors by themselves.”

***

Yvette didn’t mind the darkness in the room. All lights had gone out over half an hour ago. And she knew what it meant: her friends were coming to get her. A peek outside through the window told her that the entire block was blacked out. Surely, that was Thomas’ work.

“Do you see anything?” Haven asked from behind her. Ever since the light had gone out he’d stayed close to her, close enough to touch. Now his hand settled on her waist as he brought his head close to hers to peer out into the black night.

Trying to shake off the sensations his touch ignited in her, she made herself sound all businesslike. “My friends are here.”

“Ah, shit,” Wesley sniped.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kimberly’s voice sounded nervous.

“Yes, that’s a good thing,” Yvette confirmed, not wanting to alarm the girl.

“Not for us. They’ll see us as the enemy.”

Unfortunately, Wesley’s assumption wasn’t without merit.

“Just stay close to me at all times, and I’ll make sure they won’t hurt you guys.”

Her breath hitched when she felt Haven press himself against her back and slide his arm fully across her waist, holding her to him. “How close?” he whispered into her ear only for her to hear. Then he took her earlobe between his lips and sucked it into his mouth.

Yvette’s knees would have buckled had he not held her so tightly. “Stop that,” she ordered under her breath, hoping neither Wesley nor Kimberly would hear her.

“I’ll stop, but just to be clear: when all this is over, you and I have a date. And if you try to run out on me, I’ll find you.”

While his words were a warning, his hands were pure seduction. One tunneled under her halter-neck and found her naked breast to toy with under cover of darkness, the other slid lower to cover her throbbing sex.

“Don’t tell me you’re kissing her again,” Wesley asked, a disgusted tone in his voice.

Yvette pushed free of Haven’s hold. “Of course not!”

“No!” Haven protested just as vehemently.

“It’s okay if you are,” Kimberly said.

“No, it’s not!” Wesley made his opinion known.

“But they look cute together.”

Cute? Yvette was glad not to have to suppress her grin. Luckily, she was the only one of the four who could see in the dark. Cute wasn’t what she would have called her tryst with Haven, and by the frown on his face, he didn’t agree with it either.

“You can’t be serious, Katie!” Wesley chastised.