Wicked Love - Michelle Dare Page 0,40

told us to fuck off.”

“Adam’s a smart business owner. Just look what he’s done with Bash. He knows talent when he sees it.” Audrey winked at me.

As we exited the alley, a scruffy man with greasy blond hair and crazed ice-blue eyes seemed to have come out of nowhere. He smiled freakishly as he hopped in front of us, and then froze, like something out of a horror movie.

“What the fuck?” I said, immediately pushing Audrey behind me.

The man hissed at me but continued to smile. It was then I noticed the fangs. I relaxed slightly and shook my head. “Listen, there’s a goth club about two blocks from here, you might wanna try that one. Now go away.”

He moved his gaze from my twin to me, and his smile fell. “I don’t know what goth is, but I have no interest in clubs. I only know the hunger.”

What the…

I turned and screamed at Audrey to run. She flicked her gaze to the freak then back to me.

“Now!” I snapped and watched as my sister went running the opposite direction down the alley. Thankful I had my switchblade in my pocket, I pulled it out and flicked it open. “Get the fuck out of here, freak, before something bad happens to you.”

He narrowed his eyes and hissed at me once again before taking off down the alley toward my sister. He moved so fast I couldn’t see him. I wished I had known then what I know now—that vamps were like wild animals. Run, and they live for the chase.

Watching him give chase to my twin lit a panic fire in my chest.

I had never seen any man or animal move like that, and the dread that settled in my stomach made me want to vomit. What in the ever-loving hell was this thing?

Screaming at him to stop, I ran as fast as I could after him. But he had disappeared from sight and so had my sister. I slowed down to look down alleyways and around corners, but I couldn’t see either of them. My heart was pounding so fast I thought it might explode out of my chest. Stopping to catch my breath, I had both hands on my knees, wondering what I was going to do. Deciding I didn’t have any other choice, I pulled out my phone to call 9-1-1 when I heard the bloodcurdling scream that continues to haunt my every waking moment.

I took off toward the sound, but the dread that pooled in my stomach was already there because I just knew this night, that had started as a dream, was going to end in a nightmare. But nothing could prepare me for what I saw when I turned the corner into an alley. Audrey’s prone, bloody body lying carelessly on the ground, her head at an awkward angle and one leg bent against the brick wall of the filthy building. I sprinted toward her and picked her up and began to rock her, telling her everything would be okay. But I knew it wouldn’t. I screamed into the darkness until a nearby cop found us.

I was in a very bad place for the next couple of months. I stopped going to practice or doing gigs. My bandmates weren’t too happy, but they understood and gave me space. I wasn’t very happy they’d found a temporary guitarist to replace me, but I got over it. After I got tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I hoisted myself up by my bootstraps and went back onstage.

My first night back, the lead singer, Ashton, dedicated the whole set to Audrey per my request. During my downtime I’d been able to pen four songs—ballads—in memory of her and we’d performed those that night. It seemed like after that, our band started to get more attention and recognition.

There was also something else I started to do after Audrey’s death: Complete and total obsessive research on vampires. By the way the freak had moved, along with all the movies I’d seen, I had a big slap of reality in the days and nights following her death—that vampires were fucking real and one was responsible for my sister’s death. So, aside from writing those songs, the only other productive thing I did in those months was find out everything I could about them. It was a long and lonely project. Honestly, though… how could I have asked anyone for help with this? They’d have me institutionalized. The coroner