Page 74 of Midnight Kiss

“Open the door, Mike,” I said.

“That’s not a good idea. It might be a trap,” Mike said.

“It can’t be a trap. It’s Alex.” I licked my dry lips. “I might not trust him anymore, but I know that he doesn’t want me dead, at least. He would have killed me otherwise. He had plenty of opportunities.”

Mike didn’t look as sure, but I ignored the stare from him and nodded toward the door.

“Fine.” Michael switched on the lights in the kitchen then opened the front door.

But there was no one there.

“What on earth?—?”

Reginald Tailwag trotted out of his room and sniffed around. He let out a growling bark, then darted for the open front door.

“Reggie, no!” Mike shouted, grasping for the dog’s collar.

But Reginald was too quick. He barreled into the hallway, and there was a small flash of … something I couldn’t quite understand.

“Shit!” Michael growled. “Reginald, get back here.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Michael patted his knees, and the Labrador ran back inside to join him.

“Mike?”

“He was the ward,” Michael said. “He was the key point for the ward, and now it’s broken because he crossed the barrier. It’s going to take me another hour to get that set up again, I?—”

“Good evening.” A vampire stepped in front of the door. A second joined him. Then a third.

They stood side by side, all of them hooded and cloaked, and the only way I knew they were vampires was from the power that emanated from them. A crimson light.

My heart pounded against the inside of my rib cage. “Mike,” I squeaked. “Mike.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, as Reginald released a volley of barks, tugging against Mike’s grip on his collar. “They can’t get through. Mine wasn’t the only ward, remember?”

Morgan jerked awake. “Wha—?” She blinked and peered around then spotted our “visitors”. “Oh God. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Hell no.”

The vampires removed their hoods as one, and I swallowed bile.

They looked exactly the same. Three handsome, blonde men with tan skin and blue eyes. Triplets, with piercings in their noses and ears and lips. Their gaze never left mine.

“Mike. Close the door.”

But Mike was too busy trying to keep Reginald under control.

“Mike!”

“I can’t get him to stop.” Mike dragged Reginald backward.

“Mike, please!”

Morgan got out of her chair and ran toward the door. She slammed it shut then locked it and backed away.

Mike managed to get Reginald back under control and guided him to the guest room. He shut him inside, swearing under his breath. “Just relax,” he said. “Everyone relax. They can’t get through to us.”

“Great,” Morgan said. “They can’t get through to us. Great. But what about us? Did either of you consider how the hell we’re going to survive in here? Without food? I mean, eventually it’s going to run out. What happens then? Huh?”