Page 94 of Wicked Knight

Right now, Dad is talking about some new TV show that's in production at one of his studios. It’s supposedly similar toThe Mentalist.

Normally, I’d be the first person to be excited to hear what’ in the works, but tonight, I’m a shadow of my former self.

I can’t stop shaking. I haven’t been able to since Sunday when this crazy bomb landed on me and the world changed again.

My hands are shaking so much I've had to hide them under the table.

At this point, I don't know what is getting to me more—the fear of my situation, the heartache of losing Dimitri, or the insistent nightmares that have riddled my mind.

Or maybe it's justthis.

This situation here.

The Konstantins' presence is definitely enough to make anyone's soul shake, let alone my hands.

They look like the worst of the bunch from Azkaban Prison inHarry Potter.

Although Vlad Konstantin has more of a Lucius Malfoy air about him with his suave manner of speech.

Susan has a Bellatrix Lestrange updo and the same creepy vibe you'd expect to find from a character inThe Shining.

And Ryan, I'm not really sure what to say about him.

His ghostly pale skin, blood-red lips, obsidian hair, and crow-like face makes him look like the undead. If this were a morgue, I'd believe he was a corpse, and I'd be shocked to find him breathing.

The only thing alive about him is his hazel eyes and the leanness of the muscle along his arms. He's not strong like Dimitri, but he looks like he has a deadly kind of strength.

Like you wouldn't want to mess with him or meet him in the corner of a dark alley.

Everything about him is the opposite to Dimitri. Dimitri has that badass thing going for him, but Ryan looks like he thrives off evil.

I have a distinct memory of some awful scandal to do with him back in high school.

I would've been in junior high at the time. Ryan's girlfriend died.

Some people say she jumped off the tower of the old church. Others say he pushed her because she was pregnant with his best friend's child.

The same best friend was found dead days after the girlfriend's death.

The friend was in a car wreck, found at the bottom of the ravine. And it was torched.

Everything was burned so badly they had to identify the guy from his dental records.

It was agreed that the friend was murdered, but nobody was ever found guilty.

I'm sure the girlfriend was murdered, too. There was no evidence to link Ryan to either crime.

The eyes that stare back at me look like they belong to someone who could kill as effortlessly as breathing air.

I glance down at my plate when I realize I'm staring too long. Then I look back at Dad, who is now talking about the cost of the show.

Mom chimes in, and Vlad looks fascinated with my parents, but fascinated in a way like he's summing them up and trying to decide if they're worthy of continuing their lives above ground.

I can't stop thinking like this—of death and mayhem.

I know I may be biased because of the things I've heard about this family, but now that they're in front of me, I can't ignore the discomfort I feel in their presence.

I try to think about something else, but my mind wanders back to Dimitri, to the painful conversation we had in the woods.