Page 54 of Heartbeat Girl

“Except last week,” Steve piped in. He shrugged and added, “We had to lure a lot of workers for food because you banned us from taking fans back.”

Frowning, Jayne face-palmed. “It still seems wrong.”

“It is,” I said. “But it’s better than killing them. It’s not like we can ask people, hoping they’d offer themselves up on a platter.”

“What about animals?” Jayne asked. “Surely…”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Steve held up his hand. “We’ve tried cold blood bags at a hospital, and it was nasty. You wouldn’t eat something you don’t like. Why should we? We kill nothing to survive, which makes us better than humans.”

Steve impressed me. That was a good argument, and one Jayne wouldn’t be able to protest.

“Jesus.” Jayne gawked at him, rubbing her temples. “Why does that make sense? My head is killing me.”

Seeing the fatigue grip her body, a somberness crept over me. Her shoulders sagged, cheeks still reddened from how hot her emotions ran the last few hours, and her droopy eyes made me want to comfort her. But she wouldn’t let me. Not yet.

“It’s a lot to take in. Let’s get you that hotel room you want,” I said.

It was the first smile I’d seen since watching her with Rupert earlier.

Chapter Eighteen

JAYNE

Walking into my hotel room, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. Inhale. Exhale. I guessed correctly. Liam and the other two were vampires, and I watched them feed from a fangirl.

Holy shit. Liam’s a vampire.

I was exhausted, frustrated, and amped up all at once. Liam drank from the woman’s wrist in front of me. It happened so fast and was over as quickly as it began. He couldn’t have had but a drop or two of her blood. I watched them all feed, but it was Liam who I couldn’t stop fixating about. Liam had me irritated.

My head spun with everything I’d learned that day. My brain felt like it would burst out of my scalp like Play-Doh. I removed a couple of Tylenol capsules from my purse and swallowed them with some water. I shouldn’t be obsessing about Liam. Seeing him touch another woman shouldn’t have given me something akin to heartburn.

So much for my brain to process. My life might be in danger around them. Two vampires, looking for someone named Marilyn, had tried to kill me.

I would demand answers the next morning. That night, I would sleep the bone-deep exhaustion away. When I told them I wanted space, they granted it. When I asked for a room on a different floor from them, they agreed. Of course they’d relent. For goodness’ sake, I just saw them snack on a woman the same way I devoured an ice cream sandwich. I asked too much. More than I should have.

I needed to process things slowly. My God, I worked for vampires. That was big. Important. I thought once I learned the truth, it would feel different, but I was more confused. Nothing had changed. If I didn’t know them like I did, I’d imagine I would have freaked the fuck out. But I knew them.

I’d been around them a year. They laughed and teased me relentlessly for months. I finally had a good reason to run, but I didn’t have the urge to. The idea hadn’t crossed my mind. My bosses were still the same. They still made me nervous. And pissed me off. But they treated me the same, letting me tell them what to do. I made stupid remarks and groans, but they always agreed.

Itshouldmatter they weren’t human, but it didn’t. That was the most puzzling part. I assumed I was looking for a reason to distrust them, but my train of thought was vastly different.How would I feed them groupies every night? How did they keep it a secret?They made the biggest ruckus while fighting those two vampires. Things might have ended badly if not one, but several people walked in and saw. The PA in me had to figure out how to manage my vampire band better.

My bed creaked as I plopped down on it. The sound made me think of something… How well could vampires hear?

“Hello?” I called out, then laughed. The band couldn’t possibly hear me from on this floor.

My phone beeped a second later.

Liam: Sound check? Yes. I can hear you.

When I saw Liam’s text, I threw the device like it was a venomous snake. I gritted my teeth and winced as the device smacked the wall. The phone chimed again, and I ran over to grab it.Whew!No cracks.

Liam: Please refrain from throwing your phone.

Liam: Is the wall okay?

Steve: (open mouth emoji)

Liam: Don’t reply to Steve.