In addition to his flannel shirt and jeans, however, Buckley also wore a frown. And that concerned me.
“Speak,” Connie prompted when Buckley hesitated for too long.
“It’s n-not good,” he sputtered at last. “I counted at least four more vampires joining the first.”
“Will there be more?” Connie demanded. “Did you hear anything of their plans?”
“That all remains unclear. Regardless, we should act fast to minimize risk.”
Fluffikins jumped down from the tree branch and paced our way.“Agreed,” he said, walking past our group and heading for the edge of the woods.
“What time do they open tonight?” Connie asked.
“Seven,” Buckley answered, eager to show he had at least brought some answers back with him.
“Then we’ll plan to be there at seven thirty. Our four inside men are dismissed. R, join me and Fluffikins at HQ, so we can plan our movements on the outside.”
Melony crossed her arms and kicked at the ground.“Um, men? It’s the twenty-first century, lady vampire. Perhaps you could try being a bit more gender inclusive?”
“Oh, did I hurt your little mortal feelings?” Connie mocked, her eyebrows arching high. “Try living for several centuries, then tell me how important current social niceties seem to you. Now like I said, dismissed. Don’t make me tell you a third time.”
“Or what?” Melony challenged, flinging a defiant hand on her hip.
“Okay, that’s enough. C’mon, Melony.” I wrapped an arm over her shoulders and forced her to exit the forest with me.
“Let go of me!” she roared, but she was unable to escape my strong grasp, thanks to my vampire magic. I was just as strong and fast as Connie, although still unpracticed.
I would be okay tonight, but what about Melony? Parker? The others?
The witches seemed so vulnerable. Even Buckley would be at a disadvantage as a shifter. So far I’d only seen him transform into a sparrow and a deer. Parker had said he could only turn himself into local animals, and I doubted he’d get far as a wolf or a gator in the middle of a packed restaurant or busy street.
I still didn’t fully understand what Fluffikins could do, even though I knew he was a powerful magic user. Good offense didn’t necessarily translate to a superior defense, though. For all I knew, he could be the most at risk of us all.
Which meant it was that much more important that Connie and I take lead on this.
The two of us against at least five vampires who presumably already knew how to work well together and had had much more time to come up with a plan. Those weren’t good odds.
But if the PTA didn’t succeed, everyone in town would be at risk. I didn’t know how often vampires needed to feed, but I doubted anyone in Beech Grove would want to lose their lives to a late-night predator.
If they took even one person, it would be too much.
We had to win.
Or die trying.
It felt as if an eternity had passed since I’d turned up at HQ hoping to trade a basket full of steaks for one single answer. Now I had more questions than ever, and I might not live long enough to find a single one.
15
Parker turned up outside my door at seven on the nose.
“Ready for our big date?” he asked, hope reflecting in his pale eyes. He looked handsome in his navy-blue suit and loafers, but I wished more than anything he’d have stayed home and let me and Connie handle this dispute by ourselves.
He, Melony, and the others would all be liabilities in this fight. While my vampire curse kept me from wanting to protect him because of some misguided emotional attachment, I still didn’t want the added obstacle. If he got in the way or messed something up, then I’d be more likely to die myself.
And as Connie was quick to point out, I was a young and inexperienced vampire—not really a vampire at all. We already had the odds stacked against us.
“Well, I’m ready enough for the both of us,” Parker said with a dreamy sigh when I failed to respond myself. “You look beautiful, Tawny.”
I rolled my eyes.“This isn’t a date. It’s an assignment. An important one at that.”
“Why can’t it also be a date?” he asked with a shy smile.
I opened my mouth to answer, but he cut me off.
“I know, I know. You’re a big, mean vampire now. But that won’t last forever, Tawny. Hopefully, we can end this thing tonight, and you can go back to being you. Then I’ll take you out on a real date. One you’ll actually want to go on.”
“We need to focus on what needs to be done,” I reminded him as I sat and yanked a red pump onto each foot. They were the only pair of nice heels I had. I’d paired them with a black high-necked maxi dress, taking care to hide my chest piece beneath. Fluffikins said it would protect me. Connie said the cat was making things up. In the end, it cost me nothing to wear the thing since I couldn’t feel pain or discomfort while under the influence of vampire magic. Because of this, I decided to hedge my bets and keep it on until Fluffikins asked for me to return it to him.
I hoped Vanessa wouldn’t recognize me out of context, but I also knew that my bubblegum pink hair had a way of standing out in the crowd. It wouldn’t be the worst thing, being recognized. In fact, if the other vampire fixated on me, then it would be easier for Connie to sneak in and take her by surprise.
So either way, I was good to go.
“Mind if I drive?” Parker asked when I grabbed my handbag and stepped out onto the porch.
I motioned for him to have at it.“You might as well.”
I could see him going toward the passenger side and used my swift feet to beat him to it.“I’ve got my own door, thanks.”
He just chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” I asked when he sank down into the driver’s seat and closed the door.
Parker studied me for a moment, then shook his head.“Don’t worry about it.”
He reached up to jab the key in the ignition, but I clutched his wrist and forced him to look at me.“Tell me.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing up the gel job he’d done before picking me up. “It’s just you’re you, but not. It’s like I both have Tawny with me, and I don’t.”
I quirked an eyebrow and tried not to grin.“So what you’re saying is I’m Schrodinger’s vampire?”
Parker let out a loud peal of laughter.“Something like that.”
“It wasn’t a joke,” I said, releasing his wrist and then folding my arms over my chest.
“I know,” Parker responded as he twisted the key in the ignition and brought the vehicle to life. “I guess it serves me right, huh? I avoided you for days, thinking I was doing the right thing. All I wanted was to keep you safe, but now here you are, Schrodinger’s vampire marching to war inhigh-heeled shoes.”
“I make my own choices,” I mumbled.
“Now that we’re clear on that point, I’ll give you many more opportunities to do so,” he promised. “Which means you’ll be seeing lots more of me.”
I shifted toward the window, blocking him out.“No, thanks.”
“That’s just the vampire talking,” he said. “The real Tawny wants that date I offered. There’s something special between us. It’s been there from the start. And she knows it.”
“Yeah, well, I guess that something special between us died when I did,” I muttered. It’s something I’d been wondering about since Fluffikins gave me this new magic. Was I dead? Undead? Something else entirely?
Parker answered it for me.“You’re not dead, Tawny. You’re not even undead.”
I turned back to face him, but he kept his eyes on the road.“Isn’t that what being a vampire means, though?”
“You’re not a full vampire,” he said firmly. Perhaps for me, and perhaps to remind himself, too. “Just playing dress-up as one for a little while.”
“Only if we succeed,” I pointed out. “The odds are stacked against us, you know.”