Lance offered Toby a small smile. “So, where do we go from here?”
“I don’t forgive and forget that easy, Lance. At least not yet. I need some time to sort all this out, and you need to prove to me that you can be my brother again. You have my love; now earn my trust.”
“How do I do that?”
“Take the love you feel and work on being the man you were before Ava turned you into a vampire and you let the power go to your head. Be compassionate and kind without expecting anything in return. Plus, forgive yourself and let go all grudges. That’s what’s holding you back.”
“It’s going to be hard, but I’m willing to try, for you.”
“Not for me, Lance, but for you. Fuck it! Enough of this mushiness, let’s go grab a drink.”
“Like old times.”
“Yep, brother, like old times.”
James cussed them out for not following the script, ad-libbing almost the entire dialog.
However, without even realizing it, Avery and Aaron were speaking the truth about how they felt about each other. The emotion projected on to the screen was powerful, and turned out to be Let There Be Blood’s highest rated episode.
It was time for Avery to face the truth and to take what he wanted. He just had to wait for the right time to eliminate the obstacles that were in his way.
Shawna stirred her coffee obsessively, not hearing Aaron calling her name.
Aaron tried again, this time shaking her shoulder.
“Shawna! Hey, are you in there?”
Shawna snapped out of her daze and smiled at her friend.
“Hey, Aaron, what are you doing here?”
“Ah, you called me yesterday practically begging me to meet with you?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
“Tell me, Shawna, what’s going on?”
“It’s Avery, Aaron. I’m worried about him.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Aaron, there is something about Avery and the circumstances of our marriage that you need to know.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Avery forced me to marry him. He said that if I didn’t marry him he would expose my past to the media, ruining my life.”
“What? Why would he do something so cruel? That doesn’t sound like Avery.”
“That’s just it. I feel the one-night stand he had with you has fucked with his head.”
Aaron blanched. He was not aware that Shawna knew about the affair. “Y-you know about that?”
“Yes, Avery told me. He confessed everything to me.”
“Jesus, Shawna, I’m so sorry.”
Shawna dismissed his apology with the wave of her hand. “We’re beyond apologies at this point, Aaron. What I’m concerned with is Avery’s behavior after that night. Have you noticed anything different?”
Aaron thought for a moment, but his mind came up blank. “No, I haven’t. He just seemed a little more intense and distracted lately, but I thought that was because he’s worried about his pending fatherhood.”
“Well, Avery may not be aware of this, because he is so caught up in his own world, but I’ve been watching him. He doesn’t sleep anymore. He spends his nights restless, drinking bourbon on our terrace, lost in thought.”
“That still doesn’t mean anything. Again, that could be attributed to the stress.”
“Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?”
Aaron looked at the brown leather book, confused. “What’s this?”
“That, is Avery’s journal. I found it underneath his pillow a couple of days ago. Curious. I read through it. Most of it is mundane stuff, but look at this passage.”
After reading it, Aaron couldn’t catch his breath, drawing attention from curious onlookers. “Oh my God! You don’t think he would go that far to get what he wants, do you?”
“Aaron, I thought I knew my husband, but after reading that, I’m not so sure.”
Chapter Twelve: The Vampire Disclosure
Katrina was grateful that her father was away all day on a cast photo shoot because what lay on the kitchen table when she went down for breakfast. She glared at two dozen red roses and a card from Shadow. She read the card.
Kitten, I’m so sorry for becoming so violent with you. I didn’t mean it. I will do anything to make it up to you. Just please forgive me. Shadow
Appalled by Shadow’s audacity to try and win her forgiveness, Katrina picked up the roses and threw them in the wastebasket. She was not going to be so easily won.
That didn’t stop Shadow from trying relentlessly to obtain her forgiveness. Katrina was finishing up some emails when an instant message popped up from Shadow. She was going to ignore it, but the constant pinging of her message alert distracted her, so she responded.
Shadow: Did you get the roses, Kitten?
Kitten: Yes
Shadow: Did you like them?
Kitten: No. But the garbage did.
Shadow: Why did you do that?
Kitten: Cause I hate you!
Shadow: Kitten, you have every right to hate me. How can I make this up to you?
Kitten: Just stay away.
But Shadow didn’t stay away. He kept on trying to win her over. There were more roses, jewelry, books and other extravagant gifts. Katrina refused delivery on all of them.
Shadow: If you give me just one afternoon, I will tell you everything. Then you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to break up with me.
Kitten: Just one afternoon?
Shadow: Yes.
Kitten: Fine. When?
Shadow: Would this afternoon be okay?
Though she had been in his house before, Shadow had never shown Katrina his bedroom. That was one of the many things he wanted to keep off limits. She glared at him from the corner of her eye as he opened the door.
“You wanted to see my bedroom, so here it is.”
Katrina was surprised to see that his bedroom was a normal bachelor’s space. The walls were painted dark blue, the floor covered in dirty laundry and alcohol bottles, and junk food wrappers were strewn about. The window was blackened out with a blanket, and there was a dresser in the corner.
“What do you think?”
“It’s an interesting room, Shadow.”
“You don’t find it unusual?”
“I find it quite normal, actually. A typical guy room. Sloppy and dark.”
“You sure about that? Take another look.”
Another scan of the room revealed that Shadow had no bed.
“Why no bed?”
“I don’t need one. I don’t sleep.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Kitten, I promised I would tell you the truth about who, or shall I say, what, I am. Though I have a feeling you already know. You just haven’t had the guts to ask me. So, this is your opportunity. Ask away.”
The question had been itching at the back of her throat for so long it had formed a lump. Now that the moment had arrived, Katrina found she had lost her voice.
“Um, ah...God I don’t know how, Shadow.”
“Just spit it out.”
Katrina took a deep breath and blurted, “Are you a vampire?”
“To answer that question, why don’t you piece together all the clues that have been swimming around in your head?”
“So you are a vampire!”
“Yes, and before I go any further and tell you my story, I need to be sure you want to hear this. What I have to tell you will change your view of the world around you. Do you want to hear what I have to say?”
“Yes I do.”
Katrina stared at Shadow, stunned. Not with disbelief, but with how naïve she was not to see the facts in front of her. She had known deep in her gut that her boyfriend was a vampire, but she never suspected there was the possibility of more right in her backyard.
“Are you saying there are more of you here?”
“I will not confirm or deny, Kitten. You have to figure that out for yourself.�
�
“How?”
“Look around you. Study the signs that led you to the truth about me. Vampires are closer than you think.”
Katrina quickly found out that vampires weren’t just a few in number—they were everywhere.
The perfect spot to do some investigating was on the set of Let There Be Blood. Aaron agreed to take her along that day to observe the filming of a new scene.
“Jasmine how can I ever thank you for putting that spell on Elizabeth? She needed to get away from Lance before he destroyed her and took her into his darkness.”
“Think nothing of it, Toby. It was my pleasure to finally give that monster the medicine he deserves. Lance is a destructive soul, and needed to be punished for the terrors he has inflicted on this town.”
“I agree. Lance used to be so kind and loving when he was human. I would never figure him turning into such a demon.”
“You know that being a vampire not only heightens emotions, but brings out the darkness of those who are inflicted with the curse of the undead. Some, like you, regain your humanity and return to living a moral life. Others, like Lance, never return.”
As Lance stood unseen in the shadows, a sharp pain ceased his heart. Toby’s betrayal was etched on his face.
Katrina watched as Aaron walked away, looking depressed and defeated. She followed him home and saw him close the door to his bedroom. Moments later, Katrina heard crashing and screaming.
Concerned, Katrina opened the door ajar to find the room torn apart and her father sitting on the bed, his head in his hands cursing and weeping.
“You fucking bitch! How could you do this to me?” Aaron looked distraught. “Why? Oh why?” Aaron seized a glass filled with red liquid from the nightstand and finished it with one gulp. Letting loose a feral growl, he flashed sharp incisors stained with a liquid that looked like blood.
Katrina walked to her bedroom, dazed and confused. She paced the room, desperate to put the pieces of what she’d just witnessed together. This could only mean one thing. Her father wasn’t Aaron Brooks, but Lance Peterson, a vampire. What she saw today had to be real. But then, if it was real, her father had just been betrayed by his best friend and a certain witch was responsible.
It was time for Katrina and Cassie, or rather, Jasmine, to have a chat.
Chapter Thirteen: Let There Be Blood
The scream penetrated the air. James yelled, “Cut! Chad, go find out what the hell is going on.”
Five minutes later, Chad returned, pale-faced. “You have to come and see this, boss, it’s urgent.”
“What’s so urgent that I have to stop filming a very crucial scene?”
“Ah...sir, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Shawna just found Cassie dead.”
“Come again? Did you just say that Shawna found Cassie Saunders dead?”
“Yes sir. Her throat has been cut. We called the police, but I think you should see this. Please, sir, come with me!”
Aaron and Avery looked at each other, shocked. Cassie Saunders was one of their co-stars and played the loveable witch, Jasmine Smith.
“What in the hell happened? How did Cassie get murdered?”
“I don’t know, sir.” Without another word, the director followed his assistant, trailed by Avery and Aaron. The effects people and other crew members murmured as the stars ran off. Avery bolted ahead.
At first it was hard to see Cassie’s body with all the commotion surrounding the scene. It was chaos. Police officers buzzed about; some cordoning off the set, while others questioned the large number of the pre-production, production and post-production crews. Huddled masses sobbed and comforted each other, including Shawna, who tried to answer an officer’s questions as she clung to Avery.
Aaron used the cloak of chaos to inch his way closer to the set of Jasmine’s bedroom, where the body of the actress lay sprawled in her blood.
The medical examiner arrived along with the forensics team. They pushed their way through the gathered crowd.
Cassie lay in a pool of blood, her neck slashed open to the bone. Her body lay twisted at an odd angle and her eyes stared at nothing.
He only had seconds. Aaron looked closer, hunting for an explanation, a hint about who might have killed the sweet-natured witch. An onyx-jeweled bracelet lay in the blood next to Cassie’s body. It looked exactly like the one he had given Katrina for her high school graduation.
He bent down and flipped it over, careful not to get any blood on his fingers, his heart sinking. Although covered in blood, he could make out the inscription ‘To Katrina with love’. He stepped back hurriedly as more crew members and stray cast members circled the area. He saw police approaching and jumped away from the crime scene.
Had Katrina snapped, he wondered? Was it related to coming off her meds? There was only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself as a police officer tapped him on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, are you Aaron Brooks?”
Aaron gasped, startled. “Yes, I’m Aaron.”
The petite red-head presented her badge. “Mr. Brooks, I’m Detective Thomas. I was wondering if you’re free for questioning?”
Aaron did not want to answer questions right now. He needed to get back home to Katrina and confront her about the bracelet, but the stern look on the detective’s face told him that would have to wait.
“Yes, I’m free.”
“Good. Is there somewhere more private where we can talk?”
Aaron escorted the detective to one of the only private and quiet places on the set, the room that was used as Lance’s living room.
“Please have a seat, Mr. Brooks, I promise this will not take long.”
“What do you need to know?”
“Did you know the victim, Mr. Brooks?”
“Of course. Cassie is one of the stars of Let There Be Blood, and she was a friend.”
“Where were you at the time of the incident?”
“I was on the main set, filming a scene.”
“How did you hear about the incident?”
“Through the producer’s assistant. After we all heard a scream, he was ordered by the producer to see what was going on.”
“You said that you heard a scream. From what direction did it come from?”
“In the direction of the set that is used for Cassie’s character’s bedroom.”
As the detective wrote notes, Aaron took the brief moment to scan his surroundings and find an excuse to escape. He could not find any because this set was on the far side of the building, away from any exits.
“You said that you heard a scream. Who else heard it?”
“There were my co-stars, Avery Evers and Shelly Ryan. Our producer, James, and his assistant Chad. Plus I am pretty sure that everyone else in this building heard it.”
“Do you know of anyone that might want to do harm to Ms. Saunders?”
Aaron could never imagine Cassie ever having any enemies. She may have loved to gossip, but she was compassionate and kind and loved by so many people. Aaron searched his memory but came up blank.
“No, I’m not aware of anyone who could’ve killed her. The only thing I can come up with is to suggest you look into her fan base.”
“We are working on that angle as we speak. Just one more question, Mr. Brooks. Since you knew Ms. Saunders, could you please tell me about her?”
“What more could you possibly want to know that your other officers don’t already know? Besides, there is stuff about Cassie all over the internet, can’t you look there too?”
“I’m aware of that. What I’m looking for is something intimate that only a friend would know.”
“Okay, like what?”
“Her personal relationships, daily habits, what she liked to do off screen, things like that.”
“Personal relationships? Cassie had three sisters, all older than her. She has ... had so many friends that I’ve lost count, and her fan base numbers in the thousands. Cassie was engaged to a Mar
ine and, oh yes, she has a golden retriever named Sandy.”
“You said she has a fiancé. Do you know how I can contact him?”
“Actually, you can’t contact her fiancé. She is stationed overseas and no one can contact her.”
Aaron could not help but smile a little as Detective Thomas blushed at her wrong assumption. “Daily habits, you will have to ask her more intimate friends for that information. As for what she liked to do when she was not shooting, she was an avid runner, hiker and loved to bike ride. The outdoors was her domain.”
“That will be all for now, Mr. Brooks, however I may be contacting you again for further questioning as the investigation progresses.”
Once Detective Thomas was out of sight, Aaron left for home in a rush.
Chapter Fourteen: Macabre Consciousness
No matter how hard she scrubbed, Katrina could not wash the blood from her body, and the hot spray did nothing to stop the violent shaking. How something so innocent as defending her father’s honor could have turned into a nightmare, Katrina could not grasp. It was so simple. She recalled the nightmare in surreal images back at the set.
“Katrina, I didn’t perform a spell to break your father’s heart. I’m not a real witch,” Jasmine insisted.
“Yes, you are a witch, and don’t deny it. I stood right here as you admitted you needed to get Elizabeth away from Lance because you think he’s a monster. Lance is not a monster! He is a kind and giving soul that I am lucky to call my father.”
Jasmine reached out to touch Katrina’s arm, only to have it slapped away.
“Katrina, you must realize what you saw was Avery and I filming a scene for the show? It wasn’t real.”
“I know what I saw, bitch. It was all too real.”
“Katrina, I don’t know if this is some kind of sick joke, but what you saw was make-believe!”
Jasmine’s accusation enraged Katrina. “Joke? You think this is a joke? I’ll show you what a joke is!”
Picking up a knife from the craft table, Katrina lunged forward, but Jasmine ducked and ran. Katrina saw only red as she chased after the witch. Jasmine darted ahead, but Katrina tailed her. Desperate, Jasmine decided to go up. Katrina followed her, catching up with her on a catwalk above the set where all the lighting was attached. The catwalk was covered in stuff—the crew hadn’t cleaned up the way they were supposed to. Boards were loose, and the railing was rusted making navigation difficult.
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