The living room—where there had been blood all over the carpet.
“Living room is fine, thanks. You know, Sam was right. You’re not at all what I expected.”
That’s because he was a vampire.
Sam had to get a hold of himself. Just because this looked bad didn’t mean Daniel was going to accuse Ed of anything. It didn’t mean Ed would be forced to retaliate. Sam hoped it didn’t. But even though he believed he had nothing to fear for himself or his friends, that didn’t protect others if Ed perceived them as a threat—not even a nice family man with a wife and two kids.
“I hope that means I’m a pleasant surprise.” Ed was all charm, like he’d been when Sam first met him. He’d proven easily ruffled, but he kept it together around others, around prey.
“Only if you promise to come to our barbecue next weekend,” Daniel said, already growing more relaxed as they gathered around the coffee table, with Daniel taking an armchair and Ed and Sam the sofa.
“I suppose I at least owe you a pie.” Ed chuckled. “So, what seems to be the problem, Detective? Oh, and I’d like Sam to stay, since he’s been handling all my affairs.”
Like cleaning the house and pool, unknowingly helping get rid of evidence for three weeks.
Sam had to stop.
“I’m glad you’ll be sticking around, Sam. But I thought you had another gig?” Daniel turned to him.
“Ed… made a better offer,” Sam said, still trying to catch his breath.
He couldn’t help it; when Daniel glanced down at the file folder, he shot Ed a panicked look.
Ed stared him down, stone-faced and cold again.
Not Daniel, Sam pleaded silently. Please not Daniel.
“As you may have heard,” Daniel began, prompting Ed to look forward again, “there have been an increase in missing persons lately, and several bodies found with similar MOs in the past few weeks. Very messy, bloody business. We’ve identified the victims, and two of them have your cell number as recent outgoing calls.”
What?
“That’s why I have to ask, Mr. Simons: How do you know these people?”
Daniel passed two photographs to Ed, one of a middle-aged woman, the other of a young man. They were normal, happy photographs, but deeper in the file folder, Sam caught a glimpse of the carnage they’d become.
“That’s Kathryn Deckard,” Ed said in genuine surprise. “My realtor. And Mr. Lepke was the carpenter I hired for renovations before I moved in. I haven’t spoken to either of them in weeks.”
“I’m going to need your alibi for the nights we believe to be time of death.”
That should be easy, because these weren’t Ed’s victims. He’d told Sam as much, and he was too smart to go after anyone connected to him. Plus, he honestly seemed sad to hear that they’d been the ones killed.
“He was with me,” Sam said after Daniel gave the dates, which was true, but that might not matter if anything else connected Ed to the deaths.
“Working late?”
“We always do.”
“Detective, may I know the names of the other victims?” Ed asked.
Daniel gave them and pulled out their photos too.
“This other man put in my pool,” Ed admitted. “And the woman was my travel agent when I came to town.”
“They all knew you,” Daniel stated the obvious. “Could be a coincidence.”
“But you don’t believe that.” Ed handed the photos back to him.
Sam tensed, because he saw Ed’s muscles grow taut too.
“You know what they say, Mr. Simons: Two’s a coincidence. Three’s a pattern. Four is deeply concerning.”
As soon as Daniel glanced away to gather everything back into the file folder, Sam grabbed Ed’s hand and shook his head in pleading. Not Daniel, not with those twins next door. They could figure something else out. These weren’t even Ed’s kills!
Ed almost looked cold again, almost maintained the visage of the monster, but for Sam, he hesitated.
“You might be next.”
Their eyes snapped back to Daniel in tandem, hands releasing before Daniel looked up.
“You think someone is after Ed?” Sam asked.
“It’s a possibility. Is there anyone who might want an inside look at this place, Mr. Simons? Someone who could be picking those people off to get more information on you or details about this house?”
“I don’t know,” Ed said. “No one springs to mind. I tend to keep to myself.”
“I’d say I’m even more glad that you’re staying, Sam, but as someone who’s worked with Mr. Simons since he arrived, you could be a target too.”
Sam’s fears had been so focused on the Cramers and even on Ed that he hadn’t considered another threat.
“As of now, I don’t need either of you to come down to the station, but I’d appreciate your cooperation if anything comes up. And it would be best if you both made sure you were around more often.”
“Absolutely, Detective,” Ed said. “I want you to catch this person. Those were good people who died. Let us know of anything you need.”
After a solemn nod, Daniel pulled on a smile. “I’ll leave you two be, then, but we’ll see you next weekend?”
Ed laughed, falling easily back into the part of unassuming neighbor. “A barbecue may be a bit too much sun exposure for me, but you might twist my arm. I couldn’t get that pie out of my mind the entire evening.”
If Sam hadn’t been so preoccupied, he might have smirked at that, since he had a feeling Ed meant it.
“I’ll tell Marie,” Daniel said as they stood to head for the door. “I mean, I baked it, but she likes to brag about me sometimes. Thanks again, both of you.”
“See you soon, Daniel,” Sam called and promptly shut the door behind him.
Fuck.
“FUCK,” SAM said aloud.
Ed couldn’t have agreed more.
“Do you really think someone wants to kill you?”
“Or frame me,” Ed said, gesturing Sam back into the living room. “This is too coincidental. The timing, all of it revolving around me.”
“And the Cramers.” Sam scowled. “This has to be the same person who hired them.”
“I wondered that too.”
Ed had never had deaths surround him like this when he hadn’t fed from any of the victims. He was being targeted, but there was no one living who he could imagine hating him this much.
“We’re back to the same goal,” Sam said. “We have to find out who it is. You overheard them call him ‘Midnight,’ right? Does that name mean anything to you?”
“I don’t think so. Can we glean anything more from your employers?”
“The Cramers don’t like me asking questions. We can still trace the account numbers, but it might help if you started tailing them, since you can stay hidden and move so fast. I’d follow Fitz first, the one from the computer. He’s the wild card.”
“I’ll do that tonight,” Ed agreed.
Their eyes met, and the serious air of careful planning gave way to all the other emotions lingering, like the many phases Sam had gone through since his arrival. Ed never would have guessed that all that fear and distrust could lead to them kissing.
Before he ruined it.
“Thanks, by the way,” Sam said, startling Ed again.
“For what?”
“You know.”
“For not attacking my neighbor?”
Sam huffed a laugh. “Would you have?”
“Only if I had no other choice.”
“And what does that mean?” Sam asked carefully.
“If he had been here to arrest me, I wouldn’t have let him take me in.”
That seemed to sober Sam, but he didn’t lean away from Ed or tense like before.
“We need to make sure things don’t steer in that direction,” Ed continued. “It’s going to be bad enough if the police are watching me more closely.”
“At least it’s Daniel. He likes me. The wh
ole family does. And they can learn to like you too. At that barbecue,” Sam said pointedly.
Ed grimaced.
“I know it sucks, but we need the Neu-Ryans to be so charmed by their dashing neighbor, they’d never suspect you could be a killer. You can wear those sunglasses I gave you.” Sam smirked.
“Fine, but you’re baking the pie.”
The laugh that escaped Sam was so honest and carefree that it washed away most of Ed’s worries.
“Meanwhile, I’ll get my team digging into those account numbers.”
“Your team?” Ed frowned again.
“My friends. It’s okay. They just think you’re John Wick.”
“Who?”
Amusement on Sam’s face was far better than terror. “We’ll rent the movies sometime. I still owe you a date.”
But that wasn’t good either. Ed wanted them on good terms, he wanted all they’d had these past few weeks, but they couldn’t go too far down this path where Sam’s sweet mouth and skillful fingers had tried to lead them.
“I also have a rejuvenated myth to finish telling you.”
“Sam….”
“You didn’t mean it,” Sam beat him to the punchline.
“That’s the problem. I can’t always control myself.”
“You seemed in control with that guy last night until you wanted to bite him.”
“That was different. I wanted a meal, not….” Ed considered what he meant to say. “I didn’t want to kiss him or touch him or have his hands on me. It’s easy when it’s an act. But when I really want someone, I… lose myself.”
“That’s why you kept me at a distance for so long?”
“You did too. You didn’t ask me on that date until you were going to leave me.”
“Technically, you’re the one who called it a date,” Sam said, grin widening when Ed pouted at him. “And I agreed. But how else was I supposed to handle things, knowing it was all going to end?”
“So… if you weren’t a thief?”
“If you weren’t a vampire?” Sam volleyed back.
There were too many ends to that sentence for Ed to voice them all.
“Wait….” A new realization dawned on Sam with a furrowed brow. “If you can’t get intimate with someone you like, when was the last time you….” His eyes sprang wide, and Ed felt his cheeks burn hot. “You’re not a hundred-year-old virgin, are you?”
“N-no!” Ed sputtered. “I slept with people before I was turned. I’ve slept with people since. My own kind.”
“Like long-term immortal boyfriends? Girlfriends? Both?”
“Brief, passing tension releases.” Ed stopped him, because if his face turned any redder, old cartoon steam would start coming out of his ears. “There’s a certain unwritten understanding that if you go into another vampire’s territory and they don’t want you there, you leave. If they don’t mind your presence, you’re friendly and don’t step on each other’s toes. Alternatively, if you’re both of the same mind, you might….”
“Fuck like bunnies?”
“Sam!”
Sam laughed again, obviously enjoying the discussion, though Ed wasn’t. He wasn’t a prude; there were just some things you didn’t talk about!
“When was the last time you had that experience?” Sam asked.
There was also that. “A long time ago.”
“Then I maintain what I said before.” Sam reached over as if to take Ed’s hand but spread his fingers over his thigh instead. “You need practice.”
Ed huffed his own laugh, amazed and a little enchanted that, even after everything, Sam could still be so adorably insufferable. “You are being very unprofessional, Mr. Coleman.”
“Um, it’s Goldman, actually.”
“Oh. Are you even really Sam?”
“Of course. I mean, that’s not what’s on my birth certificate.”
“Samuel?”
“Solomon.”
Ed smiled. He liked that. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
“Well, I never want to college, so most of my references are fake, but the knowledge is real. I have a GED, and everything else we ever talked about, things I like, that book you gave me, music, art, all of it was true.” His hand was still on Ed’s thigh, and he squeezed gently. “What about you, Mr. Simons?”
“Eadric,” Ed said, a name he hadn’t spoken aloud in longer than he’d last… fucked like bunnies, with a touch of his old-world accent slipping in too. “Or it was, originally. I went through many variations.”
“Which eventually led to Ed?”
“I like Ed.”
“I like Eddie more.”
“A-a-and as for being one hundred, that is a very conservative number.”
“How conservative?” Sam pressed.
“I don’t think that’s something to reveal on a first date.”
“This isn’t a date, but does that mean I get one?” Sam squeezed his thigh again, lightly rubbing down to his knee, and then up to rest near his hip.
Ed sucked in a breath. He didn’t need to breathe, but the habit never went away, even down to pants and gasping shudders.
This time Sam leaned in slow, just a press of his lips to Ed’s at first, a gradual opening of their mouths and light flick of tongues. A gentler and more languid kiss didn’t mean Ed’s arousal was slow to remember where they’d left off. He felt it stir low in his belly, and with it, his hunger stirred too. He’d fed only last night, but the two animal sides of his id were intimately entwined.
His vision intensified, and he fought to keep his eyes green.
“That’s it….” Sam whispered. “You can do it. I trust you.”
He kept kissing Ed, letting his tongue sink deeper, connecting with Ed’s in an unhurried caress. Sam’s hand started to drift between his legs again, but Ed stopped him, keeping Sam’s hand on his thigh, and reached to seek out Sam’s hardness instead. It was firm and ready for him, straining against his slacks. Giving Sam pleasure with tentative strokes made it easier to stay in control.
Until Sam groaned, and the sound shot a signal straight to Ed’s primal side that made his eyes flicker again and his fangs start to grow. He pulled away to catch his breath, leaning their foreheads together to fight back the beast that kept roaring to the surface.
He didn’t want to hurt Sam. He never wanted to hurt him or scare him again, but even with his face changed, Sam didn’t look as afraid. He took Ed’s hand from between his thighs and simply held it, hesitated with a brief shudder running through him, and then kissed Ed very softly, fangs and all.
“We’ll work on it.”
“I’d like that.” Ed took a few beats to rest so he could make his face look human.
But he wasn’t human, and he never would be again.
“Sam… I’m still going to have to kill those people. I always have to kill someone.”
“I know.” Sam stared at their hands, thumb circling Ed’s knuckles.
“You can’t tell me you’re okay with that.”
“I’m okay with the Cramers. And their flunkies. I won’t mourn anyone like them.” He glanced up, finding whatever it was he kept looking for in Ed’s eyes and smiling. “If I’m around to keep your life organized, maybe I can make sure those are the only types of people you ever need to kill again.”
There would be more to it than that. This couldn’t go as well as Sam hoped. It never did. Because eventually it had to end. But things between them finally felt like back during those first few weeks together. This was better, and Ed did so love the way Sam kissed.
“S-so….” He peeled his fingers away and took a steadying breath. “Back to investments?”
“Sure.” Sam stood and reached down to help Ed up too. “But be honest. Those Apple shares you have. Were you there, in on the ground floor, or did you buy them recently simply because you could afford it?”
SAM COULD have afforded whatever fancy meal he wanted that night, between the cash Ed had given him and the cut of th
e take in his bank account, but for some reason, they still ended up at Lucifer’s Rest.
“We have a nice suite at the Hilton. Why are we eating here?”
“Because Gerry has a new lease on life now that we’re not leaving,” Mim said.
They were in their usual booth, which was easy to acquire, since the place was seldom packed. Mim sat beside Sam, leaving Gerry by himself with a nice clear view to Lara, who he kept gazing at like a lovestruck puppy.
“If that means you’re actually going to ask her out, great,” Sam said, tossing aside his menu. He had it memorized anyway. “If not, I’d rather stop choking down greasy food every night. We should be enjoying some of that hard-earned cash.”
Gerry didn’t seem to hear him, perched on the edge of his seat, waiting for Lara to reach their table.
“You’re in a better mood,” Mim said.
“Things went really well with Ed today.” Sam shrugged.
Ed was out somewhere in the city tailing Fitz right that moment, like an impossibly fast shadow moving as an unseen predator through the streets. He was a predator, a vampire, a storybook monster, and yet, Sam had enjoyed every kiss and touch they’d shared and trusted him despite everything. Ed had no reason to lie to him or fake anything anymore, not when he could have gotten everything he wanted through fear alone.
“You’re smitten again.” Mim all but rolled her eyes.
“We just know where the lines are now, which parts weren’t lies.”
“You like Simons again?” Gerry returned to the conversation.
“I always liked him.”
“You were pretty freaked last night,” Mim reminded him.
“Sometimes I still am, but I know we can trust him. And he trusts me.” Sam covertly slipped the list of account numbers from his pocket to pass over the table.
“What are these?” Gerry snatched the list closer.
“The accounts where the Cramers moved his offshore money.”
Mim and Gerry stared at each other, and then at Sam.
“One of those belongs to their source. Ed wants to see if we can trace it.”
“Sammy….” Mim shifted in the booth to face him. “You realize that with these numbers, Gerry could just hack into all of them, steal the whole take, and we could—”
Their Dark Reflections Page 8
