Don’t freak, I told myself. It’s not like I’m pregnant or anything. We’d been careful, and, besides, this had begun before Lucas and I first made love. No, pregnancy wasn’t what I was scared of.

All the same, I knew something was happening to me. A change was coming.

Chapter Fifteen

“IT’S NOT FUNNY,” I REPEATED FOR THE FOURTH time, but I couldn’t keep from smiling as I said it.

“I know it’s not funny. We need the money.” Lucas was able to keep a straight face until he continued, “And Hamburger Rodeo is the challenging kind of job most people couldn’t keep for even four days.”

“Shut up.” I thumped his shoulder soundly, but I was laughing as hard as he was. Although it was embarrassing to drop an entire tray of glasses of water in front of the whole restaurant, at least I’d managed to soak Reggie in the process. I’d lost my job a couple of days after I’d come back from my sick leave, which would have worried me if it hadn’t been so hilarious.

Lucas was peeling back the cellophane on a couple of microwave pizzas, which was what we had for dinner most nights. Although we were free to shop for what we wanted now, instead of scraping by on the bleak rations Black Cross provided, we didn’t have cash for much. Also, neither of us knew how to cook. I didn’t mind, though. I wasn’t that hungry these days.

“How was your day?” I asked. Lucas didn’t talk about his job at the garage much; he just came home gasoline scented. I didn’t mind that, though. He always took a shower first thing and emerged warm, damp, and smelling just great.

“Same old,” he said shortly. “Listen, don’t worry about that hamburger place anymore, all right? You’ll find something better. You ought to fill out some applications at the bookstores in town. You love to read.”

“That’s a good idea.” Which would I rather recommend: Jane Austen or Bacon Buckaroos? No contest.

I thought happily about my potential new career in book sales as I finished setting the table, reaching down to the basket to grab a couple of glasses—until the dizziness crashed over me.

Everything went sort of grayish, and I could see spots in front of my eyes. A weird chill swept through my body. I hung onto the wall for a moment, trying to get my breath.

“You all right?” Lucas turned toward me, concerned.

I gave him a quick smile. “Yeah, just turned around too fast. That’s all.”

He didn’t look like he believed me, but then the microwave dinged, and he turned to collect our dinners.

Not for the first time, I wondered if I shouldn’t have told Lucas about the weak spells I kept having. I hadn’t even spoken to him about fainting at work. But saying something to Lucas would mean admitting something was wrong—really wrong—and I wasn’t ready to admit that yet.

We sat down to dinner, splitting between us the newspaper Lucas had brought from his job at the garage. It smelled a little like motor oil, the same way Lucas did when he got home. Weirdly, the smell of motor oil had become slightly sexy to me. I grabbed the want ads (just in case any bookstores were listing openings), the front page, and the entertainment section. Lucas took the sports pages, but he never read those first. Every evening, he went through the local news—scoured it really, paying close attention to each story. I figured he was trying to learn more about our new city, but I was wrong.

Lucas straightened up and pushed a page toward me. “Look at this.”

I looked. A woman had been found dead in a Dumpster downtown. “That’s sad.”

“Keep reading.”

I didn’t see how it was going to get any less sad. Then my eyes widened.

Sources say the victim’s throat had been slashed. The lack of blood at the scene has led police to conclude that she was killed elsewhere and dumped in the alleyway later. Anyone who saw a suspicious person or vehicle in the area between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. is encouraged to contact the authorities.

My mouth was dry as I whispered, “A vampire.”

“A vampire who’s let us know where he’s working.” Lucas smiled grimly. “Which means a vampire who’s just made a big mistake.”

“You don’t mean you want to—to hunt this vampire?”

“He’s killing people.”

“But what are you going to do? Just—kill him first?”

Lucas was very still. “I’ve done it before. You know that.”

He’d killed a vampire to save Raquel during his year at Evernight Academy. Although I believed that he’d truly had no choice, and that Raquel might easily have been killed otherwise, the thought of hunting down a vampire and killing him in cold blood made me feel sick inside. “It seems like there should be another way.”

“Well, there’s not.” Lucas pushed back from the table, energized by the thought of action. “It’s not like there’s a vampire jail or anything.” Then he paused. “Is there?”

“Not that I know of.”

My unease must have showed clearly on my face, because Lucas covered my hand with his. “Once the vampire knows we’re after him, he might take off. Leave town. That happens a lot. The second they find out a hunt is on, they split.”

“Here’s hoping,” I said. “For his sake.”

Lucas gave me a lopsided grin. “That’s the spirit.”

“You really need this, don’t you? A mission. A reason for—” For being, I wanted to say, but the look on Lucas’s face stopped me.