Page 15 of In the Dark

“Here.”

Key’s eyes snapped toward the voice and he saw the man from the previous night holding out a glass of water. “You.”

“Yeah. Me.”

Trying to remember the events of the previous night had Key wincing again. He knew something had happened, something had been said, but it was like smoke in the air. Every time he tried to reach for it, it disappeared.

Taking the glass, Key sniffed it, which earned an arched eyebrow from the man who had handed it to him. He sipped it and closed his eyes as the water cooled his throat. He swallowed, ignoring the pain, and watched the other person.

This was his watcher, stalker, whatever. He knew by the way he reacted to him. This man had told him something, and Key couldn’t remember what it was, but he knew it had beensomething important. Taking another mouthful of water, Key watched the man watch him.

“Who are you?”

The man snorted and gave him a quick smile. “You took a hard knock to your head, so I’m not surprised you can’t remember. I’m Kelvin.”

“You watch me.”

“We are going to have this conversation again,” Kelvin murmured. In a louder voice, he added, “I do.”

“Why?” Key didn’t take his eyes off Kelvin, if that was his real name. What Key was aware of was the fact that this man was in his apartment.

“You are special to me.”

Key continued to stare as he thought about what Kelvin had said. “How?”

“You just are.” Kelvin moved over to the window and stared outside. It was dark now. How long had he slept for? He asked, and Kelvin responded, “Almost twenty-four hours.”

“Shit. Work.”

“Dealt with. They know you’re ill.”

“Ill? I was attacked! I need to call the police.”

“And tell them what, exactly?” Kelvin turned away from the window and watched Key.

“That I was attacked outside my apartment. We have cameras, so it will be on them.”

“No, it won’t.”

“What?” Key’s eyes widened, and he glanced at the front door. Something was going on here and he didn’t like it at all. “Why not? Are the cameras out of action?”

“No, but the footage has been removed for our security.”

Swallowing, Key carefully placed the glass on the floor and swung his legs down off the sofa. “Who needs security?”

“We do.”

Kelvin’s face remained blank, and Key tried to figure out if he could beat him to the front door. “And who is we?”

“Me and my kind.”

There was a flash of something that crossed Kelvin’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “Your kind?” What the fuck was going on? This guy had a screw loose or something?

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking of ways to tell you, but maybe I should just rip the bandaid off.”

“Huh? What?” This conversation made no sense to Key, but he knew he had to find a way out.

“I’m a vampire and you’re my mate.”

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