Page 40 of My Mr. Vampire

“Yeah, he was here, but Zand showed up at my apartment and took care of him.”

“Took care of him?”

“Yes.” The gruesome scene played over in my head in 4K. The images I pushed away were now back inside my brain in vivid colors.

“Did he shoot him?”

“No, but he killed him. He didn’t need a gun?”

“What? Did he stab him or something?” Morgan asked.

“No.” I thought about my words before I said them. “Morgan, I want to tell you everything.”

“Hell yeah, and you betta tell me everything. That muthafucka killed Craig. I’m your friend and I deserve the truth.”

“You do. I know you do.” I sighed and licked my lips. “There’s our world that we live in and there’s this criminal world that people like Lonzo live in.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“But there’s a third world, a secret world.”

“Look, you better not come at me talking about no illuminati bullshit.”

“No, the other world is supernatural. There are other people out here that are like magic. When I tell you this, you have to keep it a secret. You have to swear never to tell anyone what I’m telling you. Look at me. I’m not bullshitting you. This is a secret society that exists.”

“Coco, I swear I’m not going to say anything. Please tell me. I can see the fear in your eyes. Please, just tell me.”

“Here, in Chicago, there are vampires. A vampire killed Lonzo.”

Morgan’s eyes widened; a flicker of disbelief crossed her face before her features rested into a mask of curiosity. “Tell me everything, Chanel. No more secrets. No more lies. I need to know the truth.”

“Okay let’s sit.”

We both sat on the couch facing each other and this time I hoped we stayed seated. With a heavy heart, I was going to unravel the tangled web of my recent past. I prayed the strength of our friendship would be enough to see us through this convoluted dumpster-fire that was my life.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the painful memories I was about to revisit. “It all started when I met Lonzo. He was charming, mysterious, and he had this way of making me feel like I was the only person in the world who mattered. You know all of this already.”

Morgan leaned forward, listening intently. “Lonzo, he fooled all of us.”

I nodded, my throat tightening with emotion. “After I left, and he was arrested, I started living my life again. I knew I was going to have to come back and testify, but I felt safe in Chicago.”

“You seemed happy here.”

“I was. I started seeing Zand, and everything was going good until I was attacked in the parking lot. I never mentioned it to you because I didn’t want you to worry. Later, I found out it was Lonzo’s sister, Marisol. They jumped me and I couldn’t see any of their faces. I didn’t think it was Lonzo because he was still locked up and I’m practically in witness protection. I thought it was just random Chicago street violence and crime. Zand nursed me back to help and then I heard about what happened to Craig. I swear I thought it was just a car crash at first, but Zand didn’t think so. I later found out the detectives had lost Lonzo and were looking for him. Lonzo told me he killed Craig. He confirmed his sister jumped me in the parking lot. Lonzo wasn’t long gone, like we all thought. He broke into my apartment to kill me. I was the witness. Without me, he could get off for those murders. The state’s attorney had charges, but they were banking on a conviction for the triple murder charge that I was a witness to.”

“This is so fucked up. They didn’t protect you at all.”

“No, they didn’t. He was too dangerous to even get a bond. Lonzo broke into my place through the sliding balcony door in my bedroom. He beat me and tried to rape me. Zand knew something was up and he came into my apartment, and he took care of Lonzo.”

“He killed him?”

“Yes, Zand is not human. He’s a vampire. That’s a secret I’ve been holding from you.”

“What?” Morgan gasped. “You look serious.”

“Because I am. I’m not crazy. I’m not making something up to shock you.”

Morgan’s eyes glistened. “I can’t believe this. We wrote silly letters and slid them under his basement door.”

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