Page 43 of My Mr. Vampire

A serene silence settled between us. I guess I was going to date a vampire and so was my best friend. While warning her, I realized I should have been warning myself. I loved Zand more than any man ever, but his lifestyle was different.

Was he going to live forever while my ass grew old and gray? Was he going to eventually leave me for another woman? What if that woman was a vampire? I couldn’t fight a vampire chick. Since I knew his secret, does that mean he would have to kill me if he wanted out? I couldn’t believe I was even thinking these things. I was really feeling insecure. Honestly, it didn’t matter. I loved my mister vampire, and he loved me. Now. Today. That’sall that mattered, the love we shared in the moment. I could dream that the moment lasted forever.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ZAND

The glow of the laptop screen illuminated my furrowed brow as I pored over the latest surveillance footage of Marisol. The muffled thump of bass from the nightclub below pulsed through the floor, but my focus remained razor sharp.Chanel and Morgan were safe and sound at the loft. Tonight, I wasn’t worried about them, but there were so many more days and nights in our future.

Harlen leaned over my shoulder. “So, what’s the deal with this Marisol chick?”

I sighed, pausing the video. “She’s a serious threat, Harlen. Connected, strategic, and ruthless. We can’t underestimate her.”

“Come on, bro. We can take her.” Harlen’s eyes gleamed with reckless enthusiasm. “I say we storm her hideout. Catch her by surprise and take her out.”

I shook my head, exasperated by his impulsive nature. “It’s not that simple. We need to be smart about this.”

As much as I appreciated his eagerness to help, Harlen’s lack of foresight worried me. Marisol was human, but not an enemy to be trifled with. One misstep could spell disaster for Chaneland Morgan. I could escort Chanel to and from work, but I couldn’t go inside the doctor’s office. I had no way to screen the staff or the patients that entered the office.

Harlen paced the room, his agitation palpable. “Alright, so what’s the plan, then? We can’t just sit around waiting for her to make a move.”

I turned to face him, my voice measured but firm. “We gather intelligence first. We need to spot her and follow her. We need to find out where she is staying, because I’m sure she’s not in Chicago alone. We strike when the time is right. When we’re sure we have all of them.”

Nodding, Harlen cracked his knuckles. “I’m in. Whatever it takes to protect our people.”

A flicker of pride warmed my chest at his determination, despite our complicated history. Our people. He’d only been sleeping with Morgan for a short time, and he had already grown attached to her. This wasn’t like him. In moments like these, I could see glimmers of the brother I once knew—loyal, passionate, and ready to fight for what mattered.

I turned back to the laptop, my resolve hardening. Marisol may be formidable with her ties to the cartel, but she had no idea what she was up against. Together, Natasha, Harlen and I would ensure the safety of our world and our people, no matter the cost.

I leaned back in my chair, the weight of our situation heavy on my shoulders. “Marisol is no ordinary adversary, Harlen. She’s well-connected. Her ties to her brother’s criminal network ran deep. She is a part of a branch of the Cartenegra cartel in southern Mexico.”

Harlen’s brow creased as he absorbed my words. “If her brother Lonzo is out of the picture. How much power does she really have?”

I pulled up the latest intelligence reports on my laptop. I had Natasha hack the DEA and Homeland security files on the Lopez family and their affiliates. “Marisol maybe next in line to take her brother’s spot once word spreads that Lonzo is unofficially dead.”

Harlen’s eyes scanned the reports, his fingers tapping nervously on the desk. “I see, but I don’t think this human woman is much of a threat.”

I nodded grimly. “She knows where Chanel’s apartment is, and she knows where The Castle is. I don’t need her to find out where Chanel works. I suspect she’s planning something. She’s just not here looking for her brother.”

Rising from my leather chair, I walked over to the far wall that displayed my most expensive art piece. My favorite art piece was my original 1963 portrait of Andy Warhol’s Double Elvis. I owned one of the twenty-two silkscreen paintings. The untrained eye would think it was a replica, and not the rare art piece worth over 40 million dollars. One of my safes was behind Double Elvis. I lifted the art piece like I was opening a door. With one hand, I pressed my index finger to the keypad and waited for the yellow indicator light. Then I punched my six-digit code in and waited until the screen flashed green. With a soft click, the door swung open, revealing a stack of photographs. I grabbed them and spread them out on the desk before Harlen.

“These were taken by our surveillance team over the past few weeks. Marisol’s been spotted all around town. She’s been outside The Castle. She’s even been back to the apartments. I was hoping she would be picked up by law enforcement.”

Harlen studied the images. “Law enforcement. What a joke.”

“If she gets arrested and shipped back to Minnesota, our problems will be solved.”

“Temporarily. I hope you know she’s never going to give up. She’s looking for her brother, her family.” Harlen’s jawclenched with barely contained anger. “She’s not even trying to hide her movements. It’s like she wants us to know she’s up to something.”

I tapped one of the photographs, a candid shot of Marisol, outside a seedy westside bar. “That’s precisely what concerns me. She’s too smart to be this careless. It’s almost as if she’s baiting us, daring us to make a move.”

Harlen’s fist slammed against the desk, rattling the framed photos on the wall. “Then let’s take the bait. We can’t let her continue to threaten our world, our people.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder, my voice low and urgent. “We will stop her, Harlen. But we have to be smart about this. All she knows is her brother is missing. She connected me to Chanel. Maybe she followed Chanel. Maybe she was at the funeral I attended in Minnesota. She knows Chanel didn’t do anything to Lonzo. She can only speculate I had something to do with his disappearance. One wrong move, and we risk exposing ourselves, putting everything we’ve built at risk.”

Harlen’s shoulders sagged, the weight of our responsibility settling over him. “I know, I know. It’s just... I can’t stand the thought of her out there, plotting against us. If she noticed you, she may have noticed me, and she sure as hell knows Morgan is in town.”

I understood his frustration all too well. The very idea of Marisol threatening those I loved, especially Chanel, sent a chill down my spine. But I couldn’t let my emotions cloud my judgment. Not when the stakes were this high.

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