Page 17 of A Song in the Night

Halfway down the hall, Deacon stops and faces me. He’s still smiling.

“I was hoping to find you here,” he says. “Danielle Winters played a clip that showed you coming out of Crimson, and the bouncer said you still stop by sometimes, so here we are.”

“Why?” I ask, hearing the bewilderment in my own voice.

He holds the duffel bag out to me. “You left some things at the hotel.”

Frowning, I take it and pull the zipper across. I instantly recognize some of my clothes. Stunned, I reach inside and my fingers brush the small wooden box Alexei gifted me. A lump forms in my throat, and I quickly swallow it. “Thank you,” I tell Deacon. “I really appreciate this.”

“Of course. It was no trouble at all.”

I stare at him, wondering how to address the last time we saw each other.Sorry I almost killed you that one time. No hard feelings, right?I clear my throat and start, “Look, Deacon—”

“By the blood, please don’t. If you’re about to apologize, it’ll get awkward, and then I’ll need to convince you that it’s okay. Let’s just skip all that.”

I blink at him. “Deacon, I could have killed you.”

He shrugs. “Occupational hazard.”

“Okay, but—”

“It’s fine. You’re forgiven. Especially after sending that gorgeous piece of man candy to stop me from dying.”

Noah had been at the hotel? He’d helped Deacon? I had wondered, that night, what was taking him so long to come to my room. Now I know that he’d been cleaning up my mess.

Battling a swell of emotions—guilt, wonder, confusion—I press my lips together. “I’m really glad he reached you in time.”

“You are blushing so hard right now,” Deacon says, his tone teasing.

“It’s the alcohol,” I mumble.

“Right.” He drags out the word, clearly not believing me. His eyes gleam. “You hitting that?”

I answer without thinking. “Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

The human laughs. “Look, I need to go, but don’t be a stranger, okay? I took the liberty of jotting my number down. You’ll find a note in the bag.”

“Great,” I say. “It was good to see you, Deacon. Seriously.”

Deacon must’ve had a few drinks himself, because he throws his arm around my shoulders and hugs me against his side. “Take care of yourself, Charlie. Oh, and say hello to that sexy vampire of yours for me.”

He winks and walks away before I can respond. I roll my eyes at Deacon’s retreating form, but I can’t help the ghost of a smile on my lips. Then, slinging the bag over my shoulder, I head for the door. I wave at Markus on my way out.

The cold air feels amazing on my heated skin. There’s probably about an hour until dawn, so I elect to walk back to the boardinghouse. Streetlights flicker along the sidewalk and a car alarm blares in the distance, but aside from that, the night is quiet.

To save time, I go into an alley and cut through a parking lot behind an unlabeled building. Glass shatters somewhere behind me, and I freeze, holding my breath as I turn and attempt to extend my hearing. Nothing. Frowning, I keep moving, picking up my pace now. My pulse spikes when I catch the sound of footsteps behind me. I spin again, lifting my arms to prepare for a fight, but there’s no one there.

“Great,” I say under my breath, breathing hard. “You’re losing your—”

Something slams into me, and I fly across the parking lot, landing hard on my side. Pain roars through my ribcage. Groaning, I struggle to focus on the form sauntering toward me. “Henry?” I rasp. “Is that you?”

The figure says nothing. Whoever they are, they’re covered in black from head to toe, save for the unnerving plastic mask covering their entire face. It looks like a rabid wolf.

I shuffle back and scramble to my feet. My entire body vehemently protests. The duffle bag Deacon gave me has been abandoned on the ground nearby.

“Wh-who are you?” I manage, so terrified that my voice shakes. I reach up and touch my forehead, wincing when white-hot pain explodes across it. My fingers come away red, and I quickly wipe them on my pants.

The masked person tilts their head, watching me in menacing silence.

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