“I hate to even ask…” Cole started.
“Go ahead,” said Brennan. “I doubt I have the answer either way.”
“Should I be scared?”
Brennan choked down the acrid smell of smoke, curled and uncurledhis fingers. He looked helplessly back to Cole, who sucked on his joint and stared Brennan down through narrowed eyes like that alone would give him answers.
I hope not,Brennan almost said, and then,I don’t think so,but neither of those seemed good enough.
“I’m figuring it out,” he said instead.
Cole laughed. “Well,” he said, almost to himself, “if you’re stealing donated blood, then at least I know you’re not, like, attacking humans in the streets in secret.”
“That’s the goal, yeah.”
“That’s not so bad,” Cole decided, tilting his head and taking another long, deep hit.
“Cole!” A voice called down from the open window Brennan had jumped from. “I can smell you smoking down there, are you gonna come help me or what?”
Brennan’s eyes cut to Cole, ice crackling down his spine.
“Did I not mention?” Cole whispered. “I’m helping my friend with some stuff for the school’s blood drive.”
Of course he was.
“What, are you making friends down there?” A head of dark, curly hair peeked out the window from above.
Brennan flinched away, hoping to conceal his face. Even if there wasn’t blood on his face, and his backpack wasn’t visible from her viewpoint, she had a good view of his bleached hair and could probably pick him out of a lineup, if it came to that. God, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Cole turned over his shoulder but kept his eyes on Brennan as he called up, “Always, Marisela. I’ll be right up!”
With Marisela disappearing into the building, Brennan swallowed hard as Cole considered him. This kid, in the wrong place at the wrong time, could make or break Brennan’s life as a vampire before it had even really started.
“Here’s the deal,” Cole said, conspiratorial, leaning forward with a secret in his eyes. All Brennan could do was follow, drawn like a magnet. “I won’t tell anyone, as long as no one’s getting hurt.”
“But?” Brennan prompted.
“But,” Cole said, “in exchange…”
Brennan braced himself. This was real blackmail material. He could want anything.
Cole grinned, wicked, and said, “You readTwilight, and give me live updates.”
Brennan blinked. “You’re kidding.”
Cole shrugged, seeming awfully pleased with himself. Brennan wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or deeply, deeply concerned.
“Yeah, uh, how high are you?” Brennan asked.
“I believe it’s ‘Hi, how are you?’” Cole said, giggling, which was an answer to Brennan’s question in itself. “So, whaddya say? Deal?”
Cole didn’t go so far as to reach out a hand to shake—maybe that was too much trust, even when stoned—but it felt like an important offering. A lifeline.
Brennan took it gladly.
Sometime after stealing blood from a blood drive, making a back-alley deal with a campus cryptid, and walking home, Brennan’s phone vibrated in his pocket.
He didn’t open it until he got home to his place, passed Tony playingApex Legendson his Xbox, and dropped his backpack at the foot of his bed. He flopped dramatically onto his bed face-first, and after a long moment, finally checked his phone.
