Page 56 of Night of the Vampire
"No. I told him to let me die. I didn't want to be like him. I didn't want to be a monster. But he wouldn't let me go." He paused. "He didn't give me a choice. And I'm too much of a coward to have done anything about it."
Now I understand where the hatred came from.
"I wasn't like him," he told me. "He loves being what he is. Loves the power. The immortality. He wanted to become what he is. I was lost. Besides my friendship with Killian, this world hadn't done shit for me."
Reaching across the table, I took his hand. "I'm glad you're still here," I told him. "I'm glad you survived everything you did. For purely selfish reasons, of course." I smiled at him. "I like you, Jamal."
He flipped his hand over and held mine. "I like you, too." He studied me for a moment. "I'm sorry about everything that happened with Kenya. Sorry it freaked you out." He paused, and I could see he was unsure what else to say. "She's my friend, Liz. She's a good person. Thank you for helping her."
"I didn't do anything."
"You gave her time. Time we desperately need. She doesn't deserve what's happening to her. She's a good one."
I believed him. "Thank you for telling me all of this. I really wish I could do more to help her."
"There's one more thing I need to tell you."
"What's that?" Giving his hand a squeeze before I let go, I went in for a third slice. I was not one of those women who pretended like they never ate food.
"How much did Killian tell you about this whole mate thing? The connection between the two of you."
"Nothing really, except that it happened at the swamp."
His face was thoughtful as he nodded. "You might want to ask him about that."
"Can't you just tell me? You're so much easier to talk to."
"I could, but it would be better if you guys had this conversation." Finishing his soda, he got up from the table. "Anyway, I'm late. I've got to get to the club."
Wiping my fingers on a napkin, I got up, too. "Are you meeting somebody somewhere?" I held up my hand, stopping myself right there. "Sorry, it's none of my business."
"Nah. I work there, so to speak. It's called The Purple Fang. You seen it?"
"Oh, yeah." I thought about it for a second. "Isn't that a male strip joint?"
Jamal grinned.
Then his meaning hit me and my mouth dropped open. "You strip there?"
"We all do," he told me as he made his way to the door. "We strip. We feed. The ladies are happy. We're happy. It's a win-win. You should stop by some time. Check the place out. No one will hurt you."
"That's how you...feed? Aren't you worried someone will tell somebody about you?"
He shook his head. "We wipe their memories. All the ladies remember is a good time was had by all, and no one gets hurt this way. It was actually Killian's idea when he saw what a hard time I was having feeding the old school way. I couldn't terrorize people like that. We've run different versions of this club over the years, depending on what was popular at the time."
"Huh. How many of you are there?"
"Vampires? Six of us counting Killian. I mean it. Come by." He pulled the door open. "Take care, Liz. Lock up behind me."
"I will." Stepping up to him, I wrapped my arms around his big body and gave him a hug.
He hugged me back without hesitation. "Next time, you can bore me with your life story," he said.
"Deal." I watched him walk away. Funny how you found friends where you least expected it. And I had a feeling Jamal and I were going to be really great friends. At the door, I stuck my head out. "Oh, hey! Jamal?"
He stopped and turned around.
"Don't tell Killian where I am. Please? At least, not for a few days."
