Lanie nodded, her own eyes tearing out of sympathy. “I know,” she said.
“That’s three people dead, Lanie,” Johnna said unevenly. “Three girls that we know! Three girls that would have left school with us and probably left town to go to college in just a few months! It’s…it’s not fair!”
Lanie agreed that it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Frederik picked their town to move into and take over. It wasn’t fair that he was killing people who hadn’t done a thing to him. It wasn’t fair that Kyle Vincent had spent years of his life chasing after someone he was never going to catch. And what was even more unfair was that Frederik was never going to be stopped, that he could keep going forever! Who knew how long he’d already been doing this, going from town to town, killing girls like they meant nothing, like they were cattle just waiting to be slaughtered.
There was nothing fair about this entire situation!
“I don’t even want to be here,” Johnna said, swiping at her eyes. “The teachers aren’t going to be able to have class with half the school missing, anyway.”
Lanie agreed with Johnna on both counts. “Did you drive?”
“Yes. Why?” the girl wondered.
“Then let’s get out of here,” Lanie suggested, slamming her locker shut, the noise echoing loudly up and down the empty hallway.
Johnna seemed shocked. “Lanie, what’s going on with you? You don’t blow off school!”
“These are extenuating circumstances,” she stated with a shrug.
There was a vampire in Fells Pointe and she had no idea when he might be swooping at her from out of the shadows, ready to make her his mate. She was allowed to break character, wasn’t she?
Johnna shrugged, a whatever expression suddenly on her face. “Where are we going? I mean, it’s not safe to be out anywhere.”
Lanie shrugged. “We can go to Katy’s Korner for a while. I could use a coffee.”
Without further argument, Johnna grabbed her purse from her locker and they made for the door, meeting Finn on his way in.
“Where are you two going?” he asked roughly, using his large frame to block the doorway.
“Away from here,” Johnna answered. “Half the kids have been kept home.”
“I’m coming with you,” Finn said without hesitation. And then he turned his gaze to Lanie. “Have you seen Chase this morning?”
She flinched, feeling heat creep up into her cheeks. “No.”
She didn’t need to see Chase Wylie this morning. She’d seen him enough the night before. He was there every time she closed her eyes.
“He has something to say to you when he does sees you,” Finn stated, putting an arm around both she and Johnna and leading them out of the building and across the lot to Johnna’s car.
“What does he have to say to Lanie?” Johnna asked. “Does this have something to do with why you both disappeared from The Drive-In last night? Finn made Brady give us a ride home, but he wouldn’t tell us why.”
“Brady had to give you a ride home because Chase had to drive himself to the ER,” Finn stated as they all piled into the car.
Johnna gasped loudly, her eyes growing wide. “Why did he have to go to the ER! What happened to him!”
Finn cast a glance at Lanie, who was sitting in the backseat, obviously waiting for her to answer. But, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to say it out loud.
“The jackass got a little bit overheated last night and tried to maul Lanie,” Finn answered for her.
“What! He-he did not!” Johnna exclaimed in a horrified tone as she turned to look at Lanie. “Lanie, tell me he didn’t!”
“He did,” Finn stated. “But, me and a couple of the guys had a few…words with him and he decided he wants to apologize to her. And then he wants to say as far away from her as he can get.”
Lanie felt a little surge of fondness for Finn Gellar.
“Lanie, are you…was it...bad enough to tell your dad?” Johnna questioned, her eyes filling with tears.
“I-I…I’m going to tell him as soon as he’s done with whatever happened last night,” she answered quietly.
There was a brief silence between them and Lanie found herself wishing that her friends would look away from her for a minute. The expressions on their faces hurt her.
“I’m just glad your friend was there to stop him, but I need to apologize to him for what we did,” Finn broke the silence, turning back around and buckling up.
“Friend? What friend? What’d you do to him?” Johnna asked as she jammed the key into the ignition and started the Honda’s engine.
Lanie did not want to talk about her friend, but Finn had no such qualms. “Lanie had a friend there and I thought he was bothering her, so me and the guys might have tried to give him a little bit of an ass kicking.”
Yes. They had tried to give him an ass kicking, but in reality, he had just been trying not to kick their asses.
Johnna threw the car into gear and headed out of the nearly empty parking lot. “What friend? You didn’t have anyone with you last night,” she accused, shooting Lanie a look over her shoulder.
Lanie cringed, not knowing what to say. “He…he just showed up.”
“Is this the guy you’ve been ditching school for?” Johnna asked her.
Lanie shrugged. Why were her friends so nosy! She would never stick her nose into their business!
“Lanie, this is freaking me out! Why won’t you let anyone meet him!” Johnna demanded. “What’s wrong with him! Is he fresh out of Juvie or something!”
“Johnna, you’re going to pop a vein,” Finn told the girl. “If Lanie wanted you to know, she’d tell you.”
Thank you, Finn! At least someone had a sense of boundaries!
Johnna huffed and fell into silence. However, a second after she stopped talking, Finn took over. “Lanie, that was the guy from The Pub the other day, wasn’t it? The one you bought food for?”
Johnna sucked in a breath, her head whipping around and her mouth falling open. “What! Lanie, no! What! Not that guy!”
Lanie gritted her teeth, trying to see a way out of this, but she couldn’t. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, knowing full well that she was wasting her breath.
“Ha!” Johnna spat derisively. “Well, you’re going to! You’re hanging out with a bum! You’re hooking up with him in your bedroom! You are going to talk about it!”
“I am not hooking up with anyone!” Lanie defended herself. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like because I have to tell you, that guy is weird,” Finn added helpfully. “We tried to beat the shit out of him and he barely even flinched. And he knocked me on my ass with before I even knew what happened. I wanna know what this guy’s deal is.”
Lanie cringed. Perfect! Finn did not need to say things like that in front of Johnna, of all people! “I don’t want to talk about it,” she repeated.
“You are talking about it, Lanie!” Johnna hissed. “I mean, this guy shows up out of nowhere! He can’t even pay for his own food! And you’re hanging out with him! And you know what’s going on around here! I mean, how do you he’s not the one going around killing people!”
A sudden wave of silence broke over the car and Lanie could just hear the wheels grinding in both her friends’ minds.
“Don’t even think it, you two!” she warned, meaning it. “He has nothing to do with what’s happening here!”
“How do you know that, Lanie?” Finn spoke up. “Are you with him twenty four hours a day? How do you know what he’s doing when you aren’t watching him? And Stacy was found the night before we saw him in The Pub.”
“Lanie, your dad is looking for that guy to question him!” Johnna gasped. “Does he know you’re with him? What will he do to you if he finds out?”
Lanie drew in a breath. “Guys, he’s not the one who’s killing people. Trust me, alright? I know what I’m doing,” she stated seriously.
The resounding lack of response tol
d her that her friends highly doubted that she knew what she was doing, but she couldn’t argue them into believing her. And she didn’t want to try. Spending any more time than necessary on the subject of Kyle Vincent might just tip Johnna off that something was amiss about him and that was the last thing she needed to happen!
They lapsed into silence while Johnna navigated across town to Katy’s Korner and as soon as they were parked, Lanie exited the car with a grateful sigh. Maybe some iced coffee would keep her friends mouths busy enough so they would stop prying. As quickly as possible without being obvious, Lanie hurried into the building, but her friends were right on her heels, giving her no break at all. Inside, the small space was already filled up with people, all gathered at the tables and talking in hushed tones. The atmosphere was so heavy, it gave Lanie a chill.
Once they’d ordered their coffees, it was decided they would drink them outside in the little courtyard area off to the side of the building. Lanie knew that by sitting outside, in full view of anyone driving by, she ran the risk of being spotted by her dad or one of his deputies, but she was willing to do it anyway. Her dad would be angry that she wasn’t in school, but what was the point when half the kids weren’t there? And she figured she would be perfectly safe sitting in plain view of a busy street with her friends there with her and probably Kyle lurking somewhere about.
“Has anyone heard from Devyn?” Finn asked as they sat beneath one of the little white umbrellas, sipping their coffees.
“She’s locked up at home,” Johnna answered. “Her mom’ll probably never let her out of the house again. She’s always been paranoid about something happening to Devyn and this will push her over the edge.”
It was true. Mrs. Barnes had always had some irrational fear that something might happen to her daughter, which tended to make the woman just a tad over protective. But, perhaps she had a reason to worry after all, especially considering what was happening in Fells Pointe at the moment.
“Lanie, are you sure you can trust the guy you’re hanging out with?” Finn suddenly asked. “I mean, it’s an awful big coincidence that he showed up at the same time all this started happening.”
It was no coincidence. It was absolutely on purpose. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this,” she reiterated firmly, trying not to get annoyed.
“But, how do you know? Do you believe him just because he’s telling you!” Johnna wondered. “I’m sure every serial killer in the world swears it wasn’t them!”
“It’s not him,” Lanie said again, reminding herself that her friends were just worried about her.
“Lanie, neither of us wants to hear about you being found dumped out someplace,” Finn said. “I just think you should at least tell your dad about this guy. If he really didn’t do anything then it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lanie said, knowing she would not do that unless she had absolutely no choice.
“At least let us meet him,” Johnna said. “I want to see this guy for myself.”
Johnna wanted to see if she could look at him and tell whether or not he was a serial killer. Oh, if it only worked that way.
“I’ll think about it,” she repeated the phrase.
“Think hard because I don’t want to have to narc you out to your dad, but I will, Lanie,” Johnna threatened, dead serious.
“So, what are we going to do with the rest of the day?” Lanie asked, hoping to shift the focus of the conversation.
Johnna shrugged a shoulder and let out a deep sigh. “We could go to the garage and work on the float for a while,” she suggested. “It’s right by the school so we’ll be safe, and technically we won’t be ditching if we’re there.”
“Eh, why not,” Finn agreed. “I mean, it’s not usually my area, but I’ll pitch in.”
“Good. Most of the Spirit Squad is trapped at home and we need that float to be finished, just in case we’re allowed to have the parade,” Johnna said.
“Well, let’s do that, then,” Finn said. “But, I’m in no hurry. I kind of want to hang around here for a while. It makes me feel kind of naughty.”
Both Lanie and Johnna chuckled and obliged Finn his request to remain at Katy’s Korner until he tired of his naughty feeling, after which they all climbed back into the car and drove back to the school house.
The garage behind the school house was an enormous building that housed several float trailers, as well as all the other stuff it took to keep the school running. The Spirit Squad float was sitting on the left side of the huge space, near the wall of unidentifiable tools the maintenance man used for…well, whatever he used them for. Beside the float sat the cardboard boxes filled with all the things they would need to decorate it.
The three of them took a second to assess the state of things and then dove in and began working. They stapled the foil skirting around the bottom of the trailer, doubling up the royal purple and gold to hide the ugly wheel bases. They stapled all the colorful, glittering masks around the four posts that supported the roof, which was made of raffia, and even hung some of them down from the edges of it. They strung some of the necklaces around, tossed some gold paper crowns in for effect, added in some fake flowers here and there that matched the color scheme, made sure the boxes of necklaces were safely onboard and by four thirty that afternoon, they declared the float finished.
Standing back, Lanie had to admit it looked decent. Maybe the Spirit Squad girls could have done a better job of it with their cheerleader magic, but she thought it looked presentable. It was very festive and sparkly and with all the team and the cheerleaders standing on it, no one would miss that touch of cheerleader magic.
After nearly an entire day of working, they were all three tired and hungry and when Finn suggested that they hit The Pub, neither Lanie nor Johnna argued. Lanie borrowed Johnna’s phone to text her dad to let him know where they were going, she had already spoken with Gretchen to get her permission to stay after school for a while, and they made for the exit. Pulling open the creaky metal door, Lanie let out a sharp gasp when she saw Kyle standing right there.
Johnna gasped, too, grabbing holding of Lanie, pulling her back through the door, and slamming it shut with enough force to shake the entire building. “Oh my god! It’s him! Finn, find something to beat him with!”
Lanie pulled away from Johnna and flew back to the door, jerking it open even as Johnna was grasping and clawing to try and stop her. When she jerked the metal open again, Kyle was still standing there, his staggeringly handsome features drawn tight, his sparkling green eyes filled with darkness.
Lanie was out the door and in Kyle’s arms before she even realized it was happening. “What is? What’s wrong?” she asked him, her voice wavering. Something had happened. She could see it there on his beautiful face. The guilt…
“I was at your aunt’s house, Lanie. I followed Frederik’s scent all over the place and I-I finally tracked it back to Gretchen’s,” he paused and Lanie felt some of the heat drain out of her body. She suddenly didn’t want to hear anymore. “When I got there the front door was open…and Gretchen was gone. Frederik’s scent was all over…he took her, Lanie.”
Lanie felt her throat constrict and her heart plummet into her stomach. Oh God. Not Gretchen.
“I’ve been trying to find her, but I can’t,” Kyle confessed, his expression stricken. “He’s hidden her. I-I don’t know what else to do.”
Lanie suddenly found it hard to breathe. Oh God! Gretchen! That monster had Gretchen! Which meant the next time she saw her aunt would be at her funeral. Terror and ice cold desperation rose up inside her, choking her. For a stunned moment, she couldn’t even react. She could only stand and stare helplessly up at Kyle, who was staring back at her with the same helplessness etched onto his face.
“I-I have to…to…” she finally croaked out, but then stalled.
What? She had to what? Go looking for Gretchen? Call her dad? Have him go searching for the vampire who had taken her aunt?
“Lanie, I think he may use her to try and lure you out,” Kyle said worriedly.
“Lanie, what’s going on?” Finn’s voice questioned from right behind her, causing Lanie to jump. She’d forgotten her friends were there.
Letting go of Kyle, who’d apparently forgotten about them, too, she turned around to tell them that everything was fine and to go on home, but she couldn’t get a single word past her swollen throat.
“Lanie?” Johnna questioned in a scared voice, her enormous eyes glued to Kyle. “What’s wrong?”
Lanie felt her chin begin to quiver. Her aunt was dead, that was what was wrong.
“Hey, man, what’s going on?” Finn demanded, also looking at Kyle. “We’re her friends. If something’s happened we should know. We can help.”
“You can’t help,” Kyle said, his tone so heavy with sadness that Lanie nearly burst into tears right there.
“Tell us what’s going on,” Johnna insisted, quickly pulling out her phone. “Otherwise, I’m calling your dad, Lanie.”
Lanie looked at Johnna, trying to gather herself enough to speak, but it was hard going. “Call him,” she said to her friend. “Tell him I’m coming to the station.”
Kyle’s cool hand was suddenly taking hold of hers. “I’ll take you. We’ll both talk to him.”
“Now, wait a minute! Lanie, you don’t have to go anywhere with this guy!” Finn growled at them.
Kyle looked at both Finn and Johnna, ignoring the boy’s angry words. “It’s wise for you both to go home, lock the doors, and stay there. You might be next.”
Johnna’s mouth fell open and Finn took a step forward, his shoulders squared for battle. “Dude, is that a threat!”
Lanie felt despair engulfing her. “Finn, listen to him! My aunt is gone! And the person who took her might come after you next! Please, both of you go home and stay there!” she cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.
If Frederik had taken her aunt, then who knew what he might do next! No one she was close to was safe!
“Lanie, wait. We can’t—“ Finn began, but Lanie spun around and started walking away from him, effectively squelching any further argument.
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