Amy glanced at me sharply. “I wasn’t finished. She says she saw him with another woman.”
“YourBarry.”
She nodded stiffly.
I frowned, trying to focus my wandering thoughts enough to understand. “I’m sorry. She saw Barry doingwhat with another woman?”
“Talking. Closely. And touching each other.”
I shuddered at the thought. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Yeah, of course. It’s nothing.” She nodded. Then a frown creased her pretty face. “Why would you assume that it’s nothing?”
“Well, this is Barry we’re talking about.”
“I know you don’t like him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t an incredibly desirable man, you know. He’s had many girlfriends over the years.” She sighed. “Women are irresistibly drawn to him. It’s not his fault.
He’s blamelessly charismatic.”
I blinked at her. “If you say so. But really, you guys are newlyweds. So if you’re thinking that something fishy is going on—”
She nodded, looking suddenly sad. “I was right to be worried. He’s cheating on me.”
“Amy! How can you say that?” I shook my head. “Weren’t you just doing the ‘Barry’s so hot’ cheer outside?”
She slumped down in her chair. “I’m trying to fool everyone into thinking I’m fine. That my marriage is wonderful. But I can’t take it anymore. It’s all a sham, Sarah.” She let out a long breath. “I was afraid of this. But I’m not surprised.”
I reached across the table to grab her hand and squeeze it. I’d never seen Amy so down, so ready to accept defeat without even putting up a fight for the man she married. “Maybe you’re just overreacting.
Maybe this is nothing at all.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I’m not enough woman for him. I told you before that he is a very sensual man. He has needs that I’m just not able to fill.”
I tried to cover up my shudder by squeezing her hand harder. “Don’t say that.”
“I thought he wasthe one ,” she continued. “That after all these years I’d found my knight in shining armor. But . . . ” She sniffed and her voice grew shaky. “I’ve just set myself up for a-a-another h-h-heartbreak.”
Now I leaned over the table to give her a hug, before I got up in search of a napkin that I returned with and handed to her. “Listen to me, Amy. Barry may be a lot of things. Gross things. At least to me. But I seriously don’t believe he’s cheating on you. I want you to be happy. Listen, if you’re that upset about this, I’ll check things out. I’ll be really subtle, too.”
She blinked and a tear splashed down to her cheek. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. I’d be happy to spy on your husband for you. What’s a friend for?”
“I really appreciate it.”
“Anything to help distract me from the fiery pit of despair of my own life is a good thing. And then I’ll be able to tell you that there’s no way he’d want to be with another woman. Even though I still feel like staking him for turning you into a vamp on your first date.”
She pouted. “I just don’t know.”
I shook my head. “You guys might have your problems, but I think Barry’s in this for the long run.”
She dried her face with the napkin, and nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
Frankly, so did I.
Amy left me to look after the table and scare off anybody looking to steal it. She joined the end of the long lineup. I sat there by myself and glanced out of the window at Lenny, who was back from his skateboarder takedown and pacing in front of Starbucks, trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably.
It was good to know he was there. He seemed like a bit of a musclehead, but he was a musclehead who was going to look out for me.
After five minutes I glanced up at the line. Amy was still waiting and was on her cell phone again, talking to who knows who. Maybe Mr. Charismatic Barry himself.
It was going to be a bit of a wait. I put my head down on my folded arms with the intention of resting my tired eyes and trying to put my problems briefly out of my mind, but found myself quickly spiraling off into dreamland.
I was all alone at Midnight Eclipse. The chairs were placed upside down on top of the tables so the floor could be easily cleaned during the off hours. The long, black lacquered bar hugged the wall. The stage was to the right—small but adequate enough to put on a good show.
I felt a hand on my shoulder that trailed warmly down my back, stopping at my waist to turn me around.
“Sarah,” Quinn said, staring down the length of me before meeting my eyes. He smiled and I could see his fangs glint in the soft light of the club. His dark blond hair was brushed off his face. His blue eyes flashed. He wore a dark suit with a pale blue shirt.
“You should know that this isn’t real,” I told him. “I’m dreaming right now.”
“Yeah, I know.” He grinned wider and raised an eyebrow. “Interesting, though, that you’re dreaming about me, isn’t it?”
Then he crushed his lips against mine, his strong hands sliding down my body to pull me against him. I didn’t fight it. My fingers worked their way up to tangle in his hair and I opened my mouth to the deepening kiss.
After a moment, I pulled away from him, feeling confused, turning as if in slow motion to look at the stage. The lights were on, flooding the performing area with bright light, almost too bright for me to register what was up there.
But then I saw.
It was Peter, eye patch and all. The vampire hunter who’d wanted me dead. The one that I’d shot in self-defense. But instead of me onstage with him, as it had been that terrible night, it was Thierry.
His face was rigid and emotionless. But his eyes weren’t. Those bottomless silver eyes watching me and
Quinn were filled with pain.
Peter approached the microphone. “Hey, bitch. Remember me? I haven’t forgotten about you. Not by a long shot.”
Icy fingers played along my spine and I shivered. “You’re dead.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am. Some things do change. But some things never do. You think you could get away with what you did to me with no consequences? You’ve got a world of pain headed directly your way, darlin’. Auniverse of pain. And it’s only just begun.”
“You deserved it,” I told him, feeling both guilt and anger fighting inside me. “You tried to kill me. That’s all you did—kill vampires. For fun. Don’t even try to tell me that you believed we were all monsters.”
“Nobody’s perfect.” He shrugged. “We’re all monsters down deep, darlin’. Every one of us. You gotta embrace that monster. I did. If you believe any differently, then you’re fooling yourself.”
“Let Thierry go.”