I felt deflated about the annulment, but I guess it didn't really matter. It would have been nice. I'd actually had a vision of myself wearing a long white gown and walking down an aisle to meet a tuxedo-clad Thierry with rose petals being thrown at my feet. I'd always wanted a fairytale wedding.
Unfortunately, I was more than a half a millennium too late to get to my Prince Charming before he was already snapped up by a woman who didn't believe that love was an important element in a successful marriage. Sure. Just my luck.
It didn't matter.
What mattered was that my trauma of the week had been fixed thanks to the gold chain.
Maybe it wasn't the cure, but it was a reasonable fix as far as I was concerned. And
Thierry and I were still together. Everything else would have been extra icing on a cake that was already extremely tasty just the way it was.
I breathed out and watched the cloud of frozen air drift up and dissipate into the night air.
Then I turned and walked the block and a half back to Haven.
Yeah, everything was cool, I decided as I trudged along, mentally kicking myself for the fiftieth time that I hadn't worn more comfortable shoes. Then again, who would have thought I would be out for a stroll after having coffee with my boyfriend's wife? On
Valentine's Day?
All alone.
In the dark.
At nearly ten o'clock at night.
With no bodyguard to speak of.
Again.
I stopped and turned around. Did I hear footsteps?
I picked up my pace.
The alley to the secret entrance of Haven was just ahead, and I relaxed slightly as I turned the corner before skidding to a stop.
"Sarah," the Red Devil said. He leaned against the cold brick wall. I recognized him immediately due to the scarf that completely obliterated his identity.
All I really knew about him was that he was tall. Really tall. And well built. Not too muscular and not too skinny. Athletic. That was all I could tell, since he was dressed from head to toe in warm winter clothing, including black leather gloves. Exactly the same as the last time I'd seen him.
Only this time he stood under a streetlamp. As he looked at me I could now see that he had green eyes—the only thing visible under that scarf.
"Hey," I said, and I was very glad that my voice sounded steady and unshaken considering he'd just scared the living undead out of me. "How's it going?"
"Well. Very well." He blinked slowly. "Did you receive my gift?"
I touched my neck. "I did. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for this. It's made all the difference in the world to me."
"I thought it might."
"But I don't understand why you didn't tell me you had it the last time I saw you."
"I wanted to keep it a surprise. Were you surprised?"
I nodded. "Very."
He didn't say anything for a moment and simply continued to watch me.
"I should probably get back inside," I said.
"Inside where?" he asked.
I bit my lip. Haven was a secret vampire club. Emphasis on the secret part. Did he know he was twenty feet away from the unmarked entrance? Or was he simply here to speak to me? Maybe he was trying to trick me into revealing the location and then he'd… then he'd what?
I laughed a little at that.
"What is it?" he asked.
I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'm just really paranoid. It's been one of those weeks that have made me question absolutely everybody's motives."
He touched his chest with a gloved hand. "Including mine?"
"Most especially yours." I sighed. "Look, I don't know who you are. I guess that's the point, right? The whole disguise thing. I get it. It's all superhero and you don't want to reveal anything, but you've got to admit that it's a little bit creepy. I mean, you could be anyone under that scarf, couldn't you?"
"Are you afraid of me?"
"Should I be?"
He shook his head. "I have no plans of hurting you, Sarah."
I frowned. "That's kind of a strange way of putting it. Just a 'no' would have been good enough."
"Why would I give you the chain if I was one of the bad guys?"
"That's a very good question." I forced a smile. "Obviously you're one of the good guys.
Because without the chain I'd be in a great deal of trouble, wouldn't I?"
He nodded. "Especially now that the witch is dead and unable to remove the curse."
"Exactly." I stopped talking for a moment and frowned hard. "Uh… how exactly did you know that she was dead?"
"If she wasn't you wouldn't need the chain to be normal, would you?"
I crossed my arms. "But you knew that she was dead. Not gone. Not hiding. Dead."
He exhaled slowly. "A lucky guess?"