Chapter 67

Josephs POV

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?!” I roared into the phone, feeling fury rising through me.

I was seeing red.

This plan was so careless and stupid that I was thrown away so that people as powerful as the Nightwalkers would think of something like this.

“There is no fucking way in hell we are using Tessa as human bait!!” I seethed.

“Joseph, we think it’s the only way we can truly lure them,” Mulligan said calmly. “They aren’t going to come out of hiding for just anybody. It’s Tessa they want.”

“I’m not allowing them to get her,” I hissed. “You are fucked in the head if you think I’m willing to—”

“We are running out of time,” Mulligan said firmly, stopping my words. “These vampires are not going to stop until Tessa is in their possession. They are being sloppy because they are sending us a message.”

A message?

Why hadn’t I thought of that? Of course, they were sending us a message. Leaving Natalie alive and then leaving that body out in the open. They were sending us signs and warnings.

I was focusing on my breathing, trying not to lose my temper. But at that moment, I was seeing red. The very thought of putting Tessa in danger was infuriating and I wanted to kill Mulligan for even suggesting it.

“Wait…” I said in my lowly vampire tone. “Was it you that thought of this? Or that asshole Jordan?”

It’s been no secret that Jordan hated Tessa. He didn’t trust her at all, and I knew he was looking for any opportunity to get rid of her. Even feeding her to the new vampires.

Mulligan was quiet, which gave me all the answers I needed.

“It’s a good idea, Joseph,” Mulligan finally said, sounding defeated. “The closest we ever got to seeing them was when we planted Tessa’s cardigan in the park.”

“Then plant another cardigan,” I said through my teeth.

“They aren’t going to fall for that again,” Mulligan said, and I knew he was probably shaking his head. Or he would be if we were in the same room.

I was gritting my teeth, feeling the fury consume me. I’m sure my eyes were probably incredibly red. If this was a cartoon, I’d have steam coming out of my ears.

“Joseph, we wouldn’t let anything happen to her—”

“Isn’t that what you said the last time?” I hissed.

Mulligan fell silent, as did I.

I didn’t want to think about the last time. The memory was still too painful, and it took me a long time to trust the Nightwalker police again.

“We need her…” Mulligan said slowly. “If we keep going at this rate, the new vampires will never stop. They will keep going and leaving careless messages around the city. Tessa will continue being a prisoner in your home. Forced to only go out when Jordan is available to accompany her. Unable to see her friends and be normal.”

I couldn’t speak. I knew they were right. Tessa would never live a normal life if we didn’t put a stop to those new vampires.

I felt sick.

“Obviously this would be Tessa’s decision though. We can’t force her to do this. You could bring her by this evening, and we can discuss this with her in detail,” Mulligan continued. “Let us talk to her. Maybe we can come up with another solution. She might have another idea. She’s smart after all.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

“Let me talk to her,” I said and then I hung up without another word.

I rubbed my temple with my pointer fingers. I was royally pissed off and I needed to calm down before I actually saw him.

After a few steady breaths, I felt my body relaxing.

I stood from my desk and left my office. I didn’t smell her in the house. I knew she was outside in the garden. The gardener was also there. It was too dangerous to go outside and risk sun exposure, so I sat on the couch and waited for her to come in.

She did after an hour and when she saw me, she frowned.

“Joseph? Why are you still awake?” She asked, furrowing her brows. “Is everything okay?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that because no it wasn’t. But I didn’t want to frighten her.

“Chief Mulligan called,” I started to say, staring at my hands. “They think they have an idea of how to capture these vampires.”

“What?” They gasped. “How?”

I couldn’t even speak the words, but I met her eyes. I saw worry and a little fear in them. She knew something was wrong.

I swallowed the lump in my throat before I spoke again.

“They want to speak with you, Tessa,” I said. “In person.”

…

Tessa’s POV

I stood in the Nightwalker headquarters with a racing heart. My hands trembled as I tugged at the bottom of my shirt.

Joseph stood with me, and he was anything but happy.

He didn’t tell me why we were here or what the Nightwalker Police Force wanted to talk to me about, but I knew that he knew.

He was quiet for most of the drive. It was after dinnertime, so he was able to drive us to the open field and walk to the podium that opened the doors to the Nightwalker Headquarters.

I don’t think Joseph had slept at all that day, so on top of him being upset, he was also incredibly tired.

A cranky and tired vampire couldn’t be a good combination.

“Thank you for coming here, Tessa,” Chief Mulligan greeted.

“Something tells me I didn’t have much of a choice,” I said, trying to give a small laugh, but it came out like a whimper.

Mulligan gave me a small smile.

“You always have a choice, Tessa,” He said, meeting my eyes and I saw the compassion in his.

It made me even more nervous. Something was telling me this wasn’t going to be a good conversation.

“Your choice is actually why you are here. I’m not sure if Joseph told you anything about what we previously discussed. But I wanted to make sure you knew that you had a choice.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I looked up at Joseph.

I knew that he knew what this was all about, and he chose not to tell me. I couldn’t even be angry with him right now. I was too nervous.

His jaw tightened and I saw that he was holding himself back.

“Why don’t you come into the conference room,” he suggested to us both.

I didn’t think my legs would work, but after a moment, I followed him down the hall until we reached a spacious room with a large table in the middle. The table had a few familiar faces already seated, including Jordan’s.

“Finally,” he muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

I rolled my eyes.

“Good to see you too,” I said in return with complete sarcasm.

“Take a seat, Tessa, and Joseph,” Mulligan said, motioning for a couple of empty seats.

We both sat down and Mulligan sat at the head of the table.

“As you already know, Tessa, these new vampires and being quite difficult. They are masking their scents and using disguises to keep themselves from being found out. Even our top vampire accomplice can’t track them and he’s able to track most vampires. We think it’s because these new vampires have a bigger motive.”

Mulligan paused so I could comprehend that.

“A bigger motive?” I asked, staring around the table.

“Yes. Your blood seems to be driving vampires crazy. They can smell it and it makes them curious about you. It’s not just the new vampires, but all of them. Even domesticated ones,” Mulligan said, glancing at Joseph when he said that last part.

I saw a flash of fury flashing through Joseph’s eyes, and I gulped.

“These new vampires are going through drastic measures to find you. They could be working for someone, or they are genuinely curious about you and want you for themselves. We don’t fully know. But we know they are desperate to get to you. So much so that they are leaving us signs and warnings. I’m assuming to threaten us.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Joseph.

“What are they talking about?” I asked him.

Mulligan fell silent and everyone was facing Joseph now, waiting for him to speak. I wanted to hear this from him because he was the one keeping all of this from me. I couldn’t even comprehend how angry I was with him.

He sighed and met my eyes.

“There was a girl that was attacked recently by a vampire…” he began to explain. “Natalie Parker.”

“Okay?” I urged.

“He left her alive.”

I gasped loudly.

“Alive??” I nearly jumped to my feet. “Does she remember anything??”

“She did, yes,” Joseph answered. “But I took care of it.”

“What do you mean you took care of it?” I asked, afraid of the answer. “What did you do, Joseph??”