Chapter 70

Tessa’s POV

“It was an ambush,” Mulligan continued. “We didn’t expect there to be more than one vampire. But they were expecting a trap, and the result was Noah getting critically hurt. Thankfully, Joseph was able to put a stop to these vampires with our help and they were locked up. But Noah suffered greatly.”

I felt sad by this story. I felt sad for Joseph. I lowered my gaze and stared at my hands. I was so awful to him for not letting me do this. I didn’t understand, but now I get it.

He was afraid the same thing would happen to me.

“Joseph blamed himself for not being able to protect Noah. He blamed us as well. He went into retirement and fell off the grid for a long time,” Mulligan said, a sad look in his eyes.

“You said that Noah was hurt critically, but that's not that he died right away. Did he die on the scene, or afterward?” I found myself asking.

“He died within the hour. It was painful and agonizing for him. It was terrible to watch. Joseph wouldn’t let us put him out of his misery. He kept saying that he wanted to turn him. He wanted to make him into a vampire.”

I gasped.

“He tried to turn him, didn’t he?” I asked, my voice feeling unfamiliar.

“Yes,” Mulligan confirmed. “He did. But it failed. Noah died soon after.”

My heart ached for Joseph.

I wanted to say more and ask more questions, but I heard a familiar voice outside the door.

He sounded furious.

“Let me in!! 10 minutes is up. I want back in, Jordan!” Joseph hissed at Jordan and the others who stood outside the door.

Mulligan rolled his eyes.

“He’s back,” Mulligan muttered.

“Let me talk to him,” I said firmly. “I can talk to him about this.”

Mulligan stared at me for a moment longer and then he nodded. He went over to the door, opening it and he said something to those on the other side of the door.

Soon, he stepped aside, and Joseph shoved his way into the room. He looked more annoyed than angry now and he was muttering something under his breath as he walked toward me.

“Let’s go. We are leaving,” he ordered me.

“I’m not going anywhere until we talk,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

He narrowed his angry eyes at me.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Tessa. We aren’t using you as bait. I’m putting my foot down. We will find another way,” he said through his teeth. I knew he was trying hard to not lose control again.

“And if we can’t?” I asked, raising my hands. “So many innocent humans are dying, Joseph. It isn’t fair to them. If we have the power to stop them, we need to take it.”

“I will not put you in danger,” he growled.

“I am not Noah!” I blurted, instantly regretting it.

I saw a flash of pain in his eyes and his breathing harshened.

He snapped a look at Mulligan who stood on the far side of the room, lowering his gaze to the ground.

“You told her??” He hissed, a mixture of hurt and shock was evident in his voice and on his face.

“She needed to know,” Mulligan responded. “She deserved to know the truth.”

“Joseph…” I said, stepping toward him. “I am so sorry about what happened to your friend. I truly am. But times are different now. The Nightwalker police are stronger and have better technologies. You are stronger. I am a different human and have different skills. What happened to Noah won’t happen to me. I will make sure of it.”

“You don’t know what these vampires can do,” he said in a low tone.

“No… but I have you there to protect me as well,” I said, peering up at him. “We already know there’s more than one vampire. We will be ready if it turns into an ambush. We have to be ready.”

He looked at me for a moment longer, this time the anger that was once on his face had melted away. He was staring at me with curiosity, a little pain, and doubt. But there was no anger. I was relieved by that.

Mulligan noticed this too and chose to stay quiet in the corner of the room, so he wouldn’t trigger Joseph again.

“If we are to do this, we will need an actual plan,” Joseph said, glaring at Mulligan. “Did you already think of one?”

“Yes,” Mulligan answered. “We stop masking Tessa’s scent and we put her in a small apartment in the city. We have an apartment already from when we go on stakeouts in the city. Tessa would be living there until the vampires show up. We will be watching Tessa’s every move using the small bugs we’ve already placed in the apartment. Every room has multiple bugs except the bathroom. She will also have a camera’ on her just in case.”

Mulligan paused so he could look at me.

“I’ll have my officers on standby. As soon as these new vampires show up, we will be there. You don’t have to do a thing,” he finished.

“How long would I be at this apartment for?” I asked.

“For as long as it’ll take,” Mulligan shrugged. “Although I don’t anticipate it’ll be more than 24 hours.”

“Am I allowed to have friends over during this time?” I asked, thinking about Ruby.

If I miss school because of all this, she’s going to be extremely worried about me. It’ll help her if she sees me and knows for sure that I’m okay. But she won’t buy it if she can’t see me. That’s just how Ruby is.

I admired her for it, but it also annoyed me a little.

“While you are at this apartment, you should try to lessen the number of outside connections you have,” he answered with a timid frown. “We don’t know how advanced these new vampires are and they could figure out how to get a hold of your messages or phone calls,” Mulligan said, shaking his head. “We wouldn’t want to compromise the mission.

“I can’t even talk to her on the phone??” I gasped.

Ruby was going to be so mad at me.

“We aren’t thinking this is going to be a long mission,” Mulligan reminded me. “We will try to get this done as soon as possible. They are attracted to your blood. Once you are available to them, they will come for you.”

I swallowed a large lump in my throat. I didn’t want to appear nervous because then Joseph would forbid me from doing this again. He didn’t exactly agree to it. He only asked what the plan was. He’s been quietly assessing things and processing all that’s been said to him.

I looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. I still felt so sad about his friend. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like and what it felt like.

“What are you thinking? I finally asked after a long silence.

“I’m thinking I don’t want you to die because then all of this would be for nothing,” he said, sounding drained.

“I don’t want to die either,” I said, with a side smile. “But this isn’t just about me. It’s about all the humans they are killing in my place. Everybody is in danger. My family and friends are in danger…”

“You’re right,” Joseph said, making my words trail off.

“I am?”

“Yes. You are,” he said, eyeing me carefully. “They can’t kill anyone else… it needs to end. Soon.”

I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips.

He then looked at Mulligan who squared his shoulders.

“Let’s do it,” he finally said after another pause. “Let’s use Tessa as human bait.”