Free Vampire Dating Agency by Rosette Bolter Page B

puppy dog compared to that last creepozoid.”
    “Still it’s
important we keep an open mind.”
    “Yeah.
Right.”
    Haley stood.
She looked back again, in the direction of the cottage, wondering if she should
return there. It seemed a bit awkward given Cyrus’s unexpected departure.
Clearly she would have to phone him at some point.
    But what
should she do until then?
    Was it time
to go visit Brock?
    Had he been
waiting for her this whole time?
    Haley took a
moment, trying to calm herself down. Collect her thoughts. Polish the hard
exterior.
    She then
looked back to the house and realized, someone was calling for help.

 
    CHAPTER
THIRTY
     
     
    Haley could barely hear it. The
whimpers trickled away into the night, the house’s pulsating music sweeping
them underneath the wind. A once beautiful creature, the victim in question was
sprawled out across the garden bed at the back of the house, her dress covered
in dirt and blood. As Haley approached she could see the woman had sustained a
gash to her throat, and it was interrupting her speech. Haley’s demeanor became
stricken with shock as the woman looked to her with panic filled eyes.
    “Get away
from there, Haley,” Jason’s
voice blared in her ears. “Get back inside the house at once.”
    “What?” Haley
replied, disturbed. “She’s dying. She needs medical attention.”
    “Jason’s
right,” Maurice
said. “This has nothing to do with you. Get away from there before anyone
sees you.”
    “Shut up,”
Haley snapped at him.
    She looked
back down to the woman in the garden and saw she was still alive, still moaning
and whimpering. Her hand drifted across to the grass as though reaching out for
Haley herself.
    Haley took a
couple of steps back.
    Her body
turned in all directions.
    “Help!” she
called. “Somebody! Please come! Someone’s hurt!”
    The music
from the house seemed to get louder.
    Hands
shaking, she stooped to one knee and faced the woman.
    “I’ll be back
soon,” Haley said. “I’ll get help.”
    The woman’s
eyes widened. “It was him. He…”
    “What?” Haley
said leaning forward.
    “He did this.
He said he wanted to kiss me but…”
    “Who?” Haley
demanded. “What’s his name?”
    The woman
nodded, showing she understood. “He… His…”
    “Someone call
for help?” a loud voice said shrilly from behind Haley.
    She turned
and saw it was Madame Nightshade.
    Two burly men
in dark suits were standing behind her.
    “I just found
her like this,” Haley said. “I think someone attacked her.”
    Madame
Nightshade crouched to the ground next to Haley.
    “Did you see
who it was?”
    “No,” Haley
said. “I was trying to ask her.”
    The woman
moaned and turned her face away from them. She appeared to be trying to move
her body away from them.
    “Thank you
for bringing this to our attention,” Madame Nightshade murmured rising to her
feet.
    Haley joined
her. “Are you going to help her?”
    “She’s beyond
help, wouldn’t you say?”
    “I don’t
know. She’s moving.”
    “No,” Madame
Nightshade shook her head. “When you found her she wasn’t breathing. You tried
to help but she was already dead.”
    “Pardon?”
    “It’s for
your benefit. He’ll be … concerned about what you’ve encountered. It’s best we
erase all doubt.”
    “I’m not
following you.”
    Madame
Nightshade smiled. “Yes you are, dear.” She looked to her bodyguards. “Get rid
of this as discreetly as possible.”
    She grabbed
hold of Haley’s wrist and yanked her in the direction of the house.
    “Where are we
going?” Haley exclaimed.
    “Upstairs.”

 
    CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
     
     
    Jason slowly lifted the headphone set
over his head, and dropped it to the floor. He looked at Maurice momentarily,
the annoyance and anger burnt out. A boundary had been crossed. This went
beyond. “Uh, Riley…” he said in a polite and quiet tone of voice. “Can I just
talk to you a moment outside?”
    “What for?”