Free The Vampires' Last Lover (Dying of the Dark Vampires Book 1) by Aiden James, Patrick Burdine Page A

the rest of the way to my dorm. By then, we had already heard that classes for the rest of the day were canceled. Other than the dorms, only the libraries, bookstore, and cafeterias remained open.
    When Tyreen and Johnny grilled Peter about what happened, and what our assailants looked like, he surprised me by staying evasive about those details while expounding on the actual damage inside the townhouse. Johnny especially got excited about the overturned kitchen appliances and the birdbath impaling the sixty-inch plasma TV.
    As for me, Tyreen gave me another scolding that thankfully didn’t last long. Neither she nor Johnny badgered me with questions about what happened—nothing about what I saw and heard and I didn’t volunteer any information. For the time being I got to keep that information to myself.
    We spent the day in the library finishing our class assignments for the next week, and then returned to Massey Hall well before dusk. None of us broached the recent string of murders and the four latest disappearances. Nor did we keep tabs on the sudden national focus surrounding these terrible events. Sort of like an unspoken promise to avoid the subject, as if our mutual silence would protect us all from the burgeoning menace.
    The University and police had arranged for pizzas to be delivered to the entire dorm, and after we had our fill of food and drink, the four of us moved upstairs to our room.
    “I think everyone should stay here tonight,” Tyreen suggested, after she closed the door behind us. “It’s not like we’ll be the only ones up here with our men staying with us tonight.”
    “Me and Pete can use the guys’ facilities on the other side in the morning to take a shower,” added Johnny. “Unless y’all can’t stand to be alone for fifteen minutes!”
    “Oh, yeah, big boy?” Tyreen retorted, when he preened like a helpless female. “Who’s to say you’ll make it ‘til morning with your stank ass, be-e-e-a-a-t-c-h-h-h!!”
    That stopped his comic pose and snickering grin; then he erupted into one of his loud and irritating laughs.
    They seemed very much like an old married couple, loving and yet so dysfunctional. If nothing else, they got things revved up for a night of distracting entertainment. Before long, we were all poking fun at each other while taking turns playing Johnny’s Grand Theft Auto and Assassin’s Creed video games, and after that a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity. Peter and I began to nod off around eleven o’clock, and Tyreen and Johnny headed downstairs since neither one was ready to retire.
    We were exhausted from so little sleep the night before. I helped Peter climb up into my bed and then I snuggled close to him. Soon after, despite the lights still on and the TV muted in the corner of the room, we drifted off to sleep.



areful… that’s it, Garvan.”
    I suddenly awoke. My room was immersed in darkness. The lights and television were off. I could hear Peter’s soft snores to my left, and I was moving toward the window… more like
floating
on my back toward the
open
window.
    “What in the hell?” I whispered hoarsely, trying to get my bearings. To my right, I could see light from the hallway beneath the door, and the shadow from one of my floor mates passing by my room. I couldn’t hear Tyreen or Johnny, snores or otherwise, which told me that neither one had returned yet.
    I had to be dreaming.
    “It appears she is waking up. Cover her mouth and let’s be on our way!”
    The same voice from a moment earlier, and the Spanish accent was familiar.
Very
familiar.
    “Armando?”
    “Si,” the owner of the voice whispered in response to me. “I must insist you keep quiet, dearest Txema!”
    It was the same cheerful tone and irreverent delivery from the other night. Definitely him.
    “What are you doing?” I asked, alarmed and finding it hard to keep my voice low. Preparing to float through a fourth floor window on a chilly night will do that to