I woke slowly.
For a moment I didn’t remember where I was, or why the morning light felt so unfamiliar across the ceiling. My body was heavy with sleep, the kind that comes after too many emotions and not enough rest.
Then everything from yesterday rushed back.
Zane.
The church.
Cazaro sleeping on my couch.
My eyes snapped open.
I sat up immediately, pushing the blankets off my legs as my heart kicked a little faster.
The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
“Cazaro?” I called softly.
No answer.
I slipped out of bed and padded down the hallway, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I stepped into the living room.
The couch was empty.
The blankets were folded neatly across the armrest like someone had taken the time to clean up before leaving.
Of course he had.
Vampires were many things, but messy apparently wasn’t one of them.
“Great,” I muttered.
I ran a hand through my hair and moved toward the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water. My head still felt foggy from sleep, and the quiet apartment made everything feel strangely hollow.
He had left without waking me.
Which… honestly wasn’t surprising.
I took a sip of water and turned toward the desk in the corner of the room.
That was when I noticed it.
The drawer.
It was open.
Just slightly.
My stomach dropped.
I froze where I stood, staring at it like it might somehow close itself if I waited long enough.
But it didn’t.
Slowly, I set the glass down on the counter and walked over.
“No,” I whispered under my breath.
My fingers gripped the edge of the drawer and pulled it open the rest of the way.
Empty.
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The space where the cross had been sitting was bare.
The Bible was gone too.
For a moment my brain refused to process it.
Then the realization hit.
“Oh my god.”
My chest tightened instantly.
He saw it.
Of course he saw it.
Cazaro had been wandering my apartment while I slept. Curious. Observant. The kind of man who noticed everything.
And the law.
The law was very clear.
Religion was illegal.
Not discouraged.
Not frowned upon.
Illegal.
Punishable.
I had heard the stories growing up.
People disappearing.
Leaders arrested.
Small underground groups wiped out before they could spread.
My stomach twisted hard.
“Fuck.”
My hands started shaking.
Because that Bible wasn’t just mine.
Inside the back cover were notes.
Names.
Not full names—no one was stupid enough for that—but initials. Little reminders. Places we met. Dates scribbled in the margins from nights we gathered quietly and prayed like criminals.
If someone wanted to investigate…
It would be enough.
Pastor Eric.
The others.
Everyone.
My breath came faster as panic climbed into my chest.
“I have to warn them.”
The words came out thin and shaky.
Even if Eric hated me right now.
Even if the church had already exiled me.
None of them deserved to be dragged into this.
I grabbed my phone from the desk and stared down at the screen.
My head was still reeling.
Cazaro had taken the Bible.
Which meant he knew.
And if he knew…
I was completely, utterly fucked.
I barely made it three steps down the walkway before two figures pushed themselves off the side of the building.
I stopped so suddenly I nearly tripped.
They had been leaning against the wall like statues.
Both vampires.
Tall. Still. Watching.
My stomach dropped.
One of them inclined his head slightly.
“We are your security.”
Oh.
Fuck.
Right.
Cazaro’s voice from the night before echoed in my head.
When I am not with you, you will have two guards.
“Uh… okay,” I said weakly.
This was going to make things harder.
But not impossible.
Father Eric had a day job.
He wasn’t just a pastor. During the week he worked at his clinic across town. It was small, quiet, and usually full of people coming in for minor problems or checkups.
Perfect.
“I need to go somewhere,” I said quickly.
The vampires didn’t argue.
They simply fell into step behind me as I started down the street.
I walked fast.
Too fast.
My mind kept racing ahead of me.
The Bible.
The notes.
The initials.
If Cazaro had really looked through it—
No.
I pushed the thought away and turned down the next block, nearly jogging now.
The clinic came into view at the corner.
A small building with pale green shutters and a wooden sign hanging above the door. It looked more like someone’s house than a medical office.
I shoved the door open and stepped inside.
A small bell chimed overhead.
A woman behind the counter looked up.
“How can I—”
The door opened again behind me.
The vampires.
She stopped talking immediately.
Before she could say anything else, a familiar voice came from the hallway.
“Allysia?”
Father Eric stepped into the front room.
He froze when he saw me.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then I said quickly, “I need emergency care.”
The words hung in the air.
I held his gaze, silently begging him to understand.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he nodded.
“Come on back.”
He gestured toward the hallway.
“Your friends cannot come back,” he added calmly, glancing toward the vampires. “Sterile reasons.”
One of them spoke from behind me.
“We will be here.”
That was good enough.
Eric led me into the exam room and shut the door behind us.
The second it closed, the tension in the room snapped.
“You have been banned,” he said quietly.
“I know.”
His jaw tightened.
“You should not be here.”
“I am working on an article,” I said quickly. “I can’t get into more than that.”
His brow furrowed.
“But Zane doesn’t know anything,” I continued. “That’s why he assumes I’m a blood whore.”
Eric’s face darkened slightly at the word.
“But Cazaro,” I said.
My voice dropped lower.
“He found my Bible.”
The color drained from Eric’s face.
“He saw the notes.”
I stepped closer.
“The initials. The reminders. Everything.”
Silence filled the small room.
“You have to move locations,” I said urgently.
“Immediately.”
Eric stared at me.
“Do you understand?”
His hands tightened slightly at his sides.
“I don’t care if I’m banned,” I finished.
“You need to get everyone out.”
