Twice Bitten (Virgin Blood 3)

The pull I have to the twins makes my feet start moving again. The closer I get to their home, the stronger it feels, but maybe they aren’t even there. They could have gone out to one of the bars I always see them at, and then I think about what a masochist I am. I’m always bringing these things to the forefront of my mind, but maybe it’s self-preservation. It’s my brain’s way of telling me to turn around and go back to the world I belong in, because this one isn’t mine.

I freeze when I hear what sounds like a scream, and my ears strain for any sound. Then a second later, another sounds and I’m torn between running towards it or away from it.

I step back as the light over the front door turns on and a woman comes walking out.

“I’m serious, you two! You can’t just call a girl over in the middle of the night and except her to show up!” the woman yells at them. I think she might be wrong because it looks like she did indeed show up. I can’t tell from her tone if she’s really mad at them or more scolding them. She looks older and her blonde hair is pulled up in a ponytail so tight it looks painful.

“Sometimes a man just needs a little help,” Erik says in a teasing tone.

I stay hidden in the shadows, unsure if they can still see me even if they look this way.

“You both scared the shit out of me! You got what you wanted, so don’t call me in the middle of the night again,” she huffs, getting into her car and speeding off.

Erik only laughs. “She’s always a drama queen.” He shakes his head. “We should look into replacing her,” he adds.

That probably wouldn’t sound so creepy if I hadn’t just read that they enjoy killing women.

“Come on, we’ve got to handle this. We’ll worry about her later,” Ezra says, slapping his brother on the back. “We have a woman in our sights and I don’t plan on losing her this time,” he adds as they go back into the house.

Erik stands there for a moment, glancing around before following his brother back into the house. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. I try and decipher what they could have possibly meant, but I come up short.

It isn’t until a loud bang cracks through the silent night that I’m shocked back to reality. I swear the ground shakes beneath my feet, then the sky lights up with bright colors. The sight of the fireworks has me in a panic and I turn and run. As they keep going off, they light up the night and I can see where I’m going. It isn’t until I reach the stone wall that I stop and rest my hands against it. My breathing is heavy and I can’t hear anything with the pounding in my ears. How the fuck am I getting back over this wall?

With everything I have in me, I start to climb and almost slip when I’m halfway up. I can’t get good footing, so it takes me forever, but finally I reach the top. When I look down I can’t help but think that it looks so much worse going back over now than it did before.

A noise in the woods causes me to jerk my head back and scan the darkness. I stay frozen as both Ezra and Erik step out from the shadows, but I still can’t see them very well. The moon isn’t bright enough to show me more of them, and whatever it was that was lighting up the sky has stopped.

“Please,” I whisper, unsure why I’m saying it. Please let me go? Please don’t let me go?

They both stand there as if they’re in just as much shock as I am. Ezra takes another step towards the wall and Erik reaches out to stop him.

“Don’t. You’ll scare her and she’ll fall,” Erik tells his brother. “I can smell her fear.”

“Ezra, please let me go.” I tell him, but the glint in his eyes is intense and scary.

“You know he’s Ezra?” Erik asks me, and I nod.

“I know who you both are,” I say, but he shakes his head.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant you can tell us apart.”

“Well, yeah.” I don’t really understand the question.

Of course I can tell them apart. Sure, they look a lot alike, but you’d have to be crazy to not be able to see the difference. I see the corner of Erik’s mouth twitch and I wonder if he’s fighting a smile.

But before I can enjoy the moment or ask any more questions, Ezra suddenly breaks free of his brother’s hold and lunges for me. I let out a small scream as he comes up the wall and Erik shouts in the distance. Everything in my vision tips upside down as I feel myself begin to fall.