2 Vampires, Warlocks, And Exes (Pixie Dust Chronicles 2)

“Do not move,” he instructed as he walked up the last stair to my door. He turned the knob. It was unlocked.

“What the----” I started to say.

Leo’s fangs extended. “Karli, get back in the car. There’s blood in there.” He ducked inside.

“What?!?” I shrieked. Without thinking, I ran up all six stairs and followed him in.

Holy fuck. Chad was lying on the couch, very pale, with twin puncture marks on his neck. “Omigod…is he?” I asked.

Leo felt his neck. “No, he’s just unconscious…but he’s quite weak. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

I ran up to him and gently stroked his cheek. “Dammit, Chad, why did you have to let your dick lead you into this mess?” Despite everything he’d done to me, I’d never wish this on him. “Leo, you need to call an ambulance.”

I looked up and saw the phone to his ear. “Already on it,” he replied.

I looked down and saw something in Chad’s clenched fist. I managed to pull out the crumpled piece of paper. I didn’t need to read it to know who it was from.

Welcome home my dearest Karli. I’ll be seeing you soon.

Love, M.

I dropped the note. “Omigod.”

Leo picked it up and read it. “Karli, go to the car,” he said. “The police are already on their way, but I think we should call Vance as well. We can wait for him outside.”

I just stood there in shock staring at poor Chad. Leo grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. After depositing me in the car, he shut the door and pressed the send button on his phone.

He joined me in the car after hanging up. “Vance is only about ten minutes away. He will be here shortly.”

“Omigod, Leo,” I said. “Why would she drag Chad into this?”

“It appears that Maria has finally reached the point of no return…she was clearly trying to send you a message.”

“Why?” I asked. “Wasn’t kidnapping me and Erica enough? Hasn’t she caused enough harm?”

He grabbed my hand. “My sweet, despite Vance’s beliefs, Maria has never been a saint and she’s always had a penchant for drama. This is likely one big game to her.”

“What a crazy bitch,” I muttered.

“Agreed,” Leo added.

The ambulance arrived and Leo exited the Maybach to lead the paramedics into my living room. A few minutes later, Vance showed up and pulled open the car door. “Karli, are you okay?” He moved towards me, but I scooted away from him. Seeing him again just brought the memories of him and Maria flooding back.

I tensed. “I’m fine. Chad’s not…he’s lost a lot of blood. The paramedics are in there with him now.” I shoved the wrinkled note into his hand. “Here, you might want this.”

He opened the note, read her message, and scowled. “Jesus Christ, she’s gone off the deep end.”

“You can say that again.”

Vance shifted to the side as Erica poked her head in.

“Karli, are you okay?” she asked. “What happened?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

She straightened and looked at Vance, who immediately looked away. “Um, we were just heading to dinner when Leo called,” she said.

I assessed them carefully. Eri was wearing a little black, strapless dress. More specifically, her “I wanna get laid” little black dress. Vance had on a pair of black slacks with a crisp, blue dress shirt with the top button undone. Were they on a date?