Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

“They told me afterwards that the girl had offered them candy, but they were scared of her so they didn’t take it.”

“Smart kids,” I murmured.

Jasmine shrugged. “I think it was just instinct, honestly. Human survival instincts are pretty strong.”

“What did the girl look like?” Sawyer asked.

“Maybe eight or nine. No older than ten, I would say. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of pajamas with little unicorns on them.”

Unicorns, huh? Maybe I had the same pair. “Shoes?” I asked.

“Slippers. Also unicorns.”

“Niiiice.”

My comment was met with a glare and a strange look. Right, not cool talking about my love of unicorns while on the case. “Wait. Are unicorns real?”

Jasmine laughed. “If they are, I haven’t seen them.”

“Are you related to Captain Vaile Wolfe at Buxton PD by any chance?”

She flushed and looked away. “He’s my father, yes. He’s your boss?”

Fuck! I knew it! I knew Wolfe was a fucking supernatural, and a werewolf no less. That explained so much. I wanted to punch my fist into the air, but I held myself back. Getting back to the conversation at hand, I jerked my head in Sawyer’s direction. “He’s my boss right now.”

“Upgrade?”

“Easier on the eyes,” I said without thinking. Then blushed. “Fuck. Sorry. That was…wrong. Your dad is very handsome, some might even say hot—”

“Stop talking, McKenzie,” Sawyer told me bluntly.

“Shutting up,” I replied softly, letting out a shaky breath. I looked down, waiting for the ground to open up beneath me.

“Did you see where the vampire went?”

“She took one look at me and vanished.”

“Like, she just ran away, right?” I asked. “She didn’t poof into thin air.”

“Only the really old ones can do that,” Sawyer said absently. “Most vampires just move very quickly.”

I swallowed. I felt like I wanted to just disappear into a safety bubble and never step out. I was getting a crash course on the supernatural world, and I was totally going to fail the quiz at the end.

“Could you scent where she went?”

Jasmine flicked her fingertips over a pleat in her skirt. “I tracked her to a window that had been left ajar. I think she got out that way.”

“I thought vampires couldn’t come inside a building without an invitation.”

“That only applies to homes,” Sawyer replied, cutting off the recording. “Thank you, Jasmine. You’ve been a great help.”

She bobbed her head, her blonde hair shining in the overhead light. “Anytime. If I think of anything else, or if you have any more questions, you know where to find me.”

She returned to her classroom, and we waited for Watts to come back out to meet us.

“Are you ready to meet the other two children?” At our nod, he led us down a series of halls, finally stopping in front of a classroom. “If you could wait here, I’ll go and collect the students and take you back to the office for the interview. I will have to be present for that also.”

“Of course,” Sawyer said.

When we were alone again, I asked, “Why is he ignoring me?”

He smirked. “Given your height, I thought you’d be used to it by now.”

“Wow. You are such a shit.”

He sighed. “It’s the sword you’re carrying. It’s magic, and humans have no magic in them. Therefore, they can’t see you or the sword, since you’re touching it.”

“But Jasmine could see me just fine.”

He conceded that point with a nod. “True, but Jasmine is a werewolf. She’s tied to magic in a different way. She could see you, but Watts and the receptionist couldn’t because they’re human.”

“What if I’d taken the sword off?”

“Then you would’ve been visible to them.”

“I don’t know whether this is welcome information or not.”

“It’s neither good nor bad. It just is.”

Who the fuck was he? Yoda? Good or bad, neither is. Is, it just. I folded my arms over my chest.

A few minutes later, Watts appeared again with two small kids trailing behind him. The girl and boy looked petrified as they took in Sawyer in all his growly beauty.

“This way,” Watts announced in a tone that even had me jumping to attention. We followed him back into the office, then each of us found seats, Sawyer and I in the two chairs in front of the desk and the kids taking a seat on the low sofa up against the wall. Like criminals facing a firing squad.

Watts sat behind his desk.

“Trish and Jack, this is Detective Sawyer Taylor. He’s here to ask you some questions about last night.”

Trish huddled in on herself and shuffled closer to Jack. They looked similar, both with dark hair and eyes. Since I was essentially invisible right now, I sat back and let Sawyer take the lead.

“Alright, Trish and Jack, I’m going to ask you some questions, and I’d like it if you could answer them as truthfully as you can. Is that okay?” He waited for both kids to nod before he pulled out his phone and hit the record button.

“Okay, Trish, let’s start with you. Can you tell me what happened?”

The girl nodded and wiped a finger under her nose. “I don’t remember a lot, actually.” She glanced at Jack. “I remember being in my seat, and then I heard her calling me. I couldn’t see her, so I stood up and walked to where I could hear her more clearly. I found her waiting backstage. She said she had some candy for me and my brother, but we could only have it if we went with her. I didn’t want to go. I remember feeling that, but the next second, I was walking towards where she was hiding. Jack followed me because we always go everywhere together.”

As the girl talked, I looked at Jack, who was staring at me dead in the eye. I blinked, wondering whether he could see me, and if he could, how was that possible. I raised one eyebrow at him, and he frowned.

“Jack pulled me away from her before she could take my hand. That’s when Ms. Wolfe saw us and scared