1 Dead Girl's Guide to Style (16 page)

When we got to the house, Caitlin didn’t even bother to knock on the door. She opened and walked on in. I ran after her and Max was right behind me.

“What are you doing, Caitlin?” I yelled after her.

It didn’t stop her and she didn’t answer me. We all knew what she was doing. For whatever reason, Caitlin was convinced that Mona had turned her and she was out for revenge. I wasn’t sure what that revenge would look like though. Would they fight? Would Caitlin burn all Mona’s new clothes? Toss her new makeup into the toilet? That would be the worst thing that could happen to Mona. She was addicted to her new stuff.

Mona looked up and saw us in the house at the moment I stepped into the living room. Her eyes widened and she looked as if she had seen a ghost. She knew why Caitlin was there
, which made me think that she was definitely guilty.

She jumped up and took off for the back door. Caitlin ran across the room and around the sofa. She was on a mission to get hold of Mona. Mona ran out the back door, glancing over her shoulder to see if we were close behind. Caitlin was definitely close behind.

Mona was out on the back patio. There was a pool and landscaping all around. I didn’t know where she was headed because I didn’t see a gate in the fenced-in area. She ran around the pool as if she was headed toward the other side of the house. There must be a gate over there. It was like a game of tag and Caitlin was determined to win. I would help her all I could, but I’d never been a quick runner in the first place.

“You might as well quit running because
I’m going to get you,” Caitlin said.

Caitlin ran across the yard, around the bushes and after her. Mona skirted around the pool. I was sure someone would end up in the water again and I hoped that it wasn’t me this time.

“You’re not as clever as you think you are,” Caitlin yelled.

There was no doubt that she would. When Caitlin wanted something she didn’t stop until she got it. She was even more persistent now. I’d never seen her that angry before. I ran after them, but I didn’t know what I would be able to do. Maybe I could convince Caitlin that it wasn’t worth chasing Mona. She wouldn’t get anything from it. Well, maybe a little satisfaction.

Caitlin ran the rest of the way across the yard. She reached out and grabbed Mona’s shirt. She tackled her and they both landed on the ground. I had been running and tripped over the two of them, landing on my face in the grass. I was almost sure I heard a snicker from behind me. Unless someone was back there whom I wasn’t aware of, then it was Max. This was no laughing matter. I was glad that he found this so humorous. The women rolled around on the ground as I tried to stumble up from the ground. I looked back and saw Max approaching the women.

Max grabbed Caitlin and pulled her off. Mona scrambled up from the ground and turned around to run again. That was when I stepped out in front of her and grabbed her arm.

“Not so fast. You’re not going anywhere. You have some explaining to do.” I made her face Caitlin.

Mona glared at her. Caitlin had stopped trying to get away from Max because she realized that he was strong and she couldn’t break free. Mona was still trying to get away from me, but I grabbed her arm a little tighter.

“Why did you turn me?” Caitlin asked with venom in her voice.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,”
Mona said.

“Then why are you running from us?” I asked.

Mona smirked, but didn’t answer. That was her way of saying she didn’t know, but I knew she wasn’t being truthful.

“I want to know why you turned me. I want an answer right now,” Caitlin demanded again.

Mona was silent. This conversation was going nowhere.

Finally Mona managed to say, “I’m sorry you were turned. When did it happen?”

“You know when it happened because you were there,” Caitlin said.

“I had nothing to do with it. I won’t be bullied like this. Hadley, I am surprised. I thought you were a nice person. I guess I was wrong,”
Mona said.

“Oh
, save it, Mona,” I said.

“I won’t take responsibility for something I didn’t do
.” Mona yanked her arm free from my grip.

“Okay, if you didn’t do it, then who did
? I know you have to have the information, so start talking,” Caitlin said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“What in the hell makes you think that I would have that information
? I’m popular, but I don’t know all vampires.”

“You sure knew the ones who came after me and who have been following Max.”

Oops. I hadn’t told Max about that. I glanced over at him. He scowled as he looked at me. The women glared at each other for a moment. Then the next thing I knew Caitlin lunged forward and grabbed Mona.

Caitlin had been waiting for the moment when Max had let go. She’d had her opportunity and jumped at
Mona as soon as she’d gotten the chance. The women collapsed to the ground again. There was a lot of slapping and hair-pulling. They screamed as each one pulled the other’s hair. I would say they were fighting like girls, but that would have been unfair. I knew plenty of women who had a powerful punch and weren’t afraid to use it.

I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten into this mess
, but Mona grabbed my leg and pulled me down to the ground too. She grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked. I screamed and kicked at her. Why did I have to get mixed up in this? Oh yeah, because Caitlin was my best friend. And no one messed with a friend of mine. Mona was definitely being a bitch. I finally managed to get my hair away from her. I pulled my arm back and punched in her direction, hoping to make contact with her face.

S
omeone pulled on me, so I swung my arm back and slapped someone’s face. When I looked back, I realized that I’d just smacked Max in the face. He pulled me out of the fight.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

He didn’t stop as he pulled Caitlin off Mona. Caitlin had straddled Mona and was smashing her face into the grass. This was like an episode of
The Three Stooges
. I blew the hair out of my eyes and assessed the damage. So far I didn’t notice any broken skin and just a few grass stains on my clothing. I would have rather had the broken skin.

Mona straightened out her shirt and brushed dirt off her pants. She straightened her hair down and rolled her shoulders back. “I can’t believe this type of behavior, Hadley. I hope you know that our business relationship is over.”

“Yeah, I think I can handle that,” I said with a smirk.

“You’ll be sorry,” Mona said.

“So are we going to continue this game or are you going to tell me what you know?” I asked.

Mona crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I don’t know what to tell you, but I suggest you leave my house.”

I snorted. “Yeah,
your
house. That’s another thing I want to discuss with you.”

“Why don’t you just tell us who did this and we can end the bickering,” Max said.

Mona studied her fingernails. “I told you I don’t know.”

Obviously, we weren’t going to get anything out of her. It was like talking in circles. We needed to find the info some other way. How, I wasn’t sure. There had to be a better way to get Mona to talk. Fighting wasn’t going to be the answer either. As much as Caitlin wanted to smack her around it would do no good. We would have to try a different tactic.

“Maybe if you tell me when this happened I can help you find out who did it,” Mona said with a sly smile.

Caitlin glared. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to provide that info.

“It was this morning,” I offered. “At Caitlin’s home.”

“Well, I can ask around and find out who would have been in that area,” Mona said.

She didn’t sound so sincere and I didn’t think for two seconds that she would ask anyone. Caitlin was probably right, I bet Mona was behind this attack. Why she’d done it was a mystery. Maybe she was angry with me.

Mona glared for a moment longer, then turned around and sprinted out the gate on the side yard. For a moment, Caitlin took off behind her, but then she stopped. I guess she realized that it wasn’t worth it.

“She’s not going to tell you anything anyway,” I said, touching Caitlin’s arm.

Caitlin
shook her head. “Yeah, I know. She just made me mad.”

“We’ll figure out who did this. In the meantime, are you feeling okay? You weren’t supposed to come back this soon. You need your rest,” I said.

“I feel fine,” she said as she turned back around to face us.

Max walked up and touched her arm. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

We headed back toward the house. Technically, Max shouldn’t have to leave because it was his house after all. I wondered if he’d felt strange walking through the home again. Had he been in it since he had been back? We stepped to the back door and he held the door open for us.

“Do you want to look around at the house while we’re here?” I asked. “After all, I don’t think she’ll be back for a little while. She doesn’t want to face Caitlin again
.”

“We
’ll just walk through,” he said softly.

I guessed it was too painful for him to see the place. The only place he knew as home. As we stepped through the house, Max looked around.

“Does it look like you remember it?” I asked.

He stopped and peered around the room. “Yes, it’s mostly the same. The kitchen is modern of course, but these are the same hardwood floors that I installed and walked on all those years ago. The same doors and windows.”

I was silent as he absorbed his surroundings. I touched his arm, letting him know that I was there if he needed me.

He didn’t speak for a moment, then he finally said, “We should leave now. I’ve seen enough.”

I nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

He stepped out of the house and Caitlin and I followed him.

“Is he going to be okay?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. It’s the first time he’d been in the house since he came back
, I think.”

“That must be tough for him,” she said.

“I can only imagine,” I said.

We stepped outside and found Max waiting by the front gate for us.

“We can give you a ride home,” I said.

He nodded. “Okay, I’d like that.”

We walked in silence back to my home to get the car. It wasn’t far for him, but I wanted the chance to talk with him more. I needed answers. I wasn’t sure if I would get them, but it wouldn’t hurt to try anyway. We finally made it back to my house.

“I’m just going to l
ie down for a bit,” Caitlin said.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said.

Max and I were in my car. It was a short drive. We rode in silence for a while, but it wasn’t awkward. When I glanced over at him, he smiled.

“You were laughing at me when I got caught in the fight,” I said.

His lips twisted into a smile again. “You all weren’t fighting like vampires. It was funny. I didn’t mean anything by it though,” he said.

I bit back a grin. It had been a pathetic attempt at fighting.

“I don’t like to fight anyway,” I said.

“I can tell,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

We pulled up in front of his place and I cut the engine. He didn’t say anything or get out of the car. I stared at the road in front of us.

“Would you like to come inside?” he asked.

I glanced at him. “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

My stomach danced. I imagined his lips on mine again. The feel of his soft lips still lingered from when he had kissed me. I climbed out from behind the wheel and he held the door open for me.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

We made our way up to his front door and he gestured for me to enter first. The front door led right into the living room. Hardwood floors looked as if they were original to the building, as did the molding. The walls were white and he had a brown leather sofa with brown table in the middle of the room. It was sparsely decorated as if he anticipated moving soon. I hoped that was the case. To the left was a small kitchen and dining room and the hallway led to what I assumed was the bedroom. I was glad that we didn’t have to sleep in coffins and could sleep in normal beds. I’d bought one of those sleep number beds. Best purchase ever.

“Would you like to sit down?” He gestured toward the sofa.

I slid down on the edge of the sofa. He sat on the opposite side of the sofa and my anticipation grew. I was sure that I had a huge smile on my face. Max moved closer to me on the sofa and my heart thumped faster. He reached out and touched my hand. Then he moved closer until his leg was touching mine. He held my hand in his, and then leaned over and placed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and became lost in the moment.

W
hen a loud noise sounded, I pulled back and looked at Max.

“What was that?” I whispered.

“I don’t know. It sounded like it came from outside. I’ll check it out.” He jumped up and in a flash was at the back of the house.

I hurried behind him and caught up just as he was opening the back door. Of course I was on edge and expected the worst. It was probably just a neighbor or a stray cat. Nothing to get upset over. I just wish
ed it hadn’t interrupted our time together. I hoped that we could pick up where we’d left off.

Max stepped outside into the back area and I followed him out there. It was quiet and there were no signs that anything was out of place. I didn’t see any stray cats or neighbors outside. There was
sound from nearby traffic though, so I figured that might be the cause of the noise.

“It must have been a passing car,” he said as he grabbed my hand.

I was still on edge even though it appeared it was nothing. I nodded and offered a little smile. He probably sensed my apprehension though. I couldn’t help it after everything that had happened. It was hard to remain calm with vampire hunters lurking.

Noise
caught our attention again and we stopped. We turned around at the same time to see that Dean and Jared were now standing in the back yard looking at us.

My fears had been warranted. I
’d known that something was off. What did they want and what would they do? Again, I couldn’t express enough how much I didn’t enjoy fighting.

“What do you want?” Max called out.

They glared, but didn’t answer. Their arms remained down by their sides. At least it didn’t appear that they had any weapons. I was glad that they didn’t have that advantage over us. Neither spoke, but their eyes said enough. I knew that we were in serious danger. They weren’t playing this time.

Within a second, they had closed the distance between us. Dean reached out and grabbed Max. I lunged forward to see if I could stop him, but Jared smashed me to the ground. I landed with a thud on my butt. It knocked me for a loop. I hurried to my feet, but I didn’t move fast enough. I was no match for the two of them. What would I do now?

Dean dragged Max across the yard and Jared followed along behind them. He turned around and glared at me as they stepped through the back gate and disappeared out of view. There was nothing I could do but watch. I was helpless and there was nothing I could do to help Max at the moment. If only I had a weapon—but it would be two of them and one of me. Max couldn’t even get away from them. And he was strong. How would I possibly make a difference?

I had to think of something quickly. How would I help him? I finally climbed to my feet and ran back into Max’s place. I crossed through the hallway and to the front door. I stepped outside onto the porch and looked around to see if I could spot them. I didn’t see them anywhere. How could they have gotten away so quickly? They must have taken off in a car. But what direction? There was no way for me to know. Had anyone seen them? I looked around, but again didn’t see any neighbors. Didn’t they ever come outside?

One thing was for sure, I had to find out where they had taken him. And I had to find out fast before something terrible happened. I didn’t even want to think about that. Where would I start to find out where they had taken him? Someone had to have information about Dean and Jared. Why were they so secretive? Were Dean and Jared the vampire hunters? If so, I guess that meant that no one would want to be hunted by them, and giving me info would lead to that. I completely understood that people wouldn’t want to talk about them, but I would find someone and make them talk. I moved across the yard and to my car. I jumped in and pulled out onto the street.

Who told these vampire hunters what to do anyway? Where did they get their orders? I pulled out onto the street and turned a right at the first street I saw. Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing. Just driving around aimlessly wasn’t going to help. I had to come up with a plan. I figured that the obvious place would be Mona’s house, but that was too obvious. They wouldn’t take him there for that reason. I drove by the place anyway. Maybe I would get lucky. I jumped out of the car after parking by the curb and walked up to the house. No one answered when I knocked on the door.

I peeked in all the windows, but saw no one there. Mona must not have been home. I knew she wouldn’t have taken Max there if she was behind the vampire hunters. She probably knew I would come there to find him first thing.

That was when I remembered
James. He was the one vampire who’d helped me the most when I had been turned. I said I didn’t like to bother him, but this time it was necessary. He knew almost everything there was to know about the vampire life. I would pay him a visit. If he had the answers he would surely give them to me.

It wasn’t a long drive, so I pointed the car in that direction. Within a short time, I was pulling up in front of his place.
He lived in a three-story red brick house that had been converted into several apartments. I hadn’t called first, so I hoped that he was home. It had been about six months since I’d seen him.

James answered the door after just one knock.
His bald head shone like a beacon. His dark jeans looked as new as if he’d just taken them out of the shopping bag and his yellow polo shirt was neatly tucked into his waistband.

“Well, if it isn’t Hadley Wilds. It’s about time you came for a visit. I was wondering what I had done wrong,” he said with a smile.

I gave a half-hearted smile in return. “I’m sorry. Life has been hectic.”

“Something is wrong. I can sense it around you.” He stepped out of the way and gestured for me to enter.

I sat at the oak dining room table across from him. “Would you like coffee?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No thank you.”

After explaining what had happened, he told me about the vampire in charge. That was the Enforcer. His name was Curtis Hamilton.

“He is like law enforcement for those guys. They are all bad and I wouldn’t suggest that you go on your own.”

“What other choice do I have?” I asked.

“At least let me go with you,” he said, placing his mug on the table.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t let you get into this mess with me. I think I can handle myself.”

“You need backup,” he said.

After a few more moments, I relented and allowed him to come with me. We hopped in my car and he directed me to the Enforcer’s home. Even though I’d already been there once.

Water bubbled loudly in the fountain as we walked up to the door. Before we made it, an armed man stopped us. I held my hands up in the air. James explained why we were there and after a moment of talking on the radio, the man allowed us to continue to the door. I was now glad that I had allowed James to come. Even more, I was glad that he had wanted to come. James knew what it would have been like for me to come alone.

We rang the doorbell and after a couple seconds, a man answered and directed us to enter. He was stoic and didn’t offer any kind of greeting. The foyer was massive with marble floors and a huge staircase with an equally impressive chandelier. The man pointed us to the parlor on our left and we entered the room. It was furnished with ornate wood furnishings and a portrait of the vampire hung over the fireplace mantel. I sat on a small chair by the fireplace and tapped my fingers nervously on the chair’s arm.

“What do you think he will say?” I asked.

“I hope he will tell us why they want Max,” James said.

The grandfather clock clicked in the corner of the room and added to my nerves.

“That sound is driving me crazy,” I said.

“Just try to focus on the fact that we will be out of here soon and all this will be over,” he said.

I wished that I could believe that, but I wasn’t sure that something wouldn’t happen to us while we were here. It was the chance I had to take though.

I was becoming
more antsy with each passing minute. I hoped that we didn’t have to wait for much longer.

“This guy never gets in a hurry,” James said.

I was beginning to figure that out as I looked at the time again.

After what seemed like forever, footsteps approached from down the hall. I sat up a little straighter so that it would make me seem more confident. That probably wouldn’t work, but I’d give it a shot anyway. The
Enforcer appeared in the doorway. He looked from James to me.

He moved across the room, slow
ly and methodically, as if we were his prey. I felt vulnerable, but I couldn’t run out of the room.

“What do you want?” he asked as he sat in the large white wingback chair.

James stepped forward. “I’ve brought my friend because she has a couple of questions. I knew you’d be able to answer them.”

The Enforcer
looked at me. “Well, what are your questions?”

He didn’t seem like the most patient man. I still wondered if it was too late to run out of the room. I looked at James and he gestured for me to continue. I cleared my throat and prepared to ask the questions.