she brushed the glowing end of her cigarette against the wall, pinched the end then dropped it into her pocket before offering yet another smile. "so we can buy drugs. what else would we do with a drug dealer?"

he could think of hundreds of things to do with a drug dealer, none of which ended in the dealer's favor. unfortunately, he'd quickly learned upon assuming the throne of new york that drugs were an integral part of human society here. and like it or not, a handful of vampires, some of whom were far older than kerestyan, had their fingers firmly dug into the profits from the trade.

he smiled internally. his systematic eradication plan hadn't exactly gone over well with those vampires. then again, it hadn't gone over well with the humans, either. in the end, too much investigation which brought the wrong kind of human authorities far too close to members of the vampiric race, forced him to accept that drugs always had, and would forever be a part of new york city.

kerestyan gazed down at logan, noting for the first time the slightly sunken state of her eyes. "how long have you been engaging with larry?"

she wrinkled her nose as she pulled the bottle of water and a small plastic case from her pocket. "you make it sound like i'm getting down and dirty with him." her body stiffened and her shoulders trembled a second before she stuck out her tongue. "oh, it makes me want to gag just thinking about it. yuck. trust me when i tell you, it's a cash only transaction."

although her reaction brought him great pleasure, and conjured a rather undesirable image of larry, kerestyan chose to focus on the matter at hand. "you do understand that whatever your chosen drug is, your life would be substantially better without it. yes?"

she jerked open the white case, flipped one end over and jammed it into the other, revealing an unexpected but well used toothbrush. "great. my very own vampire moral compass." bright blue paste bubbled up from the bristles as she squeezed the end. she slid it in her mouth and held it against the inside of her cheek. "should those words even be in the same sentence?"

he couldn't help but smile. truthfully, those words should have never been in the same thought, let alone a spoken sentence. but he wasn't about to openly admit that to her. "am i to infer that you believe vampires are morally corrupt?"

"bankrupt," she said, though the word was garbled by the back and forth movement of the brush against her teeth.

kerestyan stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest when she turned around to face him. he'd been many things through the course of his existence, but in no way or form was he, or had he ever been, bankrupt. he gave her a hard look. "bankrupt?"

she closed her mouth around the toothbrush, using her teeth to hold it in place while she twisted open the bottle of water. it was only after she took a large mouthful, swished it around for what felt like an unnecessary amount of time and then spit it out, that she finally returned her attention to him. "yes, bankrupt. as in, totally depleted or ruined."

he studied the frothy, blue and white marbled puddle less than two inches from his left boot. "i am not morally bankrupt."

she took another drink of water then shoved the head of the brush in the bottle and shook it. "oh no?" wickedness spread across her face as she deconstructed the toothbrush then slipped it back into her pocket. "then tell me, great-loving-and-kind-lord-vampire," she paused to toss the bottle in a trashcan, "why you're stalking me."

it wasn't the evil smile draped across her lips he found so intriguing, but more the challenge flickering behind her emerald eyes. "i'm following you because i can't allow you to return to your normal life, knowing what you've witnessed."

her eyes slowly traced the length of his frame before she stepped forward and tipped her head back. "have you been in this situation before?"

he considered the thin strip of space separating them. outside of feeding, he'd never had a human, male or female, approach him with such little hesitation. "this exact situation, no."

"one similar?"

"yes."

she cocked her head. "did whoever was in my shoes meet the same end as the guys back in the alley?"

"sometimes."

she chuckled before she turned and began walking away. "i may not be an expert, but something tells me murder probably strains the moral compass."

"you should know all other avenues were exhausted first."

she slowed and spun on her heel. "like what?"

don't explain yourself to the human. part of him wanted to heed the voice in his mind, but the other side was curious about how she'd respond to the truth. as it was, she already knew far more than she should.

he moved forward, crowding her the way she'd done to him only moments before. "mental manipulation, memory reconstruction, and in some instances, memory removal."

she didn't back away. instead, she smiled again, only this time it was a wide grin revealing her perfect teeth. "i'm pretty sure death causes memory removal."

he couldn't resist any longer. "how is it you're wearing a coat which looks to have been dragged behind a vehicle for fifty miles, your pants don't appear to have fared much better, and i'd guess you haven't eaten in days...but you have the teeth of what most would refer to as a supermodel?"

she stretched up to her toes and leaned in close, her warm, minty breath searing his ear. "most supermodels haven't eaten in days either."

this time, it was his laugh filling the air around them. from look alone, he would've never expected such a quick and intelligent retort. he reached out and brushed away a few strands of wet hair that had fallen in her eyes. "touche."

resting back on her feet, she eyed his hand as he withdrew it. "you know, for a bankrupt vampire who's resigned me to death, you're awfully interested in me."

"i wouldn't necessarily call it interest."

"no?"

"i'd term it more as temporary curiosity."

"why? i'm obviously not the first human who's been in this predicament with you." she tipped her head from side to side. "okay, so maybe not this exact predicament if i believe what you said earlier. but still, why me?"

he stared down into her distant eyes. much to his dismay, the reasons were growing by the minute, but he disclosed the most important. "you show little concern for your own safety, not to mention your complete dismissal of what i am."

"i don't dismiss what you are." she shrugged and started walking again. "it's just...what am i supposed to do about it?" she didn't leave time for him to answer before she added, "about as much as i could do if you tried to kill me right here."

he fell into step beside her. "i assure you, should i decide to end your life, i won't do so in the middle of a vermin infested alleyway."

she walked for a few minutes in silence, seemingly transfixed by the broken pavement at her feet. it wasn't until they neared the end of the alley that she finally raised her head and nodded at larry, who stood under a broken streetlight on the corner across from them, hands hidden in the pockets of his dirty grey trench coat.

she stepped into the street but turned, leaving him with a view of her thin profile. "whatever you do to me, i'm sure it'll be better than any way i'd die out here." she stood quiet for another moment before inclining her head towards the corner opposite him. "i have some business with larry. should i expect you'll be waiting for me?"

kerestyan slowly nodded. "we've not yet begun to finish our business."

chapter 3

logan slid the baggie into her coat pocket then nodded at larry, who smiled up at her, chipped teeth beaming rotten yellow. she rubbed the warm plastic between her fingers and felt her muscles relax, solely from knowing it was in her possession.

"who's your boyfriend?" larry asked, motioning across the street behind her.

she turned and smiled as her eyes traced the length of kerestyan's body. he was, without question, a much better sight than the one audibly counting twenty one-dollar bills less than a foot away.

he looked out of place standing at the mouth of the alley, an image of irony with his wide shoulders and regal stance as the wind sent trash scraping across the concrete around him. his stature alone was an oddity in this section of town, but his black button down shirt, matching slacks and clean, knee length wool coat, were even more so.

truthfully, he looked like a business man who'd made a wrong turn and ended up having to walk, because as destiny would have it, his mercedes had broken down.

she waited until larry reached twenty before she laughed. "he's not my boyfriend. not even close."

larry shoved the cash in his pocket. "then what the hell's he waitin' for?"

after pushing her rain soaked hair away from her face , logan shook the water from her hands. "honestly, i have no idea."