“Thank you!” I released my seatbelt and pulled him into my arms. His body tensed a little, but then he relaxed and rubbed my back. When I finally let go of him, he grabbed a baseball cap from the back seat and put it on. “We can’t risk anyone recognizing me and taking photos.”

  “Okay.” I peered at the lights of the stadium that were visible through the trees and took a deep breath. I’d been to a few matches here before, but that didn’t make me any less thrilled about this.

  ***

  I threw my hands up in the air, letting out a loud shout. My throat was already sore from all the screaming, but I was way too happy to stop. As the players celebrated another win, the fans singing and cheering, I got to my feet, my whole body trembling from excitement. The whole stadium was vibrating. When people started to leave, Enrique got to his feet, gazing upon the stadium.

  “It was awesome! Thank you so much.” I jumped up, wrapping my arms around him from behind and almost toppling him to the ground. When I let go, I curled my fingers into fists, spread my feet, and imitated the celebration of my favorite player who had scored a hat trick this time.

  “Do you want to meet the players?” Enrique turned to me, and I bit down on my lip.

  “I... Can we really...?” I loved my team and I loved my players, even when they frustrated the hell out of me, but actually meeting them, shaking their hands, or talking to them was something I didn’t think possible even in my wildest dreams. I’d always thought I preferred to watch them from afar, but this opportunity...

  “Yeah.” He eyed me carefully. “Do you want to?”

  “Of course I do!”

  “Then let’s go.”

  My heart was racing so fast that I thought it was going to explode.

  ***

  “Oh, my God. Oh, my God!” I covered my face with my hands. My mind was hazy, my legs shaky. I’d just met the whole team and I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Gee, and to think I’d laughed once at people who lost their minds over actors and musicians. I’d always assumed I’d be able to keep my cool. Boy, had I been wrong. I couldn’t wait to show all the pics I’d taken to my family. Once I could breathe normally again, I turned toward the exit because by now everyone had left, but Enrique didn’t seem like he was going anywhere. “Um, shouldn’t we...?” I pointed toward the exit.

  Enrique glanced toward the hallway that led to the pitch. “In a moment.”

  “Okay.” I supposed he was waiting for everyone to clear out so that no one would recognize him outside. When the lights had dimmed almost completely, and only a few cleaners were around, Enrique headed straight for the pitch and I followed him, wondering if he’d forgotten where the exit was. But before I could say anything, we emerged onto the pitch and I was once again breathless. A few soccer balls were aligned on the sidelines, and Enrique strode straight into the middle of the pitch. I stopped, unsure of what he was doing. When he turned around, he spread his arms. “Did you ever dream of playing soccer here?”

  “Um, yeah, but we’re not supposed to be...” I trudged toward him, slightly lightheaded.

  “Oh, yes, we are. The pitch is ours for an hour. You against me. What do you say?” He ran toward the sideline and kicked one of the balls toward me. “No vampire powers if you’re afraid you’re going to lose.”

  “You didn’t just say that. I used to play soccer when I was younger. I’ll totally kick your ass.” I pressed my foot against the ball, glad that I was wearing my comfy sneakers. “Game on.” I rushed forward with the ball, but Enrique blocked my path, trying to steal the ball from me, but I wouldn’t let him. Kicking the ball with all my strength, I sent it straight into the top corner of the goal. An inhuman shout erupted from my throat as I achieved what I hadn’t even thought was possible... to shake the net on this stadium... Impossible. Unforgettable. Magical.

  “Not bad.” Enrique got the ball and broke into a run. He was way too fast for me when I didn’t use my vampire powers, so at the last moment, just as he was getting ready to shoot at the goal, I tackled him so hard that if this was an actual match, I’d have gotten a yellow card for sure. Enrique yelped, rolling on the grass and getting dirt all over his shirt.

  “You okay?” I chuckled as I pushed myself up to my feet.

  “That was a foul.” He crossed his arms as he sat up. “I get a free kick.”

  “Yep, you do.” I offered him my hand and pulled him up.

  This was definitely one of the best nights of my whole life.

  ***

  I stretched my achy muscles as the warm water caressed my body. After playing for who knows how long and getting ourselves sweaty and dirty, Enrique had said we could use the showers in the locker room because the players were long gone and he’d ordered everything to be cleaned thoroughly for us. He’d planned everything. It was hard to believe he’d actually do all that for me. I’d sent him to the locker room of the guest team and I used the showers in the home team’s. When I was done, I put on the clothes that had been waiting for me; a black cocktail dress with shiny sequins on the top, and a black leather jacket paired with black high heels. My phone started to vibrate, making me yelp.

  “Where the hell are you two?” Selena’s voice pierced my ear as soon as I answered.

  “We’re coming. Soon.” I didn’t know what else to say. Hell, I didn’t even know where exactly we were supposed to go, but Enrique probably did.

  “Enrique’s not answering his phone. Is he with you?”

  “No, he’s... somewhere around here.”

  “Find him!” Her voice was filled with frustration.

  “Will do.” I ended the call and found my way out of the locker room. As I roamed the hallway, I searched for Enrique, but he wasn’t there. I even went back to the pitch, but when I didn’t find him there either, I knew he probably still wasn’t ready. Then again, he had to get to a fashion show and was probably trying to get all the dirt and grass out of his hair. Oops. I should have probably been gentler with him, but I couldn’t help myself. Being a vampire was super awesome since I didn’t have to worry about getting injured. If only we could have vampire soccer... there would be no more injury worries. But the whole thing would probably get way too violent, so maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “Enrique?” I yelled as I stepped into the guest locker room. “You there? I think we’re late for that show of yours!”

  “I’m almost ready.” He came from around the corner and my jaw hit the floor. He was naked... every perfect inch of him. Oh, God.

  “My eyes are up here,” he said.

  “I know, but if you didn’t want me to look, you would’ve used that towel you’re holding.” Who would’ve thought all those girls writing fanfiction about him were right? He actually was big and... I swallowed, fighting the heat pooling inside me, and finally forced my gaze to meet his.

  “See anything you like?” He tilted his head.

  “We’re late.” I ignored his question, my voice slightly husky. Adán wouldn’t be happy if we delayed our arrival even more. “You should get dressed.”

  “Yeah. Wanna watch?” He winked.

  “No, I’ll be right outside.” I forced my unsteady legs out of there. I was just tired, nothing else. I wasn’t actually sexually attracted to the guy who had been voted as one of the hottest men on the planet. I mean, who would...? I sighed. Seriously, who was I kidding? I stared at the crest on the wall, trying to think of anything except the man in the room behind me, and I failed so epically, it wasn’t even funny.

  Chapter 19

  I was seated in a hard chair in the row right behind Adán and his friends. The models were walking up and down the stage in clothes that no one would ever actually wear in public, the cameras rushing around them, following their every move, and searching for the best possible angle. Selena and Marcos were backstage, probably with Enrique, who was yet to come out. Adán was busy talking with his friends, but I couldn’t hear much over the loud music no matter how hard I tried. I had a feeling Adán had somehow set up the whole thing so that no one could listen in. I doubted he would be talking about anything important here, though.

  But as I glanced down at his jacket draped over the chair, I realized his phone was protruding from the pocket. I worried on my lower lip, wondering how much of a terrible idea it would be to take a look at his phone in case it wasn’t password protected. Maybe there was something that would give me a clue as to who could be the murderer. I doubted he kept any incriminating messages or had even received any, but if he’d contacted some vamp at the time of the massacre, maybe it would help me to figure things out. The phone was already hanging out, so if he caught me with it, I could always say that it had fallen out and I was just picking it up.

  Despite my better judgement, I snatched the phone, running my finger across the screen of the expensive device. To my surprise, the phone didn’t have a password. Either Adán was very confident, too lazy to have a password, or he knew I was helping out Nataniel and wouldn’t miss the opportunity to check his phone.

  There were way too many messages to sift through all of them, and at first glance, there wasn’t anything suspicious. I checked the call list and scrolled all the way to the date and time I wanted to check. There were at least ten missed calls from Hugo, Marcos’ father, a few hours after Enrique and I had fainted. Had Hugo been calling Adán to tell him about Enrique? There weren’t any messages from Hugo, though, and the next call Adán had answered was the following night. As Adán shifted in his chair, I quickly tucked the phone back into the pocket.

  None of what I had seen meant anything. Hugo might have been calling for another reason, and it didn’t have to be related to the massacre, although Hugo hadn’t seemed to call often before. If he’d lost control and regained it later, he might have called Adán for advice after he realized what he’d done. Maybe the drugs in the drinks had been planned, but maybe Hugo had intended to do something else, like just get a lot of blood, and not kill everyone. Or, considering how easy it was to connect everything to Hugo, and Adán had conveniently left his phone for me to snoop around, maybe this whole thing was a setup to get rid of one of the powerful vamps without causing a war among the vampires.

  Enrique was finally on the stage as everyone clapped, his smile bright and confident. He was wearing some weird black and white suit, but even that didn’t make him any less gorgeous. Actually, he could probably wear a garbage bag and look great in it. I leaned back in my chair, getting my own phone out. I’d downloaded a book on it recently, and I could at least read one chapter... Yeah, one chapter. As if I’d ever been able to stop after one chapter.

  ***

  Enrique ended up winning some kind of an award for the best model or whatever. I’d been too immersed in the book to figure it out, but after everything moved backstage, where a party was held, I had to abandon my book. The party was mostly for vampires. When a group of what seemed to be humans walked in, Enrique grabbed one girl’s arm and pulled her toward him, making her gasp. Just one smile from him, and the girl was giggling, her cheeks red. Enrique dipped his head to her neck and bit down, eliciting a soft moan from her. When he was done, he just sent her away, and focused his attention on another girl.

  He went to the bar with a tall brunette and got her to down at least five drinks. She was laughing loudly at something he was saying and nearly fell, but Enrique caught her, his mouth very close to hers, but instead of kissing her, he let his fangs out and bit into her neck. She nearly dropped out of his arms, but he simply handed her over to the passing waiter and stumbled forward, his eyes slightly glazed. There had been enough alcohol in the girl’s blood to make him drunk too. Wonderful.

  Marcos and Selena tried to get him to sit down with them on one of the couches, but he pushed them both away and headed toward the girl who was dancing in the middle of the room. Enrique slid his arms around her, his hands roaming her body and stopping on her big breasts. The girl closed her eyes, bending her head, and Enrique sunk his fangs into her neck, but only for a moment. He surely didn’t need that much blood, and now he was more sucking on the girl’s skin than drinking.

  A few moments later, I saw a symbol form on her neck. It reminded me of a clover and assumed that was Enrique’s mark. Adán raised his head from the woman he’d been feeding on and glared at his son, who just flashed him a smile. Adán was starting to get up when Enrique gripped the girl’s chin, forced her to look at him, and whispered something into her ear. She walked away, and Enrique headed after her, picking up a glass of something red and spilling it all over the floor. Then he dropped the glass, which shattered into pieces. k`1`2

  Adán’s jaw was tense, his eyes shining with fury, but he didn’t follow Enrique, just ordered some guy to clean up the mess. I used the opportunity when no one was watching to slip after Enrique. He was drunk and maybe, just maybe, I could get him to tell me if he was involved in what had happened at that party. Unless, of course, Adán had compelled him to destroy the evidence and to keep quiet. It might not have been a coincidence that Enrique had taken me to that house to feed. He could’ve picked any other place.

  Besides, after that party, he didn’t seem to worry about me not being able to control myself if I drank blood of someone who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Then again, maybe he just assumed I didn’t want to repeat the experience so soon. I followed the hallway and found Enrique already busy with the girl who he’d marked. His lips were on hers, his hand traveling up her miniskirt. It seemed that I wouldn’t be finding out anything from him at the moment, so I started to turn away.

  “Destiny,” Enrique said, and I met his eyes.

  “Wanna join us?” He beckoned to me, the girl smiling at me as she tried to squeeze herself closer to him. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Enrique asked her, and she nodded. As he kissed her again, I started making my way back down the hallway.

  “Destiny, come back!” Enrique yelled, and I looked over my shoulder at him.

  “No, thanks.” I didn’t look back again. Selena called me over as soon as she saw me, and once I sat down on the couch in between Marcos and her, she waved at a guy, who immediately came to us.

  “You’re pale,” Selena said to me. “Get yourself a snack.”

  Now that she mentioned it, I was kind of hungry. I’d fed before the trip and I usually didn’t need to feed more than once a night, but after tonight, my energy was running low. I got to my feet and the guy happily approached me, the look of excitement in his eyes. Still, I used my compulsion on him before I sank my fangs into his neck and let the sweet taste of a chocolate cake flood my mouth.

  Chapter 20

  The nightmare of my death was still lingering in my mind when I opened my eyes the following night. We’d returned from the capital only half an hour before dawn, and I’d been so tired that I’d immediately fallen asleep. The house was quiet as I strained my ears. My sister was probably still at work, or maybe she’d stayed with that guy she’d told me about. Dad was on his trip, and Mom was probably staying late at the office again.

  I dragged myself out of bed and checked my phone. Enrique had looked hungover last time I’d seen him, so I doubted he’d need me tonight, and there were no new messages from him. I considered continuing the book I’d started last night, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel like reading at all. Not tonight. Instead, I stared at the photo of Bea and me that was on my nightstand.

  My thoughts flew to the first day of elementary school when I’d been sitting all alone on a bench while the other kids played. I was too shy to go up to them and ask them if I could join in. But then a girl with a bright smile on her face ran toward me and offered me her hand. She said her name was Bea, and she wanted me to play tag with her. Ever since then, we’d been inseparable. I missed her so much. Missed talking to her and laughing with her, and... if only I could see her and check if she was fine. A frown creased my brow. Maybe I could.

  ***

  I rounded the building where Bea lived with her family, wondering if she’d be taking her pooch for a walk like she usually did. As I leaned against one of the trees across from the building, pretending to be stretching, I saw her emerging from the building, her face smiling, her wild dark brown hair tied into a ponytail. Her white Maltese, Mo, barked and hopped around her. A smile spread across my lips as she palmed a small yellow ball and threw it, yelling to Mo to go get it. A change in the air behind me made me turn around. Marcos stood not far from me, his hands behind his back, his gaze focused on Bea, an unreadable expression on his face.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, wondering if Enrique had sent for me again.

  “Don’t you just want to rush over to her and make her remember everything?” Marcos looked at me.

  “Um, yeah, but I can’t.” I gave Bea one last look and turned to Marcos.

  “You could... Probably no one told you, but if two vampires from different families agree to let someone in on their secret and if they have a good enough reason that will appease the hunters, it’s possible for you to get Bea back.”

  “I didn’t know that.” I crossed my arms. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “We can get her back.” His eyes were filled with fervor.

  “What do you mean we?” What did he have with Bea? I couldn’t recall him ever being around her too much, except maybe once at the club.

  “I like her,” he said. “A lot. Before you were turned... I wanted to get to know her, but then you became one of us, and all the vampires are supposed to stay away from her now, and that includes me. I can’t even talk to her without breaking the rules.”

  I made a step forward, my nostrils flaring. “What are you talking about? What were you doing with her before I died? Don’t tell me you were feeding on her and compelling her...”