A vampire.

I leaned back in my chair, my stomach swimming with unease. I mean, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t already considered this as a possibility—even back at the bookstore. But to hear it said out loud. But another vampire.

“Oh God,” I murmured.

Jareth gave me a pitying look. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You should not be involved in any of this. Logan should have never brought you here to begin with. It was a foolish vanity.”

I frowned, everything inside of me suddenly wanting to stand up for Logan. To tell Jareth he wasn’t to blame. But what good would that do? I had to focus on the more impending threat. Once that was taken care of, we could Monday morning quarterback all the rest.

I leaned forward in my chair. “Who’s after me?” I demanded.

“I’m not sure,” Jareth replied. “But I think it could be a group of…well, let’s just call them vigilantes.”

“Vampire vigilantes,” Rayne added helpfully. “Which, by the way, could totally be a thing in your next book, don’t you think?”

Jareth shot her a warning look before turning back to me. “Look,” he said. “I don’t know how much Logan told you, but the vampire he killed outside of Club Fang was a key witness in the parole hearing for the vampire Pyrus, the former leader of our Consortium.”

“And do we want him out or no?” I asked.

“No way,” Rayne replied. “He needs to rot in there forever. Especially seeing all the trouble it was for me to put him away in the first place.” She made a face. “God, he was the worst.”

“Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with Rayne,” Jareth continued. “And even in prison, Pyrus still retains quite a large base. A group of vampires who have left their old covens to form a new group that preaches the old ways, just as Pyrus once did. They’re not content to live in the shadows of humanity. They want to take over. To rule the world and make humans their blood slaves.”

“Now that sounds like a book plot,” I muttered.

“Unfortunately, it’s all too real,” Jareth replied. “And they have to be furious about Logan killing the one guy who could help spring their fearless leader from prison.”

I winced, my insides squirming. Here I had been so worried about being tracked down by rogue vampires myself, I hadn’t really considered that Logan would be their true target. He’d talked about making a deal—I’d thought it was with Slayer, Inc. The police department—basically. Not a group of vampire baddies out for blood. I had thought he would stand trial. In a courtroom. With a lawyer. But this…

What had he promised them in exchange for my freedom? Would he have sacrificed himself—made a deal with the devils—to keep me safe?

I felt sick to my stomach. I looked up at Rayne and Jareth.

“Is Logan okay?” I blurted out. “I mean, they didn’t actually get him, right?”

“You don’t think he would have…” Rayne started, then dropped off, giving Jareth a meaningful look.

Jareth shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t do that. That would be a huge violation.”

“Violation?” I interrupted. “What violation?” My heart was pounding now. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but the looks on their faces told me it was not good.

Rayne turned to me, a worried look on her face. “Sorry,” she said. “Vampire politics are super complicated. But basically if a coven has a problem with someone from another coven, they apply to work through it publically. Through consortium meetings, maybe a trial.” She paused, then added, “They are not to take matters into their own hands. Ever.”

I swallowed hard. “But you think Logan did.”

“I specifically ordered him not to,” Jareth said. “It would have been a terrible move, even with a law-abiding coven. But this faction, well, they aren’t exactly known for rule-following.”

I nodded stiffly, even as fear spun down my spine. I didn’t know what to say. I thought back to the letter. Logan saying he’d take care of things…

“I bet he turned himself in,” Rayne piped up. “Maybe made a bargain? You know, to keep them away from Hannah?”

“If he did, then he is stupider than I thought,” Jareth growled. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message. I watched, waiting breathlessly, my heart in my throat. I so wanted him to look up and tell me everything was okay. That Logan was actually back at home, cooking in his kitchen, just for the fun of it. Or in the Blood Coven, strolling through the gardens.

But then Jareth’s face darkened. He jerked to his feet.

“What?” I demanded, horror coursing through me. Though, of course, I could make a pretty good guess what he was going to say.

“That fool.” Jareth swore under his breath. “That goddamned fool.” He turned to Rayne. “Take Hannah back to the Blood Coven. I need to call an emergency meeting with Lord Magnus and the Consortium leaders. This could be a big problem.”

“What? No! I want to come with you!” Rayne protested.

He shook his head. “I need you to keep Hannah safe,” he said. “If anything happens to her—a mortal—it could raise the attention of Slayer, Inc. for real this time. And I do not need to deal with them, on top of everything else.”

Rayne sighed. “Fine,” she said. She flashed me an apologetic look. “Guess it’s back to the Blood Coven for us.” She rose to her feet, giving Jareth a quick kiss on the cheek. “Go save the world, baby,” she teased. “We ladies will just sit back and clutch our pearls.”

Jareth sighed loudly, but kissed the top of her head. Then he headed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Rayne watched him go for a moment, then turned to me, a mischievous grin on her face. I cocked my head in question.

“What?” I started to ask. Then I stopped. “We’re not going to the Blood Coven, are we?” I realized aloud.

“Yeah, not so much,” she said.

“So…then…?”

She slapped me on the back. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go save your boyfriend.”