Josiah made no move to enter but continued standing sentry in the doorway. He was a foreboding presence, especially now that I knew exactly who and what he was. "Leave us," he said to me, the rumble of his voice pitched low. "This does not concern you."

I stepped closer to John and grasped his hand in mine. "The hell it doesn't."

Josiah's eyes lighted briefly on our joined hands before returning to meet my gaze. His mouth hardened. "The girl is no longer a viable candidate," he said to John. "Therefore, you no longer have jurisdiction over her. I suggest you compel her to forget before others take matters into their own hands."

"I won't let anyone hurt her," John said. "And I won't leave her to die."

"There is no alternative."

"Blake wants to become one of us. I'm going to turn her."

"I will not let you do that," Josiah said. "Compel her. Now."

John's hand closed around mine so tightly I thought my fingers would snap. "No."

Josiah's eyes narrowed. "From what I understand, it was your maker who bit and infected the girl." The 'your' was stressed, a glaring accusation against John. "Ian McAvoy is wanted for crimes committed in more than one jurisdiction. Tell me where he is, and I might be persuaded to forget your disrespect of authority."

"You won't find him here," John said, defiant. "He left."

The muscles in the Watcher's jaw flexed and unflexed. "Let me remind you that you will be held accountable for not reporting Ian McAvoy upon his arrival."

"I had no reason to report Ian to the authorities," John said. "I had no idea he was wanted until after he'd already attacked Blake. And even then . . ."

John left the sentence unfinished, but I knew what he'd been about to say. Even if he had known Ian was a wanted vampire, he wouldn't have turned him in. Their bond was that strong.

Josiah took a step forward. "Where is he?"

"I already told you," John said, standing his ground. "I don't know."

Josiah grabbed John's arm and nearly pulled him out of my grasp. I yanked back with all the power I had, but I was little match for Josiah's vampire strength.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, digging in my heels and struggling to hold on as Josiah pulled harder and forcibly removed John from the house. "He's not going anywhere with you!"

Josiah turned to me. "I assure you he is."

"It'll be okay," John said to me, though there was no mistaking the sudden apprehension in his voice.

I continued to cling to his arm. "Don't go with him, John. Please!"

"He does not have a choice," Josiah said, his words clipped as he gave one final tug that wrenched John from my grip. He pulled John outside and marched him down the front steps, his large hand clamped around the back of John's neck.

"Where are you taking him? What's going to happen?" But Josiah didn't answer. I might as well have been yelling at a brick wall for all the good it did.

John turned to say something but Josiah pushed him forward, causing him to lurch and stumble on the uneven pavement. Sprinting down the steps after them, I stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and watched helplessly as Josiah shoved John into the backseat of an idling vehicle. There was a girl in the driver's seat I thought looked vaguely familiar, but the car pulled away before I could get a good look.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Come back!"

But the car disappeared around the corner, leaving me standing alone and wondering what to do next.

**********

The receptionist at Kinsley Real Estate looked up when I barged into the office and nearly sent the glass door crashing into the wall behind it. "Blake," she said, obviously surprised to see me. "You know your mother's not in the office today, right?" Her eyes cut to my neck where my recent tattoo blazed in varying shades of crimson. "Is that . . . blood on your neck?"

I pulled my hair around my neck and flipped up the collar of my coat. "No. It's just, um. It's nothing. Is Mr. Larsen here? I need to talk to him."

Her mouth turned down, but before she could respond, the man in question appeared from around the corner. "Blake," he said. "I thought I heard your voice." His eyes raked over my body with a critical gaze, his nose wrinkling. "How can I help you?"

"I need to speak to you." I glanced at the receptionist. "In private."

Andrew smiled without showing his teeth. "Isn't it time for your break, Patricia?" he said, without removing his eyes from me. "I can see to any clients that come in."

The wrinkle in Patty's brow deepened as she looked from Andrew to me, and back again. "But I don't think . . . I mean, I'm sure Mrs. Kinsley-Ehlert . . ."

Her voice trailed off as she struggled to articulate her concern, that there was something not quite right about a teenage girl requesting to be alone with an older man, and that older man acquiescing.

"I just want to talk to him," I said defensively.

"About real estate, Patricia," Andrew supplied.

"Oh. Of course," Patty said, a little too hurriedly. I could tell she didn't believe us, but she logged off her computer, grabbed her purse from under the desk, and slipped out of the office without another word.

Andrew bolted the door behind Patty and paused with his back to me before slowly turning around. "This is quite unexpected. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I know what you are," I said. Thank goodness John had mentioned that Andrew Larsen was a vampire, otherwise, I would have found myself at a dead end.

Andrew moved to stand next to Patty's desk, leaning against it with his hands clasped in front of him. "Do you mean a successful real estate agent?"

"Don't play games with me. You're a vampire."

The smile fell from Andrew's lips and he swore under his breath. "I warned him something like this could happen." Andrew narrowed his eyes at me. "You smell detestable, by the way."

"Thanks. Just what every girl wants to hear."

"I assume there is a reason why you are here."

"There is. Do you know a vampire by the name of Josiah Butler?"

Andrew's eyes narrowed even further, though he seemed to find something about my question amusing. "He is a Watcher in this jurisdiction. Every vampire knows him, or is at least aware of who he is."

"Then as John's employer, maybe you'd be interested to know that Josiah has taken him."

"What do you mean, taken him?"

"From his house. Not more than an hour ago. I was there when it happened."

Andrew closed his eyes and swore again. "Josiah Butler is not a man with whom anyone should mess."

"Really? I thought he seemed like an especially pleasant vampire."

The corner of Andrew's mouth lifted. "Your sarcasm is endearing."

Not knowing if he was being sarcastic himself, I didn't respond. Instead, I sat down heavily in a nearby chair, my shoulders slumping. "If only I'd kept my big mouth shut, none of this would have happened."

"You're only human," Andrew said, with not a little condescension. "But why do you blame yourself?"

I looked up, meeting his eyes. "The vampire who attacked me is John's sire. You met him at my parent's pool party over the summer. Remember?"

"Tall, Scottish fellow? Yes, I recall."

"Apparently, there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest. I blabbed about it to Josiah, not knowing he's a Watcher."

Andrew's eyes widened an infinitesimal degree as his lips pinched together, for the first time making him seem like the terrifying vampire he was. "Is that so?"

"I suspected Josiah might be a vampire, and I was banking on him telling me where I could find a Watcher. I had this brilliant idea that I would turn Ian in for crimes committed against yours truly."

He nodded his head knowingly, connecting the dots. "And the vampire you came across just happened to be a Watcher himself."

"Right. Only now Ian's skipped town and John is the one in trouble for harboring a fugitive." I pounded my fist against my thigh. "This isn't how it was supposed to happen!"

Andrew closed his eyes and sighed. "Did John explain the Donor program to you?"

"Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

"After your attack, John had to report to me that you were no longer a viable candidate. I was very unhappy to hear that. What he failed to mention is that it was his maker who attacked you."

"John is good at keeping secrets."

Andrew smiled at me then, a genuine smile that seemed tinged with regret. "You have always been a particular favorite of mine, Blake. You are quite unlike the others."

"The others?"

"Donors, I mean. You're special."

Before I could ask him to elaborate, he pushed away from the desk and changed course. "The unlawful biting of humans does occur from time to time. Vampires like this Ian McAvoy think they are above the law. They claim they are unable to control their urges, but they can. All it takes is a steady supply of Donor blood and discipline. Amazing you didn't die."

"I guess luck was on my side," I said.

"I did suggest to John that he should compel you to forget him entirely and move on to the next Donor, but then he spouted off some nonsense about being in love with you. I always knew John had a romantic side that would land him in trouble one of these days."

"John was about to turn me when Josiah showed up," I said. "I really don't want to die, so we need to get him back."

"We?"

"You and me," I said, motioning between us.

"You and I."

"That's what I said."

But Andrew was already shaking his head, all traces of humor gone from his face. "I cannot have any part in this."

"John works for you. Don't you care about what happens to him?"

"Your view of the vampire world is extremely narrow, Blake. Do not meddle in things of which you cannot possibly understand."

"John offered to save my life. It was my fault Josiah took him, and I intend to get him back. For his sake and mine!"

Andrew bowed his head for a moment, slowly shaking it back and forth. Then he made his way to the door and unbolted it. Holding it wide open, he tilted his head to the parking lot. "You should go. I sincerely regret there is nothing I can do to help you or John."

"We've known each other for years," I said, advancing on him. "I thought I could count on you!"

"Then I'm afraid your confidence in me was misplaced." Andrew put his hand in the middle of my back and gave me a hard shove that sent me stumbling out into the cold afternoon light.

"But I don't know what else to do!"

Andrew turned a pair of sympathetic eyes on me. "Do you want my advice?"

"Yes! That's why I came here."

"Go home to your parents. Enjoy what little time you have left together."

He began to close the door, but I wedged my body in so that he was forced to listen. "Don't you care about what happens to John?"

"I'm sorry, Blake."

He gave me another push and pulled the door closed quickly, locking it despite my protests. Pounding my fists against the glass, I watched helplessly as he turned his back on me and disappeared.

*****

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote, comment, and recommend Blood Type to others.