“I know, but what does that—”

“Everyone on the Stake-Out team needs enough psychic power to resist mind control,” Shanna continued. “Dad’s enemy has the ability to control minds and erase memories. He considers them a dangerous threat to mankind.”

“They sound dangerous.”

Shanna sighed. “Some of them are, but not all of them. The ones I know are perfectly nice.”

Nice mind controllers? Caitlyn had to wonder if Shanna’s mind was being controlled if she thought some of them were nice. This had to be the source of the friction between her dad and her sister. “Who exactly are we talking about?”

Shanna hesitated, then whispered, “Vampires.”

Caitlyn blinked. “What?”

“Dad is hunting vampires.”

Caitlyn sat back. She couldn’t be hearing this right. “You mean he’s gone off his rocker?”

“No, he’s perfectly sane. That’s why he calls it the Stake-Out team. You know, staking vampires.”

Goose bumps prickled Caitlyn’s arms. Her dad and sister were crazy. She rose to her feet. “Is this some kind of joke? Some kind of…party game? I don’t find it amusing.”

“It’s not a joke.” Shanna regarded her seriously. “Vampires are real.”

“They’re make-believe.”

“They’re real.” Shanna lifted a hand to stop further objections. “I know it comes as a shock. If you don’t want to believe me, you can ask anyone else here. Or ask Dad. He wants to hire you, so he must be planning to tell you.”

A chill skittered down Caitlyn’s spine. It couldn’t be true. How could her sister lie to her? Then again, what could Shanna possibly gain by making this up? But wouldn’t it be foolish for her to trust Shanna? She hadn’t seen her sister in years.

She would have to talk to Dad about this. But what if he claimed it was true and he was hunting vampires?

Her thoughts swung back and forth, truth or lie, the pendulum increasing in speed, faster and faster till she felt dizzy. She slumped in the chair. “Are you seriously telling me vampires are real?”