“I remember where you live,” Spade cut her off. “Expect me ’round noon.”
She looked at her watch. Just over six hours. She couldn’t get from St. Louis to Fort Worth that fast if her life depended on it, but if Spade said he’d be there around noon, she believed him.
“Thanks. Can you tell Cat, um, that…”
“Perhaps it’s best if we don’t involve Cat or Crispin just yet,” Spade said, calling Bones by his human name as he always did. “They’ve had an awful time of it recently. No need to fret them if it’s something I can handle.”
Denise bit back her scoff. She knew what that translated to. Or if she’d just imagined all this.
“I’ll see you at noon,” she replied, and hung up.
The house seemed eerily quiet. Denise glanced out the windows with a shiver, telling herself the foreboding she felt was a normal reaction to her violent night. Just to be sure, however, she went through each room checking the windows and doors. All locked. Then she forced herself to shower, trying to block the images of Paul’s blue-tinged face from her mind. It didn’t work. Denise put on a robe and began restlessly prowling through her home once more.
If only she hadn’t agreed to go out drinking with Paul, he might still be alive now. Or what if she’d immediately run into the bar for help, instead of staying in the parking lot? Could she have saved Paul, if she’d come out with a bunch of people to scare the attacker off? He’d left as soon as people responded to her screams; maybe she could have saved Paul, if she hadn’t stood there uselessly macing his killer.
Denise was so caught up in her thoughts that she ignored the tapping sounds until they happened a third time. Then she froze. They were coming from her front door.
She left the kitchen and ran quietly up to her bedroom, pulling a Glock out of her nightstand. It was filled with silver bullets, which might only slow down a vampire, but would kill anything human. Denise walked down the stairs, straining her ears for each sound. Yes, still there. Such an odd noise, like whimpering and scratching.