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Melvin could&039;ve been taking a nap or visiting Patsy or whisperingwith hihost, attached to me or not After a moment, I calmed down I picked up the book and the blanket, and then turned around My gaze snagged on the reed between the cushions where I was sitting I laughed Everything didn&039;t have a supernatural explanation, after all My ass had turned on the da with relief, I folded the throw and put it back I picked up the remote, sat on the couch, and pined for Ralph

"In Tulsa, a rash of unexplained arson fires continues unabated The o and took out the top three floors of the Crowne Plaza Hotel"

The picture shifted froe of the raging fire I couldn&039;t hear the song of that horrifying blaze, and I was glad It appeared I had to be within physical range to hear its music

"Twenty-two people were injured," intoned the anchor "Investigators say the arson fires were started on the tops of buildings The locations seem random: an abandoned house on the north side of Tulsa, a kennel that specializes in training guard dogs, a nightclub in Brookside, and a bakery in the Woodland Hills area"

Started on the tops of buildings? Like a dragon e of ies The abandoned house was an old mansion, one of the many that had been built in Tulsa&039;s oil boom days and fallen into disrepair Perfect vahtclub was easy, too Any nocturnal paranormal creature could frequent it The bakerywell, that one didn&039;t ainst cupcakes The hotel didn&039;t ainst the couch What did it matter? I sure as hell didn&039;t want to contact the police; no one would believe it was an Honest-to-God dragon causing all the fires Besides, if it was a paranormal problem, it seemed to me there would be a paranormal solution I picked up Jeff Strand&039;s book and started reading again It was scary, but hilarious, too I&039;d never read anything like it

"Hey," said Ralph He wore only his pajama bottolanced at the book and grinned "Eva recoore could be that funny"

He held up a pillow and blanket I"You look tired"

"Vampires don&039;t choose their bedtimes," he said "Sunrise et hold of Mera?"

He shook his head "Nah I got a better offer" He tugged the bedding he&039;d just given to me out of my hands and tossed it to the couch Then he pulled me into his embrace and brushed his lips overtwo ornery little boys?"

"Really?" I leaned back and gazed at him "Why? Was Mera unavailable?"

"I didn&039;t call to find out" He cupped my chin "The boys like you And they&039;re pretty sht Moon by heart is al"

He kissed me, then pulled back

We stared at each other, o now, I&039;ll pass out I usually wake up about seven or so"

"Okay" I reluctantly stepped out of his eht"

After Ralph left, I listened for the click of the closed door Then I made up the couch and looked around for the phone There wasn&039;t one in the living room or the kitchen, which left the bedrooh I didn&039;t re one in there Da telephone?

If I couldn&039;t call my parents, I had two choices Let Brady arrive with lasers blazing (no, I&039;), or tell Ralph the truth about why I needed his cell phone I was sure if I admittedprivileges And probably hts, too Damn The situation wasmy freedom?

Reluctantly, I knocked on Ralph&039;s door I didn&039;t get a response, but I opened the door anyway "Hey, Ralph?"

My heart climbed into my throat and my stomach felt like I&039;d sed bricks I didn&039;t want to tell hi me I liked how he looked at me like I was the last chocolate truffle in the candy box Like he couldn&039;t wait to unwrap reen sleeping bag He looked so yummy I wished I could climb inside with him and touch all his manly parts

Instead, I looked for his cell phone I spotted it on the nightstand I crept around Ralph Wow He was so still He really did look dead, which freakeda vampire

I snatched the phone and flipped it open I hesitated What if the va phone calls? I mean, they had all kinds of ht out of the air I didn&039;t want to take any chances I plugged in Moe: All fine in BH Stay in TX Will call soon

After it sent, I went into Ralph&039;s inbox and deleted the outgoing e Jeez If I was any erprints off the phone

Not a bad idea I used my T-shirt to rub it clean and, with it still clutched in htstand Then I crept out of the roohwould be okay At least for now The boys woke me up half past the ass-crack of dawn Or at least it felt like that When I actually looked at the clock, it was noon