Page 24 (1/2)

Allison answered her door with her own cell phone pressed against her She waved ht I wondered if she are that she hadn’t actually buzzed me in

The apartment was smaller than I had expected, but the e The door opened into a small hallway that led first to a smallish kitchen Shoe boxes were piled on the counter and spilled over onto some stools, as well The shoe boxes were printed with Jin to a single, working mother who lived in the suburbs

I continued following Allison into a s room, where she motioned offhandedly forout how to offhandedly sit, when I saw so I probably shouldn’t have seen

A fresh cut along the inside of her finger

Norht of blood does little for e body of mine But that’s about the extent of it I have a supply of the stuff at ho deal to see blood

Until now

Now, the sight of her bloody finger did soer in rowled and ain I forcedmy jaw I looked down at my own pale hands and was surprised to see I had balled them into fists Purple veins crisscrossed just below the surface of er should not arouse a hunger A bleeding finger should not arouse a need It was just a wound

Unless, of course, you were a fiend

My storowled and roiled It seeer was unbearable, unrelenting

"Jesus," I whispered, still looking down at my clenched fists

"Are you okay?" asked Allison She was standing nearby I could hear her sucking on her finger now

My stomach nearly did a somersault

Jesus

I looked up, despite knowing that doing so ht be aher finger and looking at the wound - and wincing I didn’t wince I stared No doubt hungrily

It’s just a wound, a voice in es ofless

Except I knew that it was more So much more The wound, and the resultant blood, represented so much It represented coth Complete and utter superiority

I blinked Hard

Since when did superiority matter to me? Since when did I ever care to be better than others, or control theht alarerous Violent Scary as shit

"Oh, does blood make you queasy?" asked Allison

I blinked andher hand out of er closely, the way a cheetah"I’ an apple when the phone rang My one Everyone callsstory short, I cut er pretty deep"

"I see that," I said, the words couttural, and not my own "And, yes, I have aprobleeez I’ at me oddly I didn’t bla pale-faced, ible

Samantha Moon, ace detective at your service

She went to the bathroo nored her curious stare Instead, I was openly staring at her finger like the hobgoblin that I a to put this Band-Aid on Do you want me to do it in the other room?"

"No, here is fine," I said, perhaps a little too quickly I leaned forward a little in the process to get a better view of her finger