Kiss of Death (The Briar Creek Vampires, #1) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse by Jayme Morse Page A

door.
    “Thank you for stopping by! I’m sure she’ll
be thrilled that you’re here.”
    Lexi was disappointed when she heard Dan’s
familiar voice say, “Violet, things didn’t go like we planned and
I’m sorry for that.” She had been hoping that her aunt had decided
to put her differences with Gabe aside and invited him over to
cheer her up. But, no, of course it was Dan who was here and
not Gabe.
    “You should be sorry,” Violet replied,
closing the front door. “Luckily, we will have other opportunities
for you to fix your mistake.”
    Lexi rolled her eyes. Her aunt’s attempt at
matchmaking was really starting to grate on her nerves. She wasn’t
allowed to see Gabe, but her aunt was encouraging her to date the
guy who had ditched her? Did her aunt not notice that Dan wasn’t
really into her as much as she had told her he was?
    Rounding the corner to sneak off to her
bedroom, Lexi nearly collided with Violet.
    “Lexi, Dan is here to see you. I’ll leave you
two alone so you can talk.” Walking past her, Violet quietly
hissed, “Be nice.”
    Wrinkling her nose, Lexi realized she had no
choice but to talk to him. Taking a spot on the living room couch,
she crossed her arms, an attempt at creating a barrier between
herself and Dan, who sat down next to her. She glared at the floor,
avoiding his gaze.
    “Why are you here?” Lexi asked, fully aware
that Violet was listening to them from the kitchen.
    “I wanted to see how you were doing. Vi told
me your mom died.”
    “Well, obviously, Vi didn’t tell you that I
don’t want to see you,” Lexi sarcastically replied.
    “Lexi, I looked all over for you at the
carnival that night. I couldn’t find you.”
    “I don’t think you looked very hard. Gabe was
able to find me.”
    “Before or after he attacked the girl that
was in the newspaper?”
    Lexi’s heart stopped. “What do you mean he
attacked the girl in the newspaper? He was with me.”
    “I saw him attack her. Believe me or don’t if
you want, but I know what I saw.”
    “I think it’s really pathetic that you’re
making up lies so that I will like you and not Gabe. He helped me
that night when someone attacked me. That’s more than I can say
about you.”
    “Oh, come on, Lex. I saw you hit your head.
No one attacked you.”
    “You saw me hit my head,” she thought out
loud, “which isn’t even what happened. But you weren’t able to find
me? If you saw me hit my head, why did you just leave me there
instead of bringing me home or taking me to the hospital?”
    “I just...um, I –” Dan stuttered.
    “Exactly what I thought. Because you know I
didn’t hit my head. My aunt and uncle probably just told you that I
did.” Lexi could feel her anger boiling to the surface.
    He nodded. “Whatever happened that night, I’m
sorry. I still really like you, Lexi. Please give me another
chance.”
    “I can’t. Sorry, but I don’t trust you
anymore,” Lexi said, standing up. “You should probably go now.”
Lexi tried to calm herself down on the walk back to her room. Once
she was in her room, she pulled the door closed, leaving it a crack
open so she could listen in on her aunt and Dan. They were
whispering, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was
probably just another one of Violet’s ploys to get them together.
Little did they know, it wasn’t going to happen.
     
    *
     
    The morning sun radiated against Lexi’s skin
as she walked to her destination. With no internet access at Aunt
Violet’s, she had to find a computer. It had been easy to sneak out
of the house without her aunt knowing. Since she was off from
teaching for the summer, she generally didn’t meander out of bed
until ten or eleven o’clock.
    Gabe had given Lexi an idea that she hadn’t
already considered. It seemed like it could be one of her only ways
to get out of Briar Creek – and, more importantly, out of her
aunt’s house. Lexi had to find her dad, someway, somehow.
    Searching for