“Whoa, whoa, just relax there.”
It wasn’t Alyssa’s voice anymore. It wasn’t dark anymore. The sun was overhead, beaming into my eyes.
“That’s right, open your eyes.”
“Will?” I squinted, then shivered, staring toward the sun. That was attached to the ceiling with the peeling paint. In my bathroom.
And I was naked.
“Ahh!” I kicked and squirmed, then yanked open the linen closet door and hid behind it. “What are you—” My eyes traveled over Will’s shoulder to Nina and then Vlad. “All of you, what are all of you doing here?”
“We heard a crash,” Nina said, inching around Will and handing me my robe.
“A loud crash,” Vlad added.
“You had the door locked and you weren’t responding. And I could smell blood.” Nina’s eyes were wide and terrified. She hugged her arms over her chest and I could see the edge of her fang as she nibbled her thumbnail. “I was worried.”
I looked down and saw the blood smeared across the usually white bathroom tile. The grout was stained a deep rust color. “Where did that come from? Whose is it? What happened?”
Will pushed himself up from his knees and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Best I could tell, you were drinking and took a bit of a spill, landed smack on your back in a pile of glass and were murmuring about your grandmother, darkness, and waffles when I was able to get through the door.”
“They called you?” I peered out from around the linen closet door. “You called him?”
Nina shrugged. “I couldn’t open the bathroom door. I mean, I could have, but with the stab hole in the front door and the coat closet permanently smelling like Steve, I thought I should give Will a try first. Open things the human way.”
Will grinned. “I used a butter knife. So what about the waffles, then?”
I gingerly touched the goose egg that was rapidly forming at the back of my head. “Nothing. No waffles. I—hey, how long was I out?”
Another shrug from Will. “Long enough.”
“Was I naked the whole time?”
“I figured I could either save your life or your dignity.”
I looked down at my left arm, which was miraculously bandaged, and tightened the belt on my robe.
Will nodded. “Couldn’t risk you possibly bleeding out while I was choosing which panties you should wear.”
“You’re an absolute savior, Will Sherman.”
He shot me an aw-shucks look, and Vlad and Nina went into the living room. I grabbed Will’s sleeve just before he left. “I saw something, Will.”
He turned and shot a salacious smile over his shoulder. “I saw something, too.”
A shot of heat pinballed through my whole body, pooling just below my navel. “You’re gross,” I said, pulling a brush and dustpan from under the sink. “I mean when I was out. I could hear Alyssa calling for me. She knew I was looking for her.”
Will took the brush and pan from my hands, crouched down, and swept up the remains of my wineglass. “How did Alyssa even know who you were?”
I shivered and pulled my robe tighter. “I have no idea. Maybe she just knew, you know? Knew I was looking for her.”
Everything on Will’s face told me that he was wondering whether to call the paramedics or the loony bin, but he surprised me.
“All right, then. Where was she?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. But it was very dark, and I felt confined. And it was echo-y. My voice echoed. I think.”
“Did it echo like you were possibly mumbling while half passed out in a bathroom?”
Once Will was assured I wasn’t going to pass out in the raw again any time soon, he went back to his apartment. Nina and Vlad went back to whatever it is vampires do, and I paced a bald spot in the carpet. Finally I sat down in front of my phone and stared at it.
“What’s wrong, Sophie?”
Nina was standing in my doorway, her hip cocked against the doorjamb.
“I passed out naked on the bathroom floor.”
“You and I both know that’s pretty much par for the course for you.” She stepped into my room and pulled me to sit on my bed next to her. “What’s really going on?”
“I heard something, Neens.” I explained, then looked hard at her. “Do you think I should tell Lorraine? Do you think it could have been some kind of spell or something?”
Nina paused, then took both of my hands in hers. “Honey, you’re looking for a little girl.”
I stiffened. “I know that. I’m not new to casework—”
“Right. You’re not new to chasing down killers and investigating dead bodies. This is a girl. A teenage girl. Alive.”
“So what are you saying?”