The Bourbon Diaries ✢ The Vampire Diaries FanFiction ✢ TVD FanFic ✢ TVDU FanFic

Chapter Forty-Eight - Zara Ali

Present day

Outskirts of Albemarle, NC

"I didn't do it!"

Raid pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Despite telling Zara to keep her voice down, she was now needing frequent reminders. He and Adam had confronted her the moment she emerged from her bedroom, and now they were all standing in the upstairs hallway, just past the mezzanine, trying to keep this shitshow out of earshot of Stef. Which wasn't easy considering she had vampire hearing. One raised word that piqued her curiosity and this was all out in the open.

"Then how do you explain the photo, Zara?" Raid insisted. "You were the only one up here---the weapons' room is up here---and Cristian said you're the vampire working for his family---"

"Oh, if Cristian said it, then it must be true," Zara snapped sarcastically, "since he's been so trustworthy. Do you really believe his word over mine?"

"That photo came from this house minutes ago," Raid reminded her. "Adam and I have searched everywhere. There's nobody else here---"

"Except your crazy ex-girlfriend," Zara pointed out.

"She's in the photo, Zara," Raid sighed. "It couldn't have been her."

Zara gritted her teeth. There had to be some way she could prove her innocence. "The message said that the same vampire who was supposedly in this house was the same one who turned Flick. How could I have turned her when I was trying to rescue her along with the rest of you?"

"You were also the one who discovered that she was missing." Raid had thought this through thoroughly. It's not like he wanted to believe Zara had betrayed them. "You may not have been the one to kill her to start the transition, but you could have easily fed her your blood, wiped her memory of it, and handed her over to the Coven."

Adam groaned. Unlike Raid, he didn't believe Cristian at all. The fact that they were even confronting Zara about this seemed ridiculous. "You don't think Stef would have had her on vervain, Raid?"

Zara shook her head softly. She appreciated that at least one of them was on her side, but she also wasn't about to lie to save herself from the accusations. "Stef never wanted Flick on vervain. She considered it better for her to be compelled than to be tortured or killed if any vampires tried to go through Flick to get to her." She glanced up at Raid, who was surprised that she'd offered up that information. "See! Would I tell you that if I was lying? Whoever took that photo, Raid, it wasn't me."

"I believe her," Adam stated.

"Of course you believe her," Raid snapped. "You're in love with her."

Zara's breath caught in her throat as her eyes darted to Adam's. He was in love with her? She knew he had feelings for her, but being in love was a strong emotion---too strong in the time they'd known each other.

Adam lowered his eyes, avoiding her shocked expression. "Thanks for that," he mumbled dryly to his cousin.

Raid ran a hand down his face. He was fucking this up. He couldn't tell Stef what he'd found out; she would certainly support Zara, and he couldn't put her life at risk until he had more information. Everything was adding up except for his gut instinct telling him that Zara couldn't have done this. He needed Gabe to get back soon. He knew her better than any of them. "Look," he decided, speaking directly to Zara, "I don't want to believe a single thing Cristian has told me, but the fact is, someone here is a threat to Stef and all evidence points to you. Gabe isn't picking up his phone and, until he does, I can't take the risk."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zara asked tightly. "You want me out?"

"Nothing would stop you from getting back in," Raid pointed out. "There's no wards on this house against vampires. What I'm asking is that we put some cuffs on you and ask you to wait in the basement until Gabe's back."