Darkness (Alisa Rose #2)

-Three-

Bryce POV



Still buzzing from my encounter with Chimon, I pulled out my phone and hit Jordan's number. The guy needed to know about the new vamp in town—after all, he was part of this whole supernatural squad too, right? And I wasn't exactly in the mood for another ambush.

The phone rang a couple of times before Jordan picked up. "Yeah?" he said, sounding totally disinterested.

"Jordan, hey, it's Bryce. So, uh, I just had a run-in with a new vampire. Name's Chimon. Looks like he's up to no good. Pretty sure he's going to be a problem."

There was a pause. "Uh-huh. And?"

I blinked. "And?! He's a vampire! In our town! Like, hello? That's kind of a big deal, dude!"

Jordan sighed, and I swear I could hear him clicking something in the background—probably a computer game or something. "Bryce, it's not exactly the first time a vampire's shown up. You handled it, right?"

"Well, yeah, I staked one, but this guy—he's different. He's not like the others," I insisted, pacing around. "He didn't try to kill me. Yet. But he definitely gave me that 'I'm going to mess up your life in the near future' vibe."

"Uh-huh," Jordan said again, like he was barely listening. "Okay. Cool."

I stopped pacing, my irritation climbing to new heights. "Okay, cool? Really? That's all you've got? Dude, you were in this with me! We fought vampires together! You know, saving lives? Ringing any bells?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Jordan replied, still sounding half-asleep. "But it's not like Chimon did anything to you, right? Maybe he just wants to, I don't know, get a frappé and hang out. You sure you're not overreacting?"

I almost dropped my phone. "Overreacting? A vampire shows up, tells me he's going to 'change the game,' and you think I'm overreacting? Are you serious right now?"

Jordan let out a long, exaggerated yawn. "Look, Bryce, maybe not every vampire wants to eat your face. Some of them might just want to chill. Like... not all vampires are evil, man."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "This is not a philosophical debate about vampires, Jordan! This guy literally stalked me in a parking lot, threw in some cryptic threats, and then vanished into the shadows like he was auditioning for a horror movie. That's not normal!"

Jordan chuckled. "Okay, so he's a drama queen. Sounds like you two could be besties."

That was it. My patience officially snapped. "Jordan, are you even listening to me? Or are you too busy playing some stupid video game to care?"

"What? No, I'm totally listening," he replied, his tone lazy. "But, like, is this really something we need to stress about? You're alive, he's gone—problem solved."

I threw my free hand in the air, even though no one could see me. "This is exactly the problem! You're acting like this is no big deal when it clearly is!"

Jordan sighed again. "Look, Bryce, I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with another vampire crisis. Can't we just... wait it out and see if Chimon actually does something before we freak out?"

I glared at my phone like it was Jordan himself. "Wait it out? Did you seriously just say that? Wait it out? Yeah, sure, let's just wait until he decides to start snacking on the local population. Great plan."

"Look, I don't know why you're freaking out, okay? You're the vampire-slayer-in-training. I'm just... you know, here. Doing my thing," Jordan replied, sounding more bored than ever.

"That's the problem, Jordan!" I snapped, my voice rising. "You're just 'here.' You never communicate anymore. I've been dealing with this crap on my own! I thought we were in this together."