Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 45

Hi!

I just realized I won't be able to update tomorrow, so I thought, what the heck, I'll do it right now. Hope you're having a great weekend! Thanks for reading :-)

Lara

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Chapter 45

The street forked in two equally shady directions – one leading to the Red Zone, the other to the Crimson District. Gosling Park stretched out behind them, one of the secret drug hotspot in New York City. Drug business was at an all-time low in the city and had been in decline since the vamps took over years ago, but there were still humans that craved the kind of rush vamps couldn't give. Or so they believed.

They moved towards the Red Zone, along the brick walls, slow footed and vary. Andy suspected Fabrice was hiding in one of his old dens. The one they were headed for was the closest.

"If we find him, I need to get a chance to talk to Fabrice. I mean, really talk." Andy shook his head. "Something was wrong when I last saw him."

She scanned the street for obstacles or enemies, then looked at him. "What makes you think Fabrice will talk to you?"

His jawline hardened. "I don't know. I just know he will. I've been doing this dance with him for a while."

She narrowed her eyes. "You said he attacked you the last time you saw him,"

He shook his head. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to him without a plan or an exit strategy, Anna."

She shook her head and went back to observing their surroundings. The street still looked abandoned to her.

"If we find Fabrice we can solve this and go to the Circle. Together," Andy said.

She turned to him. That was why he was still willing to work together with her, even after she turned rogue. He wanted her to go the Circle, turn herself in and grovel. Apologize for something that she thought wasn't wrong? She was done explaining herself. To anyone.

"You know what I am now," she said. "Logic dictat-"

"If you tell him the truth, Brown will help you," Andy said.

"We both know what I've become. I'm no longer part of the Circle. There's no going back for me." She said it and tasted the truth on her lips.

Andy exhaled harshly. "The Circle's been my family for a very long time. I don't know about you, but tell me this: where would we be today if not for the Circle? No matter what else they are, the Circle's family."

Strands of his blond hair brushed his cheeks, as if he'd run his hands through repeatedly. White shirt, jeans and a black jacket. On the outside Andy Varner hadn't changed.

What about the inside? Andy had always been fiercely loyal to the Circle. Would he still help her if he knew all she had done?

She stared at him for a long moment, weighing the odds. "I don't trust them."

He stepped closer. "Then trust me. I know Brown. If you show him you're not like the other rogues, he's going to help you. There is a way."

A car alarm went off behind them, followed by repeated sounds of glass splintering. Screams and yells that built in a rising crescendo. Two dozen men, armed with baseball bats and iron bars were making their way down the street.

Another band of angry humans rioting. It was the second one they'd encountered in the past hour.

Their shoulders bumped together as they stepped back into the shadows in unison, waiting for them to pass. Andy turned to her, a slow smile tugging at his lips. Memories came back to her, like jetsam washed ashore after a long journey on a rough and stormy sea.