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be lacking intelligence altogether. No, Josh is a garden-variety monster. No imagination, no style, no—”
    “Enough. Skip the narrative.” Carter held up a hand. “Just tell me what he did.”
    “Forget about it, Carter.” Wyatt stood, brushing him off.
    Carter touched his arm. “No, really. What’d he do? Maybe I can help.”
    Wyatt looked at him skeptically. Carter raised his eyebrows. “You never know until you try.”
    Wyatt sighed and then sat down again, his voice low. “He came up to me as we were leaving school. I was talking to Jade. You know—”
    “Jade, princess of the Dairy Queen.”
    Wyatt nodded and smiled at the image of Jade dressed like a princess, dispensing frozen shakes that could be served upside down.
    “The pretty girl with long, dark hair?”
    “Yeah.”
    “So?”
    “He slapped my back. I didn’t think anything of it.” Wyatt reached into the trash can removing, the crumpled ball of paper. He flattened it out. The word
desperate
was written in bold magic marker.
    “You had this on your back when you spoke to her?”
    Wyatt nodded glumly. Wyatt was a sweet kid, but painfully shy. He knew Wyatt was smitten with the elusive Jade; he couldn’t figure out why. She was pretty enough, but was dating the school quarterback and resident bully, which in Carter’s mind didn’t speak well for her character. He didn’t like Nolan Steward; his father owned the car dealership downtown and was known for his aggressiveness as well. Wyatt, on the other hand, had fallen in with the group that other kids rejected. Nice kids, Carter thought, just a bit on the weird side. Well, except for Wyatt. Now that he was turning eighteen, he seemed more settled, a little less geeky.
    “She saw?”
    “Everybody saw it.”
    “Shall I hold him down while you pummel him?” Carter threw the remote on the couch. He had taught Wyatt how to deliver a punishing noogie. He held up a hand, showing a perfect fist with the knuckle of his middle finger slightly protruding. Wyatt smiled in shared amusement.
    He shook his head. “Nah, he’s just a kid. I save those for the bullies.”
    Carter wrapped his arm around Wyatt’s shoulders affectionately. They were having a moment, and, for a second, Carter felt close to him. Wyatt smiled tentatively up at him. “Let’s get dinner up before your mom comes home.” He still topped his stepson by a few inches, but Wyatt would catch up. “Wait a sec.”
    Carter turned around, opening the screen door to peer into the growing dusk. Frogs croaked; fireflies lit up tiny pinpoints of light. The air had turned strangely muggy. In the distance, he heard the wolves start their howling. While the park was five miles outside of town, the wind carried the cries. He shivered involuntarily and then latched the door. Reaching under the couch, he removed his revolver where he had hidden it, holding it loosely in the palm of his hand.

C HAPTER 3
    West Hollywood, LA
    “T he way I see it, we got no choice.” Raoul slid down onto the floor of the rat-infested apartment.
    “We never had a choice,” Sylvie responded. She pulled a tattered cardigan over her white shoulders.
    “Cold?” He helped her slide her arm through the sleeve.
    “I’m always cold.” She shivered, her purple lips pursed.
    “I’m sorry.” Raoul shrugged. He leaned over to kiss her on her lips. He nipped her gently, drawing only a little blood. Sylvie reached over, smearing the red droplets with her thumb suggestively over his lips. His fang pierced her forefinger, impaling it.
    “Ow.” She pulled it away, but he captured her hand, taking her finger in his mouth, sucking on the sluggish puncture.
    “Pig. Leave some for me.” She pulled away.
    “Look at us!” Raoul stood and parted the dusty blinds to gaze at Sunset Boulevard. He made a disgusted noise, and Sylvie rose to peer out the window, spotting Johnny Knoxville running down the strip, his ass exposed to the honking cars.His film crew following, chasing