7
Stephanie Plum looks herself in the mirror and feels happy and thrilled. She's never a greedy person. She knows how to find small happiness and ordinary joy. She now has enough money to cover her rent. She loves the fancy new Italian restaurant Ranger took her for lunch. They make the BEST tiramisu, and the food was so delicious that she almost cried. Ranger, as usual, sat with his back to the wall and smiled when she wolfed down everything in her plate and stole his mushroom raviolis. Before she mustered enough courage to ask for his help, he offered her the part-time job and paid her in advance. She hasn't shared the happy news with Joe. She will cross the bridge when she gets there. And now, she's going to bed. She has promised Ranger she won't be late. And maybe when she wakes up in bed the next morning, all her problems will already be gone...
Stephanie rolls her eyes at her wistful thought and quickly falls asleep. Her apartment is dark and quiet when she starts dreaming. She's walking alone on a white empty beach. She can't hear the deep blue ocean. She can't feel the salty breeze. She has to get to somewhere and she can't afford to be late. She doesn't know who or what is waiting ahead. She's only sure she's on the right path. She keeps walking. All around her is silence. Suddenly she senses she's being followed. She knows someone's watching her. She can feel the fire in that burning stare. She wants to turn to look behind her, but she dares not stop. She has to walk faster. And there's something familiar in the air...
Stephanie wakes up and gasps. A tall dark silhouette is standing at the foot of her narrow queen size bed. The room is so dark she can't see the man's face, but she can recognize the familiar cologne anywhere. She sits up and pulls the blanket to cover her naked shoulder and neck. She takes a deep breath, reaches over to turn on the bedside light, and suddenly feels more than a little disappointed. For a fraction of a brief second she has hoped it to be Ranger. She has so wanted to show him her beautiful blood-red shoes and play with fire. But now Joe is here. She's not in the mood for wild animal sex and she, as a matter of fact, is not too happy about his showing up here. She has no idea how he managed to get past the safety chain. The best and quickest solution to this situation is to inform Joe about her new job at RangeMan to piss him off and thus drive him away. Yeah, she can be pretty smart if needed. Yet another reason to be proud of her humble self.
"Cupcake..." Joe Morelli lets out a raspy whisper and takes a step closer. "Cupcake..."
The small smile freezes on Stephanie's face as she looks up and sees the strange, savage look in Morelli's eyes. The dense silkiness has sent a cold shiver down her spine. Her spidey senses are screaming like crazy. Something is terribly wrong. For the first time since the night Morelli cuffed her to the shower curtain rod with a cruel sneer on his face, she is scared of him. Somehow she has no doubt he's capable of doing something violent and extremely brutal tonight. He won't hesitate to hurt her. He's not himself. he's different. He has...changed. How she wishes this was just a dream. How she wishes she had never opened the door for him the day he hijacked her pizza and came knocking on her door. How she wishes she had never given him her keys. How she wishes Ranger was here. How she wishes she had her gun with her—Gun? Geez. Son't be ridiculous. Maybe Joe just had a bad day. Maybe Joe's just drunk. Joe's a good man now, remember? He has apologized for what he did. He has broken the Morelli Curse. He has changed. Calm down. Don't freak yourself out. Joe is not a monster. Maybe he's just feeling a little low. That's all. No big deal. Just tell him you are on your period and he'll go home.
With her heart thumping in her ears Stephanie Plum tries her best to reassure herself. She's just about to force a pleasant smile on her whitened face when her eyes catch something glittering. She frowns in confusion as Joe Morelli's creepy smile morphs into a growl. Her mind becomes a complete blank at the sight of Morelli's sharp long fangs. She vaguely recalls the scenes in Jaw. She loves going to the beach but she's always afraid of sharks. She's never a huge fan of scary movies. She's basically frightened of vampires, werewolves, giant snakes, spiders, and ghosts. She blinks a couple times and starts feeling numb. Joe has fangs. Joe has just let out an inhuman growl. Joe's eyes have turned red. Joe's nails have turned into claws. No. No. No. This can't be real. She must be having a nightmare. She doesn't try to flee or fight when Joe Morelli jumps forward and grasps hold of her. She doesn't scream or shout in pain when Joe Morelli's claws pierce her skin and dig deep into her fresh. She just sits there in her bed when Joe Morell tilts his head, opens his mouth wide, and gets ready to bite down on her neck. She knows in the back of her mind that Joe has somehow become a fictional monster and she's probably going to die tonight. She knows she should do something, anything, to save herself but she is too numb with fear.
Hot burning tears burst out of Stephanie eyes when she feels the tearing pain in her neck. She doesn't even have time to feel her regrets.
