Isaac had called Colette with news that we had Josep in custody, but that we wouldn't be returning right away. While she hadn't liked it, Isaac had refused to take the vampire strait back to his death, and after much debate the bitch vampire had consented.

I couldn't even begin to understand Isaac's reasoning. He was Josep's friend, I knew that much, but to risk the man running away seemed stupid even to me. But as the days passed and the criminal didn't flee, I began to wonder.

Isaac and Sanura would leave for hours, hunting and enjoying the sights, leaving Josep by himself. Yet he didn't even try to run. Was he crazy? Did he really want them to end his life? They all acted as if this were some sort of vacation. As if the moment we got back on our plane it wouldn't be heading to his death.

The more I wondered, the more frustrated I became and it wasn't long before I was watching him. He noticed this of course, often winking at me or offering a quick smile when I was caught, and it didn't take me long to realize that he wasn't like the other vampires I had met. In fact he seemed almost human.

Josep was polite, and the few times I'd caught him eating, he'd made sure to disorient his prey enough that they didn't feel much pain. Unlike Isaac and Sanura, he didn't play with his food. He seemed almost gentle with them, considerate, and for whatever reason it bothered me.

This man, this vampire, was going to die. He was charming and sometimes even sweet, though often quiet, and we were going to take him back to Colette to murder him. I don't know why I began to care so much, but as time passed, I found myself feeling almost guilty over it.

Not once after the night we'd met had he tried to hurt me. He hadn't so much as tried to corner me or make me uncomfortable. In fact, when Sanura had decided that the lot of us needed to go shopping, (Isaac had refused to join in) he'd offered me suggestions and showered me with compliments.

"Not that one." He pulled the dress from my hands and placed it back on the rack. I arched a brow.

"But Sanura said-"

"Which is exactly why you should avoid it. Have you seen what she wears? It's like she walked off the set of some rap music video."

"I can hear you, jackass." The vampire murmured, not taking her eyes off the slinky maroon dress she was holding. Josep smiled in his charmingly boyish way and nodded toward it.

"See what I mean?"

I covered a giggle with the back of my hand and let him walk me over to another rack. Sanura tossed the dress into her basket and gave him a tight smile. "You're just jealous you can't pull it off."

"True." He sighed dramatically and nudged me, pulling a gown from its hanger to hold in front of himself, "So what do you think, is this me?"

I laughed, "Lovely. It'll bring out your eyes."

"Don't encourage him, Mira."

Giggling, I went back to searching through the racks. Josep made a noise at the back of his throat and pulled out a bright silky shirt. It draped down in the bust and shimmered when the light hit it. Glancing my way, he titled his head.

"Turn, please." He said and I raised my brows, but complied. The vampire held up the garment, looking me over then returned it to the rack. "You're too pale for this color." I blushed and began to turn away but he caught my arm and held me in place. "I don't mean to offend you. Look at me, I'm practically an albino." The corner of his mouth lifted in a sly smile and he titled his head to look me over again. "It suits you though."

I mumbled a thank you and went back to searching the clothes until he returned with an identical top in a dark blue and held it up to me.

"This however is wonderful." I nodded, offering a quick smile and he disappeared for a moment to hand it off to Sanura who 'hmm'ed her approval. When he returned, I couldn't bring myself to look at him and focused instead on the clothing in front of me. Josep began to do the same, pulling things out here and there, and returning them.

"You know, you have the shyest little smile." he said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the clothes, "It's adorable."

My blush burned my cheeks and I struggled to come up with a reply. Thankfully Sanura saved me by looping her arm with his and nodding toward the register across the store.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes." I said, unable to stop myself and Josep smirked. Without a word he looped his arm through mine and we all began to walk toward the check out.

Halfway there, Josep pulled us all to a stop and turned to Sanura. "Give me your credit card."

"Um, suck my cock."

He seemed taken aback for a moment then chuckled. "Present it."

"What happened to yours?" The vampire asked, crossing her arms. I slid my arm from his, to watch them, fighting my smile.

"Colette wiped my accounts."

"Why?" I asked. He laughed, giving me a questioning look.

"Well, I assume it's because she plans to kill me."

My smile melted instantly and I looked down at my feet, feeling a little sick. "Oh," was all I managed before Sanura gave a heavy sigh to cover the silence.

"Whatever, I'm still not handing you shit. Do you know when the last time I let a man buy me anything was?"

"Just give me the damn card, woman. This could be my last chance to seem manly."

"Buying dresses?" she smirked.

They carried on a few minutes longer before Sanura finally consented and Josep bought the clothing from the eyelash fluttering cashier who obviously wanted to get his number despite the fact that Sanura clung to his arm. I remained quiet behind them and followed slowly back to her car.

Was this a mask? Had Josep simply perfected the art of seeming human? Was he really a terrible demon when I wasn't there to observe? It was possible, but even Isaac dropped his character around me. Granted he wasn't bothered by whether I liked him or not, but he still at least attempted to seem like a person, and the effort to hold that mask often slipped, but Josep's never did. This made me realize that as stupid as it seemed and as little as I knew him, I didn't want the vampire to die. It just didn't seem right. Of all the monsters out there, why did it have to be this one?

"You alright back there, darlin'?" I shook from my thoughts to find Josep watching me from the passenger seat. I forced myself to smile and shrugged.

"Just tired I guess." He nodded, not looking convinced, and traded a glance with Sanura who eyed me from the rearview. When he'd turned back around and flipped on the radio, I let the smile fall and leaned my head against the window. Mood officially killed, I remained silent the rest of the drive back to the hotel.

Isaac had been waiting in the hotel room with a pretty girl who flashed a bleached smile at all of us and sat too close to him on the couch. When he saw us, the vampire jumped to his feet and proclaimed that we all need to go out tonight.

"Somewhere fancy." He said, "A formal dress sort of place. It's been too long since I've done that."

The girl stood from the couch, taking his arm and trying to gain back his attention. "There's this great place down at the quarter. But I think you need a reservation to get in and it's always booked. Nevermind. We 'probly can't get in anyway."

I blinked a few times wondering if he went after the dumb ones because it was so easy, then shook my head. "Let me know what you decide."

I felt eyes on me all the way to the bedroom, but didn't really care. I needed to be alone for a moment and recollect myself. Why was I so choked up over a vampire anyway? What the hell did it matter if he lived or died? One less monster in the world, right? And yet there was a knot growing in my throat as I made it to the bathroom and locked the door.

I liked Josep, damnit. We hadn't gotten off to a fantastic start, but everything after was just fine. He was easy to talk to, even if he embarrassed me with his flirting. I could live with that however, because Isaac did the same, (though he was shameless with his advances and Josep seemed to be a gentleman.) I jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" I called, taking a deep breath.

"Open the door, Mira." Isaac's irritated voice drifted through the door.

"Ugghhh!" I groaned, "Fuck off."

The handle spun and gave a loud metal grind before snapping and the vampire entered with a frown, closing it behind him.

"See, now I have to pay for that." He hoped up onto the counter between the sinks and leaned back against the mirror. "So, what's up? Why are you moping?"

"Why, do you actually care?"

"Curiosity and no, not really." He banged his head lightly against the mirror and sighed. "But if that girl says another word I'm going to rip out her tongue."

"Her voice is rather grating." I agreed, sliding down the wall and hugging my knees. Isaac noted this with an arched eyebrow and titled his head.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Why didn't you eat her?" I hedged. He rolled his eyes.

"My eyes were too big for my stomach. Her friend's in the back room. Stop trying to distract me." He nudged my knee with the toe of his boot.

"Are we really going to take Josep back to Colette?" I asked. He frowned, apparently not expectly that one at all.

"If we want to keep our skins, yes."

I let my eyes fall to the counter and scowled. "It isn't right Isaac. He didn't do anything wrong. Even Colette knows that."

"It doesn't matter." He said jumping off the counter to crouch down beside me and take a gentle hold of my chin. "Is there something I should know?"

I shook his hold and shot him a glare. "I just think it's fucked up, is all."

The vampire frowned a moment before understanding brightened his expression and he let out a short laugh. "You like him." He said in disbelief, shaking his head. "Aw, Mira that's cute."

"Go away." I sighed tiredly, rolling my eyes.

"Then what?"

"I told you what." I snapped, hugging my leg tighter. "I mean, for shit's sake, Isaac, he's your friend, isn't he? How can you just sit by and let this happen? No, How can you make it happen?"

The vampire stood, pulling me up with him, "Because it's my job, Mira. Whether I like it or not, I'm just as bound by our laws as he is."

"Your laws are stupid." I grumbled. Isaac chuckled, giving a nod.

"Agreed. But you know what? You moping around and reminding him what he's about to face isn't helping anyone. So either get over it and pretend to."

I nodded slowly, hanging my head, then glanced back up at him. "I know it's weird, but can I have a hug? I'm feeling really down right now."

"Eww, no." He frowned, "Go get one from your crush out there."

As he opened the door for us to return to the living room, I groaned. "Ugghh. Why can't you get hit by a car or spontaneously combust?"

He grinned and patted me on the top of the head. "Because you aren't that lucky."

When we returned Sanura was chatting quietly with Josep and the girl who might have been dinner was looking irritated.

"What took you so long?" She asked, arms crossed. I answered for him snidely.

"Keep your skirt on, Barbie, he's my brother."

"Oh." She said then after a moment frowned, "Wait, hey!"

"Be nice Mira." Isaac warned, moving to slip his arm around the girl.

"Sorry, guess I'm just feeling threatened by the thought of another woman in his life. He really likes you."

"Really?" She beamed while Isaac narrowed his eyes at me over her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. There's a real connection there. Most girls are just after him for his money."

"That terrible." She said, but the glance around his apartment said she'd already known he was banking and really liked that.

"Why don't you go get changed, Mira?" Isaac asked, fighting his scowl. I shrugged and Sanura grabbed the bags from the table, motioning toward her room. Josep followed us, closing the door behind him. I kneaded the hard knotting of muscle on the back of my neck and sighed wearily.

"So, formal, is it?"

Sanura glanced over my shoulder and as I turned to look at Josep, his arms circled around me. Suddenly, I couldn't move, too shocked, while Sanura stared at the carpet. The vampire holding me gave a faint smile against my hair, squeezing gently.

"Um…I'm lost." I murmured, though my gut told me that my conversation with Isaac hadn't been quiet enough. Josep laughed softly into my hair and pulled back to search my expression.

"Buck up, munchkin." He said softly. "No more sulking, alright?"

I shook my head and pulled away from him. "But you're going to die."

"Don't Mira." Sanura said, finally meeting my eyes, but Josep held up a hand.

"Not tonight." I gave a humorless laugh and glared at the floor until he lifted my chin. "Hey now. Are you really going to ruin my last nights for me?"

After a moment where I felt the beginnings of tears, I shook my head.

"Good, then let's get dressed, and ditch that obnoxious girl."

Sanura laughed softly and dug into the bag, before tossing me a wad of material. "Amen."