Chapter 11

Beca's POV

It's almost time for dinner by the time we get back to the house and despite always being hungry, I find myself not wanting to go back inside. Going into the house will force me back into the real world. Back to the reason I'm here. To solve the murder and nothing else. I shouldn't have let myself fall for Chloe, much less kiss her. Fuck, what have I done?

"You coming?" Chloe asks, tugging on my hand. Her blue eyes study mine, making my heart tighten.

"In a minute." Her face darkens as she realizes something is wrong but instead of asking, she gets out and goes into the house. The moment I'm alone, I let my head hit the steering wheel. What the fuck have I done?

Once this murder is solved, we'll both go back to our lives which are completely different. I'm not sure I'll be able to do that though. Not after telling her my secret and having her still accept me. Not after realizing that she wants me as much as I want her. Not after that kiss that lit something in me that I never knew was there and especially after that song. The moment our voices combined, I saw how well we truly fit together. The way my heart stopped when we were singing and how nothing else in the world seemed to matter, surprised me.

Should I take this chance and be with her? After the murder is solved, what will happen to us? I'm not sure I want to be with her now if there's no guarantee that we'll stay together, but when I think about not being with her, my heart literally breaks. It makes me feel sick and forces me to truly think. Do I take this chance and be with her? Spend what time I can with her and get hurt worse in the end if it doesn't last?

"Fuck!" I scream, beating the dash. "What the hell am I going to do?" For a long time, I sit there, wrapped in my thoughts and finally settle on a decision. Hanging my head, I get out and go inside the house which is completely dark. I must've stayed outside a lot longer than I thought. This is better though. Now I can just go straight to Chloe and say what I need to say without having to face a bunch of girls first.

With each step towards Chloe's room, my head seems to hang lower with dread of what I'm about to do. The only option I have is to end it before either of us get hurt. I softly open and close the door behind me before turning towards the bed where Chloe lays.

Looking at her is a mistake. Her red hair spreads across the pillow and the moonlight from the window lights up her face which is peaceful with sleep. I know that if she were to open her eyes, those blue orbs will captivate me, making it much harder to do this. For a while, I stand there imagining the conversation that I would have with her.

She would look at me all hopeful which I would quickly ruin once I tell her that we can't be together. Then she'll yell and I'll stand there taking it. The next morning, she would demand I find somewhere else to bunk during my remaining stay there and once my job is done, I'll go back to my life.

My heart suddenly stops as I try to picture my life without her but I can't. It's completely blank. Almost like I'll die if we're not together. All my fears and doubts pile up, but nothing is bigger than the thought of losing her. Despite only knowing her for a short amount of time, I know that I would do anything to protect her. The thought of leaving her to get hurt or fall in love with someone else, kills me inside.

"Beca," Chloe's soft voice takes me away from my thoughts. "What's wrong?" Slowly, I step towards the bed until I am standing right next to it.

"What is your biggest fear?"

"What?" Chloe shakes her head in surprise but when she sees my serious expression, she tells me. "The thought of you aging and leaving me alone."

"So despite that fear, you're willing to be with me? To risk being hurt in the end?"

"I'm terrified," Chloe admits, grabbing my hand and dragging me down onto the bed until I'm sitting. "The thought of you aging and me being left here alone makes me tremble. I want to run away, away from the hurt, but the thought of not spending the time I could have with you, scares me even more. I'd rather make memories with you, than run away and never have any at all."

"I don't understand. I'm a freak. Why do you want to be with me?"

"Because I feel something with you that I've never felt before. We have a connection Becs and I want to explore that, let it grow. You may not be normal but neither am I. I've lived hundreds of years, but I've never felt truly alive until I met you. I know that you feel it too, so what's stopping you?"

"I don't know," I cry, hating myself for showing weakness, but knowing that Chloe won't judge me. "I've never had any type of meaningful relationship with anyone and with this being so sudden and strong, I don't know what to do. It kills me to think that we might not end up together. My dad will never allow me to keep seeing you after my job is done here."

"So who cares what he thinks? We know what we feel and Becs, I don't want to lose that. Let me show you how amazing it can be to be close to someone." After a minute of silence, I give in.

"Okay," I sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Yeah?"

"Yes, but promise me something?"

"Anything," Chloe whispers.

"If I screw up, don't leave. I've never done this before."

"Beca, I may have had several relationships but never anything like this so the same goes for you too. I'm bound to screw up as well. This won't be easy but I think we can make it work."

"Okay," I smile and Chloe pulls me down to where we lay next to each other. Wrapped in each other's arms, we talk until the sun comes up. Then, it's time to get to work.

…

"Good morning ladies," Gail states cherrily while flipping pancakes. "What's on the agenda today?"

"Well," I sigh, sitting down. "I'm going into town to see if anyone has noticed anyone that fits Luke's description. Chloe, did you ever find anyone on that watch list of yours?"

Chloe shakes her head and grabs my hand under the table. "Sadly, nothing that fits that description. Most vampires on that list are either dead from execution or in prison now."

"If you want, I can hit the books after breakfast?" Emily offers and I smile, loving how sweet she is.

"That would be great. I'll take Chloe with me to town, see if we dig anything up."

"Can I go?" Stacie asks and I nod. Alone time with Chloe would be great, but I need to show these girls that I don't operate like the other agents.

"If she's going, I have to," Aubrey pouts, but I see an excited gleam in her eye. Hiding my smile, I nod. Now, let's hope she can stay friendly enough with me so we can get through the day.

An hour later, we're all piled up in my car, on our way into town. With my small car, it's a tight fit, but nothing too bad. Except for the loud singing. Usually, I wouldn't mind it, but my head is pounding which means I'm probably coming down with a cold. Chloe and I were out in that rain for a long time. Finally, we pull into the parking lot at a diner just down the street from where John was murdered.

"Why are we here?" Aubrey snaps, glaring at me. "We're trying to solve John's murder, not feed your appetite."

"Bree, John was murdered not too far from here. Beca knows what she's doing." Chloe states calmly, shutting Aubrey up. Thank goodness. We go into the diner and I take a second to scan the place. No one with dark trench coats here. Sadly, I knew it wouldn't be that easy but I sure was hoping.

"Hi," I stop a waitress passing by. "Do you have a moment to answer a couple of questions?"

"Sure?" She stops and sets her tray down. Out of my peripheral vision, I notice her hands are wringing together, almost like she's nervous.

"A few days ago, a man was murdered down the street but I'm sure you heard about that. Did you happen to notice anyone suspicious? Someone with a trench coat maybe?"

"Nope. Not that I can remember and trust me, a trench coat? That would be pretty memorable. No one wears those anymore."

"I know right," I laugh, happy to see her hands had stopped fumbling. "Have you heard anything about vampires lately? Like any rumors?"

"Well, there have been a few, which is nothing new. The other day though, there was this group that I served that gave me a weird vibe. They were making comments about killing vampires off which really is pretty normal, but I don't know. It was probably nothing." The girl shrugs but a gleam of hope sparks in my chest. We're getting somewhere.

"Hey, it's important to trust your gut. Do you know anything else that could help us find this group?"

"Actually, yeah. Follow me." I gesture for the girls to follow and we head over to a corner where a list of flyers hang up. She takes one down and hands it to me.

In bold letters at the top it reads, THE NIGHT IS OURS. This friday, the full moon rises and we shall celebrate. Feel free to bring drinks and food. We are the creatures of the night and we shall own it. At the bottom, a time and address is listed.

What the hell? It's a party for….werewolves? But how would they tie into John's murder? It was obvious a vampire killed him unless a werewolf helped. None of this makes sense. A group of werewolves plotting to kill vampires and throw a full moon party? Somewhere in this giant puzzle, there has to be a piece that fits and I'm going to find it.

"What does that mean?" Stacie asks, reading the flyer over my shoulder. I turn toward the girls and hold it up.

"It means, we're going to crash a party."