Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

breaking the door down. That would just add fuel to the fire in her mind that he truly was a monster. How could he reach her, to give himself a chance to explain things, without scaring her more? Then, an idea hit him. Okay, admittedly, it wasn’t the most perfect plan he’d ever come up with, but it would work. At least it would get him into her room, and nothing should be destroyed in the process.
    A noise caught Erica’s attention, and she turned just in time to see a beautiful white bird fly in through the open bedroom window. It flew directly at her, and she held out her hand. Much to her surprise, the bird landed on her hand. It sat peering up at her, cocking his head from side to side.
    “Hello, little fellow. Are you just as lost in this world as I am?” she whispered to the little bird. She was amazed that it seemed so comfortable around her. She wondered if it was someone’s pet that had become lost. It continued sitting on her hand, cocking its head slightly from one side to the other. “You might not want to hang around me. I seem to have a knack for finding trouble. Besides, I can’t even find a safe place to keep myself, let alone a small little thing like you.”
    The bird made a small chirping sound as she continued her despair. “I thought I was safe here, but I’m not so sure anymore. See, I thought Kevin was my friend, and that I could find refuge here with this family to be protected and safe. Now, I have nowhere to go and no one to turn to!” she sobbed out, as tears poured down her cheeks once again.
    As Erica sobbed her heart out, Kevin’s wrenched. He knew he was going to have to come clean soon. It seemed like the perfect opportunity when she stated, “I thought Kevin was my friend.”
    The bird took two hops off of Erica’s hand and flew up towards the ceiling. As it started descending back down, it began to change into Kevin’s human form about halfway. He landed silently on his feet, immediately looked over to Erica and stated, “I am your friend, and you are safe with me, if you will only trust me.”
    Erica sat on the bed, horrified, and frozen still. “How in the h…?” She gasped, only to be stopped by the black dots dancing in front of her. Her chest was beating erratically, and it felt like she had a pair of vise grips around it. She tried sucking in a deep breath of air, but found that to be an impossible task. Her airways seemed to close. Everything was spinning out of control, and she vaguely heard a short strangled scream, then realized it had come from herself. The black dots continued dancing in front of her, as the entire room started spinning, and then nothing but total blackness.
    Kevin hadn’t planned on Erica being quite so shocked, and he became concerned when he realized she was having trouble breathing. When she fainted, he was right there to catch her. He eased her back onto the bed, and checked for a pulse. As he cradled her in his arms with her head tilted back, he blew in a few puffs of air to make sure her airway was open. Sitting back against the headboard, cradling her in his arms, he waited restlessly for her to come back around. Knowing he had a lot to explain, he pleaded to the heavens above for the time to do it.
    Slowly, the blackness started to recede, allowing Erica to come up out of the fog her head was currently swimming in. It took a minute for her brain to clear, and to be able to think straight, even if it was a bit groggy. As the fog started to lift, she realized she was cradled in Kevin’s embrace. He watched her closely as her green eyes displayed every emotion currently running through her: fear, confusion, and anger. Anger eventually came to the forefront, and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a closed fist at her side. He briefly wondered if she would use it to strike him. Not that he could blame her, nor could she have hurt him. It would more likely end with her having a broken hand, something Kevin was sure he would shoulder the blame for also. She seemed to study his eyes, as if trying to read something in them. He only hoped she could see the pain her suffering was causing him, and the misery he was currently in. He finally saw her hand relax, and decided it was safe to speak.
    The gentleness in his tone, along with the pain radiating from his eyes tore her breath out of her lungs. “I am so sorry I scared you, those were not my intentions. I would never let anything happen to you.” He had leaned down so