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that would alter her life forever and thrust her existence into jeopardy.
    “It’s ok, Ang. This is an, ah, old friend of mine,” she lied and badly.
    Angie gave a small snort but all noise behind Quinn ceased when Angie stopped moving. In the three years Quinn had been working here, she’d never once said she knew a person or mentioned a friend. The only thing she’d revealed about her past was to say her family had been killed in a car accident and she liked to move around. One revelation was a lie, and the other one a half-truth. Before coming here, she’d moved around a lot but because she had to, not because she liked it. She’d hated living out of a box from one town to the next and one crappy apartment to the next, but there were no other options, not for her.
    “You can take off, Angie. I’ll finish up here,” she said. She tugged the stake free of its holder and palmed it as she continued to smile at unibrow. “We have some ah… catching up to do.”
    “Are you sure?” She’d expected Angie to bolt out of here like an Olympic runner off the line, but she heard the concern in her friend’s voice.
    “Yeah it’s fine.” She didn’t dare tear her gaze away from the vamp across from her to look at Angie. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    A small huff of laughter escaped the vampire as his gaze traveled to Angie. His deep brown hair glimmered in the few lights left on in the bar. Tall and thin, he didn’t look like much; she knew how deceptive appearances could be when it came to the vampire world though. “You could always join us.” His tone of voice made her skin crawl.
    “We have far too much catching up to do,” Quinn replied.
    “Are you sure you’re going to be ok, Quinn?” Angie inquired.
    “I’ll be fine.” And if not I simply won’t see you tomorrow , she thought but kept the forced smile on her face.
    “Ok then, have a good night.”
    The material of Angie’s apron whispered when she dropped it on the bar. Her friend fluffed her hair as she walked toward them. “Maybe I can find the after party,” she said brightly.
    “I’m sure you can,” Quinn assured her.
    Angie flashed her a smile as she made her way out the door and closed it behind her. In the hush that descended over the bar, Quinn could hear the hum of the motors in the coolers behind the bar and the distant tick of the clock in the poolroom. The ticks of the seconds continued onward until the hush stretched into a full minute.
    “You’re young,” he finally said. It was faint but she detected the hint of an Irish brogue in his tone.
    Quinn gave a brief bow of her head as she gripped the stake tighter and braced her legs apart. She’d been knocked on her ass once before by a vampire who could wield electricity, but she was prepared for that now. If he was capable of wielding electricity he might give her a shock, but it wouldn’t launch her across the room like last time.
    Quinn had no words for him. He tried to lift one eyebrow, because they were attached both of them went up. “But you’re powerful. Where does so much power come from I wonder?” The question was about her, but it hadn’t been directed at her. She could practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to figure out what she was. That would never happen. No vampire could ever predict or think it possible to come across the likes of her. “How many people have you killed in your short life?”
    “I’m not a killer,” she growled.
    He held his hands out before him. “We’re all killers, child.”
    “Not all of us,” she murmured.
    “Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night? You are a killer.”
    An unsettling feeling began to twist inside her stomach. Vampires spouted lies; she knew. By nature, every vampire was a liar, including herself. They were forced to hide from the day, forced to fit into a human world where they would be killed if people ever knew what they were. Every day she pretended she wasn’t a monster,