Read Kiss of Death (The Briar Creek Vampires, #1) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse for Free Online Page B

butterflies that had been
resting peacefully in the pit of her stomach.
    Glancing across the street, Lexi wondered
what Gabe was doing at that moment. When Dan pulled his blue
mustang into the driveway, she decided to avoid thinking about Gabe
for the sake of the conversation she was about to have. He could be
a huge distraction, and she knew that she owed Austin more than
that.
    Turning the headlights off, Dan slid out of
his car and quietly closed the door behind him. He strode over to
the porch and whispered, “Let’s go to the back of the house. We can
talk there without disturbing anyone.”
    Lexi shrugged and followed him to the hammock
in the backyard. He plopped down, patting the spot next to him.
Hesitantly, she sat down with him.
    “So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me
about?” Dan asked, his blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
    “I was wondering if you knew anything about
Austin and Mary-Kate.”
    Dan looked over at her, clearly put off by
her question. “Well, I know that she had a crush on him for a long
time. He never returned her interest, and it upset her. That’s
about all I know. Why do you ask?”
    “Oh, you know…like you told me, this is a
small town. People talk. So Austin and Mary-Kate never hung
out?”
    “Not to my knowledge.” Dan leaned back in the
hammock and looked at the sky. “Don’t you think the stars look
pretty tonight?”
    Irritated, Lexi said, without looking up,
“Yeah, they do.” Continuing on with her interrogation, she asked,
“He didn’t mention her at all?”
    “No. Why are you so concerned about Austin
and Mary-Kate, Lexi? Whatever happened between them doesn’t matter
much now, does it?”
    Lexi agonized over what she was going to say
next. She was half tempted to break down and tell him about the
message that she had found on Austin’s Facebook. The other half –
the wiser half – was too afraid that he would tell Violet and Tommy
that she had been snooping where she knew she had no right to.
    “Why don’t we just focus on you and me right
now?” Dan asked, snaking his arm around her shoulder. Lexi got the
skeevies when he started leaning in closer to her, so close that
the faded scent of his strawberry flavored gum tickled her nose.
She knew she was the one who wanted to talk to him in the first
place, but he was coming on too strong.
    “Now is a really difficult time for me,” she
seethed. Shrugging out from under his arm, she said, “And, not to
be rude, but I don’t really know you. I might want to get to know
you, but I’m not sure yet.” Then, to soften the blow, she
continued, “My mom and I are leaving in a few days.”
    “I see. Violet gave me the impression that
you were really into me,” he said before he slid off the hammock
and planted his feet into the ground. “I’ll see you later.”
    Lexi felt somewhat guilty. He looked like a
puppy that had just been scolded and was running away with his tail
between his legs. She knew she was too nice of a person, even to
creeps like Dan.
    Halting his stride, he turned around to look
at her. “Mary-Kate’s dad is the mayor. He got Austin out of a lot
of trouble once. After that, Austin told me that Mary-Kate held it
over him, like he owed her something in return. But he never told
me what she wanted from him. I just assumed that it was for him to
be with her.”
    Before she could ask him what type of trouble
Austin had got into, Dan had already disappeared into the shadows
that fell from the trees that lined the yard.
    This new piece of information left Lexi
completely bewildered. What type of trouble could a star quarter
back possibly get into, especially in Briar Creek? Everything was
so slow paced and peaceful here. And why would Mayor Lawrence want
to get Austin out of trouble? Putting two and two together, she
realized that it was probably because Austin was the star
quarterback. Mary-Kate’s father may be a mayor, but he’s also a
coach. Maybe he’s the type of coach that