Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
When he finally stopped, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took another step into the living room. His dad was lying in the middle of the room on the remains of their broken coffee table. His throat was also torn out. One hand was stretched out toward Ethan’s mother like he’d died trying to reach for her.
Choking on gasping sobs, Ethan turned toward the front door and was only a little surprised to find it open. He needed to locate an adult. An adult would fix this. Make sense of this. Mr. Pompideaux across the hall was nice. He could help. Call the police.
Ethan darted out the door, no longer caring about the attackers. The concrete floor of the breezeway felt icy to his bare feet, but he didn’t care. It was a short distance to that—
Ethan stopped before he reached Mr. Pompideaux’s apartment. The front door was standing open, and there were bloody footprints on the pavement leading from his place, just like at Ethan’s. Slowly turning, Ethan looked at the other two apartments on his floor. The doors were also standing open.
The vampires had killed everyone on his floor.
Probably the entire apartment building.
Shivering in the cold night air, Ethan slowly trudged back to his apartment. He sat down on the blood-soaked carpet, next to his mother and father, his arms wrapped around his knees. Dropping his head down, he tightened his body into a little ball and cried.
He was alone. The vampires killed everyone.
Chapter Three
July 17, 2019
Ethan sat in the uncomfortable chair with his spine as straight as he could possibly get it, his hands pressed together in two tight fists in his lap. The borrowed suit was itchy as hell, making the whole ordeal of sitting perfectly still a nightmare. But he would not give the woman on the other side of the desk any reason to think he didn’t have his shit together.
He just kept repeating to himself that in less than an hour, he’d be out of the fancy town house. He would be able to strip out of the suit and climb back into his well-worn jeans and T-shirt. For now, he could suck it up. He needed this job.
Everything hung on him getting this job.
As the woman with the pinched expression reviewed his too-short résumé, Ethan chanced a glance around the austere room. The walls were plain white and the desk, while nice, was somewhat utilitarian and entirely boring. There were no pictures on the walls or on the desk. Just stacks of folders and papers. To one side, he could see a calendar planner that was heavily marked up with notes. The room had zero personality; it was simply a place of work.
“I’ll be frank with you, Mr. Cline,” the woman said at last. Not a good sign. “Your résumé doesn’t exactly show the qualities I am hoping to find for this position.”
“I know I’ve worked a lot of odd jobs, but at each position, I’ve proved to be resourceful and showed initiative. I am incredibly organized. It’s the only way I’ve managed to juggle three jobs and keep up with my night classes. You can call any of my references. They will confirm that I’m always on time for work and meet my deadlines.”
“You understand that this is just a temporary position as Mr. Varik’s personal assistant. The bulk of the duties are organizing his home and packing it for the upcoming move. The movers have been arranged for the majority of the household items, but bonded transport will need to be scheduled for some rare and priceless artifacts. In addition, this position may require the person to run various errands at all times of the day and night. This could interfere with your night classes.”
“I understand,” Ethan said with a quick nod. “I’m taking a semester off to save up money for the last of my schooling.”
“You also understand that you will be working mostly in this house.”
“Yes.”
“Anyone working in the house must keep the window shades and curtains pulled closed during the day. Mr. Varik has a rare skin allergy and cannot be exposed to sunlight.”
Ethan nodded, careful to keep his expression solemn while joy zinged around in his chest. That was such a good sign. He needed this fucking job!
The woman frowned and looked down at his résumé as if she were trying to think of a new reason to scare him from this position. Ethan wracked his brain, desperate to come up with that one thing he could say to tip the scales in his favor. He was so damn close.
Before either of them could speak, there was a sharp knock on the door followed by a man stepping into the room. Ethan’s breath caught in his throat to see his tall form wrapped in a dark suit. The ice-blue tie matched his eyes perfectly, setting them off so that they seemed to glow. His black hair was long, brushing against the tops of his shoulders, and was a little wild as if windblown. Simply, he was stunning.