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about getting beaten but I could see the fear in his eyes when he looked at Mathias. I knew Braden was remembering the sound of Mathias' voice and how close he'd come to being a meal after he'd threatened to kill me. If Mathias hadn't been more interested in redeeming himself in my eyes than killing Braden, the quarterback knew he'd have died on the football field.
    Perhaps because he feared Mathias might change his mind, Braden had kept Stephanie away from me and Kerry, and kept his distance. When summer break started, I'd heard that the Lamberts had decided to take a European tour for the summer. I hadn't seen Braden since. Xavier said the family had really left the country and had taken so much stuff with them that the panthers thought they probably wouldn't be coming back. I knew I wouldn't miss them.
    So instead of a future of avoiding Highland Home unless my sister needed me, I was now beginning to plan a future that kept me close to home. Mathias was supportive of my choice, but I could also tell he wanted to encourage me to take one of the acceptances from the more prestigious schools. He'd even offered to pay for my schooling when I pointed out that there was no way my family could afford Princeton. Not even with the scholarship they'd offered me. I'd refused to take his money and he'd finally stopped offering.
    In the present, I had the best and worst of summers. Instead of the public beach where the Cotes had always been somewhat of an oddity to be watched and laughed at, we stuck to the private strip of beach behind Mathias' home. Even Tawnya had enjoyed having Mathias' beach at her disposal and had stopped huffing every time I mentioned his name. She still refused to spend a lot of time close to Mathias, but she'd willingly planned cookouts and other activities with Mom at Mathias' home.
    And while Braden was no longer a problem, the killer in East Hampton was. It had arrived a few weeks earlier and had been conspicuous in its kills, killing sometimes as many as four men a night. Mathias was beginning to grow concerned about the unwanted attention the killer might draw to the vampire community, though he wouldn't admit it to me. I could see his anxiety and flashes of his fears would sometimes filter into my dreams. So far the visitor had stuck to East Hampton, but I couldn't help but worry that eventually Highland Home would look more appetizing and the killer would change its hunting ground. Not that I didn't have sympathy for the families in East Hampton, but I had to be realistic. I could only do so much and my focus was undeniably my own family.
    In addition to the daily newspaper accounts of the rising murder rate in East Hampton, I had to watch a running, live newsreel of the murders in my dreams each night. I had wanted to stake out the most common locations I saw in my dreams, but Mathias wouldn't let me. He sent the panthers instead, but so far the vampire had eluded them.
    There was no sense dwelling on what I couldn't change. I knew I was doing everything in my power to help the vampires and panthers. It wasn't my fault something about this killer made the premonitions came too late for me to help the victims. I threw on my bathing suit and some shorts and headed for the kitchen. The plan for the day was to take Kerry and Cecelia to the beach at Mathias' house while Mom and Tawnya opened the shop for the annual July 4th street fair. I could hear Mom in the kitchen talking to Tawnya as I padded down the stairs.
    "I don't know where it came from, Tawnya. If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you."
    "What's up, Mom?" I asked, helping myself to toast from the plate in the center of the kitchen table.
    "Someone left a flower arrangement on the porch. There's no card."
    "Hmm," I nodded. I couldn't imagine what the big deal was about some flowers.
    "It's a funeral arrangement, Loraine," Tawnya said, looking pointedly at me.
    "I'm sure it was just a mistake. You're making too much of this, Tawnya."
    Tawnya said