Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down Read Free Page A

build and facial features to be brothers, with strong jawlines and cheekbones.  We set off after stowing my bags in the trunk, with me feeling more than a little awkward initiating conversation from the back seat. 
    Still, I gave it my best shot.  “So, have you guys spent much time in San Francisco before?”
    “No.”
    I wasn’t sure if it was Gunnar or Isak who replied .  In that light it was almost impossible to tell them apart.  Maybe I’d have to start having them wear different colored ties or something.  “No?  Well, there are a lot of cool things to check out now that you’re here.  Do you like music?”
    “No.”
    “No,” I repeated softly.  So far all I’d learned was they weren’t all that big on chit chat.  “What about the movies?  We’ve had a ton of them shot around here.  I could show you some of the famous places.  Do you go to the movies much?”
    “No.”
    The same one answered each of the times, and I started to wonder if the other one talked at all.  Maybe they had a psychic connection?  There had to be a way to loosen them up.  “Do you guys share a brain or is he a mute?” I joked, only neither of them laughed.  They just traded a look and I started to wonder…  “Oh God… is he mute?”  I sucked in a breath.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
    “I speak,” the other one said, his voice in a higher register that didn’t quite match his imposing form.  Maybe that was why he chose to be the strong silent type? 
    “So you do,” I nodded, more relieved than I could say.  “Cool beans, this is progress.  Um, just for my benefit, which one of you is Gunnar and which one is Isak?”
    “I am Gunnar, he is Isak,” the more talkative one replied.
    “Where are you guys from originally?”
    “We are from Copenhagen.”
    “Oh, Denmark?”  Consider the ice broken!  We were onto multiple word responses! 
    “Yes, you know this place?” 
    “Well, no, not really.”  All I knew about the country was the capital city, but I resolved to Google it as soon as I had the chance.  “Maybe you could tell me about it?”
    “There is little to tell.  To know a place , you must first go there.”
    Fair enough.  “How long have you guys been vampires?”  They traded looks again, and I wondered if I’d asked something incredibly gauche. 
    “Long enough to serve you well, have no fear in that,” Gunnar replied grimly. 
    “Oh, I wasn’t doubting your skills,” I was quick to interject.  They still weren’t really getting the spirit of the questions.  As we pulled up to the apartment, I resolved to try again.  “Listen, I want you guys to come up for a while , okay?” 
    Short nods were given, and they escorted me up the three flights of stairs with my bags in hand.  Ellie practically tackled me the instant I stepped through the door and quick like a jackrabbit, Gunnar pried her off me, holding her at arm’s length. 
    “Lay off!” Ellie tugged her arm free, scowling at the bodyguard, her Irish brogue sharp.  “Don’t be twistin’ hay with me, I’m not afraid of the likes of you!”  Her auburn hair hung loose around her shoulders, the streaks of pink pinned back with sparkly clips shaped like stars.  She wore an oversized purple sweater that nearly dwarfed her petite frame, along with a pair of tattered black leggings with lime green tights peeking through.  Heavy workboots completed the picture, the tongues flopping as she regained her balance.
    “Whoa, settle down,” I interjected before she worked herself up into a lather.  “What’s wrong?”
    “Thank God you’re here. I’d started to think you’d abandoned us.”  It was clear that Ellie wouldn’t be robbed of her dramatics, and I waved her on to try and get to the root of it.  “I’m starving and Maggie’s being difficult.”
    “Difficult?”
    “Yeah, alls I wanted was a taste.”
    Maggie appeared at the bedroom door, her hazel eyes wide and tragic, as if she