off with her before Diego could catch up to me.
Diego was already finished with the man. He looked at me with an expression that I could only describe as… sympathetic. But
I could have been dead wrong. I couldn’t remember anyone ever giving me sympathy before, so I wasn’t positive what it looked
like.
“Go for it,” he told me, nodding to the limp girl on the ground.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Naw, I’m good for now. We’ve got time to hunt some more tonight.”
Watching him carefully for some sign of a trick, I darted forward and snagged the girl. Diego made no move to stop me. He
turned away slightly and looked up at the black sky.
I sank my teeth into her neck, keeping my eyes on him. This one was even better than the last. Her blood was entirely clean.
The blonde girl’s blood had the bitter aftertaste that came with drugs—I was so used to that, I’d barely noticed. It was rare
for me to get really clean blood, because I followed the dregs rule. Diego seemed to follow the rules, too. He must have smelled
what he was giving up.
Why had he done it?
When the second body was empty, my throat felt better. There was a lot of blood in my system. I probably wouldn’t really burn
for a few days.
Diego was still waiting, whistling quietly through his teeth. When I let the body fall to the ground with a thud, he turned
back to me and smiled.
“Um, thanks,” I said.
He nodded. “You looked like you needed it more than me. I remember how hard it is in the beginning.”
“Does it get easier?”
He shrugged. “In some ways.”
We looked at each other for a second.
“Why don’t we dump these bodies in the sound?” he suggested.
I bent down, grabbed the dead blonde, and slung her limp body over my shoulder. I was about to getthe other one, but Diego was there before me, the pimp already on his back.
“I got it,” he said.
I followed him up the alley wall, and then we swung across the girders under the freeway. The lights from the cars below didn’t
touch us. I thought how stupid people were, how oblivious, and I was glad I wasn’t one of the clueless.
Hidden in the darkness, we made our way to an empty dock, closed for the night. Diego didn’t hesitate at the end of the concrete,
he just jumped right over the edge with his bulky burden and disappeared into the water. I slid in after him.
He swam as sleek and quick as a shark, shooting deeper and farther out into the black sound. He stopped suddenly when he found
what he was looking for—a huge, slime-covered boulder on the ocean floor, sea stars and garbage clinging to its sides. We
had to be more than a hundred feet deep—to a human, it would have seemed pitch-black here. Diego let go of his bodies. They
swayed slowly in the current beside him while he shoved his hand into the mucky sand at the base of the rock. After a second
he found a hold and ripped the boulder up from its resting spot. The weight of it drove him waist-deep into the dark seafloor.
He looked up and nodded to me.
I swam down to him, hooking his bodies with one hand on my way. I shoved the blonde into the black hole under the rock, then
pushed the second girl and the pimp in after her. I kicked them lightly to make sure they were in, and then got out of the
way. Diego let the boulder fall. It wobbled a little, adjusting to the newly uneven foundation. He kicked his way out of the
muck, swam to the top of the boulder, and then pushed it down, grinding the obstructions flat underneath.
He swam back a few yards to view his work.
Perfect
, I mouthed. These three bodies would never resurface. Riley would never hear a story about them on the news.
He grinned and held up his hand.
It took me a minute to understand that he was looking for a high five. Hesitantly, I swam forward, tapped my palm to his,
then kicked away, putting some distance between us.
Diego got a weird expression on his face, and then he shot to the surface like a
Diego was already finished with the man. He looked at me with an expression that I could only describe as… sympathetic. But
I could have been dead wrong. I couldn’t remember anyone ever giving me sympathy before, so I wasn’t positive what it looked
like.
“Go for it,” he told me, nodding to the limp girl on the ground.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Naw, I’m good for now. We’ve got time to hunt some more tonight.”
Watching him carefully for some sign of a trick, I darted forward and snagged the girl. Diego made no move to stop me. He
turned away slightly and looked up at the black sky.
I sank my teeth into her neck, keeping my eyes on him. This one was even better than the last. Her blood was entirely clean.
The blonde girl’s blood had the bitter aftertaste that came with drugs—I was so used to that, I’d barely noticed. It was rare
for me to get really clean blood, because I followed the dregs rule. Diego seemed to follow the rules, too. He must have smelled
what he was giving up.
Why had he done it?
When the second body was empty, my throat felt better. There was a lot of blood in my system. I probably wouldn’t really burn
for a few days.
Diego was still waiting, whistling quietly through his teeth. When I let the body fall to the ground with a thud, he turned
back to me and smiled.
“Um, thanks,” I said.
He nodded. “You looked like you needed it more than me. I remember how hard it is in the beginning.”
“Does it get easier?”
He shrugged. “In some ways.”
We looked at each other for a second.
“Why don’t we dump these bodies in the sound?” he suggested.
I bent down, grabbed the dead blonde, and slung her limp body over my shoulder. I was about to getthe other one, but Diego was there before me, the pimp already on his back.
“I got it,” he said.
I followed him up the alley wall, and then we swung across the girders under the freeway. The lights from the cars below didn’t
touch us. I thought how stupid people were, how oblivious, and I was glad I wasn’t one of the clueless.
Hidden in the darkness, we made our way to an empty dock, closed for the night. Diego didn’t hesitate at the end of the concrete,
he just jumped right over the edge with his bulky burden and disappeared into the water. I slid in after him.
He swam as sleek and quick as a shark, shooting deeper and farther out into the black sound. He stopped suddenly when he found
what he was looking for—a huge, slime-covered boulder on the ocean floor, sea stars and garbage clinging to its sides. We
had to be more than a hundred feet deep—to a human, it would have seemed pitch-black here. Diego let go of his bodies. They
swayed slowly in the current beside him while he shoved his hand into the mucky sand at the base of the rock. After a second
he found a hold and ripped the boulder up from its resting spot. The weight of it drove him waist-deep into the dark seafloor.
He looked up and nodded to me.
I swam down to him, hooking his bodies with one hand on my way. I shoved the blonde into the black hole under the rock, then
pushed the second girl and the pimp in after her. I kicked them lightly to make sure they were in, and then got out of the
way. Diego let the boulder fall. It wobbled a little, adjusting to the newly uneven foundation. He kicked his way out of the
muck, swam to the top of the boulder, and then pushed it down, grinding the obstructions flat underneath.
He swam back a few yards to view his work.
Perfect
, I mouthed. These three bodies would never resurface. Riley would never hear a story about them on the news.
He grinned and held up his hand.
It took me a minute to understand that he was looking for a high five. Hesitantly, I swam forward, tapped my palm to his,
then kicked away, putting some distance between us.
Diego got a weird expression on his face, and then he shot to the surface like a
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