Bag of Blood - Vampire Mystery Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

nothing more than a few bottles of Vanessa's perfume and a take-out box of Chinese food from Ming's.
    Searching through the cluttered mess on her kitchen table, she found some scrap paper and a pen.
    1. Doughnuts , she wrote, then scribbled it out. That was just her stomach talking. Better be more practical with mom's money. She tried again.
    1. Milk. 2. Eggs. 3. Chicken…
    A honk from outside caught her attention and she hastily stood, dumping her uneaten, disgusting mess of a breakfast down the sink. Glancing towards her father's bedroom where she could hear soft snores, she jammed her sweater over her arms and, grabbing her backpack while making sure to lock the front door behind her, she hustled into the driveway, abandoning her list behind her.
    Claire, Robert, and Megan waited in the truck, Megan and Claire's travel mugs of coffee steaming the windows. As Lena hoisted herself into the truck's blissfully warm interior, Robert tossed a scone over his shoulder into Lena's lap. She sniffed it. Mmm, pumpkin.
    "I thought we deserved something, since these two are rubbing the no-caffeine thing in," he told her even as she unwrapped it. "Split it in half and give some to me, will you?"
    Lena happily complied, shoving hers into her mouth. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Thank God for Howie's. It wasn't a doughnut, but it would more than do.
    It was after Robert had started the truck up again and Lena had begun to pick the crumbs off her sweater when she noticed Claire's fixed glare and posture; arms crossed firmly in front of her chest, refusing to look at her step-brother. Nudging Megan, she nodded to Claire and mouthed " what's wrong? "
    "I can see you," Claire snarled from the front seat. Lena froze. Did Claire have eyes in the back of her head?
    "Robert is being the world's biggest prick, if you must know," Claire continued. "He thinks he owns me. I simply… explained to him that he didn't."
    Lena didn't like the nasty way Claire pronounced the word 'explained'. And sure enough, on closer examination of Robert, she saw a fist-sized bruise gracing his upper arm. (Robert thought he was too manly to wear sweaters until icicles practically formed in his hair) The bruise was dark and misshapen enough to insinuate many punches in the same spot. Ouch…
    That also explained Megan's unusual silence; the earlier fight must have scared her. Lena slipped an arm around the smaller girl. "What do you mean, 'owns'?" she asked, unable to keep the hostility from her tone. She would have gladly fought for any of her friends, but was well aware Robert didn't want her to.
    "I told her she wasn't going trick-or-treating," Robert spoke gruffly without turning around, keeping his eyes focused solely on the traffic. "And she's not," he added. "I don't know how many times I have to explain to you, Claire, but I'm not letting you get your sorry ass strangled. Someone killed Rebekah; do you want to get killed, too?"
    Megan cringed against Lena's side, so for her sake, Lena cut in before Claire could snarl a retort (or begin punching again). "That's right! Halloween's a week from today, huh?" Without waiting for a response, she turned to Megan and loudly asked, "Do you have any plans? Because I was just going to hand out candy and watch some scary movies. Want to spend the night?"
    Relief sparkled in Megan's doe-like brown eyes. "Yes! That'd be wonderful. You come too, Robert," she smiled, a dimple forming in her cheek. Lena saw the dimple and bit her lip. She had noticed a while back how Megan's dimple always appeared for Robert, how her gaze followed him as he walked. She didn't know whether or not Robert returned any of the affection, but wondered how this development would affect their friendship in the long run.
    "Can't," Robert replied. "I'm supposed help out with the Trunk or Treating."
    At Lena's confused "Hmm? , Robert explained: "it's something my extended family decided to try this year. A bunch of people park their vehicles