Thicker Than Water (The Briar Creek Vampires Book #2) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse Read Online Free PDF Page A

Apparently, Mary-Kate called Greg late
that night to let him know that she had left town. He demanded that
she return immediately, but she didn’t come back until
today.”
    “I wasn’t aware that Mary-Kate had a
boyfriend,” Lexi said.
    “Me either,” Violet replied, taking a gulp of
coffee. “She must move on very quickly. Here, her boyfriend only
just died, and now she’s already with someone else. I don’t know
who it is, but I assure you, Austin is rolling over in his
grave.”
    A light bulb went off in Lexi’s head. She was
going to have to find Austin’s gravestone. She and her mom had made
it in time for the viewing, but Violet had insisted on a private
burial. She hadn’t even wanted Lexi and her mom there. Lexi hadn’t
thought much of it at the time, but she wondered if it was because
Austin’s gravestone would give clues as to how he really
died.
    “Anyway, I’ve already spoken to Greg, and
here’s the plan. Mary-Kate is going to be giving you rides to and
from school everyday starting tomorrow so that I don’t need to go
through the hassle of driving you. The mayor is so generous that he
has even offered to cover the cost of gas,” Violet said.
    “Why can’t I just take the bus?” Lexi
asked.
    Violet laughed. “The bus doesn’t come out here!
The only options are for you to walk to school or get a ride. To be
frank, I don’t really like the idea of you walking to school.
Austin was walking home from school when he was attacked by a wild
animal.”
    Lexi counted to ten. It really angered her that
Violet was already making plans with Greg about her transportation
to and from school without letting her know first. What if she
didn’t want to ride with Mary-Kate every day? That obviously didn’t
matter to Violet.
     
    *
     
    Lexi took her bat
pendant off and put it on top of her dresser. She had been wearing
it since she had found it in her hand at the hospital. Even though
she hadn’t asked anyone how it had gotten in her hand, she assumed
that it must have fallen off or that it had gotten tangled during the accident and the nurse
had put it in her hand later on.
    As Lexi climbed into bed, she heard a loud
clank against her window. Moments later, she heard another one.
Glancing out the window, she saw a swarm of bats hovering around
her window.
    Sighing, she lay on the
bed and pulled her satin comforter over her. Lexi listened to the
bats as they continued to clank against her window.
    There were no bats in
New Jersey, so she couldn’t really compare them, but it seemed like
the bats in Briar Creek were just…well, dumb. She knew that bats
couldn’t see and that they sought their prey through their
incredible sense of smell. If there was nothing for them to smell
in her room, though, why did they constantly bang into the windows?
It made no sense, and it was really beginning to interfere with her
sleep schedule – and grate on her nerves.
    She wasn’t sure what it
was, but something made her feel really uneasy about the bats that
constantly hovered outside her window.
     
    *
     
    Lexi’s alarm clock began jangling on the
nightstand at seven o’clock on Monday morning. Groaning, she forced
herself to get out of bed. She changed into the outfit that she had
laid out the night before: a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a
yellow v-neck t-shirt, and a pair of sparkly silver ballet
flats.
    As she brushed her teeth in the bathroom, Lexi
heard Violet call her from downstairs. “Lexi! Mary-Kate is
here!”
    When Lexi went downstairs, Mary-Kate was
standing by the front door text messaging. She shoved her cell
phone in her tote bag when she saw Lexi. “Hey! I’m so glad that
you’re feeling better,” Mary-Kate said, beaming.
    “Thanks,” Lexi replied. She glanced into the
dining room. Tommy was sitting at the kitchen table, spooning
oatmeal into his mouth. His skin looked a shade paler and his eyes
looked droopier than usual. Tommy had emphysema, but Lexi never
thought that he looked