Taking Chances

Title: Taking Chances- Chapter 3: Kiss Me, Kill Me, Whatever
Author: Bubukittypuck
Archived: Here of course, Fictionpress, and my laptop
Summary: Marguerite's first person perspective on the relationship she has or does not have with Josef. She is fleshie to Josef's donor.
Rating: It ranges from PG-13 to M later on.
Pairings: OC/Josef
Feedback: Review please though do not flame.
Characters: Josef, Marguerite, Beth, Mick, and any other characters inhabiting Los Angeles.
Beta’s: None
Author Notes: None for now.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Moonlight or the characters, though I do wish Moonlight does come back. For now, writing fanfics seems to stem the need to hunt down Jason Dohring and bring him back to my bedroom.
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"Kiss me."

Those two words set off a wildfire of desire. Lips smashed against one another in a frenzy of hands ripping and tearing of clothes. When skin met against skin, a growl was heard from his voice. Both threw themselves onto the bed, pulling the sheets from the bed, and the pillows towards the floor. There was no use for anything but a bed that supported their weight. She looked up at him and laughed. He smirked and laughed with her as he turned away from her. A second later, his face changed. He sneered and showed his glinting fangs and before she could react, he sank his teeth into her.
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"Ahhhh!" I screamed and stood up in bed. Sweat beaded along my forehead as I tried to brush off the dream/nightmare from my mind. Whatever the dream was, I knew who the person bit me was. Josef. Groaning, I placed my face in my hands, pulling my knees up to my chest. Even in my dreams, Josef appeared there without invitation.

'I like big butts and I cannot lie....'

Sir Mix-A-Lot's, "Baby Got Back", blasted through my alarm clock, signaling time was 8:45 pm. I had exactly fifteen minutes to fix myself up as best as I could before Josef's private driver came. For payback, I should have gone back to sleep and let the driver pound my door over and over until he called Josef to let him know I was not there. What a riot it would be if Josef made himself believe I blew him off to spend time with James. I would pay top dollar to see him filled with jealousy if I gave my attention and even sarcasm over to James. A slew of laughter ensued at the mere thought of Josef getting huffy and pouty over me.

Pulling the bed sheets off of me, I slid out of bed and padded towards the bathroom. The make-up I had worn during the date was now smudgy and messy. If Batman needed a Joker at the moment, I was a shoe-in. Several twists of the faucet, I cupped my hands beneath the lukewarm water and scrubbed with the bar of aloe soap the make-up off, revealing a fresh and bright eyed me in the mirror. Narrowing my eyes, I flickered over my reflection in the mirror, and smiled at myself.

After two years of wearing metal braces, my teeth were as straight as can be considering I disliked wearing the retainer afterwards. As a result of foregoing lisping while wearing the retainer, one of my top canines pushed a few degrees farther than the rest of my smile but it was not noticeable. The only person who noticed it was Josef. Why were a lot of things coming back to this man, this insufferable, dream invading, sexual commenting, vampire, was a question I wanted to discover as soon as I could.

"Smile and the world smiles right back," I muttered as I changed quickly out of my popcorn smelling t-shirt and into a sleeveless tank top. The words, 'Sleeping Beauty' and the image of Beauty and her Prince decorated the shirt, remembering it was a gift from my niece, Juley, for my 20th birthday. I was surprised it still fit, especially since my adoration with chocolate had increased over this past school year. Chocolate, at least, was not the cause for acne and zits, but helped to fight illness with its anti-oxidants. Hearing that information made me feel a lot better when I ate the half a bowel of chocolate truffles while on my monthly cycle.

Knocking at my door announced the arrival of the private driver and I snatched my purse and cell phone. A blown kiss was thrown towards Phantom as he laid himself proudly on the couch, warning him to watch the house. He answered with a bark and a wag of his tail.

Phantom, a family pet which I snatched up when the parents packed up to head to Mexico in the new motor home had no time to look after him while on the road. Iris, my sister, had insisted she take Phantom, but I knew with her touring and music career, Phantom, would become sad and desperate for attention. Myself, I had the pleasure of scheduling my class hours and with the money acquired through scholarships there was no need to find a job the first two years of college which freed up my time with Phantom. The upside to the school I attended allowed animals if under a certain weight and had the appropriate shots.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to see the old driver, whom I thought Josef had fired. Seems, Josef gave him another chance or the driver had begged uncontrollably at his feet. Either way, I was happy to see him back and I smiled at him as I locked up the apartment. "Josef is waiting at his home, Miss De La Cruz," the driver announced as he opened the car door to me.

Slipping into the door, he shut it behind me as I laid back and buckled up. This driver I liked above the rest because he managed to find the quickest routes to and from places without ever being pulled over by the police. The police had better things to do then pull this car over with Britney Spears crashing her new car every other day and Lindsay caught with coke in her pants.

Tonight, I was slightly nervous especially since Josef had intervened in my date. I had a few questions to ask him and I hoped he would not lie or try to change the subjects to other things. He was a master of avoiding issues but I was not about to let him go around my questions, even if I had to repeat myself a million times.

"We will be arriving in less than ten minutes," the driver commented through the open partition window. One second later, he closed the window, separating himself from me as I went back to the raging thoughts. What I wondered most of all was went though Josef's head. To be able to pick at his brain could be considered one of the wonders of the world. Forget the Pyramids and the Eiffel Tower, but to hear Josef speak about the history he had seen and even participated in, I could give up my love of chocolate for it.
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Tap, tap, tap went his fingers on his mahogany desk in his private library as he contemplated over what laid in store for him and her. He rubbed the back of his head and cupped his neck, frustrated with how things were going for him. Josef had no clue what he was doing with the likes of her. She was his meal and nothing else. However, at times, he cherished the times he was in her company, her smile radiating throughout the room, and her laughter. Closing his eyes, he tried to recreate the moment when he first heard her laugh.

[Italicize]It was the month of January. Clearly, he remembered her wearing a blue tank top with the Rolling Stones logo imprinted on it and a pair of dark denim jeans. She wore flip flops with bright red nail polish which caught his eye when he started to assess her. Never had he seen an interviewing fleshie wear clothes he usually saw on a surfer after having the perfect wave. For a second there, he expected to hear her with the typical surfer lingo inserted into her interview.

When she instead started off with the spiel about psychology of colors and what a person wore affected the moods and thoughts of everyone around them, he was a caught off guard. "What does my colors mean?," he asked, slightly interested in what she had to say about his wardrobe.

He smiled as she scanned his clothing and the narrowing of her eyes made him wonder what conclusions she came to. "Though from what I hear that you like to have fun and be the one everyone wants to have fun with. However, you like to wear darker colors which offset the real you from the you you put on to people. Think of it this way, you play a role to people but take a look at your wardrobe colors and it clearly shows who you really are." She narrowed her eyes and stood up, leaning over the table to get a better look of his tie.

"What else?," he asked, his interest peaked a bit more now.

"The use of black in your jacket, trousers, and shoes declare you suppress and keep your emotions locked up tight along with wanting to come off as intimidating in this interview. Most men and women of higher power use it to make others nervous and falter around them," she replied as she sat back in her seat and leaned back.

Smirking, he rushed to her, fangs flashing and eyes blazing with the power he held back on a tight leash. He growled in her face and noticed she was not crouching in fear or anxiety. Instead, she laughed right in his face. She threw her head back and laughed. He even heard her snort, which was a rare thing to hear from the women of Los Angeles. Most of the females that were human were as fake as the bleach-blonde hair and the plastic surgery bodies they had.

Marguerite covered her mouth and tried to stifle another wave of laughter she felt at the antics Josef pulled around her. "If you haven't looked at the application and the background check sent to you, I have a sister that is a vampire, and she has made me immune to the fangs and eyes glowing. Had enough of her trying to get me to have a heart attack every time she came around to visit." Crossing her arms, she cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting if he was going to try and give her a potential heart attack as well.

Impressive, he thought to himself as he pulled back and strolled back to his chair. After that, things went uphill. [Italicize]
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Josef growled as he realized where his thoughts laid. He gripped the bat-shaped stress ball, Mick, presented to him for Halloween. Mick, whenever there was a chance, liked to unload trinkets here and there. There was a small drawer full of quirky gifts he received over the years from Mick and the small vacations he took. Even in World War II, his friend had a chance to move around Europe unlike him.

Opening and closing his hand around the stress ball helped slightly to alleviate his blood pressure. Though he had a pulse and was not cold-blooded whenever Marguerite was around, she seemed to push the buttons on his emotions. After what happened with James earlier today, he would not be surprised if she blew his ear drums out with one of her speeches.

Secretly, he was amused by her thoughts on politics, religion, psychology, and even on sexuality. She was not afraid to talk about sex openly and without the need to solicit him for it as Gabriela and Sonja often did when Marguerite was not available. Though there were times he wondered whether he could get her to come on to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?," the voice which enticed and angered him filtered into his head and into his library.

"You do not have enough pennies for my thoughts. My thoughts cost more than you think," he answered, swiveling in his chair to get a better look at her. She wore a tank top with the image of Sleeping Beauty on it, where he wondered if she wore it on the date. Her arms were bare save for the black quartz bracelet adorning her right wrist. A gift sent to her no doubt by her parents in Mexico. The rest of her enchanted him on a level he hated to think about.

Thanks to her family genetics, she had seemed to catch the luck of the draw with her raven-haired curls she kept around her face or in a half-ponytail. Her eyes reminded him of the Godiva chocolates she favored and the eye shape of the famous Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Marguerite's lower lip was fuller than the top but she had a habit of chewing and pulling at it when she was nervous or bored. Caramel skin covered the muscles, bones, cartilage, and organs which at times he wanted to stroke and work under his fingers. There were times he clenched his hands into fists to stop himself whenever she came for feedings.

He knew she dressed down for classes and dressed up when she came to him. A man like him made sure to keep an eye on his investments. Inwardly, he winced at how he made it sound as if she was a whore and he was her pimp or even 'John'. Nonetheless, when she appeared before him at the charity ball, his stomach clenched in awe and the basic need to possess her. Even now, he wondered where the hell the emotion came from but he pushed it to the back of his mind and down the list.

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"I doubt your thoughts are worth my pennies but answer me this: Why the intrusion with James and I?," I asked, leaning over his mahogany desk and stared him down. Josef simply frowned at me and my stomach clenched painfully and embarrassingly at the thought of his smile being because he was jealous of what could be between James and I.

Josef threaded his fingers together and answered, "James is a liability." No explanations were given and I knew he was not about to make it easy. He never did and the way he kept things from me, somehow I guessed it was for the best. However, I was interested in James and would not let Josef ruin the chance I might have. No matter what, I had to tell him my piece.

Before I had the chance, Josef stood up from his chair, and pushed it back, a sign he wanted to get stated on the feeding. By the way he looked, I estimated he had drank but not from a human vein. There was dislike he had for the packaged blood and his use of freshie was known in the company. It was a surprise to the company he had not fired me within the first few weeks of employment. Seemed I had broken a record of being his freshie for more than a few months now and rumors spread in the company I was bedding Josef, the rumors were false. Even though at times, I wondered what it might be like to sleep in the bed but then I remembered he used the bed solely for his sexcapades.

With the image of Josef in the arms of another female it blocked out Josef's next words and I had to ask him to repeat it to me again. "Tilt your head to the side," he repeated, clearly frustrated at having to repeat himself. I looked up at him and wondered why he wanted my neck instead of my arm. To show him where he was about to bite, I held out my arm to him, flexing the vein beneath my skin. His eyes looked down at my arm but clicked his tongue.

"Why?," I asked and stood up to face him. Due to height differences, the top of my head hit him at mid-chest and I had to cock my head back in getting better look at him. There were times he joked how because of my height, I was a freshie on the go meal and he could pick me up on the way to his meeting, take a drink, put me back down, or save me for later. I had laughed and even snorted a bit and even my mother at times wondered which side of the family the snorting thing came from. I had my father's temper and my mother's need in wanting the last word in an argument, but most of the time, I assumed with was my mother's side of the family. She had a loud and booming laugh where everyone stopped what he or she were doing and investigate who was the one with the laugh.

It might not be a surprise he wanted to change feeding points after the date with James and I. Thinking on it, he might want to feed on my neck just to leave the puncture wounds and let James think I was with another man, with Josef. Seething with anger at the thought of Josef wanting to get back at James and I, my hand shot out to slap him. He stopped me before anything happened and gripped my wrist in his vise-like grip. To others, the hold might have been painful but I was experienced in fights, especially with a younger sister; a sister who could now throw me across the room with only her index finger.

"Please, I don't have the energy to fight you tonight, if I could, you'd be asked to fix the book shelves after I threw you against them," he stated matter-of-factly as I was pulled by my wrist chest to chest against him. He looked on edge and I wondered how much non-fat soy vegan blood as he told Mick, Beth, and I several times on occasion, how much packaged blood he consumed.

That betraying stomach of mine flip-flopped and my even double-crossing heard bounced around in my chest cavity before it doing the mambo at the feel of Josef pressed closed against me. "And ruin the cataloguing you have made with the books if you threw me at them, Josef?," I teased as I tried to diffuse the situation. When a vampire was in need of blood, he or she was capable of anything for a few drops of blood. She heard from Mick about certain vampires who preyed on children because of the blood untainted by chemicals and the lifestyle choices in adults.

It is so on, four words, Josef said in the fight against a plastic surgeon vampire and his goonies with Mick. Inwardly, I smiled at his feat to use the words in his speech to keep himself with the twenty-first century. Facially and physically he was twenty-eight at the most but the information he revealed to me, what little he ever did, he was four hundred and so many years old. His age was not showing at the moment as his lips twitched towards my comment.

Josef was openly amused by my words but he had not yet released his hold on me. Instead, he pressed me closer as a man and a woman, man/man, woman/woman, and so forth could be against one another. I stared into his eyes and wondered what he was thinking. What he was trying to find in my own eyes. I sensed rather than felt his other hand stroke my curls away from my neck. Those fingertips of his slid against my throat and we both knew he saw the pulse jump at his touch.

Breath hitched and I was teetered on the edge of what I had no clue I might fall into. One thing I wanted most of all was the ability to pull away and ran as fast as I could back to the driver waiting outside to take me back. However, my legs and brain were not speaking to one another and I wondered if my heart had a hand in it. Damn my heart and how it thought it knew better than my brain.

"What are you doing?," I asked as it came out more huskier than I wanted. A slow smile started at the corners of his mouth and he leaned his face close to mine. His nose was against my own and I smelled the musky scent of his mixed in with the heather cologne he wore. In agony, I waited for his answer.

"Showing you the inside of my mouth," he whispered against my lips and before I could protest he had shut me up; with his lips pressed against my own. There was no explanation nor was one needed as I wrapped my free arm around his back and opened my mouth. With our tongues, we teased and fought for control and at one point our teeth clinked against one another.

Soon, he released my wrist and though I should have pushed him away and slapped him for his come-ons, instead, I wrapped both of my arms now around his back. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I wrapped myself around him as if he were a life saver on the Titanic. Pathetic, but with my eyes closed, I imagined we were a couple, a normal thing we were doing in his private library. As a couple should, I nipped his lower lip, sucked it into my mouth, and my fingers threaded through his hair and slightly tugged. A growl vibrated through his throat and his hands slid over the curves of my body before Josef stopped at my lower back and pressed me even closer to him. I was surprised and elated in the feel of his lower body responding heavily and hungrily for me. Made me blush a bit as well.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and see the reactions on his face. Josef's eyes were glazed over with lust and there was even a hint of need in them. Though it could have been myself imagining it was need and not the hunger for blood. What changed, I wondered to myself. Niggles of doubt started in the back of head and grabbed a hold of my mind. Whatever this was, it could not happen. Would not happen if I wanted to keep my heart in one piece and not at Josef's feet where I guessed every woman he bedded where as well. No way in hell would I become another notch on his damn bed post.

I knew what I had to do and I pulled my lips away in preparation for it. If Josef's lips were not against my own then I could go through with the task at hand. This was the only way to keep any semblance of a friendship, if we had one, ruined over a night of pleasure. One night of pleasure, but one night where once he realized what happened, I would be out on my ass in the street, clutching my underwear to chest. Without a job, without a friend, and without Josef.

He moved in kiss me again but I placed a hand to his chest and shook my head. What I needed outweighed the want of him, naked, and wanton for me. "What about Sarah?," I questioned and knew what I had asked would do for him. To him, I could have slapped him over and over and it might have equaled the effect of the question I laid for him to answer.

With a savage growl, he pushed me away. I swayed on my feet but held down my ground. He needed to know what he was about to do. I wanted him to try and explain the love he had for Sara. Tell me anything which might push me further away at the thought of wanting him. Anything to prove his and my actions over one another was more than a fleshie and vampire relationship should be. Tell me he cared for me or even wanted more than a blood exchange but a relationship. Damn it, my mind and heart were confused over what I needed and wanted.

"Get out," he whispered in a tone I never heard him speak in. Josef's face turned away and I inched a few inches closer to him.

"Josef, what is this between us?," I asked and stopped when he held out a hand to keep me at a distance.

"Get out, now," he said once again, his face turning slowly towards me. His eyes were now a different color, white and silver, the look of a vampire. Whether he was ready to fight or something else, I waited.

"Tell me what I am to you, Josef."

"You want to know what you are?," he asked as he chuckled beneath his breath.

"Yes, tell me, Josef."

With the speed he acquired as a vampire, he pressed me against the wall. This time, he wanted nothing of pleasure as he invaded my personal space. "You are nothing more than a blood donation with a pair of legs, nothing more, nothing less. As of now, you are also a disposable blood donation. You are fired."

Josef could have slapped me around and thrown me against his bookshelves but it could not compare to what I felt at this moment. I could not believe it and he noticed the expression on my face. Once more, he repeated the words, this time, with more force and anger injected into every syllable and I wanted to tell him he was wrong. Wanted him to know he was joking and needed a drink but nothing I could say would change his mind. After I let out the Sara box, the anger and hurt was clearly set in his eyes and for once, I could not blame him for this debacle. I opened my big mouth and now I was left with nothing.

Solemnly, he walked away as if this was a daily occurrence for him. Slowly, it took a few seconds before my knees started to knock against each other, hands with unsteady fingers grabbed my purse where I had dropped it by the chair, and I headed towards the library door. I had to tell myself over and over in my head, I would not retch, cry, or beg for forgiveness. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, about to twist it, Josef spoke up. "If you ever need anything, call me."

Hah. What a riot, I thought to myself. Opening the door, I looked back at him and everything I liked/disliked about him. "You can take your words and shove it where the damn sun does not ever shine, Josef. Goodbye." I closed the door behind me and I thought I heard him say, 'I'm sorry', but it must have been my imagination. My peace was said and I all I wanted was head back home, snuggle up with Phantom, and forget this night ever happen.

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As soon as he heard the private car drive away, only then, did he let out a fury of curses and oaths. He threw his library phone across the room, smashing it in the process, rubbed his hands over his face, and tried to make sense of these last few hours. "What the hell is happening," he muttered towards himself and the empty room. What have I done, he thought to himself.

Images and scents bombarded him as he settled back in his chair. He tried to rub them out through his temple with his fingertips but the visions and smells stayed. Marguerite's image repeated itself in his mind's eye. The vision of her writhing in pleasure against his body haunted him as he tried to explain the reason for his temporary insanity. Surely, he must have been out of his mind to grab and kiss her in that manner. "'Show you in the inside of my mouth', God, that is sad," he whispered as he remembered the words he used before he kissed her.

Sara, his dear Sara. Why did Marguerite bring her up? Was she trying to anger him and piss him off? Well, after what he said to her, he was not expecting her to answer them anytime soon. When she asked him what was happening between them and what she was to him, he was stunned. He did not show it but when asked, he had no clue how to go about answering it. Instead, he had condemned her as any other blood donation he could get with a snap of his fingers and then he fired her. Part of him was glad she was gone and another part wanted to kick himself in the ass for firing her. That and he had not gotten his damn blood!

"Maybe Mick will help me out," he muttered as he vaulted himself out of the chair, the library, and headed to find the peace he desperately needed.

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"Not going to cry, I am not going to cry, I am definitely not going to cry," I muttered to myself over and over on the drive back to my apartment. The driver had not said a word but his eyes told me he was sympathized with me. He had been fired but rehired, but this time, Josef would not do the same for me. Besides, it was better this way. Better for the both of us and much better that I never had to worry about him interfering in my life again. However, I was still friends with Mick and Beth, which meant I would have to come into contact with Josef, but I would keep my cool. I had to if I needed to get on with the debacle which plagued tonight.

Clenching and unclenching my fists helped to stop the need to smash my hands through the windows and anything else I could break. Never had I been this upset and I tried meditation to help relieve it. Closing my eyes, I started a few breathing exercises and the whole, 'Wuzzah', helped but I changed it to, 'Chocolate', and it immediately calmed me down. In fact, I was ready to have a few Godiva’s and was happy to see the street I lived on was only two blocks away.

"Going to have chocolate, cannot wait to have chocolate, want chocolate now," I said in a sing-song voice, somehow forgetting the fact I was fired. Between men and chocolate, chocolate seemed to out win because it never broke my heart unless it melted or I was out, while men walked out when the going got tough. The only men who stayed around were the men in my family, although, all the men in the family were about togetherness and watching one another's back. Helped to have a semi-traditional Mexican-American family like mine, even though, it was not as eventful as the movies made Mexican families out to be.

On that note, I pulled out my cell phone and verified with Iris our lunch and let her know I was not on Josef's payroll anymore. She asked if I was pulling her leg and could not believe Josef would fire me. "Why of course I am lying about the fact he told me I was merely a blood bag with a pair of legs and that I was fired. I am merely trying to shock you, lovely." In response, she gave me a few expletive words and asked if I needed comfort. I declined and we talked a few more minutes before she had to head off to play another gig.

When the driver slowed the car down, I pulled myself out of my thoughts of chocolate long enough to thank him. "Thanks and here," I replied and grabbed a twenty from my purse. He tried to push it away, but I placed it into his hand and closed it. Patting him on the shoulder, I thanked him one last time as I headed down the driveway to my place. The night in Los Angeles was warm, the hint of summer getting closer.

Hearing the car pull away, I smiled, and looked towards the sky. The idea came of taking a vacation out of the city, get away, and relax on a nice beach while Phantom chased sea gulls. Heading up the steps towards Phantom and apartment, my purse started to hum out Gwen Stefani's, 'Hollaback Girl', and knew it was Beth. There was a contemplation of whether to answer the phone or not but found answering the phone was better than having Beth head over the apartment. Word must have gone out fast about my now unemployment if Josef called Mick to let him know first.

"Hey, Beth," I stated as I stopped at the front door, a hand out and ready to place the key in the door knob.

"I heard what happened."

"Only took twenty minutes for news to spread. Go Josef," I muttered, a blip of a splitting headache starting in the back of my eyes. Great, just, what I needed when desperately I wanted peace, chocolate, my bed, and Phantom wallowing with me. When I turned the key in the door knob, I locked the door. Strange, I thought.

"This doesn't change plans for your birthday, does it?," Beth asked.

My birthday was in less than a few days and Beth planned a 'surprise' party for me. The thing with surprise parties were I was a curious female and found out easily with overhearing conversations. I caught Beth on the phone with Mick, making plans to talk to the landlord of the apartment complex and while Beth ushered me to pick out a present, Mick would get the place ready for the party. Later, I revealed to her I knew of the party and I would pretend to be shocked and happy when my family and close friends surprised me at the apartment.

"I don't know, but, Beth, I think there is someone in my house. I can hear Phantom, barking from far away," I whispered into my phone as I listened for noises inside.

"Call the cops but don't go inside."

"You call the cops, I have my pepper spray, but I need to get to Phantom."

No hesitation in risking my life for Phantom. Sounds a bit too much but Phantom was a member of the De La Cruz clan. If anything happened to him, well, much of the time no thoughts headed in that arena.

"Marguerite, stop," Beth said over the line but I hung up on her.
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Immediately, on the other side of the line, Beth looked over towards Mick, who had started to fix himself a glass of blood and a bagel for her. Standing up, she walked into the kitchen and voiced, "Mick, Marguerite is in trouble."
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Once I pulled out my pepper spray, trigger finger held over the button, I opened the door and entered. The room was dark saved and silent saved for Phantom's barks in my bedroom. Looking in several directions, I turned on the light in the living room, after fumbling to find it next to the closed door. Nothing was missing from my apartment as far as I could see while I made my way to Phantom. Another strange thing, I thought to myself when I made it to my bedroom.

"Phantom," I whispered through the closed door and heard the whining and scratches of his against the wooden door. Before I left to see Josef, the door to my bedroom was opened and now it was closed. There were no ghosts that I knew of inhabiting my apartment. I had to get Phantom out of this place as soon as I opened the door.

Keeping my eyes off of the place around me, I reached for the knob. That was when I heard him.

"Hello Marguerite."

Quickly, I turned in the direction of the voice. His face was masked and eyes covered with black shades, but his smile told me everything I wanted to know. He was here for me and was not about to leave until the task was finished. The glint of the knife in his gloved hand backed up his claim before it soared towards me. I pushed the button on the pepper spray in his direction before I screamed.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter and yes, I had to place it on a cliffhanger. Will Marguerite survive or die in the arms of Josef, or even the arms of her murderer? I love the reviews everyone is giving me and even the story alerts. I thrive on reviews and hope to get the next chapter lined up. Enjoy and tell me what you think.