“I don’t recall being attacked. What did you do, drug me?”

Gabriel shook his head. “We didn’t drug you. But if you don’t remember any of it, it means the man who attacked you could have wiped your memory.”

“Wiped my memory? Please, don’t try to feed me this ludicrous crap. I’m not stupid.” She lifted her chin in a show of bravery she didn’t possess. But she wanted answers, no matter whether she liked what she heard or not. “Just tell me what you want and let’s get this over with.” If she hated one thing, it was uncertainty. Once she knew what was going on here, at least she could formulate a plan. She was good at making plans.

Yvette stepped forward and planted herself next to Gabriel. “You were attacked by a vampire.”

For a second, Maya’s heart stopped. Then she let out a breath. This was one big joke. It had to be. Nobody in their right mind, not even some criminal, could come up with such an implausible explanation and expect to be believed. She looked around the room. “Okay, where’s the camera? This’ll be on YouTube, right? Who put you up to this? Was it Paulette?” Her colleague could be a total prankster. She’d have to get back at her for this practical joke.

Unfortunately, nobody was laughing. Instead, Gabriel took a step toward her. “The vampire who attacked you—he started the turning process to make you one of us. We are all vampires, but we’re here to help you.”

None of his words made any sense. The whole lot of them must have escaped from the psych ward. She wished she’d listened more to her psychiatry instructor on how to deal with lunatics. Unfortunately, her medical interests had driven her more toward how the body worked, rather than the mind.

“Vampires don’t exist, you creeps. You’ve been watching too many bad movies.”

“I can prove it to you,” Gabriel claimed.

“Oh, yeah? What, you’re gonna put on some fake fangs?”

He shook his head and took another step closer, too close for her liking.

Maya hurled the candlestick at him and was astonished by her own forceful move. In a move that was faster than her eye could follow, Gabriel caught it and placed it onto the chair next to him. Startled, Maya looked at him. Okay, so he was fast. That didn’t have to mean anything. It only meant she didn’t have a chance at defeating him.

“Please don’t do that,” he asked in a calm voice. “I’m not the enemy.”

Maya gave a mirthless laugh.

“Maybe you should give her a demonstration,” Thomas suggested.

“No. I don’t want to frighten her anymore than she already is,” Gabriel replied.

“No, no, please, do give me a demonstration,” Maya mocked. “I’ve got to see what you vampires do.”

When none of the three so-called vampires moved or did anything to prove that they were really vampires, she knew she’d called their bluff.

Now she was convinced this was all a big setup. Her colleagues from the hospital had probably all chipped in and hired a few actors to play a prank on her. Hadn’t they said only weeks ago that she was working too hard and needed to relax?

“Thought so. Now, tell me how I get out of here. Or do you expect to be tipped?”

“Tipped?” Gabriel gave her a dubious look.

“For your performance. Frankly, at first I thought you guys were Mafia. You should have stuck with that angle. Bodyguards, taking care of things—those were good lines. It would have been more believable. But vampires. Really? Honestly, nothing against your acting skills, but that’s a tough role to pull off.”

All three looked at her like she was some lunatic on leave from the asylum. She felt almost guilty for having spoiled their fun.

“Truly, you were good. But the vampire thing is just too much of a stretch. Sorry. Hey, what time is it? I hope you guys didn’t make me late for my next shift.”

Maya looked around trying to find her shoes.

“It’s denial,” she heard Yvette say.

“Clearly,” Thomas agreed.

“I don’t know how to explain this to you without frightening you, but I swear, I’m trying,” Gabriel said.

Maya’s breath hitched when she caught a movement next to him.

Yvette had grabbed the candlestick from the chair. “Catch!” Faster than her eye could process, Yvette flung it at her.

“No!” Gabriel yelled, but a moment later, Maya found herself seizing the candlestick effortlessly. She stared at the item in her hand and couldn’t explain how she’d caught it when she’d barely seen it coming toward her.