The city sped past me as the sirens blared their warning sounds and the emergency lights let those who were hard of hearing know that we were coming. Petra hadn’t wasted a second after I told her and Victor the hourglass lines on the map had crossed at my apartment. But I was going the other way; I was going to my office.
“I don’t want you anywhere near your apartment until we can have it cleared,” she had told me. I could see why: James Xrobzix was still at large and if he indeed had plans on killing me in my home, he would be there.
Had he lied to me when he told me he had gotten my address from Kendra? He already knew where I lived; he had set up this entire thing in order to kill me. I had been manipulated into thinking I was looking for someone else, but I had been the intended victim all along. He had fooled us all; I could not have found the seventh girl before she was killed, for the seventh girl was me.
Cars parted for us and we reached my office in mere minutes. My heart thudded; he had been here and Kendra was in danger. I couldn’t help thinking that if anything happened to her the vampires would blame me. I would be the one who had slept with and then killed her, as I was to be wed to a demon. The vampire territory would explode in anger; they would wage a battle of revenge for the murderer of the daughter of one of their leaders, which would also result in my death. James Xrobzix was smart and insane enough to have thought of that.
I ran up the stairs to my office and burst in. Kendra jumped up, rubbing her eyes.
“I’m sorry I was sleeping on the job, Tara,” she said, panicking as she saw me enter with Victor and a police officer behind me
It was an endearing statement, one that I would have answered with a sarcastic reply if the situation had not been this dire.
“Kendra, don’t worry about that. Did you tell anybody where I lived today?” I asked her.
She looked at me, confused, but shook her head. “No, I have never told anybody that. Why would I?”
Xrobzix had been lying all along when he said he had found where I was from her and Rikku. My heart froze with fear. If he already knew where I lived, how did he find out where Fraza lived? Had he followed me, or had he gone to my house and tortured Rikku for the information? Suddenly I wanted to ignore Petra’s advice to stay away from my home. I wanted to go there, see for myself that Fraza, Rikku and Didymus were safe.
As I ran to the door, Victor and the officer blocked my path. “We can’t let you go home, Tara,” Victor said. Desperate tears sprang to my eyes as I looked at him. “I am sorry, Tara, but we can’t allow you to be put in danger by letting you go there.” Kendra got up and gave me a concerned look. “What’s this all about? Why won’t they let you go home?” she asked. “The case I have been working on Kendra, the one with the six girls? Well the killer is targeting me as the seventh victim, and Petra doesn’t want me to be close to my place as they’re afraid he might be waiting there to kill me.”
Kendra put her arms out as though to hug me, but I shook my head and held her away.
“Poor Tara, why would anyone want to kill you?” she asked. “We’re hoping to find that out, now that we see you’re not dead or anything,” said Victor.
Kendra smiled as tears ran down her face. “You were concerned for me?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yes, Kendra, I was worried he might have killed you. But Victor is right; I want you to go over the past case files and see if there is any record in them that might be linked to James Xrobzix.”
She looked at me, puzzled. “James Xrobzix? You think he is the one who wants to kill you?” she asked.
Victor nodded. “Yes, there are some strong hints toward that.” “Why would he want you dead? He’s the one who made you a hero after you solved that case where your friend Dragon was killed,” she said.  

Next Chapter: A chance of plan