A Bloody Good Cruise

Mona forced a dose of cheer through her jangly nerves. Vampire hunters wouldn’t have the balls to attack Fausto and his friends on this ship. Security was tight. “Well, you’re here, so does that mean you’ve been going out, and aren’t confined to your house any more?”Fausto shrugged. “Almost. I couldn’t wallow in self-pity forever. And I knew seeing you would make it worthwhile.”She smiled and gave him a genuine Italian cheek pinch. “I’ll cheer you up, faccia bella, you can count on that. You must feel safe.” She gestured at the tacky duds. “I mean, relatively speaking.” “Don’t let this scare you.” He glanced around over the rims of his shades. Uh-oh. Whenever he said, “don’t let this scare you,” it scared her. “I got an ominous message at the doctor’s office earlier.”“What—” She swallowed a lump. “What kind of ominous message?”