I nodded and we went in opposite directions. Kellin to his car I guess and me to Nikki. When I got back to the car, I gave Nikki the details.
"So Kellin's in cahoots with Oli?" Nikki sighed. "Thorne, I feel like you're getting us deeper into something dark."
"Like what we're doing now isn't dark", I scoffed. "Snatching bodies. It's so fucking medieval."
"It's so fucking timeless", Nikki corrected, smirking. "There will always be a need." He dropped me off a block away from the cemetery and parked into another hidden alley. I snuck in through a hole in the back, bringing my tools with me. Silently I roamed the graves before finding a box labeled "Reid". Sure enough, Carl's name was on there. I hooked my crowbar to the seal and tugged.
"Thorne, you're just everywhere", said a deep voice. I turned around and saw Andy leaning against a tomb, grinning.
"Andy", I sighed.
"You know, you and Oliver left pretty fast the other night. Why don't we-"
"I just need to dig up this body", I said.
He nodded and lit a cigarette. "I know that", Andy shrugged, puffing out poisonous clouds. "I was just thinking that we should get together and do something one day. Without Oliver." When I didn't answer and kept playing with the tomb, Andy stepped over and placed his hand on it. "What did Oliver tell you about me?" he cooed. "That I'm a monster? That I'll suck you dry and eat you?" He laughed, like that was funny. Maybe to a vampire it was funny but not to me. "Thorne, I'm not going to do that. In fact, if anything, you should be more concerned about Oliver feeding on you."
"Oliver hasn't done anything to me", I said quietly.
"Yet", Andy purred. "Thorne, I just want to hang out and get to know you. Is that so bad?"
I sighed. "I guess not", I mumbled.
Andy grinned and removed his hand. "Good, then I want to see you at the coffee shop where the French Quarter meets the Dutch Quarter tomorrow at noon."
"What do I tell Oliver?" I questioned.
"Tell him you have something better to do than risk your neck", Andy shrugged.
"Like that's going to fly", I muttered.
Andy ripped the seal off the tomb, revealing the body of Carl Reid. "He can be mad at you all he wants but this isn't your fight to take sides in", he said quietly. I cautiously reached around Andy and pulled the cadaver out of the concrete box before it was sealed shut again.
"Thank you", I whispered.
He grinned. "No problem", Andy replied. "Remember, noon!"
"Noon, gotcha", I nodded. Andy turned on his heel and walked off, his hips sashaying as he strutted out of the cemetery. I pulled my corpse back to Nikki and shoved it into the backseat.
"How'd it go?" Nikki asked. "This one's not smelly-"
"Just drive", I sighed. I wanted the night to be done. Kellin would pay me, we'd go back to Oliver's, and I'd try to figure out how to get away with tomorrow.
