Because he's a vampire, Jonathon Splinter needs to feed, hungry for blood. He seeks out young men along Lake Erie in the small town of Bitter. As Halloween approaches, Jonathon devises a plan for his next hunt with the help of his mortal lover and personal assistant, Toby Kinks.<br><br>Life grows bitter for Jonathon, though. Someone discovered his true identity and witnessed one of his bloody hunts where he not only fed but also murdered the man. Now Jonathon is being blackmailed.<br><br>With Toby’s help, Jonathon seeks out the blackmailer, and the two devise a plan in which Jonathon will hunt and feed on the man. But on the evening of the planned murder, Jonathon Splinter's bloody life will change forever.

Blood on My Hands

He told me, “My band Hitt is playing at Jester, a local gay bar. Do you know it?”


I nodded in the dark blue and melancholy night. “I’ve visited there a few times. The drinks are strong, and the music is good.”


The scene felt eerie and looked demure. Coleman Park nestled to the south. The evening’s crescent moon offered very little light because of the overhead bridge. The river, more black than night itself, demurely weaved through the darkness. The August night felt sticky, sweetened by nearby blackberry brambles. We stood facing each other on a nameless and narrow dirt trail that bikers, runners, and walkers used. A trail where gay, young, inexperienced men turned into experienced men, led astray by older and wiser sexual predators, after dark.


Chapter 12