laptop. I didn’t have any intention of quitting Carla’s shop, but information was as valuable as cash and could potentially save my life. Now that I’d actually visited the homes and hives, seen the condition of the roads, I could devise better routes.
I searched Goya Worldwide and my eyes glazed over a couple screens into the Web site. The American pharmaceutical company was all about couples in color-coordinated clothing, and smiling models in lab coats, pretending to be scientists. They were privately held, based in Phoenix and had a lot of digits in their financials. They were also cheerfully zealous in that way that makes even people with good skin paranoid about dermatological problems. I didn’t see anything vampire related. It wouldn’t be the first time a drug was used for something other than its intended purpose. Probably Carla was right and it was a passing trend that some vampires celebrated, while others loathed it. Like how the majority of people passionately hate the combination of socks and sandals, and the minority just kept freaking wearing them.
I pushed away from the computer, grabbed a box of cereal and ate by the handful while staring out through a gap in the gauzy curtains. I should have been out there, learning the streets, the dead ends, the speed bumps, the places where the cops hung out and the areas they didn’t bother with. Instead my thoughts circled Malcolm and that female. Did they sit together or on opposite sides of the limo? Was she only with him for that job, or did she stay at his side all night? He was cleaning up after Bronson’s negligence, and dealing with the fallout of public killings. The last thing he needed was a human girlfriend nagging him about his coworkers.
And the last thing I needed was to alienate the vampire who’d saved my life and was a major power in the city in which I was working. I let my forehead fall against the glass. It wasn’t like I was dating Master Bronson, some fearsome creature. He was just Mal, and while he was in that position, it wasn’t due to his ambition to rule or build an empire. He was stuck. And if I wanted to stay alive, hidden from Richard Abel, I should stay stuck with him. That thought did nothing for my mood.
Chapter Five
I felt him approaching, causing the air to shiver as he moved through the tunnel between the houses. I tossed my iPod onto the table and trotted downstairs, stopping in the bedroom to make some sense of my hair. All I had to do was ask a single question about who she was, and I could move on.
The door at the end of the hall clicked closed. He appeared in the doorway and tossed his feathered mafia coat onto the chair in the corner.
“Buenos tardes.”
“What did they do to you?” he demanded. A flush rose fast and bright along his cheekbones. That was new. “Did they touch you?”
I wanted to glance over my shoulder to see if there was someone behind me who’d had something done to her, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When he got upset, he went still and monotone. He didn’t flash chaotic energy, and he didn’t ask irrational questions. Maybe wearing really stupid clothes had been too much and he’d snapped.
“Did who touch me?”
He grabbed my shoulder and I flinched when his fingers bit in. With the other hand, he tilted my head back and to the side. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing. I twisted my arm loose and stepped back.
“What in the hell? Don’t even look at me like you think I’ve been bitten. We’ve fucking been through that!” I shoved at him when he reached for me again. I couldn’t fight him off unless he chose to stop, which sent anger coursing through me.
“This is different.”
“Because last time you were ordered, but now you choose to stand there and tell me I’m some fucking blood zombie? Not winning any points, Mal.” I really wanted to hit him. Instead I pressed my hands flat against my chest. “I am not some idiot object that your
I searched Goya Worldwide and my eyes glazed over a couple screens into the Web site. The American pharmaceutical company was all about couples in color-coordinated clothing, and smiling models in lab coats, pretending to be scientists. They were privately held, based in Phoenix and had a lot of digits in their financials. They were also cheerfully zealous in that way that makes even people with good skin paranoid about dermatological problems. I didn’t see anything vampire related. It wouldn’t be the first time a drug was used for something other than its intended purpose. Probably Carla was right and it was a passing trend that some vampires celebrated, while others loathed it. Like how the majority of people passionately hate the combination of socks and sandals, and the minority just kept freaking wearing them.
I pushed away from the computer, grabbed a box of cereal and ate by the handful while staring out through a gap in the gauzy curtains. I should have been out there, learning the streets, the dead ends, the speed bumps, the places where the cops hung out and the areas they didn’t bother with. Instead my thoughts circled Malcolm and that female. Did they sit together or on opposite sides of the limo? Was she only with him for that job, or did she stay at his side all night? He was cleaning up after Bronson’s negligence, and dealing with the fallout of public killings. The last thing he needed was a human girlfriend nagging him about his coworkers.
And the last thing I needed was to alienate the vampire who’d saved my life and was a major power in the city in which I was working. I let my forehead fall against the glass. It wasn’t like I was dating Master Bronson, some fearsome creature. He was just Mal, and while he was in that position, it wasn’t due to his ambition to rule or build an empire. He was stuck. And if I wanted to stay alive, hidden from Richard Abel, I should stay stuck with him. That thought did nothing for my mood.
Chapter Five
I felt him approaching, causing the air to shiver as he moved through the tunnel between the houses. I tossed my iPod onto the table and trotted downstairs, stopping in the bedroom to make some sense of my hair. All I had to do was ask a single question about who she was, and I could move on.
The door at the end of the hall clicked closed. He appeared in the doorway and tossed his feathered mafia coat onto the chair in the corner.
“Buenos tardes.”
“What did they do to you?” he demanded. A flush rose fast and bright along his cheekbones. That was new. “Did they touch you?”
I wanted to glance over my shoulder to see if there was someone behind me who’d had something done to her, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. When he got upset, he went still and monotone. He didn’t flash chaotic energy, and he didn’t ask irrational questions. Maybe wearing really stupid clothes had been too much and he’d snapped.
“Did who touch me?”
He grabbed my shoulder and I flinched when his fingers bit in. With the other hand, he tilted my head back and to the side. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing. I twisted my arm loose and stepped back.
“What in the hell? Don’t even look at me like you think I’ve been bitten. We’ve fucking been through that!” I shoved at him when he reached for me again. I couldn’t fight him off unless he chose to stop, which sent anger coursing through me.
“This is different.”
“Because last time you were ordered, but now you choose to stand there and tell me I’m some fucking blood zombie? Not winning any points, Mal.” I really wanted to hit him. Instead I pressed my hands flat against my chest. “I am not some idiot object that your
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