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“Nothing wrong with it, if she knows that’s al you want out of her.” I grinned again.
“The thirtieth, I don’t have a strong alibi. But December first? I stayed in. Hung out at my apartment, read, went shopping at Bartel Drugs for odds and ends. I think I stil have the receipt with the time stamp on it. I did laundry down in the laundry room at my apartment building. There was one other woman in there and we talked and she mentioned that she had to get to work by six thirty and she only had forty-five minutes to get there, so it had to be between five and six. I suppose if you went door to door, we could find her. And I had a long conversation with my cousin.
He cal ed me at six A.M.—nine his time—and we talked for an hour until sunrise.”
Chase leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face. “Wow, Stevens, you real y lead an exciting life for a vampire.”
Wade eyed him, a slight tinge of red soaking into the gray of his eyes. “Dude, you are lucky I’m not into testosterone games. I could take you down like a pit bul . I may look like a professional geek, but I could rip apart this room in no time.” He shifted, the leather of his pants making a subtle noise, and flashed his fangs. I felt a faint quickening through my body. Wade was becoming a badass, and though he was stil learning how to wear it, it made him kind of sexy.
Rein it in, girl, I thought. Between Roman, Nerissa, and a tryst here and there with Rozurial, I had enough on my plate. I’d taken Vanzir off the roster—at least until the whole mess with Camil e played itself out. And I so did not want to be there when Smoky discovered that Vanzir had thrown Camil e against a wal and done her. I ful y expected bloodshed and wouldn’t be surprised if Vanzir bit the big one, and I—for one—was staying out of the way. Big, bad, angry dragon was nothing to mess with.
“How does that hold up for an alibi?” Wade fiddled with the zippers on the sleeves of his jacket.
Chase shrugged and stuck his notebook back in his pocket. “Good with me. To be honest, I real y didn’t think you were our guy, but as I said earlier, I have to check out every lead. And this guy sounded pretty convincing. Said the hookers were bloodwhores and that you were overheard saying that the only good bloodwhore is a dead one. I didn’t believe it, but I have to check out every lead. But why would someone want to frame you?”
I glanced at Chase, then at Wade. “Ten to one it was Terrance. He doesn’t know yet that you’re stepping down from the race. And so this is just one more way of trying to discredit you within the Supe Community.”
“Yeah, wel he can suck me dry. Remember”—Wade held my gaze—“you promised that if I withdraw, Terrance wil fal .”
“I know—and I promise.”
“Al right then, if we’re done here, I’ve got shit to do.” He slipped out the door, as silently as a whisper. Chase and I watched him go.
“Do I want to know what’s going down with Terrance and the Fangtabula?” Chase gazed at me.
“No, not real y. I’m going to check on Morio. Meet me over there?”
“Sure. I’l just file this tipster under L for loser.” He hesitated, then added, “Can I tel you something without you tel ing Delilah?”
“What is it with al of the secrets people have been shoving my way lately? You can tel me, but I don’t promise to keep my mouth shut. Not unless I think whatever it is won’t hurt her.” I was getting tired of being everybody’s confidante. Not my nature.
“She’l find out eventual y. I . . . I asked Sharah out on a date. I’m not ready to see anybody on a regular basis. I don’t know if I ever wil be, but I’m lonely and she was mentioning a movie she wanted to see, and I want to see it and it’s not like I’m going to sleep with her or anything—”
Flustered, he slid into a chair and shook his head. “Maybe it’s a bad idea.”
“Whoa, whoa! Slow down, dude. Johnson, listen to me.” I reached out and held him by the shoulders. “It’s okay. Real y. Delilah and Shade—it’s like they were meant to be together. I know she won’t begrudge you this. You don’t have to explain to me, or to anybody. Okay?”
He bit his lip, looking both terrified and relieved. “Okay.” Taking a deep breath, he let it whistle out slowly. “I think I’m just scared. I know I’m not ready for dating, but . . . I don’t like sitting home alone, and it just seemed natural to ask her. I didn’t think she’d real y accept.”
“Chase . . .” I jumped up to sit on the table, swinging my legs as I sat there. “So much is happening to you right now. You’re smart to recognize that you need time to process it. But that doesn’t mean you should be alone. It doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to someone for comfort.
Just don’t mistake it for love. Don’t rush it. Don’t push it. Don’t let yourself be rushed or pushed, either. Let it be whatever it’s meant to be—and maybe it’s only going to be a movie and a hot dog with a friend. You know?”
Flashing me a soft smile, Chase let out a soft snicker. “How’d you get to be so smart? You sure you’re not Dear Abby in disguise?”
“Heaven forbid. Hel , I can’t even manage my own life.” I paused, then laughed. “Look at us.
We’re sitting here talking, like old chums. I kind of miss the days when I scared the shit out of you and used to breathe down your neck just to see you jump.”
He broke into a loud laugh with me. “Oh, Fanged One, you stil scare the shit out of me and I stil jump when you surprise me.” He paused, then said, “I kind of miss those days, too. I thought for sure you were going to put the fang on me, and more than once, I wondered . . .” Breaking off, Chase let his voice drift into silence.
I didn’t want to fol ow the thread of his thought, but it was better to get it out in the open. I was really tired of secrets. “More than once, you wondered what it would feel like? To let me bite you?
Drink from you?”
Silently, he nodded, blushing.
“Listen, Chase . . . it can be sensuous beyond al imagination . . . but it’s a dark al ey for a human to walk. An FBH—even one with an extended life span and burgeoning powers—isn’t cut out to be a bloodwhore for long. And the addiction to letting a vampire feed on you is a one-way street. Yes, it’s sexy as hel , if your owner wants it to be, but it’s not a good idea. That’s why I’ve never fed on Nerissa, and I never wil . She’s my girlfriend, not my lunch.”
