AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We have to get up,” I told him.
“No we don’t. ”
“Maxime,” I said, not quite shouting since it wasn’t necessary to raise my voice. “Tell Holden we have to get out of bed. ”
The young man poked his head in the door, then seeing our twined limbs and rumpled sheets, he politely averted his gaze. “Holden, Tribunal Leader Secret would—”
“Just Secret,” I reminded him.
“Secret would like me to inform you she must get out of bed. ”
“Max, when did you lose your sense of humor?” Holden asked.
“On the contrary, I find this exceptionally humorous. However I am bound to do as the lady asks. ”
“Be careful with that one. When she asks you to jump, it’s usually off a bridge. ”
I elbowed him in the ribs.
Maxime had been busy while Holden and I were in bed. He’d spoken to the hotel concierge about Sutherland, and learned my father had asked about rental spaces in the city. Maxime didn’t know if he’d meant rental property, or storage space, but a bellhop brought us the same list of phone numbers they’d given my father.
Eight pages double-sided of potential properties. Not exactly the most fruitful start to our hunt. Since Holden couldn’t use the thrall over the phone, we couldn’t ask for a list of the numbers Sutherland had called, but we’d be able to get it later when we left for the evening. It might help us narrow down which of the spaces he’d contacted.
Unless he’d used a cellphone, in which case the trail would have gone dry before we’d even started following it.
After a quick shower I rifled through the weekend bag Holden had packed for me. Plenty of outfits that would have been appropriate for a meeting with the council, but not for going out investigating.
“Did you pack me any jeans?” I shouted.
“I’m sorry, are we going to a farm? No, I didn’t pack you any jeans. ” I could hear his scorn even though I was in the bathroom and a closed door blocked the space between us.
“Did you pack me anything jean-like?”
The bathroom door jerked open, and instead of replying he sneered at me. “What is wrong with you?”
“So many things. Mainly, I chose to fall in love with a snobby, fashion-police vampire who refuses to pack me comfortable clothing. ” I smacked him in the chest with a leather bustier—one I’d bought to impress Desmond—and prodded him with one finger. “What kind of investigating am I going to do in that?”
“I can think of a few things you could investigate in it. But need I remind you, you were perfectly capable of wielding a sword while wearing it, so don’t try telling me you can’t make do with the things I put in there for you. ”
“I’m going to look like a dominatrix. ” I scowled into the bag. “Everything in here is black. And leather. Do I own this much leather?”
“Since you started working with the Tribunal? Yes, you own that much leather. ”
I lifted a skimpy lace thong from the bottom of the bag and held it up with my forefinger. “And this? You packed this because of how authoritative it would make me look?”
“No, I packed it because you have a sexy ass, and I thought that would be a nice way to display it. ”
“Ugh. ” Digging farther in, I found something that felt like cotton instead of leather or lace and jerked it out.
Desmond’s New York Yankees T-shirt. The one I’d commandeered months earlier that was so well-worn it should have been see through in places. I raised my gaze from the shirt and looked at Holden with both my eyebrows up as high as they dared go.
“Don’t give me your shocked look,” he said. “You like the shirt, so I packed the shirt. Don’t read so much into it. ”
I hugged the shirt to my chest, knowing he was perfectly aware of who it belonged to and why it meant so much to me. “Thank you,” I whispered, sniffing the blue-and-white tee. These days it smelled mostly like me, but Desmond’s scent still lingered.
I suspected now he might sometimes put it on to refresh his mark on it, knowing I liked to wear it. It was the only way to explain how the smell never completely faded.
“But you are not wearing that. ”
