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Excluding the hotties in the room, of course. And cheer up, guysit includes most of the female population, too. Anyway. Better hoursIm working days, so not a lot of vamp worriesand bigger paychecks. Plus, I get to check out campus life. I hear they party hard.
From the other side of the counter, all youre going to see is people dissing you and complaining about their drinks, Shane said without looking up. You watch yourself, Eve. Some of those ass**les on campus think that if youre wearing a name badge, youre their own personal toy.
Yeah, I know. I heard about Karla.
Karla? Claire asked.
She works at the university, Eve said. Karla Gast. We went to school with her. Michael and Shane both looked up and nodded. She was kind of a party girl in high school, you know? Real pretty, too. She went to work on campusI dont know what she was doingbut anyway, shes missing.
It was in the paper, Michael said. Abducted last night walking to her car.
Claire frowned. Why would it be in the paper? I mean, they dont usually put stuff like that in the papers, right? Because in Morganville, murder was sort of legitimate, wasnt it?
They do if it wasnt vampires, Eve said, and nibbled on a carrot stick as she rolled the dice. Oooooh, pay me my two hundred, Mr. Banker. If shed been dragged off by vamps, even rogue vamps, it would have just been swept under the carpet like usual. Payoffs to the family, end of the story. But this is different.
Is that, you know, unusual? Crime? Crime that isnt vampire related, I mean?
Kinda. Eve shrugged. But people tend to get nasty around Morganville. Nasty, or drunk, or timid. One of those.
Which are you? Shane asked. Eve bared her teeth at him and growled. Ouch. Right. Gotcha.
SoEve, I heard your brothers out of jail, Michael said. Claire was rolling dice for her move, and by the time the plastic hit the board it sounded as loud as plates shattered on a tile floor. Nobody was making a sound. Nobody was breathing, so far as she could tell. From the expression on his face, Michael was clearly rethinking having brought up the subject, and Eve lookedhard and fierce and (deep down) scared.
Shane was just watching, no expression at all.
Awkward.
Um Claire cautiously slid her Scottie dog the six squares that shed rolled. You havent said much about your brother. She was curious what Eve would say. Because clearly Eve was not happy Michael had brought it up.
I dont talk about him, Eve said flatly. Not anymore. His name is Jason, and hes a dick, and lets drop the subject, okay?
Okay. Claire cleared her throat. Shane?
What? He looked down at the board where she was pointing. Oh. Right. Three hundred.
She mutely handed over her last bills as Shane took the dice in hand.
Eve, you know what he went to jail for. You dont think, Michael began, very slowly.
Shut up, Michael, Eve said tensely. Just shut up, okay? Is it possible he did it? Sure. I wouldnt put it past him, but he just got out yesterday morning. Thats pretty fast work, even for Jason. But she looked shaken, under the fierce expression, and even paler than normal. You know what? I have to get up early. Night.
Eve
She jumped up and headed for the stairs. Michael followed, two steps behind as she climbed toward her room, black tattered-silk skirt fluttering. Claire watched them go, eyebrows raised, and Shane continued to shake the dice.
Guess the games over, he said, and rolled anyway. Heh. Boardwalk. I think that completes Shanes real estate empire, thank you for playing, good night.
What was Michael talking about? Claire asked. Does he think Eves brother might have taken that girl?
No, he thinks Eves brother might have killed that girl, Shane said. And the cops probably think so, too. If he did, theyll get him, and this time, he wont be getting out of jail. In fact, he probably wont even make it to jail. One of Karlas brothers is a cop.
Oh, Claire said in a small voice. She could hear the murmur of conversation upstairs. WellI guess I should get to bed, too. I have early classes tomorrow.
Shane met her eyes. Might want to give them some privacy for a while.
Oh. Right. She jiggled her foot under the table and started gathering up the cash and cards from the table. Her hands brushed Shanes, and he let go of the cards and took hold.
And then, somehow, she was in his lap, and he was kissing her. Hadnt meant to do that, butwell. She couldnt exactly be sorry about it, because he tasted amazing, and his lips were so soft and his hands were so strong
He leaned back, eyes half-shut, and he was smiling. Shane didnt smile all that much, and it always left her breathless and tingling. There was a secrecy about it, like he only ever smiled with her, and it just feltperfect. Claire, youre being careful, right? He smoothed hair back from her face. Seriously. Youd tell me if you got into trouble.
No trouble, she lied, thinking about Monicas not-so-veiled threats, and that glimpse of Shanes dad seated across from Oliver in the coffee shop. No trouble at all.
Good. He kissed her again, then moved down her jawline to her neck, and, wow, neck nibbles that took her breath away again. She closed her eyes and buried her fingers in his warm hair, trying to tell him through every touch how much she liked this, liked him, loved
Her eyes came open, fast.
She did not just think that.
Shanes warm hands moved up her sides, thumbs grazing the sides of her br**sts again, and he traced his fingers across the thin skin of her collarbonedown to where the neck of her T-shirt stopped him. Teasing. Pulling it down an inch, then two.
And then, maddeningly, he let go and leaned back, lips damp. He licked them, watching her, and gave her that slow, crazy sexy smile again.
Go to bed, he said. Before I decide to come with.
She wasnt sure she could stand up, but somehow, she got her legs to steady under her, and made it up the stairs. Michael was in Eves room, the door was open, and they were sitting together on her bed. Michael was so bright, with his golden hair and china blue eyes, and he didnt match the room all draped in dramatic black and red. He looked like an angel whod taken a massive wrong turn.
He was holding Eve in his arms and rocking her, very gently, back and forth. As Claire looked in, he met her eyes and mouthed, Close the door.
She did, and went to her own bed.
Sadly, alone.
It occurred to Claire that shed be smart to know what Jason Rosser looked like, in order to avoid him, but she had the strong feeling that it wouldnt be a very good idea to ask Eve for a peek at the family album. Eve was pretty touchy just now about anything to do with her brotherwhich, if Shanes pessimistic assessment was right, probably wasnt the wrong attitude.
So Claire went researching. Not the university library,whichwhile not too baddidnt really have a lot of info about Morganville itself. Shed checked. There was some history, all carefully blanded down, and some newspaper archives.
