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She looked like she approved of the reasoning, if not of the answer. “All right.” She looked back at Alexei. “I’d like to speak with him, too.”
“Good luck,” I said, and she made her way toward him.
“Trustworthy?” Connor asked Theo when we were alone again.
“Yeah. We worked together before I transferred to OMB. She’s good people.”
“Okay,” I said, and made myself relax. Odds were high I’d be seeing more of Detective Robinson before this was all done.
***
We found a hot dog stand on the way downtown, ate Chicago dogs standing beside the bikes. I shouldn’t have had an appetite. Not after the threats, the fight, my absolute confidence that something very ugly had started tonight. Something that had begun with Carlie, but was going to have to end with me.
But I’d fought, wielded my sword, and my body needed the recharge. I managed two dogs, and Alexei ate three before he rubbed his belly in satisfaction.
“That’s the sixth one he’s had this week,” Connor said, smiling as he licked mustard from his thumb. “It’s a miracle he can walk.”
“Sport peppers aid the digestion,” Alexei said.
“No,” Connor said. “They don’t.”
Alexei shrugged, wiped his mouth with a napkin, tossed it neatly into a waiting trash can. Unparalleled aim, I thought. Which raised a question.
“Why did you throw the knife?”
Alexei looked at me, brows raised. “Because someone threw one at you.”
As simple as that, I thought, and I looked at Connor, who nodded. There was a reason they were friends. Loyalty was part of it.
Alexei reached into his pocket, pulled out the thin stiletto blade. The handle was bare metal stamped with a sideways figure eight. Leave it to a vampire, I thought, to scribe the symbol of immortality into one of his weapons.
“Nice,” Connor said, looking it over. “You keeping it?”
“Of course. Nearly makes up for the trouble. Vampires don’t know how to fight.”
“Some vampires do,” Connor said, his gaze warm on mine.
“She’s not bad with a blade,” Alexei allowed.
“Damned by faint praise,” I said. “They lured us into striking first.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Connor said. “That was the only bit of strategy that actually impressed me.”
“They’ll milk it for everything they can,” I said. “Claim they were merely trying to enforce AAM rules, and I attacked them without provocation.”
“Sorry,” Alexei said.
“Not your fault. I appreciate your helping tonight.”
“I’m still hungry,” Alexei said.
I pulled out my screen, sent him a message. He glanced at it, raised his brows.
“What?” Connor asked. “What did you send him?” His eyes narrowed. “It better not have been lascivious.”
“It’s money for more dogs,” Alexei said.
“I pay my debts,” I said and tossed my cup into the trash can. “You boys ready to ride?”
