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I saw the hitch in his gaze, but he recovered, and the smile he gave me was thin. “Maybe I’m just showing them the way.”
“Maybe you are,” I said. “But they know what Connor can do. And he doesn’t have to bribe them.” I kept walking, but the commentary kept coming.
“Vampires think they live in castles,” said the female interloper as I passed her.
I stopped, just as she’d intended, but kept my gaze neutral. “Your name is Brandy, right?”
Temper flared in her eyes. “It’s Breonna.”
“Right. Breonna. Vampires live in houses together, just like the Pack. And the NAC owns a huge corporation and pays shares to its members. What’s your point?”
She muttered something uncomplimentary.
I cocked my head at her. “Isn’t that a name for a female dog?”
Her magic flared, fingers around the bike’s handlebars going white.
And with that preface to violence, monster’s interest flared.
“I’ve had a shit night,” I said quietly, “in a pretty shitty week. A little hand to hand might make us both feel better.” Both, of course, meaning me and monster. On this, we were aligned.
A whistle split the air. I looked up, found Connor on a bike at the front of the group. He wore jeans and a snug T-shirt, his strong thighs still straddling Thelma. She was low and dark andmatte, and finally back in fighting trim after a crazed vampire had nearly run him over while he returned to Pack HQ one night.
“I guess we’re out of time,” I told Breonna, and didn’t wait for a reply. But I felt the hot itch of her magic—and her angry stare—as I walked past the rest of the bikes and shifters to where Connor waited.
His smile was slow and confident. “Hey, brat.”
“Hey, puppy,” I said, then took his face in my free hand and kissed him hard.
When the kiss was done, he whistled again, held up a fist. Apparently taking the cue, the other bikes roared to life and took off single file down the road. That left only three bikes: Connor’s, Alexei’s, and the bike I thought belonged to Connor’s father.
“Your parents?” I asked.
“Inside. They got a late invite. I hope you don’t mind.”
“The more the merrier.” And the more minds focused on our demon problem, the better off we’d all be.
“Wine?” Connor asked.
“Yeah. And not just strawberry wine-drink.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“You’re better off for it.”
Alexei already stood with Lulu at the curb. She waved at me, the handles of a brown paper bag in her other hand. The appetizer, I assumed.
“Are they on an actual date?” I whispered as Connor climbed off Thelma and took my hand. We fell into step behind them.
“Emotional support,” he said. “He’s trying to walk a very narrow line.”
“That she’s drawn.”
“Yep. Her prerogative to set boundaries. My enjoyment to watch him dance around on them.”
“Like a mating dance?”
“I mean, if the shoe fits.”
