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He got a lot done yesterday without me even noticing. I open the pantry and step inside, my eyes roaming over the shelves of pasta, sauces, canned vegetables, and is that…? Wow. Michel got all my favorite junk food from when I was a teen! Oatmeal pies, microwave popcorn, and jars filled with red licorice, candy bars, and my favorite hard caramels. Nostalgia spreads through me. No one knows me as well as Michel does. It feels good that he remembered.
Based on his physique, he doesn’t seem to indulge much, but he did have some ice cream last night so I might be able to debauch him after all. I return to the living room, setting my coffee on the table before heading back to my room to get the kitties.
Instead of leaving them in the basket, I take them out, watching with delight as they sniff and play while Mama jumps up on the couch and lies next to me, keeping a watchful eye on her young.
Several of them return to me a few minutes later, scaling the couch and plopping down on me. I laugh, setting my coffee aside to lie back and let them climb all over me.
“You guys are so cute.” I tummy rub one of them. “You’re lucky it was Michel who found you. Now you’re gonna have the best home ever.” I chuckle as one of them fights my index finger. “I guess we all got lucky.”
I notice the litter box in the corner by a window, several bowls of food and water, a cat condo, and a few toys, which again, makes me wonder how Michel got all of this before I even woke up this morning.
Once the kittens are tuckered out and curling up around Mama, I get up and grab a book from one of his shelves, smiling when I see it’s a science fiction book about an alien race blending in with humans, until one of them falls in love with a human girl and has to decide between staying loyal to his kind or telling her about their plans to obliterate Earth. Michel always loved sci-fi. Since I haven’t had time to just sit and read a book for too many years to count, this sounds like a perfect way to spend time until Michel comes back.
ChapterEight
MICHEL
I enter my office building to find two men sitting in the lobby and Crystal nervously typing on her computer. She looks up at me and relaxes.
“Mr. Toussaint,” she says. “You’re here.”
“I am.”
The two men, dressed in casual clothes, look in my direction and stand up. I know immediately that they are vampires, which makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle.
“Hello, gentlemen. Welcome to Neubrook. How can I help you?”
The taller man of the two steps forward, extending his hand. So I take it. With luxurious wavy hair, a neat beard, broad shoulders, and a charming smile, I have a feeling he always gets what he wants.
“Michel Toussaint?” he asks, with just the slightest hint of an accent.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Hi, I’m Yves Orpheus, and this is my colleague Syn. Could we speak somewhere privately?”
Yes, of course. Come into my office.”
Crystal stares at both men like she’s never seen attractive people before, but I get it. Both of them have a presence. After the two men enter my office, I shut the door and move nervously behind my desk.
“Please have a seat, gentlemen.”
“Thank you,” Yves says. “We’ll get right to the point of our visit. We’re here because as we understand it, you’re in charge of Neubrook.”
“Yes, to some extent. My official capacity is city planner, but Iunofficiallytake care of things around the community. Is there a problem I should know about?”
“Yeah, there’s a problem,” Syn says. His voice is softer than the man looks with his long black hair, stubbled cheeks, and black leather boots.
“We own a company called Veil Protection Services,” Yves says.
“Our company is hired to take out threats,” Syn explains. “We’ve been able to track one of our targets hiding out in your lovely city.”
“Oh.”
“And once we found out that a vampire lived here,” Yves continues, “we wanted to make sure that we touch base with you and didn’t accidentally ruffle any feathers.”
“Ah.” I sit back, feeling strangely honored. “Well, that’s very professional of you.”
Yves lifts an eyebrow. “Professional? It’s required. Don’t you know anything about the council?”
