by D. D. Syrdal
Neko headed out to the coast after Daisy threw him out of the house. In a way he was glad she had been there to keep him from doing what he so badly wanted to do. On the other hand, he resented Andrej sending someone to keep an eye on him, although he couldn’t deny that Andrej had been right to do so. What was it about this girl that made him lose control? His communer lit up with an incoming call from Andrej.
“What’s going on?” Andrej asked as soon as he opened the link.
He didn’t answer right away, which told Andrej everything.
“Neko, you promised me you wouldn’t touch her.” There was a steely edge to his voice that Neko hadn’t heard in a long time.
“And I haven’t. I haven’t done anything. Well, I thought about it. Damn, man, how do you keep from drinking her blood when she’s right there all the time? You know she’d let you.”
“Don’t change the subject. I told her when I first met her she’d be off-limits. And now I’m trusting you to keep your promise to me, my friend.”
“I will, I will. She’ll be fine. I, uh, I sort of let her get into the ‘special’ wine they keep around here. Got a little something in it for troublesome guests.”
“That was clumsy of you. Why would you bother with something like that anyway?”
Neko’s hand curled into a fist in frustration. “You know, you’re asking me to pretend to be something I’m not. I’m not the good guy. I’m not a babysitter.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. But you agreed to this, to these conditions.” Andrej’s voice had a controlled edge to it, barely masking his annoyance. Even Neko thought twice when he sounded like that.
Andrej was silent for a moment. When he spoke again he changed the subject. “Your men were very efficient. One down already,” he said. “Terrible accident, drove straight into the river.”
Some consolation, Neko thought. “Glad to hear it. Did you manage to track the one that was following us?”
“Yes, he’s still waiting for paperwork to clear before he can enter the country. Apparently that whole group has made itself persona non grata in more than one location.”
Neko grinned. “Troublemakers, eh? Then I’ll consider it my civic duty to remove them. So we let the one go, then? Just the first two to deal with?”
“For now.” There was another pause. “Look, Neko, if you’re hungry, I don’t need to tell you where to find a meal. But control yourself around Anne-Marie. She’s never been fed on before, but she’s seen it. I had a hard enough time getting her to trust you enough to go with you, and this isn’t helping.”
“I swear, I won’t touch her without her permission, freely given,” he said.
“Thank you, my friend. In the meantime, I suggest you find something to eat, other than her.”
Chapter 20
