“Other offers?” I frowned in puzzlement.
She laughed. “You heard me, right? He’s waiting for you out there,” she said, motioning towards the door as she rose to her feet. Smiling down at me, I saw curiosity touch her brown eyes. “He has been for hours, Miri. I think that sends a message all of its own, don’t you?”
I pursed my lips, staring at the door.
“I seriously doubt it,” I said.
She laughed again, helping me to my feet.
Even so, I found myself swallowing a second later, as I turned over her words.
I knew exactly what she was talking about, I realized.
I’D BARELY MET his gaze when he frowned, his gold eyes flicking down me in the hospital gear and the SFPD sweatshirt I’d borrowed from Angel after they bandaged up my arms. I’d already given back the blanket, just prior to entering the public waiting area of the station.
Before the door closed behind me, he rose smoothly to his feet, all six-foot-whatever of him.
I couldn’t help noticing he was back to his previous uniform of black pants, a black, form-fitting T-shirt and what looked like motorcycle boots. It didn’t do much for my resolve, seeing him staring at me like that, or the tattoos on display on his arms.
Even so, the look on his face wasn’t hard to interpret.
“No,” he said, before I’d even opened my mouth. “Absolutely not.”
I exhaled, staring up at him in disbelief. “I haven’t said anything yet, Black.”
“You aren’t staying in a fucking hotel,” he growled.
I looked at Angel, who let out an involuntary-seeming laugh. Patting me on the back, she gave me a sympathetic smile when I glanced at her.
“You’re on your own here, doc,” she told me. “You’re the one who made friends with the psycho.”
“We’re not––” I began angrily.
“Employer, actually,” Black cut in, giving Angel a measured look. “She works for me, and I have an obligation to protect my investment. And as an asset of Black Securities and Investigations, Ms. Fox has an obligation to let me.”
Angel burst out in a real laugh at that.
She didn’t comment though, just waved us off, like she thought both of us were off our rockers. I knew she was busy with the case, that she’d been on babysitting duty with me long enough, so I didn’t call her back, but only bit my lip, watching her leave.
When I faced Black, he was looking me over again.
“I’ve already got you a room,” he said.
“What the hell does that mean?” I said, incredulous.
“You know what it means.” His eyes hardened. “It’s a separate room. The door locks.”
I shook my head, folding my arms. “No.”
“Then at one of my other properties. With my security, Miriam.”
“One of your properties?” I said in disbelief. “Just how many ‘properties’ do you have?”
“Enough.” His cat-like eyes didn’t waver. “I’ll give you brochures to choose from,” he added. “But I think we can leave that for tomorrow, don’t you? Today you’ll get a room in the building on California...” Seeing the protest building in my eyes, he cut in, holding up a hand. “...A separate room, Miriam. As in a separate apartment. Not mine. You can even put a chair up against the door handle to keep me out if you want.”
Staring up at him, I felt my resistance wavering.
Moreover, I had an irrational desire to laugh again.
More to the point, I didn’t really think he was going to attack me if I went with him. Then again, I wasn’t entirely sure it was him I didn’t trust. Not only him.
Even as I thought it, he stepped closer to me, his hands on his hips.
“Humor me for tonight. If we reach an understanding about employment, we can discuss more permanent living arrangements... assuming you want to move out of your current place.”
I thought about that too, frowning.
But it was too soon to go into all that.
It was too soon for me to even think about the possibility of working for Black full time... much less whatever else might be going on between us.
Looking up at him, I realized it was too late, too.
Sighing, I found myself nodding, almost before I knew I meant to.
It seemed to be a pattern with us. Already.
“All right,” I said, exhaling in defeat. “Okay. Tonight.”
His expression didn’t move after I spoke.
Even so, I swear I felt something deeper in him relax.
Watching him turn, aiming his feet for the door of the station without bothering to check to see if I followed, I knew, without a doubt, that either way, I was definitely in trouble.
* * *
Continue reading the QUENTIN BLACK books with
BLACK AS NIGHT (Quentin Black Mystery #2)
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QUENTIN BLACK MYSTERY is a dark, gritty paranormal romance and mystery series starring brilliant and mysterious antihero Quentin R. Black, along with his partner, psychic forensic psychologist Miram Fox. For fans of Sherlock Holmes and paranormal romance, the series spans continents and dimensions as Black tries to redeem himself by making the world safe for his kind.
THE ALLIE’S WAR SERIES is a dark, unique and gritty psychic romance involving a young woman grappling with her role in bringing about the end of one world and the start of a new one. Follow Allie Taylor and her antihero partner in crime, Dehgoies Revik, as they fight terrifying enemies and one another in a passionate story spanning centuries, and filled unpredictable twists.
THE GATE SHIFTER SERIES is an unusual shifter romance centering on shifters from another world altogether, called morph. Earth humans remained blissfully ignorant of the existence of alternate dimensions until Nihkil Jamri tries to save private detective, Dakota Reyes, while he is surveying Earth. Part urban fantasy, part detective series, part paranormal romance, part science fiction adventure, the Gate Shifter series explores crime solving, interstellar warfare and alien romance with the least likely candidates imaginable.
THE ALIEN APOCALYPSE SERIES is a dystopian new adult romance about a tough girl named Jet Tetsuo who grew up on Earth following an alien invasion. Forced into living among her conquerors, she has to navigate a treacherous world full of enemies who pose as friends, even as she becomes their most famous fighter in the Rings, a modern day version of the coliseum.
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Read More from JC Andrijeski
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“Seeking Truth in Made-Up Worlds”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes paranormal mystery, romance and science fiction, often with a sexy, metaphysical and apocalyptic bent. My work has been featured in anthologies, online literary, art and fiction magazines as well as print venues such as NY Press. I travel extensively and have lived abroad in Europe, Australia and Asia and from coast to coast in the continental United States, but currently I live and work full time in Bangkok, Thailand.
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BLACK IN WHITE
A Quentin Black Mystery
Copyright © 2015 by JC Andrijeski
Cover Art & Design by
Jennifer Munswami at
J.M. Rising Horse Creations
www.facebook.com/RisingHorseCreations
2015
Published by White Sun Press
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Table of Contents
SYNOPSIS
PROLOGUE: Palace
ONE: Suspect
TWO: First Interview
THREE: A Gut Feeling
FOUR: Off the Case
FIVE: One of Ours
SIX: Questions
SEVEN: Sparring
EIGHT: Bad Girlfriend
NINE: Breaking and Entering
TEN: Becoming the Hunted
ELEVEN: The Other Side of the Table
TWELVE: Loss of Control
THIRTEEN: Losing My Religion
FOURTEEN: A New Day
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CREDITS
Black In White Page 23
