by Judy Teel
"Guess."
"Ah, you also have a duplicate file of the more personal information ready to go public if I double-cross you," he commented in a dry tone.
"Do we have a deal, or not?"
His gaze slid over me once more. "I'll be in touch."
* * *
I heard from Bellmonte before I got home. I didn't recognize the number when it came up on my iC's display, but the cool, cultured voice was unmistakable. That and his first words.
"The dress and jewels were yours to keep," the vampire said.
"Do you agree to the bargain?"
He released a long-suffering sigh. "The information is indeed valuable to me. However, I hesitate on one point. In the contract you so thoughtfully provided, you included yourself in the guarantee of a long, harassment-free life."
"Yup."
"How do you propose I keep someone so rash and with such a talent for infuriating dangerous enemies safe?"
"Your problem, not mine. Yes or no?"
He took so long to answer that I wondered if he'd put the phone down and wandered off. I guess getting outmaneuvered took time to get used to when you were lord of the castle. "You'll have the contract in a moment," he finally said.
"The information I borrowed about Danny should be arriving at your office any minute," I countered.
I heard a chime and the muffled voice of the battle maiden receptionist in the background. "It appears to have arrived," he said with surprise. "You were that confident I would find your report informative?"
"I was."
"And the other information?"
"Safe as long as I am."
I heard an envelope being torn open and could almost feel the relief coming through the iC.
"You would make an excellent vampire, Addison Kittner," he finally said, and I could have sworn that I heard admiration in his voice.
"Only as good as you would be at being human." I disconnected and stared at the iC in my hand as the signed contract popped up. Relief and amazement raced through my bloodstream. Despite what I'd told him, I hadn't been sure at all that he'd take the offer.
My thoughts turned to Cooper, and my satisfaction faded. One challenge down, but one to go. I'd successfully faced down one of the most dangerous monsters in the state, yet the idea of telling Cooper that I was considering his offer made my palms sweat.
I stared out the window of the hoverbus at the lonely, beatup Walmart on the block next to mine. It took time for broken bones to heal, even for Weres, right? With any luck, I still had a few days to get used to the idea before I had to face him.
* * *
The next night, Cooper showed up at my apartment whole and healthy and with Chinese take-out. The urge to throw myself into his arms nearly overwhelmed me, and I considered telling him I was busy. The container of Cashew Chicken smelled too amazing to send away, so I invited him in. As he brushed past me, I refused to admit that Cooper looked and smelled even better.
The aroma of the food brought Wizard into my closet-sized kitchen in a mewing and leg-rubbing frenzy. Females of all species apparently responded to presents that involved food. I gave her first dibs on some chicken, and she happily settled down to her feast oblivious to the awkward tension between her benefactor and me.
We ate with chopsticks while we stood on either side of the counter and did our best not to make eye contact. I guess I wasn't the only one who wasn't sure where to start. After a while the tense silence got too much for me. I'd missed him; the kind of missing that felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest every minute.
"You're not even limping," I ventured, avidly studying his features as subtly as I could. "And you got a tan."
His gaze flashed across mine and then focused on his food. "For Weres, healing requires a lot of time outdoors." He took a big bite of beef lo mein.
"Any news on the case?"
"Your money's back."
"Minus the payments from Bellmonte."
"Want to tell me about it?"
I frowned. So much for introducing conversation at dinner. Sooner or later a question you don't want to answer lands on the table.
"I hope you got an egg roll," I said, "because I'm taking this one." I took a bite, making sure my mouth was too full for extended conversation.
He studied me over the edge of his take-out box. "Kathy was released. Her account enjoyed an unexpected boost, and she won a voucher that will get her a first class plane ticket to anywhere in the world. One way. Any information you'd like to share on that?"
"I hope you brought fortune cookies."
He grabbed one out of the bag before I could, cracked it open and held up the little strip of paper. "Telling your partner what you know will bring fame and fortune," he pretended to read.
"Glad to see my skill for lying is rubbing off on you. And we're not officially partners."
"My supervisor wants you on retainer."
"I'll think about it."
"Imagine having a stocked fridge all the time. You could afford to get Wizard Chinese food every weekend. She'd like that." Cooper took the last egg roll, ate it in two bites and swallowed.
"The department ran a full check on Marla—the real one," he said without missing a beat. "She had an apartment at Morrocroft. The floor below Laiyla's. They found VR, evidence of vamp blood and a couple of blonde wigs."
I lowered my chopsticks and stared at him, my mild irritation at his teasing forgotten. "I can't believe I didn't realize it." A terrible sense of failure twisted through my stomach.
His dark brows arched up. "Realize what?"
"The morning after I was attacked, a van drove by. I was too busy ducking for cover to pay attention, but the driver was a blonde woman. Now that I think about, she looked a lot like Marla. Laiyla was probably drugged in the back." I clenched my fist. If I'd realized, would I have been able to save the practitioner?
Cooper's warm hand covered my fist. "You couldn't have known. You were a couple pints short of blood, recovering from the shock of the attack, exhausted. You couldn't have known."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "So it was you who fought them off and destroyed evidence."
His silver-green eyes sparkled with humor. "Don't have any idea what you're talking about." He pulled his hand away and picked up the container of rice. "Have you thought anymore about what I asked you?"
"Some," I said quietly.
He paused in the act of scraping up rice, then continued eating with deliberate focus. "Which part?" he asked, his tone deceptively casual. "Partnering with me on the force as a consultant, or becoming my girlfriend?"
Something frightening and wonderful hitched in my chest at the sound of that word. I looked down at my hands resting on the counter. "Both."
The air seemed to thicken with electricity like it does before a thunderstorm rolls through. I waited, hardly daring to breath.
"And?" Cooper asked, his voice rough and drenched with emotion.
"I'd...like to give it a try."
He came around the counter and put his hands on my shoulders. "Why Addison?" he asked, gently turning me to face him. "Why do you want to?"
My throat tightened. He stroked two fingers down my cheek until he reached my chin, and then tenderly lifted it until I met his gaze. His eyes shone with admiration and affection as he gazed down at me. My heart stumbled and then started racing. I remembered how I'd almost lost him and tears stung my eyes.
Throwing my arms around his neck, I buried my face against his chest. "I don't think I'd like my life as much without you in it," I whispered.
Cooper's arms went around me and he pulled me tightly against him.
"But if we're going to do this, you need to understand what you're getting in to." He had to know. I had to tell him what I feared was true.
"I'm not going to like what you're about to say, am I?" he asked, his voice rumbling under my ear.
Dread sank into me. "Being with me might not be safe. Aedodra has a brother."
&
nbsp; "If he's a threat, we'll find him," Cooper said, rubbing his cheek against my hair. "We'll stop him."
"And...I may not be...human. Or even Were." I winced, bracing for the rejection that was inevitable. "I may not be like anyone else alive."
Pulling back, Cooper gazed down at me. "Sweetheart." He tipped his head down and brushed his lips across mine. "That's what I love best about you."
"I'm serious, Cooper," I said, dodging his mouth.
He cupped my face in his hands. "I don't think you're grasping the concept of being a couple."
I considered pushing him away as fear and excitement tangled together in the middle of my stomach.
"It means," he said softly, "that no matter what's ahead for either of us, we'll face it together. Together, Addie. You're not alone anymore."
Something warm and melty touched my heart. Something so new I didn't have a clue what to do with it. "I'm—" My throat tightened and I swallowed. "We'll see."
Cooper smiled. "We will." He dipped his head toward me again, and his iC buzzed.
"Shouldn't you get that?" I asked and if there was a touch of breathlessness in my voice, I'd never admit to it.
"It can wait," he murmured.
"It might be a case."
"Right now, I don't care if it's the President calling." Cooper tossed the iC onto the counter and covered my mouth with his.
Since he put it that way, neither did I.
