Page 20 of Smokescreen (Knight & Daywalker #1)

I woke to a kitten on my chest again, took a moment to truly wake up and determine that Twist wasn’t yet eating me, and opened my eyes to look straight into her deep blue ones.

“Father.”

“Twist.” We stared at each other a second, and I decided to get the inevitable discussion out of the way. “I promised you more food today.”

“You promised me more food today,” she echoed. “And I hunger.”

Right. Eldritch horror hungering for flesh, that was my kitten. Two pounds of fur and innocent blue eyes and an unending bottomless pit of a stomach.

“Okay I do promise we will get you some food. My mother said she’d send some, and she always does what she says she will.

But this morning I have to, like, shower and change clothes.

If my mother catches me wearing this shirt three days in a row, she might disown me.

” I leaned down and sniffed at myself, then frowned.

“Actually, I might disown myself if I don’t change clothes. And I really need to shower.”

Obligingly, she climbed to the top of the couch, using her little claws to pull herself up. If the couch had been nicer I might have cared, but it was over a decade old and the weave was already messed up in a few places, so she wasn’t going to do much more damage than already existed.

I dragged myself upright, and dropped the dirty clothes in the hamper as I passed, taking care to actually put them in there rather than simply tossing them in the correct direction, as I usually did.

Kinda rude to mess the room back up right after Davin spent a whole freaking day cleaning up after me.

Who even did that, spent a whole day cleaning up someone else’s mess?

A guy who wanted to run a business in the building, that was who.

I was lucky there was an actual bathroom with a very nice shower attached to the back office, and the newness of the fixtures had always left me with a niggling idea that my mother had planned for me to live in the place.

They were all too nice for them to have been installed by a penny-pinching corporation, to say nothing of the small, attached room that made an excellent closet.

Other than the lack of a kitchen, it was basically an apartment with a spacious front office attached.

And the half of the building I wasn’t using was arranged as a restaurant, so one might say I would be completely covered if I got a diner or something to move in next door.

Almost like my ancient, prone-to-plotting mother’d had ulterior motives when she’d given me the building.

I rolled my eyes at myself as I stepped under the excellent spray, reaching for the body wash and loofah. Yes, a shower was just what I needed.

I took my time, luxuriating in the ritual of it all.

Washing my body and hair, then standing under the warmth and pressure, just letting the last few days slide off me.

When I was done, I dried most of the way off, making sure to run a towel vigorously through my hair so it wouldn’t drip, then grabbed some convenient clothes and headed back into the office.

“Jaysus!” came the exclamation as I walked out of the bathroom.

Naked.

I walked out of the bathroom naked, carrying the clothes I intended to wear.

That was definitely not Twist exclaiming in horror, either.

“Sorry, sorry,” Davin was saying by the time I realized what was happening, his back to me, and over his shoulder I could see.

..was he blushing? What the fuck kind of vampire was he?

Vampires never blushed. I didn’t even think they were capable of it, let alone having the inclination to embarrassment.

Also, complete stranger seeing me naked. Oops.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize,” he mumbled, ducking his head. “I thought you’d already be up.” After saying it, he sighed. “Why didn’t I realize you wouldn’t be ready yet?”

He sounded positively disgusted with himself, the poor guy. But then, I imagined I would be a lot more flustered if I’d been the one to walk in on him naked.

This was fine for me. Easy. I was confident enough in my body.

I’d had enough sex to know I didn’t look terrible.

Plus I’d grown up among vampires, and while the lot of them were acutely aware of their bodies, how they moved, and the impressions they made, they were also not remotely modest or shy with other people.

Well, apparently except for Davin.

“It’s no big deal,” I told him, turning and dropping my shirt on a chair back so that I could pull on my jeans, and maybe he’d stop worrying. The blush was cute, but it wasn’t necessary for him to feel bad. I was the one living in what was now our place of business.

The shirt I’d grabbed without looking, a black one with the neon rainbow logo “Be Gay, Do Crime,” was certainly going to help me investigate a murder while being taken seriously.

On the other hand, I’d spoken to a bunch of suspects the day before while wearing a shirt with a sexual innuendo about how I, as a redhead, tasted magically delicious. It couldn’t be too much worse.

Mother had spent years telling me that someday I would regret not taking things seriously and...apparently that day had not yet arrived, because I figured it was probably for the best that Davin and I started out with a full understanding of each other.

“All better,” I assured him as I slid the shirt on over my head. “Totally decent now.”

He finally turned back around to look at me, color still high on his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to barge in on?—”

“It’s seriously fine. I’m not that shy. I was raised by vampires, and it’s not like you’re a creep.

” I crossed the room and plunked myself onto the sofa to put my socks on, and Twist crossed the back to join me, tumbling down onto the seat then planting her front paws on my thigh and staring at me.

Again, I thought it best to head her off before she informed me of her vast and terrifying hunger. “Food in a bit, Twist.”

“Oh, I think it might be here,” Davin said, sounding relieved to have something other than my nakedness to discuss. “There was a cooler at the door. Smelled like beef.”

“What is a beef?” Twist asked, looking to him as though he might understand her. “Is it like a chicken? I do not believe I have met a beef.”

Davin looked up to me, as though...no, definitely. Definitely expecting a translation. “She wants to know what kind of animal a beef is.”

He blinked, then slowly, cocked his head to one side. “Come to think of it, that is odd, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “I guess. Deep shower thoughts. Why is a chicken a chicken, but a cow isn’t a beef? I’m sure every vegetarian in the universe just cringed at the notion of animals being reduced to meat supplies.”

Twist somehow looked even more confused. “What else would they be?”

I scoffed. “You. Me. Creatures with hopes and dreams of not being everyone’s lunch.”

Somehow, that seemed to surprise Twist as a concept. When Davin left and came back with the cooler he’d mentioned, it did indeed contain a giant slab of barbecued beef. A brisket? I didn’t know exactly what it was. I just knew it was multiple pounds of meat intended for my kitten.

She accepted the meat when Davin set it in front of her, but she seemed thoughtful as she ate. Maybe even confused.

I reached out and scratched behind her ears as she chewed. “Hey Twist, I didn’t mean to worry you. You’re a hyper-carnivore. You don’t have a choice here. You have to eat meat to live. Chickpeas are not a reasonable replacement for you.”

She seemed to accept that, nodding, but she didn’t speed up her eating. That was probably a good thing, since we kept running out of food.

I pulled up my phone to check the time, and found myself pleasantly surprised. It was barely nine, so I had plenty of time to do...whatever, before the first person to see the shop next door arrived.

That was when I noticed the scent of coffee in the air.

I sniffed, looking around, only to find that there was a bag and a drink carrier with two cups on the table next to the fridge.

I turned to look at him and Davin ducked his head, flushing again.

That was just sickeningly adorable. “Went through the fridge yesterday when I was cleaning, so I know there’s nothing in there but a couple of fizzy drinks.

Asked your mam what you liked to drink.” He cocked his head and squinted at me at that, like I was the most perplexing creature ever to walk the earth.

“She said you don’t even like coffee, so I got you a tea.

But...if you don’t like coffee, why were you trying so hard to save that coffee maker yesterday? ”

Which was...a fair question. I considered a moment before shrugging. “I might not drink coffee, but most people do.” I motioned to the cups on the table. “You clearly do, since I can smell coffee.”

“Of course I do,” he agreed. “I’m not a monster.”

And that? A vampire, telling me that at nine in the morning, after he’d brought me a freaking cup of tea? Not only that, but jasmine tea with no artificial flavorings or sugar, my personal favorite?

Well.

I was living in the Twilight Zone or some shit.

He also had some breakfast sandwiches, which weren’t the world’s best, but I was never one to complain about free food, especially after what I’d spent the day before trying to keep Twist fed.

We were just finishing up when there was a loud knock on the front office door. I scowled at that, because it wasn’t even nine-thirty. The people to see the shop next door should not be arriving already, and I wasn’t going over there yet. If they were that early, they could wait.

Actually, I needed to remember where I’d put the extra keys to the space next door. Yeah, I had a set on my own keyring, but I wasn’t handing over my only set to whoever leased the place.

I was still sitting there glaring at the open door between us and the front room, when Davin hopped up and rushed off to answer it.

Fuck me, but the guy was just—no wonder my mother liked him so much. He was weirdly accommodating, especially for someone who looked like the definition of “alpha male.” Six feet tall, broad shoulders, square jaw, intense gaze...and yet, he kept doing what people around him wanted.

I finally pushed up off the couch, leaving Twist to keep chewing on her brisket, and as I headed through the door into the front room, I realized there was his “I’m the big bad” voice.

Cool, calm, and brooking no argument. “I don’t believe Mr. Knight ordered this, and we can’t accept delivery if it isn’t for us.

I definitely will not ‘just sign’ your documents. ”

I got out there to find he was arguing with a guy in a jumpsuit, who was waving a clipboard around. “Davin?” I asked.

“They’re trying to deliver furniture,” he said, turning to look at me, his lips drawn tight and eyes narrowed.

Wow. The guy was as paranoid as Wu Mei and my mother.

I stretched my back as I joined them, and it gave a few satisfying pops. “Who’s the delivery for?” I asked, giving in and yawning at the end.

“Knight and Daywalker, security associates.” The guy held up the clipboard. “Billed to one?—”

“Fiona Knight,” I finished for him.

Davin turned to me, disbelieving. “You’re joking.”

I turned a lifted brow to him. “Please. First she gave me a ready-made partner whom she personally vetted. Now she’s furnishing my office. If it were anyone but my mother, I’d say she has cancer and she’s trying to make sure I can take care of myself when she’s gone.”

“But it is your mam,” Davin pointed out.

For some reason, that struck me as funny. Was he worried I thought vampires got cancer? I shook my head and explained, “Which means she’s just being controlling and weird.”

“So we’re good here?” the impatient delivery man asked. “ ’Cause I got a whole lot of stuff to unload, and I’d like to be finished before noon so I can have lunch before my next delivery.”

Lunch. Jesus, how much crap had my mother sent?

Maybe I didn’t want to know. Either way, I took the clipboard when he handed it to me and signed my name. “It all goes in the front room, right?”

He poked his head in the door and looked around, eyes narrowed in consideration. Then he turned to me and gave a nod. “Yeah. Looks just about perfect, in fact. You want it set up a specific way?”

“You’re the furniture guy,” I told him, waving at the whole room without looking around. “How about you make it look like an office, and if we have issues, we can move it around ourselves later?”

“Sounds like a good deal to me. You got something to prop this door open?”

“Sure do,” I agreed, leaning down to grab the rubber stopper that I’d never once used and tossing it to him. “We’re going to be showing the shop next door to potential renters, so you just do your thing. Kitten in the back office, so probably don’t open that door.”

“You got it bud. We’ll be out of here before you can say meatball sandwich.” He gave me a salute and headed in the direction of a truck that was backing toward the sidewalk nearest us.

Good thing for them that the office was so close to the parking lot, or they’d have had a terrible job for the morning.

Meanwhile, a meatball sandwich actually sounded kind of amazing.

I did take a moment to poke my head out the front door and look at the bushes there. “Hey Suz?”

“Mmm?” she asked around a mouthful of leaves.

“That guy and his coworker or coworkers are going to be bringing stuff in for a bit. They’re good.”

She gave a slow nod, and turned to look at the truck with watchful, if still sleepy, eyes.

Davin stared at her, then followed me back into the building, all the way into the office where Twist was still eating. “What would she do about it if you hadn’t warned her they were going to be coming and going? She’s a sloth .”

I turned and lifted a brow at him, then smirked. “Aren’t they glad they don’t have to find out?”