Page 70 of Taste of Blood

“She was complicit. Too worried about her social standing to care about me. I was born late, an inconvenience in their perfect lives. I had a nanny. Useless. She was too busy banging the gardener. Is that what you wanted to know?”

I think back to my own youth. My father too was a wealthy businessman, but he and my mother doted on me. We were a happy family until the night tragedy struck and turned my world upside down. A house fire destroyed everything.

My family.

My wealth.

My future.

All gone in the blink of an eye.

Police claimed the fire was an accident, but I knew my father’s business partner had something to do with it. They’d fought the night before, and I’d seen the way he looked at my dad when he didn’t think anyone was watching.

Still, no one was going to listen to a nine year old kid.

When my grandmother learned there’d be no inheritance, she refused to take me in and I was placed in the system. One of the first things I did when I joined the Clan was investigate my father’s business partner. I hired the best lawyers and private detectives on the Clan’s dime, then I buried him, making sure he lost everything he had stolen from me before he went to jail for my parents’ murder. I later learned he was shanked in prison. I suspected Cord had something to do with it, though I never asked. It was just one more way he looked out for me.

“So?” Elaine prompts.

“So what?”

“What’s the scoop on you two?”

“You’re not going to leave me alone about this, are you?”

“You even have to ask?”

No. One thing I’ve learned about Elaine is she’s relentless about information. Once she gets on a scent, there’s no turning her back. It’s a great attribute for what I need in the office. A pain in the ass for my personal life. Though to be honest, I’ve never brought much of my personal life into the office.

Which is probably what’s got Elaine so interested.

“We met when we were kids. We were in the same group home.”

I should know it won’t end there.

“So you were like childhood sweethearts?”

It’s my turn to snort. “Hardly. We were just two kids trying to survive the system.” I don’t tell her about my crush that began the day we met.

“So how did you hook up?”

“That was later. After we were…”

“Changed?”

“We call it transitioned. But yes.”

“So you’ve known each other as humans and vampires?”

I nod.

“How come this is the first time I’m hearing about Cord?”

“We were apart for several years.”

“And who’s fault was that?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at me. “Don’t tell me it was yours, because that man is a hottie.”

I sigh. “It was mutual. We needed a break.”