Page 15 of Taste of Forever (Vampires of Sanguine #3)

Heather

D rew, my longtime office partner, turned to me in the taco truck line. “Did you hear that Munroe is retiring?”

I was only half listening, my stomach growling at the promise of rich, savory food. “Oh, no kidding? Finally letting go of that cushy supervisor job, huh?”

“More like it’s being ripped away because he can’t dig his claws in any deeper. I lost count of how many times he’s been caught sleeping at his desk. It’s a miracle he stayed in for that long.”

I snorted. “You applying for it?”

“Nah, I don’t think I’d get it. Sergio and Frost have more seniority than me. It’ll probably go to one of them.”

“And then they’ll probably camp there until retirement before letting one of us have a chance at it.”

“Yep, that’s how it goes.”

The mundanity of my every day life was so bizarre compared to everything else.

Was it just a few days ago that I had drunk at a bar in the vampire world, then a scary man from a shadowy government organization threatened me to stay away?

And then the aftermath, when Laith spent the whole night guarding me from outside.

He’d been long gone by when I woke up late the next morning. I slept better than I’d expected, probably because I knew I wasn’t truly alone.

Justin still hadn’t come home by then, but I’d received a text saying he spent the night because he didn’t want to drive drunk. I almost texted back, It’s okay, it wasn’t like I needed you after some guy stalked, grabbed, and threatened me.

Now, it was a normal Wednesday night shift. Drew and I were on our two a.m. lunch break, gossiping about work while waiting in line for food.

How did a world like this exist alongside one filled with vampires?

I had the impulse to turn to Drew and say, Forget Munroe’s retirement.

Did you know there’s a hidden vampire world less than an hour away?

Oh, and a vampire is sort of obsessed with me and I kind of like it even though I shouldn’t.

Don’t look at me like that, vampires are totally real.

The government knows about them, and they’re harassing me too.

I was so damn tempted to let it all out. But instead, I stepped up to the window and ordered a chile verde plate with rice, beans, and extra tortillas.

“You and Justin doing anything this weekend?” Drew asked after we paid and stepped aside to wait for our food.

“Uh, no. I don’t think we have any plans. How about you guys?”

“Baby shower,” he groaned. “Stacy’s cousin or somebody, I don’t know. I’m just there.”

That’s more than I can say about Justin, I thought. We barely spent time together in the same room anymore. And when we did, I might as well have been alone. Every waking moment seemed to be spent on his phone or gaming with his friends.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him logged into his work portal in a while.

No, don’t go there. He’d tell me if something happened with his job.

Oh, would he? My resentment demon mocked me. Would you bet on it? It doesn’t seem like he tells you much of anything lately.

In an effort to shove my own thoughts away, I nudged Drew with my elbow. “Ah, you’ll live.”

“Playing those weird baby games?” He shuddered. “I don’t know. If I’m not here Monday, you’ll know what happened.”

I laughed. “You’re leaving your purple sticky notes to me in your work will, right?”

“Of course, but I promised my red stress ball to Dinaj.”

“That’s fair.”

A silence lulled between us as we waited for our food. Six more people stood in line to order, and for good reason. This truck had the best local Mexican food. We were lucky they were willing to come out so late for us night-shift workers.

Voices and conversations mixed with the sizzling of the grill. Food orders and workplace gossip. A comforting, familiar bubble that I was once fully encased in.

“Hey. I’ll take the carne asada tacos. Thanks.”

Oh fuck. That voice.

My blood froze and I turned stone-still. Only my eyes moved, inspecting the people in line. No, I hadn’t imagined the voice. There he was, the government guy from that night just before Laith showed up. He handed cash to the chef and waited patiently to receive change.

Casually, and yet so deliberately, his head swiveled in my direction with a sly grin. “Hey, Heather. Nice to see you again.”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t respond in any way, but my mind raced with panic.

It had only been four days and I had done everything he told me to do.

I hadn’t gone back to Sanguine, nor searched online for anything vampire-related.

The bruises on my arms were covered by my lab coat, but they throbbed painfully at the memory of him grabbing me and shoving me against the wall. What did he want? Why was he here?

He meandered over slowly, casual and non-threatening in his non-descript jeans and dark bomber jacket. No wonder the government hired him to sneak around. He could blend in anywhere.

“Can I borrow you for a quick minute?” The polite phrasing of the question, along with his classical good looks, would make anyone want to say yes. I only did because I knew there was no other option.

“Sure,” I said through a nervous smile that was holding back a scream.

“I’ll see you inside,” Drew said, oblivious to the hidden danger in front of us. He gave a quick nod to the man, probably assuming he was someone who worked in a different department, then grabbed his Styrofoam container at the pickup window before heading inside.

“Relax,” the operative said, standing in Drew’s place next to me. “You’re not in trouble.”

“Then what do you want?” I kept my gaze forward, refusing to look at him.

He was quiet for a few moments, like he wanted to savor my discomfort. “I noticed you had a visitor the other night. Right after we last spoke.”

My throat tightened with discomfort. “I never asked him to come see me. I swear.”

The guy angled his head toward the food truck. “Chicken chile verde plate with extra tortillas, isn’t that you?”

I stole a glance at his smug face before willing my feet to move.

Somehow I made it to the pick-up window, got my food, and even left a cash tip in the jar, all while he followed a few feet behind me.

I hated having him at my back, hated that he was still following my every move while I went through the motions of normal life.

He got his tacos right after my food came out, then jerked his head to a nearby picnic table. “Let’s sit.”

I headed in that direction like a robot, marching without a single word. This guy had to be messing with me, and I hoped my lack of reaction would get him to leave sooner. He seemed to be in no hurry, though, and dug into his tacos the moment we sat down. I, on the other hand, had lost my appetite.

“So what’s this about?” I asked.

He chewed his food slowly, then his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot the other night. I’m Soren, by the way.”

I let the silence drag out, my expression blank. Like hell was I going to say, nice to meet you. It probably wasn’t even his real name.

Soren wiped his fingers on a paper napkin as he studied me. “You know I had to report seeing your visitor to my superiors. He seemed very protective. I’d even say smitten with you.”

“I didn’t do anything to encourage that.” Like hell I was going to get in trouble over what Laith chose to do.

“I’m not saying you did. But my superiors came to the conclusion that this… person’s infatuation with you could be useful.”

“Useful?”

“For gathering intelligence. We want to learn about these people, after all.”

I waited for him to elaborate further, but he kept digging into his tacos.

“What’s that got to do with me?”

Soren finished chewing, swallowed, and wiped his mouth again. “My superiors are permitting you to return to that place on our orders. For the sole purpose of gathering information and reporting back to me.”

An incredulous huff left my mouth before I could stop it. “And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because you don’t have a choice.” Soren crumpled his napkin in his fist. “You can be a loose end we need to tie off, or you can serve your country and be useful.”

I shoved my to-go container of food further away, the smell of meat and spices making my stomach turn.

“Why me?”

“Again, he seems infatuated with you. It will be much easier for you to collect information than me or any of our other operatives.”

I wanted to put my forehead down on the table and not look up until Soren had disappeared for good. Laith might have been a little intense, but he was nice and seemed to have good intentions. It felt wrong to use his feelings for me to feed information to some shadowy operation.

“Why do you look upset?” Soren’s smile was slow and calculating. “I know you want to go back there. This way, you can do so with no consequences. Ditch your boring life and your unemployed loser boyfriend for something new and exciting, then tell me all about it. It’s easy.”

“Wait, stop.” I held up a hand. “What are you saying? Justin is not unemployed.”

He gave me a pitying look across the table. “It’s a shame that I know more about your life than you do.”

My heart raced with anxiety. Any attempt to not give him any reaction went out the window. “So you’re spying on my boyfriend too?”

“I’m just good at my job, which is being really fucking observant. And persuasive, when necessary.”

I lowered my gaze to the table and noticed my hands were shaking. Curling them into fists, I hid them in my lap and tried to take deep breaths.

“What’s running through that pretty blonde head of yours?” Soren picked up another taco and took a big bite.

I shook my head, unable to pull my thoughts out of the tangled, panicked spiral.

What didn’t he know about me? He knew where I lived and where I worked.

For all I knew, he was spying on me every minute of every day through my phone, computer, or whatever else.

And he clearly had no problems with hurting me.

Never before had I felt more trapped. More helpless.

“I just want you to leave me alone,” I confessed. “I won’t go back there or talk to him ever again if you’d just…stop everything. Stop following me to my house and my job. Stop… observing me.”

Again, Soren took his sweet time chewing and swallowing his food.

“I would honestly love that too. Frankly, you’re not all that interesting to follow.

” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “But I have my orders. And my superiors are very interested in the information you can gather. So, how about we set a term limit on this job you do for us?”

“Isn’t there another option?”

“’Fraid not.” Soren’s eyes flashed with a type of malice that made my skin erupt in goosebumps.

“I was sent here to make you agree to gather intel, with no limits on how to do so. I don’t want to hurt you, Heather.

But I can. So here is my offer.” He shoved aside his food container and brought his palms together in front of him.

“Give me three months’ worth of good intel, and I’ll be out of your life like I never existed.

” A smirk pulled at his lips. “This is the best, and only, deal you’ll get, so don’t bother trying to negotiate.

Make this easy on yourself and just say yes. ”

I felt beyond trapped now. More like I was drowning, and the only way to survive was being allowed a tiny sip of air before my head was shoved underwater again.

Everything in my gut screamed that this was wrong. It would be leading Laith on, and possibly putting the vampires in danger. And that was still saying nothing of the dishonesty and betrayal of my relationship with Justin.

But what other choice did I have?

I just had to endure for three months and then I’d be left in peace.

The answer dragged out of my throat like stones rolling uphill.

“Fine.”