Page 18

Chapter 18

Back in the office, I sank into my chair and checked my email. Nothing yet. I grimaced; I supposed it would take time for Leif to put together his list and he probably slept at night. I checked the time. It was approaching my ‘lunch’ time with Connor at the Garden of Eat’n.

Yep. That took my mind off the murder. My stomach full of butterflies of excitement and anticipation, I studied my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My hair was coming out of its braid and my mascara was slightly smeared. I cleaned up, unfastened the braid and brushed my hair. After a moment’s thought, I decided to leave it down; Connor liked it loose and I could plait it again after lunch for work. That would be more professional and it would be out of my face if things got physical.

Grimacing, I plugged my nose and quickly downed a cup of blood, then I petted the animals and told them I’d be back soon. Shadow ignored me as usual. Gunnar had gone home for the night so I put up the sign, set the work phones to divert to my mobile then walked to the diner. Connor liked to pick me up, but it was only a block away and the walk did me good.

I was grateful for the cleats and my warm winter coat; it was snowing hard and there’d been another couple of inches since I’d come back from the mine. No one was about and the night was inky black, the clouds adding another layer of darkness, but the streetlights reflecting off the snow combined with my vampire eyesight meant it was as light as day to me.

Connor was standing outside the diner, watching for me; behind him were Margrave and John. I smiled and waved as I approached. Connor had a professional relationship with Margrave in contrast to the easy friendship he’d shared with his previous second, Juan. In some ways, I felt like Connor was subconsciously punishing Margrave simply for not being Juan.

Margrave looked at me sternly but gave me a nod in greeting. John grinned and waved back at me; he was looking much better since I’d last seen him. He’d been a broken and grieving man but clearly having a job had done wonders for him. People dealt with grief in different ways, and for some people keeping busy was essential. I was grateful that Connor had given him a job, and such an important one too, because I owed John. He’d been through more abuse from the vampire king of Europe than I had but that experience still linked us: a shared past, a shared trauma.

I smiled at Connor, my eyes drinking in the sight of his tousled dark curls and his icy-blue eyes. As I drew closer, he surprised me by reaching out to take my hand and sweeping a courtly bow. He looked up and met my eyes as he lifted my hand to his lips and gently brushed a light kiss across it.

I felt a jolt of desire so strong that I nearly moaned. I pulled him up and pressed against him like Sidnee had done to Thomas and found his mouth with my own; his lips were cool but his mouth was hot and the differing temperatures and the rocketing desire made my mind blank.

The snow swirled around as we kissed in the doorway of the diner. I could have gone on kissing him forever if someone hadn’t chosen that moment to exit. ‘Well I never,’ she harrumphed. ‘Excuse me!’

I pulled back and we moved aside so the impatient diner could leave. Obviously a member of the pearl-clutching brigade, she huffed loudly as she went.

‘Hey.’ I smiled at my mate.

‘Hey,’ he responded, giving a slow grin that melted my insides all over again .

‘We should go inside.’

‘We should,’ he agreed, but didn’t move.

‘One more kiss?’ I suggested.

‘For luck,’ he agreed. We found each other again and I moaned into his mouth as his tongue swept against mine in the way that I loved.

Then my stomach rumbled and I pulled back reluctantly. ‘Feed me,’ I insisted. Connor’s eyes darkened and I knew he was thinking something filthy. I hit him lightly. ‘Not like that. With food.’

He grinned. ‘Your wish is my command, my lady.’

He held open the door and the warmth of the diner hit me like a blast. I looked over his shoulder at his followers. ‘Are they eating with us?’

‘They’re eating, but not with us.’

‘What’s going on?’ I asked, concerned. ‘Why two bodyguards?’ I looked around to see if there was a threat close by.

Connor laughed. ‘Nothing – no more than usual, anyway, John is shadowing Margrave for a week before he officially becomes my third. He knows the ropes but he needs to learn the way I do things.’

‘Sounds good. ’

When we’d sat down, a harried-looking waitress dropped off the menus. ‘So are you doing the chicken fried steak or the halibut today?’ Connor grinned.

I laughed: I guessed I was a little predictable. ‘Hey, in my defence I’ve been in Sitka. I missed my favourite Garden of Eat’n meals!’

He chuckled and set aside the menu. ‘I’m having the chicken fried steak.’

‘That’s what you always have! Let’s be brave and choose something new.’ I glanced at the menu, determined to eat something different. I could order a beef steak, but I wasn’t feeling it; the other options were a chicken sandwich or a half a fried chicken, but one seemed like too little and the other seemed like too much.

The waitress came by with water and asked if we were ready to order. Connor looked at me. ‘Are we trying something new?’

I laughed and shook my head. ‘Nope.’ I looked at the waitress, ‘I’ll have the chicken fried steak.’

‘Make it two,’ Connor added.

She left and we laughed together. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ I reached out to take his hands. John and Margrave were sitting behind us. I leaned over the table and whispered to Connor, ‘How is he doing?’

Connor raised an eyebrow. ‘John?’ he whispered back .

‘Yeah. Spill the tea,’ I said, using one of Sidnee’s favourite phrases.

‘He’s doing fine. It took a while to get his papers done so he could work legally, but he learns fast and he did something similar in England, so it’s not a stretch for him. He’s a good man and he’s eager to prove himself.’

I beamed at my mate. ‘I don’t have to tell you how much I owe him.’

‘You don’t – I owe him too, for sending you to me. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.’

‘Isn’t it his job to take care of you?’ I teased.

He gave me the single-shoulder shrug. ‘My position requires them but I can take care of myself.’

‘I know.’ A memory of him coldly cutting throats because I was in danger flashed through my mind. Yes, my mate could take care of himself all right, and me too if the need arose, though I was learning to be dangerous too. We were turning into a power couple. I tried to think of a name for us and burst out laughing as one came to mind.

Connor raised an eyebrow in question.

‘I thought of a couples’ name for us.’

‘Do tell.’

‘Connor and Bunny, together become … Cunny.’

He gave a proper belly laugh. ‘Let’s hope that doesn’t catch on.’

The waitress returned with our Cokes; I drank tea with my lunch at home, but I’d quickly learned not to order it in an American restaurant because you got a sad-sack, flavourless tea bag and often creamer instead of milk. I shuddered at the thought.

‘What did you discover at the mine?’ Connor asked casually, although his eyes were alight with interest.

Normally I wouldn’t have shared details of a case but, as a council member, Connor was technically one of my bosses so I filled him in. I told him that I doubted the killer was the hag, but that I couldn’t formally rule her out.

He grunted at that last bit, but didn’t have time to say anything before the waitress returned with the food. Once she’d gone again, he said, ‘It seems complicated. Be careful of the hag.’

I shoved a bite of steak into my mouth covered with potatoes and white gravy. Yum. I waved my fork. ‘She should be careful of me. I’m a force of nature, too.’

He grinned. ‘That you are. You’ll figure it out. You must be happy – you love a good mystery.’

‘I do,’ I agreed. ‘But I feel for his family. He had a human wife and mixed kids and apparently their relationship was a bit of a no-no in dwarven culture. I’m not sure how much support they’ll get.’ We ate in silence for a few moments. ‘Do you think Liv or Calliope would know anything about hags? That they’d share with me, I mean?’

‘Maybe. Are they speaking to you yet?’ Connor grinned.

‘No, not really. But this is work so they have to, right?’

He snorted. ‘Calliope still holds a grudge against Homer who’s been dead for what – nearly three thousand years!’

I groaned. ‘I never thought I’d say this, but I actually think Liv might be the more reasonable of the two.’

‘Well, she did come through for you at the mine.’

‘Yeah, whereas Calliope just looked bored and annoyed. I’ll call Liv when I get back to work. I don’t think the Queen of the Dead ever sleeps.’

‘I dare you to call her that to her face!’

‘Not a chance in hell.’

Connor snickered. ‘Wise.’

We finished our meal about the time my lunch hour ended. Connor insisted on walking me back to work, not that I resisted in the slightest. He came in for a minute to check on Fluffy and Shadow and give them both some affection. Shadow pretended to ignore him but then, when Fluffy was getting all the attention, he wound himself around Connor’s ankles: he hated to be ignored.

Connor kissed me goodbye, another heated kiss that warmed me in all the right places. ‘I’ll see you later,’ he murmured. ‘No matter what time you finish work, you call me.’

‘You got something planned for later?’ I teased.

‘Team-building exercises. We’re going to play a communication game.’

‘Oh?’ I asked, a little breathlessly. ‘How’s that going to work?’

He kissed me again. ‘I’ll explain later but just know that you’re going to need phrases like, “harder” and “just like that” in your repertoire.’

‘I like the sound of the game already.’

‘Me too,’ he groaned. With one last kiss he left, taking his entourage with him.

‘How am I supposed to concentrate now?’ I complained to my animal friends.

Once Connor had left, I bit the bullet and called Liv. ‘Bunny,’ she answered flatly. ‘Haven’t I done enough for you tonight?’

I ignored that. ‘I didn’t get a chance to ask you earlier in earshot of the dwarves, but do you know anything about hags?’

‘Quite a bit, actually.’ She paused for a moment. ‘But I’m tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’ She hung up.

Typical Liv: it was a total power move. She’d work with me – eventually – but it would always be on her terms.