Insatiable

backward.

Alaric, picking up another chicken wing, chewed, enjoying the show….

At least until he noticed a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a Yankees baseball cap

pulled low over his eyes coming up the stairs, his gaze, behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses,

fixed on Meena and Yalena.

Alaric laid down his chicken wing and reached for some napkins with which to wipe his

fingers.

“Now, Phil,” the woman with the mink jacket said. “Don’t get excited. Remember your

heart.”

“Maybe you ought to take your calls outside,” Jon said, handing Phil his cell phone.

“It’ll keep you out of trouble.”

“Maybe I will,” Phil said in a huff as static crackled on his phone and a woman’s voice

came on, squawking, “Phil? Phil? What’s munchkin saying about you and some woman?”

Phil pushed a button and the woman’s voice was abruptly cut off. He put the phone to

his ear and said, “Aw, honey, never mind. It was just a joke. Some New York nut,” as he

moved swiftly toward the stairs…

…brushing shoulders with the man in the baseball cap and sunglasses, who was reaching

for the inside pocket of his leather jacket with a gloved hand as he moved swiftly toward

Meena and Yalena’s table.

Alaric swore and slid from the booth while pulling out his sword at the same time.

Jon was sidling back into the booth opposite him, looking pleased with himself.

“See?” he said to Alaric. “Some situations you can solve without swinging a sword

around…wait. What’s happening? Where are you going?”

But Alaric had already launched himself over the woman in the mink coat—who’d

stayed in her seat to finish her daiquiri and texts—pulling Señor Sticky from its scabbard as he

dove. Over at Yalena’s table, Gerald—because of course it was Yalena’s boyfriend Gerald in

the ball cap and hoodie; who else could it be?—had tugged something small and black from

his leather jacket and was pressing it to Meena’s back, speaking to her in a low voice, his

sunglasses still shading his eyes beneath the baseball cap brim.

No one in the restaurant was paying the least bit of attention to them. All eyes were now

on Alaric, the crazy man in the leather trench coat, doing gymnastic flips with a sword in his

hand. Only Alaric saw Meena’s spine go straight as a pool cue again, her eyes wide and

frightened looking.

Meanwhile, across the table, Yalena didn’t seem the least bit surprised. More like

relieved it wasn’t her rib cage the gun was pressed into this time.

At least, not until Alaric came crashing down beside them.

Then he got a reaction out of Yalena. Her mouth formed a perfect little O of surprise.

Which got even bigger when Alaric seized Gerald by the neck with one hand and

brought the flat of his blade smartly down on Gerald’s wrist with the other, causing him to

drop the pistol in pain.

Alaric looked down at the .22 Ruger on the floor with a smirk.

“Planning on doing some target practice later?” he asked Gerald. Gerald opened his

mouth and let out a hiss, revealing a set of extremely pointed incisors…along with a curled,

pointed tongue that darted in and out of his mouth like a snake. Meena, her eyes wide with

horror, jumped from her chair and hugged the wall, knocking some Shenanigans memorabilia

onto the floor.

“Oh, my God,” she cried. “He’s—”

“Yes, he is, isn’t he,” Alaric said calmly, still holding the vampire by the throat. “Do me

a favor, will you? Reach into my coat.”

Meena lifted a shaking hand, then plunged it into the deep pocket of Alaric’s trench coat.

“Got it?” he asked as he felt her slim fingers close around what was at the bottom of his

pocket.

“Got it,” Meena said, pulling out a small crystal vial and studying it curiously. “What is

it?”

“Holy water. I want you to throw it in his face now.”

The vampire hissed with even more venom upon hearing this and clawed at Alaric’s arm.

Meena looked from the vial to the vampire, her expression horrified.

“I can’t do that,” she said, shocked.

“Yes, you can, Meena,” Alaric said. “He’s not a man anymore. He’s a monster. Look at

him. And he just tried to shoot you.”

“It’s not that,” Meena said.

“I don’t want to upset everyone in this nice restaurant by cutting his head off,” Alaric

said. It was true. Everyone at the tables around them had lain down their Sticky Wings and was

staring, clearly confused by what was going on. “But I need to subdue him somehow. So

please do as I ask and throw some holy water in his face. It’s really all right. He’s already

dead. So you won’t be hurting him.”

“No,” Meena said, shaking her head. “I mean, I really can’t do that. That’s Stefan

Dominic, the new star of Insatiable . I knew I’d seen him before somewhere. It was that picture

Yalena showed me on her cell phone. He’s Gerald .”

“Great,” Alaric said, looking heavenward.

This was, without a doubt, the worst assignment he’d ever had.

Chapter Forty-six

1:00 P.M . EST, Saturday, April 17

910 Park Avenue, Apt. 11A

New York, New York

E mil wasn’t certain how to console his weeping wife. He had never seen Mary Lou quite

this upset.

“It’s probably only for a little while, darling,” he said as she threw armfuls of designer

clothing, most of it still on the hanger, into her hard-sided Louis Vuitton suitcases. Because it

was the maid’s day off, there was no one to pack for her.

“I love this apartment,” she sobbed. “I don’t want to go. And I’m going to miss all the

sample sales!”

“We’ll be back in no time,” Emil said.

In no way did he believe this was true. But he said it to comfort her, since she was crying

so violently.

“And there’ll be lots of shopping in Tokyo,” he pointed out.

“T-Tokyo!” Mary Lou echoed miserably. “What’s there for me in Tokyo? Nothing!”

Exactly, Emil thought to himself. No one for you to be hosting dinner parties for or

sending e-mails to .

But he didn’t dare say any of this out loud.

“You’ll love it,” he said instead. “And I really don’t think you need to bring so many

dresses. We can pick up whatever you need when we get there.” He added, a little hesitantly,

since he didn’t want to upset her further, “Do hurry, darling. I saw the vampire hunter leaving

on the elevator with the Harper girl a little while ago. They’ll be back shortly, I’m sure. I don’t

think we have much time.”

“ Meena! ” Mary Lou snarled the name like it was a curse word. “After all I did for her!

For her to be the one to turn on us!”

Emil looked furtively at his watch.

“I don’t think she had much of a choice,” he said. “And you were the one who set her up

with the prince. I’m not sure what you thought would happen. It’s never good to mix our kind

with the humans.”

Mary Lou had been trying to close her suitcase lid. It wouldn’t shut. Emil wasn’t sure if

it was this fact or his remark that caused his wife to lose what was left of her patience and

scream, “ I was human when you met me! Remember? Are you saying we don’t mix?”

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