Мишель Роуэн - Lady & the Vamp

He touched his neck. The marks from the attack that turned him into a vampire two months ago were long gone. That vamp had wanted Quinn dead because he believed Quinn was responsible for slaying his wife.

Revenge was sometimes justified.

But the attack hadn't killed him. It had only changed him into the very thing he'd hunted for over a decade.

"Penny for your thoughts," Barkley said.

Quinn took in a shuddery breath. "Nothing. Just daydreaming."

"You're not very forthcoming with your emotions, you know that?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize we were doing male bonding here."

Barkley shrugged, then reached over the table to grab the car keys. "I haven't tried this in a while—"

"Tried what?"

He closed his eyes and Quinn looked at him oddly, as did the waitress as she dropped off their orders.

"I'm trying to get a read. Can't get it off you personally, but maybe something you've touched."

Quinn rolled his eyes and swirled the coffee around in his cup. "Don't pop a blood vessel trying."

Barkley's eyes shot open. "I know the real reason you're here."

Quinn froze.

"You've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon ." Then he laughed and pushed the keys back across the table. "Nah. I figured I couldn't get a read, but it was worth a try."

Quinn's lips twitched into a forced smile. "Listen, you eat your feast there, and I'm going to get some directions."

"Go to it."

Quinn stood up and went over to the long counter. Another waitress, a younger one with brown hair and a big smile, came closer.

"Hi there," she said.

"Hi." He smiled back. Charm. What was that again? It used to come easily to him, but now he could probably fake it if he tried hard enough. "Listen, I'm wondering if you can help me."

She put a hand on her hip. "Sure thing. What do you need?"

She rubbed her lips together and tucked her hair back behind her left ear. She was cute and seemed to be trying to look appealing in her pink smock waitress outfit. He found it slightly endearing.

His gaze moved along the edge of her top and along her collarbone to her throat.

She'd probably bare her neck willingly to me. All I'd have to do is ask.

He shook his head, trying to cast out such thoughts. He hadn't bitten anybody yet, and he wasn't going to start now. There were establishments where the average vamp could find blood on tap next to draft beer and cocktails, and that was the only way he was going to get his next meal when he needed it. Even then it made him feel wrong. He'd gone almost three full days without blood. In the beginning he'd needed it several times a day, but now he could go longer. He wasn't sure how long, but he wanted to find out.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper that held his destiny. "Do you know the quickest route to Good law ? It's not on this map I bought."

She nodded. "Sure. It's more of a district than an actual town, really." She lifted her arm and pointed out the window. "Take the highway there west towardPhoenix . In two hours, give or take, you'll come to

Goodlaw . Don't blink or you'll miss it."

He nodded. "Great. Thanks a lot for your help."

"Any time."

He turned away, but she touched his arm, making him turn back to look at her. "And I mean any time."

He could see her pulse through the pale skin on her neck. His mouth began to water.

He swallowed hard and shrugged off her hand. Then with a meager smile, practiced so as not to show off his fangs, he turned back to rejoin Barkley, who was already half done with his meal.

"Your coffee's getting cold," he said with his mouth full.

Quinn looked out the window. He could see the Ford and beyond that the bus stop. He reached across the table to reclaim the keys and slid them into his pocket. Time to part ways with Barkley. The werewolf shouldn't have to spend any more time with a fledgling vampire. Way too dangerous. For both of them.

Yeah, justify abandoning a friend any way you can, his conscience scolded.

He gritted his teeth at the thought.

"I'm going to the washroom." Quinn stood up, half expecting Barkley to automatically know what he was about to do.

He didn't even look up and instead just nodded and kept eating. "Have fun."

Good-bye, Barkley, he thought.

And then he turned away to find that someone was blocking him.

"Do you think you can hold it?" the someone said. "Because we need to have a chat."

He was so surprised that he dropped back down into the booth. "What the hell—?"

Janie sat down in the booth next to Barkley. Her huge lug of a partner squeezed in beside Quinn.

"Good to see you, too," Janie said. "Don't worry. This shouldn't take long."

Quinn frowned. "Janelle—"

"I prefer to be called Janie. Be careful or I'll start calling you Michael. Or Mike. Doesn't really suit you anymore, does it?"

Quinn was in shock. The last time he'd seen Janie Parker had been a little over a week ago, when she'd shot him in the chest with a garlic dart before she'd attempted to kill a woman named Sarah, a good friend of his. Before that he hadn't seen her since she was a kid and he used to hang out with her brother.

He absolutely hated the bitch.

But damn, even he had to admit that she'd grown up really nice.

She was blond, with long hair done in that way women paid a lot of money for. Three or four different shades of blond from honey to platinum. She had high cheekbones, cool blue eyes lined in smoky black, and full red lips.

At first glance, she was a total babe. But that didn't make him like her any more. Well, parts of him did, maybe. But the rest of him still couldn't stand the sight of her.

"What the hell do you want?" he growled.

"We want the Eye," she replied.

Quinn's entire body tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He tried not to let anything show on his face, but panic twisted his gut. How did she know? Who told her?

The waitress approached. "What can I get you two?"

Janie didn't take her eyes off Quinn. "Nothing."

"Y'all can't just take up space here. You have to order something. It's the rules."

Lenny, who seemed to Quinn about the size of a cube van sitting next to him in the small booth, reached over and flipped through the menu. "I am a little hungry."

Janie sighed. "Fine. I'll have a coffee."

"Anything else?"

"No."

The waitress rolled her eyes, then looked at Lenny.

Lenny glanced at Barkley. "How was the burger?"

Barkley blinked. "Greasy but worth it."

"I'll have the same as him."

The waitress retreated.

Quinn cocked his head to one side and forced a smile to his lips. "You didn't ask for separate bills."

"You're not going to be a gentleman and pick up the tab for an old friend?"

He snorted and leaned back in his seat, trying to look relaxed when he felt anything but. "We were never friends, Janie."

"No, that's right. You were friends with my brother. The one you watched die."

Janie's brother Peter was a vampire hunter who enjoyed his work a little too much. Instead of feeling it was his job, it became fun to him. One night he got on the wrong side of a gun held by a vamp, and he'd lost. Quinn wanted to feel bad about it, but he didn't. Peter had changed. He wasn't the same guy Quinn had sparred with as a teenager while their fathers discussed hunter politics.

Barkley shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "Quinn, are you going to introduce me?"

Quinn was busy staring at Janie, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this. He knew she was a trainedMerc —a mercenary—who sold her skills to anyone with the biggest dollar.

"Who are you working for?"

She ignored him and instead turned to Barkley, giving him a sly smile. "I'm Janie. Janie Parker."