Five minutes later, Lanny sat beside Jamie on a barstool at his kitchen island drinking amug of animal blood. Andliking it. The Catholic in him wondered how many Hail Marys and Our Fathers he’d have to say to get over this. The vampire in him wished the contents of his cup were a little stronger.
Jamie seemed to be having a similar inner war if his expression was anything to go by.
“Is everybody gonna turn into one?” he asked, licking blood off his upper lip. “Is this like the plague or something? Shit – is thisI Am Legend? Fuck, I knew it.”
“No, it isn’t a plague,” Nikita said sternly. He stood on the opposite side of the island, hands braced on the counter, looking like the world’s grumpiest guidance counselor. “This is all because of one vampire.” He looked grim. “We’ve got to put a stop to it.Ido. It’s my fault.”
“Pretty sure you weren’t there when he was making out with people’s necks,” Lanny said.
“No, but I had the chance to kill him, and didn’t take it.”
Jamie choked on his next sip.
Lanny said, “Damn. You’re gonna kill him?”
“Do you want him out there loose turning other people?”
“No, but, I mean…didn’t you used to be the president of his dad’s fan club or something?”
Nikita snorted. “Or something.”
~*~
Sasha kept up a steady, rolling growl, words full of gravel. “Lock your door. Stay in the car.” He popped his own door and slid out of the cruiser with the graceful, threatening movements of a predator. She’d seen it last night and marveled at it still: the way he went from looking like a slender nineteen-year-old to something poised and dangerous. Even without shifting, Sasha turned into the sort of thing you didn’t want to run into in an alley.
He approached Alexei with his head down – shielding his throat – lips skinned back off his teeth, snarling now. The sound sent a shiver down Trina’s spine.
Alexei held up both hands, palms out; his expression remained mild. “I didn’t come to fight, Sasha. I wanted to check on Lanny.”
Sasha’s head dropped even lower, shoulders bunching up. He looked ready to spring. “How do you think he is after you turned him? Why would you do that? You know better!”
In her mirror, Trina spotted a handful of customers that had come to a standstill in the parking lot, watching what looked like a major beatdown about to unfold. And Sasha wasgrowling. Shit.
She opened her door, climbed out, and said, “Boys, let’s not make a big scene in broad daylight, okay?”
They both turned to her.
Sasha’s growl cut off and he looked dismayed. “You got out of the car.”
“And both of you should get in it, right now, before this ends up on YouTube.” When they stared at her, she clapped her hands together once, sharply. “Right now.”
Which was how she ended up with Russian royalty in the backseat of her unmarked cruiser.
