The Better to Eat You With: The Red Journals (10 page)

“I did!”
I squawked again. “Every bleedin’ hour for the past two days!”

A fine
brow arched up on his tanned face, but he made no response to me, merely turned
his to Felix. “Take her home, help her pack whatever she requires, and then
return. Vincent is due this evening.”

I made
like a fish again.
Home. My stuff. Home. My stuff.
Can
I get a woop-woop?

“Osiris.”
Felix halted the other Vampire as he went to turn away. Osiris blinked calmly
as he waited. “I have news for you.”

A thrill
of excitement reverberated through me, stretching a smile across my face as I
thought about fresh underwear and my—now favorite—orange scented shampoo, my
coats, tops, skirts and jeans, and my DC footwear collection.
Oh! And my iPad and DVD’s too!
I could
almost squeal.

I
wonder if I should raid my weapons stash to bring back with me.

“You have
made progress in your hunt?”
 

Hunt?
That one word alone jolted me from my
mental packing. I tilted my head to listen, to clarify their conversation as
the two Vampires turned to walk back to the house.

“Yes. My
lead proved true. Chicago
 
is the
next stop.”

“Who’re
you hunting?” I asked casually. Both men looked at me. I gave them my most
winning smile.

Felix
frowned.
“Red, why don’t you go on up to the house.”

“Nuh-uh.”
I was already shaking my head. “I do this for a living. I can help.” They both
looked skeptical. “I can get references if you really need them, but I’m pretty
sure a copy of my bank statement will prove more telling.”

They
shared a glance. Felix looked reluctant, but Osiris was staring at me as if I
was the newest bug in his collection.
Again. I
squirmed.
The idea of a hunt, any hunt, after several days of physical
but mental idleness, was enough to make my adrenaline surge with excitement. My
mind was already turning with wonder at whom they could possibly be chasing,
mentally scanning through my last couple of emails, wondering if any of them
were from these guys.

“Oh-my-God!”
I bounced and clapped. “I might already have an enquiry about whoever you’re
hunting!” I grabbed both their arms. “Let’s go! The sooner we get my stuff the
better!”

Felix pulled
free. “Red, I really don’t think—”

“Actually,”
Osiris stopped too, and I huffed and looked between them, “this might be a good
idea—”

“What?”

“Really?”

“Fresh
eyes, different skill set. And,” he held up his hand when Felix went to speak,
“she does have skills, Felix.” He spun on his heel then, hands linked behind
his back as if he were just out for a stroll, without another word of
explanation. “She goes with you to
 
Chicago.”

“Osiris!”
The white-haired Vampire didn’t answer, and Felix turned a scowl on me as I
beamed and bounced. “You,” he jutted a finger at me, “will do exactly as I say.”

I arched
a brow at the finger.

“When I
say it.”

I snapped
my teeth at the finger, then linked my arm in his, too happy about getting my
stuff and going hunting—both very favorable pastimes—to care how grouchy having
a partner made him.

“You’ll
never find a more helpful accomplice,” I told him, meandering in Osiris’s path.

Felix
frowned. “Only criminals have accomplices.”

I just
grinned up at him.

You’d be
surprised by how much of the Vampire propaganda is literally what it pertains
to be: fiction. A lot of it has been encouraged by Vampires themselves over the
centuries, falsehoods that deter mortals from ever knowing that Vampires walk
among them, as freely as the Gentry, Weres, Shifters and Ghouls. There are
telltale signs that mark them for what they are, and humans do have an innate
‘feeling’ upon encountering such a being as an Immortal, telling them they’re
different. Dangerous. Though, more often than not, humans do not know what it
is about a certain individual that makes them so…otherworldly.

Some do
not heed their instinct, which happens more often than you’d think. Some
benefit from it, since most Immortals merely seek human company for blood or
sex. Attaining either, for some species, definitely can’t be snuffed at by the
mortal kind given the euphoric benefits. Others, however, are not so fortunate.
I once had to hunt down a rogue Gentry—a fairy—for a Fae Lord. Fairies are
tricksters by nature, wily and cunning, but they have to be. I would say it is
part of their nature, but it is actually a keen sense of self, developed over
an Immortal lifetime and honed in the political courts of the Fae for a very
special reason.

Gentry
cannot lie.
So they manipulate, coerce, bargain, and generally twist the
truth is such a way as to make it a goddamned art.
Suffice
as to say, never bargain with a Fae. You’ll always lose.

Mortals, have
no defense against a fairy’s beauty. Everything about them draws you to
them, whether they mean you harm or not. This particular rogue Fae was…twisted.
He lured in unsuspecting women and enchanted them, making carefully worded
promises, like ‘give me your credit card details and I’ll ensure you get
everything you deserve’. He then proceeded to make off with each woman’s
worldly possessions. Be it car, money, furniture, clothing, food, whatever. He
was a menace to human kind, and made no effort to conceal what he was, thereby
endangering the Gentry. My job had been to bring him in and let the Fae Courts
doll out their own justice. Which I had done. I had pretended to be
totally enamored by his charm, looks and Fae magic, and then whacked him on the
head, bound, gagged, and blindfolded him, then returned him to his Lord.

I got
paid, and I received a stunning obsidian butterfly pendant as my bonus. It was
also enchanted, which I had removed. It was supposed to keep me coming back
time and time again to that Fae Lord. Apparently, I had my own kind of magic.

Snicker,
snicker.

Anywhoo,
I digress. The existence of Vampires very much stems from folklore and myth
that is mostly mistruths and slander. Though it is encouraged. Humans believe Vampires
are killed by beheading and staking—true, but it’s a bit more involved than
that. They think garlic, crosses and holy water will deter them—complete and
utter bollocks.
 
My Grandmother
could kill Vampires better than you. They think Vampires subsist solely off
human blood—true, but they aren’t killers.
Mostly
they’re alcoholics.
Why would you kill off your only food source?

Mortals
also think that daylight hours are safe, and that night is the only time to
worry about locking your doors and windows. Again, bollocks. For one, Vampires
gain certain abilities as they mature, but mind control is there from Making. You
didn’t think all those golden sparks in their eyes were for nothing did you?
And as for sunlight, well, the Vampire driving
 
my truck
 
looked utterly divine with all
that crystalline, opalescent skin glittering and shimmering in the light of day
as we pulled into the circular driveway outside my house. I could almost feel
sorry for mortals, since they couldn’t see it.

Still
don’t like another Immortal knowing where I live. Shudder,
heebie-jeebies, shudder.

“This is
it?” Felix asked as he turned off the engine. He wouldn’t give me the
keys. What did he think I was gonna do? Drive off? Ha! My truck is nifty,
but it’s got jack-shit compared to Vampire speed. He’d probably just turn it on
its roof anyways.

“Yes. This
is my house,” I replied, pushing my door open and hopping out. He nodded and
pushed his door open. “Whoa, what are you doing?”

He’s
not seriously coming in with me is he?

“Going in
with you,” he replied, as if it were a given.

I stared
at him across the seats as I planted a fist on my hip. “Uh, no. I don’t think
so.”

He arched
a fine brow. “Why not?”

“For
one,” I scowled, “you’ll set off all my alarms. Immortals
 
do not
 
come into my house.” I slammed my door
shut and walked around to the front of the truck.

He met me
there and folded his arms.

“For
another,” I continued, ignoring the delicious bulging of his biceps, “I don’t
want you in there, poking around all my stuff.” I gesticulated irritably to emphasize
my point.

He just
shook his head and smiled indulgently.

Patronizing
bastard.
 

“I’m
coming in, pet,” he told me, taking my shoulders and turning my scowling self
towards the house. “Now, go unlock the door.” He slapped my backside when I
didn’t move fast enough, and to my indignation, I yelped.

“Fine,
but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Feeling rather plucky about what was about to
happen, I unlocked my door, stepped inside, and went to the security panel. I
knew he wouldn’t wait, knew I wouldn’t stop the system attacking him, knew it
was gonna hurt like hell. And I
 
relished
 
it.

Even if I
disabled the panel in record time, the instant Felix crossed the threshold, a
high frequency screech would rip through the house. So, when he sauntered in,
that’s exactly what happened.  Instantly, he was hissing in pain and dropping
to his knees, hands gripping his head. The debilitating sound was so high,
not even my wolfy ears could detect it, although it did make fine hairs stand
up all over my body. However, Vampires were particular sensitive to this type
of frequency, because it was aimed specifically at the cerebral cortex, right where
Vampires develop the majority, if not all, of their mind-control abilities.

I do so
love my cutesy, purring genius techy person.

Sighing,
figuring it probably wasn’t diplomatic to let my new accomplice writhe on the
floor like a slug in salt, I flipped up the touch screen interface and
leisurely input all the security protocols and turned off the ‘Mosquito’.

Felix
slumped to the floor, bracing on his hands, blood trickling from his ears and
nose. I’m pretty sure I even heard the faint, shuddering beat of his heart
giving him a resounding
WTF?

I kicked
out a hip and crossed my arms, arching a brow that basically screamed, ‘I told
you so’.

He lifted
his head and glared at me, then slowly came to his feet, and cracked his neck.

Ew.

“That,” he
remarked steadily, wiping away blood from his ear, “was a new experience.” He
looked around as if bracing for a giant bolder to come rolling down my hallway,
Indiana Jones style, then used his shirt sleeve to wipe his nose.

I snorted
and turned away, heading for my bedroom to pack some clothes.
My
 
clothes.

“Humbling,
isn’t it?” I snickered, then stopped and spun back to him, pointing. “Don’t
touch anything, I’ll be right back.”

Before I
even got to my bedroom, I already had an inventory of my wardrobe, and had itemized
it so that I knew exactly what I was packing. While I was packing clothes,
shoes, wash stuff and multiple red coats, my mind was listing all the other
things I needed to do. Like remove my laptop hard drive and secure my laptop in
the safe, as well as pack my iPad and chargers so I could access client
enquiries on the go.
Mentally cataloguing my
DVD collection and deciding which ones to take with me. I even packed my
pillows because, let’s face it, no pillows are better than one’s own pillows.
I
also needed to seriously raid my weapons store. However much I loved my
bracelets, I doubt a few knives, a couple of guns, and a few cartridges of
liquid silver and titanium tipped bullets, wouldn’t go amiss.

And,
though I loathed admitting it out loud, a part of me was anticipating
impressing Felix with my collection.

Shivers.

After
changing into
my own underwear
, boyfriend jeans, a dove grey button down
and DC high top trainers, and running
 
my
own brush
 
through my hair, I
pulled up the handle on my small suitcase, slung an empty pack over my
shoulder, grabbed my red duffel coat, and head back out to the hallway.

Felix was
no longer standing before my door.

I
frowned, and glanced into the kitchen, then my lounge—grabbing DVD’s on the way—and
then headed down to my study. Felix was there, filling my work space with his
tantalizing scent of ice and anise as he roamed past my bookshelves and
fingered my paperwork.

“Thought
I told you not to touch anything?” I grouched, opening up my pack and dropping
it on the desk.

“How many
jobs do you usually take on in a month?” he asked, still fingering my neat pile
of completed jobs awaiting money clearance. 

I frowned
as I removed the hard drive from my laptop, before shooing him away and taking the
re-tidied pile away.

I moved
over to bookcase, “Enough to keep me in the style of living I’m accustomed to.”
I pushed in Robert Southey’s edition of Goldilocks and the Three Bears— when
Goldilocks was a crafty old woman rather than a twit of a little girl—and a
full section of my bookcase popped out, and then slid to the right, revealing
my little safe.

Felix
instantly peered over my shoulder as I tried to quickly and covertly type in
the override code. As I swung it open, I removed my iPad, and handed it to him,
then slid my laptop and pile of paperwork in its place.

“You must
really like your technology.” I heard him mutter before spinning to face
him. 

The soft
hum of the bookcase sliding back into place at my back assured me all was
locked up and safe, as I observed him flicking through files on my iPad. I
snatched it out of his hands.

“What did
I say about touching?” I snapped, powering the iPad down.

“You
handed it to me.” One side of his mouth quirked up, hinting at a dimple.

My eyes
latched onto it like a starving person to a breadcrumb. His grin grew, and the
hint of a dimple became a matching set. I yanked my eyes away and scowled hard
at him, wondering suspiciously if he was trying to bait me. I hadn’t forgotten
the effect his lips, his sniffing and softly murmured words had had on me in
the woods that morning, and the close proximity in my own territory was making
me antsy. My wolf side disliked him being there, spreading his scent around
like he was marking me as his. I didn’t want to be marked up. I also didn’t
want anyone thinking I belonged to anyone but me.

Blah.

I moved
to my desk, and slid the iPad and a few other gadgets into my bag. “Technology
makes my job easier and safer, I have the money for it, and my tech wizard
likes me.” I gave Felix a wry grin. “I make him purr.”

His eyes
narrowed as he shifted closer to me, suddenly all stiff and imposing.

“Who is
he? Your boyfriend?” he asked, his tone a little sharp.

Oh,
oh, oh! What was this? Jealousy? Smells like cherry-cola. Who knew?

“Why do
you want to know?” I asked as I slid my pack onto my shoulder, giving him a
wide-eyed, innocent look.

His brows
shot together as he squared his shoulders and shifted his eyes away from mine.
“He could be useful.”
 

Oh
yeah, definitely jealousy. I inhaled and savored.

I
sauntered past him. “We have a mutually beneficial relationship, whereby at the
end of each of our encounters we leave one another satisfied.” I knew I was
yanking his chain, but it was just too fun to pass up. Girl’s gotta get her jollies
somewhere, and it might as well be from an overly-charming, overly-arrogant,
bossy Vampire with control issues.

“So he
gives you top of the line security. What do you give him?” he asked, hedging
rather than just spitting it out.

I set my
pack down with my suitcase and then moved into the lounge towards the
entertainment center. I grinned at him as I pointed the remote at the wall.
“Whatever
makes him purr.” I clicked a button, and a low hum sounded once again, as the
whole entertainment system—flat screen, speakers, stereo, shelves holding
vinyl, DVDs and CDs—started moving forward, separating from the wall.

Felix
arched a brow at me as I waltzed over to the side of it and walked down the
steps into my secret weapons room. This house wasn’t advertised with a
basement, so I’d had a secret one installed—mostly by myself. Shit like that is
way easier when you’re epically strong. The expansive underground space held
the majority of my weapons as well as a small training area where, once locked
down here, I could just lose myself in pounding a punching bag or going for a
run.
The walls were reinforced and soundproof—a
veritable safe room.
It even had a little shower cubicle in the corner
and a locker with spare gym clothes. My Vampire delighted in the solitude of
it. My wolf growled.