“It’s not what you think.” Christian put his hands in his pants pockets.
“I’ve heardthatbefore.” Wyatt’s eyes rounded when he looked at the breakfast dish. “Say, who made food without telling me?” He circled the table like a vulture and pulled the pan closer. Instead of cutting a piece of the banitsa, he used Lenore’s fork to eat straight from the pan. “Sothisis what he serves all the hoity-toity guests,” Wyatt said around a mouthful of food.
Christian pushed in his chair. “Shouldn’t you be tracking Raven?”
“Unless she’s a sleepwalker, I’m on a break. She’s not allowed to leave the hotel except to go to work. That way I’ll know if something’s up. It’s the only way I can get some shut-eye, unless you expect me to stare at a screen for sixteen hours straight. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a Vampire. Though I once stayed up for a record three days.”
“Well, isn’t that astonishing?”
“Almost went insane.” Wyatt licked his fork and stared at Christian. “You two looked… chummy.”
“She’s an old acquaintance,” he replied flatly.
“I’ll say.” Wyatt gave a sideways smile and took another big bite of pastry before setting the fork down. “Shepherd has a few leads I’m looking into. If any of them look promising, I’ll pass that along to Raven.”
“What smells good?” Blue strutted into the room in her dark red gown with the bell sleeves. She’d hung the garment by the door the previous night. It was unusual to see her in it during daylight hours, but their schedules were now upside down. “I’m starving.”
Wyatt pulled the pan of banitsa closer to him like a dog guarding its bowl. “Just the person I wanted to see. How did the phone work out?”
“No problems. The breakaway design is better than looping something around my neck. You might want to put a rubber case around it.”
Wyatt crossed his arms over the back of Raven’s chair. “Why’s that?”
She rounded the table and yanked the pan toward her. After slicing off a piece, she scooped it up in her hand. “Whenever I shift, it falls on the ground and makes noise. I’m also afraid it’ll break.” Blue took a huge bite of the pastry, crumbs sprinkling onto the table. “You have no idea how hard it was to restrain my falcon from chasing down rats in the alley. All she wanted to do was hunt. Tonight I’m leaving on a full stomach.”
Wyatt cut himself a large piece and held it like a prize against his ratty old T-shirt of a ghost that said: DEJA BOO. The two headed toward the hall. “I’ll find a case for your phone. Just be sure to keep it turned off. You don’t want it ringing while you’re in bird mode.”
She patted his shoulder as she walked through the doorway ahead of him. “Thanks, amigo. I’m hitting the sack. This is the most boring assignment I’ve ever had.”
“I’d rather be sitting on a building all night than in my chair,” Wyatt grumbled as he followed behind her. “I really need lumbar support.”
Christian fell into step beside Wyatt and put his arm around him. “You won’t be telling Raven about our visitor, now will you?”
“What do you take me for?”
“A man who likes to stir the pot.”
Wyatt put the pastry in his left hand and made a gesture over his chest. “Cross my heart.”
“And hope to die?”
“Just don’t stick any needles in my eye.”
Christian put their heads together as they walked, his voice thick with malice. “Do you? Do you hope to die?”
Chapter 9
Aweek had zipped by. A week of slinging beer and watching people achieve sexual fulfillment. While I didn’t require as much sleep as the average person, I slept for as many hours as I could. The job was tiring, and I needed to stay alert.
Christian left me coffee in a thermos every morning. Even though he wasn’t supposed to be there, and even though I never saw him do it, he did it without fail. Usually it was cold by the time I woke up, so I poured it into a cup and tossed it in the microwave. At least this place wasn’t a dump. The vending machines in the hall had oodles of good snacks, cheaper than the ones in Wyatt’s overpriced machine. They also served a continental breakfast downstairs early each morning. Unable to leave the hotel in the daytime, I usually ordered a pizza around midafternoon, showered, and watched TV. The monotonous routine made me feel human again.
It also made me feel like the living dead.
My internal alarm clock went off, so I got dressed and popped the contact lens into my right eye. The leather shorts had worked out great, but the corset was ridiculously constricting and hot. If it were up to me, I’d just cut an old T-shirt in half. But the White Owl didn’t want its workers looking like groupies at a rock concert, so I’d been wearing a leather bra with two spikes where my nipples were. Leather cuff bracelets were my only accessories; anything else would have been overkill. After pulling my hair up, I grabbed a long duster, my purse, and my mask, and headed out the door.
Breed cops patrolled this district. Insiders in every profession kept Breed business under wraps, so at least I didn’t have to worry about a cop pulling me over for dressing like a prostitute.
Once I reached the club, I swung by my station and flagged Simone, who was holding a compact mirror and touching up her black lipstick. “I’m here—sorry I’m late. Give me two minutes.”
