The kettle whistled and Crow held out his hand to Myra. “Credit card. I already pay for your wages with my taxes, I’m not paying for your donuts too.”
She pulled a card out of the slim wallet in her pocket, and I went into the kitchen for tea for the vampire and coffee for the rest of us.
The only tea in my cupboard was Lipton black, a couple Earl Grey that I didn’t remember buying, and a single licorice spice. I filled a cup with water and put one of each bag on a plate beneath it.
“All right. Let the fun begin. Tea.” I handed it to Rossi, then returned to the kitchen for coffee, cream, and sugar. “Rossi, I didn’t hear you promise not to use your tricks on Ryder,” I said as I walked back in.
“You weren’t in the room.”
“He didn’t agree,” Myra said.
Ryder held his cup up over his shoulder and I refilled it. I sat, filled my cup, and handed the pot to Jean. She filled her cup and Myra’s.
“So let’s have that promise,” I said.
The vampire was dangling three tea bags off his fingers. “We really need to talk about your lack of tea in this house. Lipton? Could you find nothing more...pedestrian? Doesn’t Folgers put out a tea?”
“Still not a promise.” I slurped coffee, which wasn’t Folgers, thank you very much.
“Fine.” Rossi chose the Lipton with a grimace. “I agree to your terms. Mr. Bailey?”
“Terms are good with me.”
Rossi wasted no time. “Who is your boss?”
Ryder ground his teeth together for a moment and gave me a dirty look like I had coached Rossi or something. Finally he seemed to give in. “Jake Monroy.”
“Your client?” I said before thinking. “Not your client,” I corrected. Well, no wonder he’d been arguing with Ryder late at night on his doorstep. Now I wondered what they had been arguing about. “What about Frank?”
“He was a recruiter. He was my boss at the beginning.”
“Did you or someone in your agency kill Sven?” Rossi went on like I didn’t even exist.
“No.”
“Did the hunters?”
“It’s possible, but I have no proof.”
“Give me their names.”
It might not have been actual mental manipulation, but the way Rossi said it carried weight and pressure. As if the years of his life made each word come out heavier than it should.
“No.”
“Bad move,” Jean said. “Never piss off the fanger.”
“He can say no,” I said. “This is a discussion not an interrogation.”
Rossi slipped his steady gaze over to me. From the corner of my eye I could see Ryder relax. I had sympathy for Ryder. Rossi’s gaze could make a brick wall squirm.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Delaney.”
“That’s okay, I’ll give it to you for free. I want the names of the people in town hunting vampires too, but if Ryder gives them to you, then he’s no longer useful to you. That isn’t how you’re going to behave. We’ve talked about you not killing him, haven’t we?”
I didn’t mean for it to come out in such a motherly sort of tone and felt my ears go hot with a blush as Rossi raised both eyebrows and gave me an incredulous smile.
“Did you just use a ‘mom’ voice on me?”
