“If you will excuse me, boys,” I said, feigning boredom. “All this testosterone is about to drown my shoes.” I turned and walked away. I knew there wouldn’t be a physical battle. Karson wouldn’t want to get thrown out, and he couldn’t exactly vampire control the whole room.
His claim on me was surprising, and maddening. I couldn’t work out how he felt about me. He didn’t want me dead. He had some kind of protective urge, but why? Not for something physical, he was out of my league. Not that I cared, I told myself. But apparently lying to myself was just another thing I wasn’t good at.
The alcohol whooshed around inside my head. My heel burned. I needed some fresh air. I made it halfway out the door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Karson breathed fire into my ear.
I stopped and glanced around, a couple by the door were watching us. They couldn’t hear what we were saying, but our body language and the look on Karson’s face was enough to tell a story.
I threw out a hand. “I told you I would get into his office and find out what he knew. And that’s what I was doing.”
“Do you never learn.” He snarled. “Your naive behaviour is going to get you killed.”
“I can handle myself.” I turned to escape his anger. I stepped outside onto the porch.
“Handle yourself?” He grabbed my arm, stopping my flight and raised his voice. “Do you know what he was thinking? Do you have any idea of what he thought was on offer? Do you?”
Two older couples chatting in the corner turned to stare.
Mortified, I hissed, “Let go of my arm.”
He let go and turned to the couples. “This is of no concern to you,” he said, “you have seen nothing.”
They went back to normal conversation as if nothing had happened.
“Must be handy . . . to act like the world’s biggest bastard and mind control people not to take notice,” I snapped. I hoisted my dress up and stepped down the stairs.
He followed me down. “And when Jefferson made a move on you, and I can assure you he would have made a move. What exactly would you have done?”
I stopped, stared up at him. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I didn’t know.
“Answer me,” he growled, “you want to play games. What would you have done?”
“I don’t know,” I snapped. A lump formed in my throat and choked me. I don’t know why or where the sudden urge to cry came from. I turned my head out to the lake, watching the ripples, trying to distract myself. My head began to thump. I closed my eyes for a moment and then reopened them.
“What were you going to do, just come out and ask if he’d killed the Tolles?” Karson retreated somewhat. “And if he had, what do you think might have happened to you?”
“Nothing, because I’m not actually that stupid.” Even as I said the words, I knew I probably would have been that stupid. “And anyway, he hardly seems like a killer.”
“Why, because he smiled at you? You are a child, Amelia, and your ignorance is going to get you in way too deep one day.”
“I can swim,” I barked, “just go back inside.”
He held my eyes. I could see the debate whip through them, to stay and argue or to go. In the end, he turned and strode back up the stairs.
I walked onto the grass, took my shoes off, clasped them in my hand and headed to a seat that sat overlooking the lake. The grassy banks were lit by lots of small, solar-powered garden lights. The moon waved a mirror image against the expansive steel water. Frogs croaked. The faint scent of the water lilies tickled the night air. I moved over to a little white bench and sat down.
“Nice night.” Mike Bowden appeared beside the bench, a whiskey glass in one hand. His hair was swooped over to the side, like it was well past a haircut and he didn’t quite know what to do with it. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of smokes. He held the pack across.
I shook my head.
“Sorry to hear about Katrina and Robert,” he said, flicking the lighter and drawing back on the smoke. He blew out a puff. The smell of smoke clogged my nose.
“Nice suit,” I said.
He nodded, ignoring my jest, and took a sip of whiskey. “Seen you arguing with Karson,” he said casually, glancing across the lake.
I shrugged. “So?”
