19
“Close your mouth, Liz, you’re catching flies,” I said to my roomie, who was making it evident exactly how attractive she found my vampire companion. If her jaw dropped any lower, she’d be tripping over her lip.
“Sorry, not sorry,” she quipped, taking Robert’s hand into her own. “Oliva said you were hot, butwow.”
Robert turned to me, his brow quirked. “Oh, did she now?”
I rolled my eyes, ignoring the question. “Why is it so cold in here? I can practically see my breath.”
Liz, finally releasing Robert’s hand, wrapped her arms across her chest. “Tell me about it. The window was wide open when I got home.”
Well, that was weird. “What window?”
“The one above the kitchen sink.”
“I didn’t leave it open,” I said. “You know how obsessive I am about keeping everything locked up.” The number of crimes committed each year in Pelville still didn’t come close to the amount committed each day in the Bay Area. I may not have been worldly, but I wasn’t stupid.
Liz frowned. “I didn’t, either . . . I don’tthink.”
“You don’t have a home alarm?” Robert asked, stony-faced.
Liz and I burst out laughing.
“In case you haven’t noticed, we’d don’t have anything worth stealing,” she told the vamp.
Robert said, “It’s not possessions I’m concerned about. Did you draw a smiley face on the bathroom mirror, Elizabeth?”
Great. I’d just managed to calm him down about the stalker he was so convinced I had. I nodded at Liz with a meaningful look—tell him yes—which she totally missed.
“What a weird question,” she commented, looking at Robert and me. “When are you talking about?”
“I noticed it the other night when I was getting out of the tub, but I was thinking maybe you’d done it earlier,” I explained. “You were at David’s when I saw it.”
Liz thought a moment. “Sounds like something I’d do.”
“See?” I said to Robert, who didn’t look convinced. Truth be told, Robert’s earlier words of warning had left me feeling mildly spooked, though I still thought he was being paranoid.
“But you aren’t sure?” he asked Liz.
Liz placed a hand on her hip. “Okay, you guys are being weird. What’s going on?”
Now it was Robert I was throwing meaningful glances at. He was obviously aware that we couldn’t tell Liz what I really did for a living, which also meant that he couldn’t reveal his thoughts on the decoys who’d vanished. I jumped in before he had a chance to answer.
“There’s been a couple odd things that have been happening to me, is all,” I told her. “I thought I was being followed during my run the other night, and then I’ve been getting these weird calls where they stay on the line but don’t say anything. I figured it was bots.”
Liz snorted. “It’s probably Nick.”
“Who’s Nick?” Robert growled.
Thanks a lot, Liz.“He’s my idiot ex. But honestly, I don’t think he’d—”
“Um, he totallywould,” Liz interrupted. She looked at Robert. “I’ve never liked the guy. He’s a complete creep. Always wants what he can’t have, which is why he’s probably bothering Olivia now.”
“You want to me have a talk with this Nick creep?” Robert asked me.
I wondered what Robert’s version of “talking” entailed. Whatever it was, I had no doubt Nick would likely never bother me again afterthatconversation. Still, I didn’t want to get him involved in my trashy drama. Nick was my embarrassing problem to deal with.
“No, it’s okay. I honestly don’t think it’s him, anyway,” I said, giving Liz a thorny look.
