Laurence was one of the only vampires Tai had seen with actual crow’s feet. It had to come from the frequency with which he smiled and laughed, but the creases also showed up when he was plain disgusted, his signature squint of disapproval. Broderick—who, like Ryker and Leslie’s friend Mackey did surely have a first name, though no one ever used it—missed the squint as he tossed a slice of salmon-and-cucumber into his mouth.
Tai said, “So in your opinion, they’re not responsible for attacking the woman, because she set up a situation where they could choose to attack her?”
“Right, exactly. What were they supposed to do?”
“They were supposed tonotattack her.”
“If you ask me,” Broderick said, “this girl is way out of line, tripping up guys on purpose. It’s not even a fair fight, her being a vampire going after human guys.”
“She’s going after predators who’d hurt human women if they got the chance,” Tai said. “They don’t know she’s a vampire, from how Fred described his interviews with the guys.”
He wished he could meet her, in fact. Talk about going the extra mile for vulnerable people. The Vampires First crowd—some of whom attended these very meetings and were just as vocal about their beliefs as Laurence Maddox was about his—would sneer at this vampire for going to that kind of trouble and risk.
“And that’s another thing.” Broderick set his plate on the edge of the table, then folded his arms, widened his stance, andlooked all-around petulant and ridiculous. “How can Fred like what this girl’s doing? As a cop, he’s supposed to uphold the law.”
“Which he will,” Laurence said, “if the woman crosses any legal lines. He said that.”
“He also said he hopes she doesn’t, because he doesn’t want to have to arrest her.” Broderick rolled his eyes. “Total betrayal of all men everywhere.”
“I’m not betrayed.” Laurence shrugged. “You, Tai?”
“Not at all.”
Broderick ate a lamb skewer and swallowed within two seconds so he could keep talking. At least he didn’t still have food in his mouth. “She’s a spider, that’s what she is. Baiting men into her web just like a spider.”
It wasn’t as if Tai had never encountered men who talked like this. Typically he told them to shut up, and in their surprise at “one of their own” telling them off, they shut up and moved away from him. He didn’t know why this felt different, why he had the sudden urge to take a swing at this guy.
“She’s a person,” Tai said, tightness in the back of his throat, in his jaw, audible in his voice. Beside him, Laurence put a hand on his forearm as if Tai really did need restraining. “She’s a person, not a spider, and if you don’t see the importance of what she’s doing, that’s a you problem, Broderick.”
Broderick shrugged. “I’d like to be the one she tries baiting, that’s all. I’d turn the tables on her, you can bet. Vampire to vampire, fair fight. I’d remind her of her place.”
Okay, enough. In two strides, his full speed unleashed, Tai invaded Broderick’s space and hissed loudly in the man’s face. Broderick flinched so hard, he lost a lamb skewer off his plate onto the floor. Then he leaped backward several feet, this time keeping his plate balanced but nearly colliding with RobinKramer, one of the oldest relics in the room. She smacked Broderick upside the head.
“Good for Tai. You need to get your head on straight where women are concerned, and that’s all I’ll say about it for now.”
“I agree, Robin,” Dr. Levine said from the far corner of the room, and a few others chimed in generic agreement.
But more of them ought to speak up. All of them in fact, everyone in this room, relics and lookers alike. Vampires who had just listened to one of their own kind make threats against a woman.
“You going to fight him?” Laurence said in a tone that didn’t wholly disapprove.
“If he keeps running his mouth, I will.”
“You’d teach him a thing or two. I wouldn’t want to take on you or Ryker, the way you’ve sparred together for years.”
Tai didn’t often give much thought to his skill level, but Laurence was right. Even against Ryker, whose raw strength outclassed his own, Tai could win with speed and agility and the years of training they’d done together. He’d be the favorite against any given vampire his own age and even some older.
The evening wound down, and Broderick kept his mouth shut. Tai said good night to a few closer acquaintances, then made a final promise to Laurence that he’d see him on Sunday. Ryker and Leslie would be home from their honeymoon in Key Largo, and they were joining for dinner before grabbing a flight to Nashville. It would be a good Sunday. Time with the Maddoxes was always good.
Halfway to his car, his phone lit up. His chest fizzed with delight at the name on the screen.
Claire:Still at your event?
He typed as he walked under the streetlights. Yes, actual streetlights lined the Levine driveway, which was more like astreet of its own. The two dozen attendees of the quarterly meeting all managed to park on Levine property without a problem, no need for anyone to park in the actual street.
Just leaving. How’s your night going?
Claire:Very uneventful. I was wondering if you’d like to come over for a few hours, maybe watch a movie, maybe just talk.
