Read Online Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter #16 - Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Laurell K. Hamilton
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Fiction - Fantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy - Contemporary, Contemporary, Horror, Paranormal, Love Stories, Vampires, American Science Fiction And Fantasy, Fathers and sons, Fantasy - Dark, Werewolves, Romance - Paranormal, Blake, Anita (Fictitious character), Occult, Horror Fiction
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“Of course, Mr. Allbright, we’re glad to have you with us.”
Jason sighed. “She was making a joke. The name is Schuyler, Jason Schuyler.”
The man crossed out Allbright and wrote in the right name. “Whatever you say, Mr. Schuyler.”
“Crap,” Jason said under his breath.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“If I was a Summerland, why was I coming in tomorrow?”
The man looked puzzled, but he played along in whatever game he thought we were playing.
“Your bachelor party, of course. You’re getting married at the end of the week. Your brother arrived yesterday with his fiancée.”
“Look, I am a distant cousin of the Summerlands. I got mistaken for the twins all through school. My name really is Jason Schuyler. This is my friend Anita Blake. I’m here to visit my family.”
“Of course you are.” It was clear he didn’t believe Jason, but at the same time very clear that he would repeat whatever lie Jason spouted, and swear to it in court afterward.
“I take it the Summerlands are big shots around here?” I said.
“The biggest,” Jason said.
The man with the clipboard looked from one to the other of us. “The bride-to-be is already in town. Her bachelorette party is tonight.”
“You invited?” I said.
He looked flustered. “Of course not.”
“Then how do you know so much?”
“I’ve been helping get the guests settled,” he said, and sounded indignant.
“Fine, but we are not guests.”
“Of course not, and if asked, I haven’t seen Keith Summerland. He will arrive tomorrow as planned.” The man seemed pleased with himself as if he’d said a smart thing. Then he walked away with another wink.
file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared Dowloads\EBooks\Anita Blake Series 1-17\(Book16] - Bl... 10/18/2009
BloodNoir
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I looked at Jason. “We are speaking English, right? I mean he does understand what we’re saying, doesn’t he?”
“You have to know Keith to understand the man’s problem. It would be like him to come in a day early with another woman. He’d probably bring the stripper in personally.”
“A wild child?” I asked.
“He thought he was. I just thought he was a dick.”
“Do you really look that much like him?”
“Yes.” He said it flat and unhappy. “I look enough like them both to make this visit even harder. The media will be all over this wedding.”
“But they’re like local celebrities, not national, right? I mean, it won’t be that bad.”
“Do you know who Governor Summerland is?”
I stared at him. “You’re joking.”
“I wish.”
“The governor that they’re thinking about running for president is this Summerland?”
“Yep,” Jason said.
“I don’t watch TV or read newspapers much, but even I know who he is.”
“If his eldest son is getting married this week, the media are going to be everywhere, and I look like his twin. We were always getting confused for each other in high school.”
“You can’t look that much alike.”
“He pretended to be me on a date with my girlfriend. She caught on, eventually. He took a beating for me once from some of the guys at school. I’d smarted off, and they found him first. He was hitting on a girlfriend of mine again. Pretending to be me.”
“And he got beat up for it?” I said.
“He did.”
“Very karmic,” I said.
Jason nodded, actually looking happy. We had our bags on the tarmac and the pilot was asking for a return schedule when we were joined by a man who, though well dressed in a nice conservative suit, had thug tattooed across his forehead. Metaphorically speaking. The suit was tailored well enough that if I hadn’t been looking for it I might have missed the bulge on his hip. But I was looking, and I knew a gun when I saw it ruin the line of a suit. The Browning did not ruin the line of my suit jacket. For such a big gun it was strangely invisible under my little jacket in its new sideways holster.
file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared
Jason sighed. “She was making a joke. The name is Schuyler, Jason Schuyler.”
The man crossed out Allbright and wrote in the right name. “Whatever you say, Mr. Schuyler.”
“Crap,” Jason said under his breath.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“If I was a Summerland, why was I coming in tomorrow?”
The man looked puzzled, but he played along in whatever game he thought we were playing.
“Your bachelor party, of course. You’re getting married at the end of the week. Your brother arrived yesterday with his fiancée.”
“Look, I am a distant cousin of the Summerlands. I got mistaken for the twins all through school. My name really is Jason Schuyler. This is my friend Anita Blake. I’m here to visit my family.”
“Of course you are.” It was clear he didn’t believe Jason, but at the same time very clear that he would repeat whatever lie Jason spouted, and swear to it in court afterward.
“I take it the Summerlands are big shots around here?” I said.
“The biggest,” Jason said.
The man with the clipboard looked from one to the other of us. “The bride-to-be is already in town. Her bachelorette party is tonight.”
“You invited?” I said.
He looked flustered. “Of course not.”
“Then how do you know so much?”
“I’ve been helping get the guests settled,” he said, and sounded indignant.
“Fine, but we are not guests.”
“Of course not, and if asked, I haven’t seen Keith Summerland. He will arrive tomorrow as planned.” The man seemed pleased with himself as if he’d said a smart thing. Then he walked away with another wink.
file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared Dowloads\EBooks\Anita Blake Series 1-17\(Book16] - Bl... 10/18/2009
BloodNoir
Page 52 of 287
I looked at Jason. “We are speaking English, right? I mean he does understand what we’re saying, doesn’t he?”
“You have to know Keith to understand the man’s problem. It would be like him to come in a day early with another woman. He’d probably bring the stripper in personally.”
“A wild child?” I asked.
“He thought he was. I just thought he was a dick.”
“Do you really look that much like him?”
“Yes.” He said it flat and unhappy. “I look enough like them both to make this visit even harder. The media will be all over this wedding.”
“But they’re like local celebrities, not national, right? I mean, it won’t be that bad.”
“Do you know who Governor Summerland is?”
I stared at him. “You’re joking.”
“I wish.”
“The governor that they’re thinking about running for president is this Summerland?”
“Yep,” Jason said.
“I don’t watch TV or read newspapers much, but even I know who he is.”
“If his eldest son is getting married this week, the media are going to be everywhere, and I look like his twin. We were always getting confused for each other in high school.”
“You can’t look that much alike.”
“He pretended to be me on a date with my girlfriend. She caught on, eventually. He took a beating for me once from some of the guys at school. I’d smarted off, and they found him first. He was hitting on a girlfriend of mine again. Pretending to be me.”
“And he got beat up for it?” I said.
“He did.”
“Very karmic,” I said.
Jason nodded, actually looking happy. We had our bags on the tarmac and the pilot was asking for a return schedule when we were joined by a man who, though well dressed in a nice conservative suit, had thug tattooed across his forehead. Metaphorically speaking. The suit was tailored well enough that if I hadn’t been looking for it I might have missed the bulge on his hip. But I was looking, and I knew a gun when I saw it ruin the line of a suit. The Browning did not ruin the line of my suit jacket. For such a big gun it was strangely invisible under my little jacket in its new sideways holster.
file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared
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