Read Online Baited Blood by Sue Ann Jaffarian - Free Book Online

doubting any feelings about anything and anyone.
    “Mike,” she started, pushing a shrimp around her plate with her fork.
    He shoveled a piece of salmon into his mouth and chewed, giving her his attention.
    She went tongue-tied, wondering how to broach the subject without sounding like a needy, clinging vine. She continued playing with her food.
    Notchey pointed his fork at Madison’s plate. “Don’t you think that shrimp’s been through enough without you bullying him?”
    She put her fork down and looked at him. After giving her a quick shrug, Notchey went back to eating, returning his attention to the damage he was doing to his own food. Madison picked up the fork again and speared the shrimp, this time stuffing it into her mouth.
    “He was a big guy,” Doug told the council as they looked over the picture. “Tall and well built, with blond hair just past his jaw line. His beard was darker than his hair, like a dark gold. Difficult to say how old he appeared. His face was very rugged, so he could have been anywhere from his late thirties to mid-forties, maybe even older.”
    No one around the table claimed to know the vampire in the sketch. They looked from one to the other, shrugging.
    “There was nothing to give you a clue as to where he might have been from?” The question came from Stacie Neroni.
    “He was naked, just like Keleta.” Doug answered. “But he did have the same brand at the small of his back.”
    “What does the brand specifically look like again?” This time the question came from Kate Thornton.
    “A hexagon with an eye in the middle,” answered Dodie. Although not on the council, she was allowed to attend since she was a witness. Jerry Lerma, Kate’s beater husband, was shut up in the den, waiting for her.
    “It looks just like this.” Turning around, Doug gave the council the same show he’d given Notchey and Madison the day they’d fished Keleta out of the pool. Colin and Isabella were the only council members not at the meeting, but Eddie Gonzales, Kate, and Stacie all took a closer look. “This is the brand Annabelle Fogle gave me shortly before she turned me.”
    “Are you sure that’s the same brand Keleta and the vampire from this morning had?” Stacie moved closer to Doug’s back and squinted, as if burning the brand from Doug’s skin into her memory.
    “Exactly the same,” assured Dodie. She turned to Madison, who nodded in agreement. “Why?”
    Stacie resumed her place at the table. “Where’s Colin? Does he know about the brand?”
    “We’re not sure of his whereabouts right now,” responded Samuel. “Since our last conference call, he has not been heard from.”
    “It’s no wonder,” Stacie snarled.
    It was well known that Stacie Neroni and Colin Reddy did not like each other. Madison had once been told by Pauline that it was because of a friend of theirs who had died. She’d once asked Colin about it, but he’d never answered and had instead grown more sullen as the evening wore on.
    “Colin has a brand exactly like that.”
    Every head turned Stacie’s way, both vampire and beater, but it was Samuel who broke the silence. “Are you sure, Stacie?”
    “Yes, I saw it once when he had his shirt off. It was a long time ago, but I’m sure it’s the same mark.”
    At the idea of the sexy Colin shirtless, Kate cast an arched brow Dodie’s way. Dodie fought to suppress a grin. Stacie saw the exchange.
    “Oh, get over yourselves, you two old biddies,” Stacie growled. “It was when Colin, Julie, and I were in Mexico years ago and went swimming.”
    The table went silent as a grave, or as silent as a group of people standing over a fresh grave. Dodie and Kate both had their heads down, whether in embarrassment or from the chastising, Madison couldn’t tell. Even the men were looking elsewhere, anywhere but at Stacie, including Notchey. Madison looked at each one of them, her internal radar humming as she tried to get a feel for the reason. Usually