Read Online Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin - Free Book Online

meant something had changed. He’d been nervous before. Now he seemed überstressed. “Disa and Sibley wish to discuss Hamon’s contract with you,” he said.
    “It’s a little late now,” I replied roughly.
    “Ah, my apologies.” His bow, so courtly, took me to another age. I suddenly felt underdressed and ill-mannered. “Our sense of timing never seems to be in step with that of the outside world,” he said.
    Despite my obvious red-neck ancestry, I soldiered on. “What is there to discuss? You people are in breach. You’ve allowed injury to my guy, here. Plus, you don’t seem to be able to tell your asses from a hole in the ground. What guarantee do we have that you won’t pull some idiotic stunt during negotiations that will blow our chance to eliminate Samos, or worse, get us killed?”
    Marcon’s eyelid fluttered so wildly he put a finger to it and rubbed. “Sibley requested that I extend to all of you the Vitem ’s deepest apologies, and ask if you would consider rejoining the contract. If so, we would like to confirm the details you and Hamon agreed to, as well as any new deals you might like to make.”
    “What did Disa say she would do to you if you came back with a negative reply, Marcon?” Vayl asked gently.
    He shuddered. “N-nothing.”
    “But if I walked in the Trust once more, you would tell me . . .”
    Marcon stared at him miserably, then shook his head. “You should never have left.”
    “I was little more than a killer when I was here.”
    “Yes, but you were ours .”
    Vayl shrugged. “Now I am the CIA’s. And”—his eyes strayed to mine—“I am more.”
    Marcon’s sigh could almost have been a sob. “What shall I tell the Vitem ?”
    Vayl tied off the last stitch and cut the thread with the scissors Dave handed him. “I will tell them myself.”
    “Do you want me to come?” I asked.
    “Not this time,” he said. Before I could argue, he was crouched in front of me, his fingertips warm on my face.
    “I should be there to guard your back,” I whispered as his eyes lightened to the green I equated with long, breathless kisses.
    “That is David’s job,” he said.
    But he’s injured! Plus, the danger around us is so electric it’s practically sparking. If we’re separated here, where everyone’s against us, will we ever come back together?
    Small nod of Vayl’s head. “Perhaps you could bring our bags in and get us settled. I believe that vehicle you wanted to take off-road is now parked in the garage. At least”—he lifted an eyebrow—“I am fairly sure Tarasios said that is what he did with it.”
    It took me longer than it should have to get his drift. First I had to get past the I’m-not-your-goddamn-maid! reaction before I could decipher his real message. Tarasios had pulled all their cars out of the garage. Ours wasn’t even on Trust property. Which meant Vayl was giving me an excuse to go outside. Why?
    Because Disa would never allow those Weres to live.
    They were too hard to kill in their present form, so she’d probably just wait until they turned and then have one of her lackeys do them from a distance. It would be bad news for the Trust if the wolf got back to his pack and told his story. And the bear—well, he’d have his own loose-knit league who’d be enraged at his tale. Wars had started over less.
    My job wasn’t to prevent the conflict. That problem was for people higher up the political chain than me. I only had to save a couple of lives. For once. Which meant . . . one more round with the injured, pissed-off Weres. Thanks a lot, boss .
    But I smiled inside. I so liked this part of him. Even a lot of humans I knew wouldn’t have given a second thought to the welfare of those wounded moon-changers. But he’d made it part of our mission to ensure their survival.
    “Will you be okay?” I asked Dave, knowing the question would piss him off. As expected, he launched out of his chair and grabbed his crossbow. “Aw, for chrissake, it’s