Read Online Broken Heart 03 Because Your Vampire Said So by Michele Bardsley - Free Book Online Page B

“I’m only a scream away.”
    “Terrific.” I returned to the shop. I looked at the closed bathroom door and pressed a hand against my roiling belly. Panic gurgled.
    How the hell was I going to get Gabriel out of here?
    Before I could answer my own question, the door opened. I whirled around to give Drake what for, but he wasn’t the one coming into my shop.
    The lady looked like Lucy Liu except she was taller and had no freckles. Her dark brown hair cascaded in thick ringlets to her ass. Jewels sparkled in the sleek strands. Her lips were bloodred and her almond-shaped eyes doe brown. The gold, knee-length dress she wore screamed expensive and so did the black calf boots. Gold bracelets pinged together as she sashayed past me.
    As beautiful as the woman was, she carried with her a stench so bad, my eyes started watering. Hovering above her left shoulder was a black smudge. Within it were two white orbs. Ick. Eyeballs. And they were looking at me.
    “We’re closed,” I said.
    “I don’t need your services,” she sneered. Her delicate brow furrowed as she glanced around my shop. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and tidy. Her arrogant glance assessed me. “You are a messy eater, my dear.”
    I looked down at my clothing. Blood from Gabriel’s wounds had stained my T-shirt and jeans. Well, let her think I’d just devoured a donor. It wasn’t any of her business.
    “Like I said, we’re closed. Door’s this way, in case you forgot.” I hitched my thumb over my shoulder toward the front of the shop.
    Her gaze landed on the closed bathroom door, and then she turned and sauntered toward me. Good God! That awful smell filled up the whole room.
    The woman looked at me as though she was a scientist examining an alien. “I’ve found Broken Heart to be very quaint.” She smiled beguilingly. “I can’t believe that Lorcan and Patrick haven’t already tired of their little business endeavor. “
    I wasn’t particularly fond of the Consortium or its rules, but her condemnation got my back up. It was like picking on my sister—that was my job and no one else’s.
    She was obviously waiting for a response, but I didn’t give her one. How many times did a person have to be told to leave? Her gaze was flat and cold. Her smile was as fake as my particle wood entertainment center. “I’m Magnolia Blossom.”
    “It’s a shame to walk around with a name like that. I guess your parents didn’t like you much.”
    She blinked at me, her pretty little mouth hanging open. “My real name is Hua Mu Lan. The founder of the Family Hua. I’m one of the Ancients.”
    “That’s fantastic,” I said in a tone that suggested the opposite. “Do you need shampoo or something?”
    I really wanted her to leave. I didn’t like her attitude, or the creepy thing hanging around her shoulder, or her horrible stench. If I’d had the ability to breathe, I would be running outside to gulp in fresh air. Jess had once told me that her nose had gone crazy after Turning. To this day, she said ol’ Doc Michaels smelled like a ham and cheese sandwich. I wondered if I was experiencing something similar.
    “Might I use your bathroom?” she asked. “I’d like to freshen up.”
    “The toilet’s backed up,” I lied. “It stinks to high heaven in there.”
    “Oh, I don’t mind.” She turned and headed toward the bathroom. Now, why did I believe she knew Gabriel was in there? And if she did, why was she looking for him?
    I didn’t know how to stop her, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backward.
    My palm felt like it had melded to her. Power zapped down my arm and surged hot and electric through my whole body.
    What the hell?
    Magnolia Blossom whirled around. Two short, sharp daggers shot out from her sleeves and into her hands. She pointed them at me. As if that wasn’t scary enough, flames rolled over the blades.
    “Stupid little Turn-bloods like you should mind their