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the side of the road and hold up a sign… Will kill for food .”
    I thought I heard somebody snicker somewhere out in the bar.
    Damon skimmed a look around and that snicker died a strangled death in the person’s throat.
    I acted like I hadn’t noticed as I slid my hands into my back pockets. The weird glint in his eye almost had me confessing a small truth. In the past six years since I’d opened up Colbana Investigations, I’d actually only taken on three cases that involved contracted killings. The men had deserved it, one I’d done kind of pro-bono, and the other two had been team jobs.
    I did come from a long line of assassins, but it had never been the best fit for me. Too much human blood in me, I guess. I could do it—and do it well, but I never liked doing it.
    I didn’t see any reason to explain that to him right then. I gave him my most charming smile as he opened the door for me. “So you see, I’m not really that much of a hired killer.”
    “Well, calling you a hired-pain-in-the-ass just doesn’t have the same effect, does it?”
    Judging by the look on his face, he didn’t know if he wanted to shake me or laugh.
    I think I had that effect on him, a lot.
    As we stepped out into the hot, humid air of the Orlando evening, a band I hadn’t even been aware of slowly released from around my chest.
    “Well,” I said brightly. “That was fun. We should do this more often.”
    “Sure.” Damon slung an arm around my neck and hauled me close. The feel of his lips on my temple caused this odd little lurch, right square in the center of my chest. “Maybe next time you can start an interspecies riot, baby girl. You up for it?”
    The bad thing was…knowing me? I could probably do it, without even trying.
    “Now…just out of curiosity, how many contract killings have you done?”
    I slid him a look. “Why do you sound so aggravated? You’re the one always popping off with the hired killer bit.”
    His arm fell away and we headed to the car.
    It wasn’t until we were inside that he said, “I knew vaguely what you were, that it had something to do with assassins and shit and that’s what Annette had always called you.” He shrugged and slid me a look. “There wasn’t ever really any confirmation or anything that you took such jobs. But you have to admit, hired killer sounds better than plain old investigator .”
    “Yes.” I slumped in the seat and started to root around the bag for some French fries. I could smell them and my mouth was watering. “It does. And since it’s not off base, it’s not an issue, either.”
    He started the car. “It’s not off base.”
    “No.”
    “Nobody has ever said anything about this…and I would have heard ,” he said, his voice oddly flat.
    I nipped a bite of French fry and smiled. “No, you wouldn’t have. In order for you to hear , somebody would have to talk . And Damon…this is going to come as a surprise to you, but there are some things that I’m just that good at.”
    I paled in comparison to my family, there was no denying that.
    But when it came to sneaky little killers, well…it was what I’d been made for, trained for.
    His hand came over and curved around my neck. “Kit, it doesn’t surprise me. Worries me, maybe. But very little about you surprises me anymore.”

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    The date hadn’t been a total bust.
    The meal was still mostly hot when we got home and even though I had to take a quick shower before I could touch the food, it still tasted pretty good. The mostly hot meal was followed by sex that had been totally hot, and Damon spent the night curled around me with his hand spread over my belly and the warmth of him heating my back.
    It was sheer bliss, really.
    But then the nightmares started.
    It wasn’t one of the bad ones.
    Some of the bad ones were just…hell.
    I was an orphan.
    I don’t know who my father was, only that he was human. My mother had raised me until I was five, but then she died. I