Read Online No Man's Land by Debra Dunbar - Free Book Online Page A

down her neck and keeping her from the human blood she so desperately need.
    “That will be difficult.” Jaq’s expression turned grim, and she seemed to be thinking unpleasant thoughts. Hopefully they didn’t involve Kelly’s demise.
    “If you’d let me take a human, it might be a lot sooner.” It was a lie. Kelly had no way of knowing when or if her family would ever allow her back across the border, but at least she’d be healed and strong enough to make a break for it. Maybe even strong enough to fight off a few of these werewolves.
    “That’s not going to happen. You go killing a human and I won’t be able to stop them from ripping you limb from limb.”
    Kelly felt a surge of irritation. She rarely killed humans anymore, although without her fangs and given her current state of hunger, she wasn’t making any promises. “I’m a vampire. I can certainly defend myself if I need to.”
    Jaq snorted. “Right. You’re injured, and from your smell, you’re not very old. Plus there are thousands of us in the pack. We own this state, and we know every stone and tree root. Unless you’ve got an army of your own, you better swallow your pride and just accept the fact that you need to lay low and keep away from the humans until you can go back to your own kind.”
    She didn’t have an army, and in spite of her bravado, Kelly was well aware she was in no condition to fight anything. Heck, she hadn’t even managed to catch a squirrel.
    “Were you following me? Was it you in the bushes?”
    Jaq’s eyes widened, and she laughed. “That was my brother, Mike. I asked him to keep an eye on you. Sheesh, I can’t believe you heard him. He must really be off his game.”
    “And Mike is a werewolf?”
    Jaq nodded. “A noisy one, evidently. I’ll have someone more quiet follow you next time.”
    Great. She’d never be able to grab a human with the werewolf babysitters following her every move. She needed to get out of here, but how? She was trapped, and the walls seemed to be closing in faster every moment.
    Silence stretched out between them, and, finally, Jaq shifted her gun upward and turned to leave. There was something in her eyes that bothered Kelly — frustration, and an odd disappointment. This woman had been kind, had done more for Kelly than most had. She deserved something in return, some expression of gratitude.
    “I love liver,” Kelly blurted out, needing to clear the air before the other woman left. “Thank you.”
    Jaq halted, turning her head to see Kelly over her shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
    The woman hesitated, and Kelly found herself scrambling for words to make her stay. The sun wouldn’t set for hours, and although she should be sleeping, the vampire found herself slightly panicked at the thought of being alone. This weird–smelling human, or whatever Jaq was, was better than no one at all.
    “Wait. I’m …uh …maybe you’d like to share some of this with me? Wine and liver, I mean. And stay for a bit? If you don’t have anything else to do. I mean, I’m sure you’re busy, so maybe some other time.”
    Crap. She sounded like an idiot. Why was it so hard to talk to this woman? It had never been difficult before, but then she hadn’t really needed anyone before. Just delegate work, bark out some quick orders if they were one of her vampire staff, or bite first and ask permission later if they were a human. And here she was, alone, surrounded by these weird smelling others , asking one to hang out and have a drink with her. Good Lord, what was the world coming to?
    All the tension seemed to fall from the tall, lanky woman as she turned to face Kelly and smiled. It transformed her thin face, turning her from serious to playful in an instant.
    “I’ll pour the wine.”
    Kelly went to get the liver from the fridge, her hands shaking slightly. She was so weak she was beginning to feel light headed. She’d expected to find the meat carefully packaged in the sealed plastic the