Read Online Tainted Blood (Hell's Belle Book 2) by Karen Greco - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Karen Greco
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was a petulant pain in the ass diva who was afraid of sunlight. Ain't family grand?
A knock at the door stopped me from laying into the demon and his sidekick. Tavio uttered a polite excuse me and ambled over to the door. In the dim light of Bertrand's office, I could only see the outline of a tall, lanky shadow stepping into the room. Tavio gave him a warm welcome.
My breath caught in my chest when his face moved out of shadows. His delicate features were partially hidden behind a mop of curly black hair, streaked through with electric blue. His face was ghost-pale and he was noticeably thinner since the last time I saw him, but there was no mistaking him. It was my Chicago fling.
About a year ago, Frankie and I took a long weekend trip to Chicago for a little R&R. We had a rough time clearing out a nest of vampires from a Texas border town. They were crossing over from Mexico, hell bent on getting into the U.S. Once we cleared them out, a whole new crop would show up. It was a good 60 days before we were finally able to stem the wave of vampires crossing over. We finally decided to call in the priests and consecrate the ground on the border line. But even that didn't stop them. They preferred imploding to remaining on the other side. It was one of the strangest jobs I’d ever worked.
It had been a fierce two months, so Frankie and I decided to blow off steam in Chicago. That's when I met Elias. I knew he was a drummer in a band, but that was about all I knew about him. Just one wild weekend. What else did we need to know about each other?
"Elias?" I blurted, before I could stop myself. I was shocked to see him.
He came to a dead stop in front of me, looked me up and down. Absolutely no look of recognition crossed his face. He continued to the couch, where he settled into the cushions.
"What's up?" he said with a raspy voice. He sounded a lot older than he looked.
"You two know each other?" Bertrand shifted forward slightly in his chair, a cold smile spreading over his handsome face.
"Nina?" Frankie looked at me, puzzled.
"We met before. In Chicago," I responded evenly, but my heart raced.
Frankie raised his eyebrows. "That's Mr. Chicago?"
"Chicago?" Elias echoed. He shifted in his seat and the confusion cleared for a moment from his face. "Chicago, yes." He smiled and cocked his head. For a minute, it looked like he remembered our wild weekend in Chicago, but then his face clouded up again.
Bertrand laughed heartily. "What happened in Chicago?"
My face burned. I could not believe he forgot about me and the weekend in Chicago. I mean, it wasn't anything serious, but it was really fun. And we weren't that drunk. Maybe he picked up a drug habit over the past year.
"We met in Chicago," I snapped at Bertrand, my pride wounded. "Are we going to talk about the job or what?"
"The job?" A cloud of confusion hung over Elias. My ego slowly started to mend. The guy was clearly on something.
"Yes, did you know a demon was running your fan club?"
"Kittie? She's a siren," Elias said, his voice slow and monotone.
"No, she's a demon," I insisted.
Bertrand laughed. "You are a woman, Nina. To you, a siren is a demon!"
"No," I pushed back. "A demon is a demon."
Tavio chuckled, and Elias let loose a noise that could have been a laugh. Frankie just looked confused, like he was still trying to place Elias.
"I have to open the bar in less than six hours, and I still need to get some sleep, and apparently there's no coffee here. So what's the purpose of this, Bertrand?" My exhaustion made me more punchy than usual.
"You met your cousin." Bertrand leaned back in his chair, a Cheshire-cat grin spreading across his face. "And we reunited you with a lost love."
That did it. I leapt forward and landed lithely on the top of Bertrand's immaculate cherry wood desk. With one movement, I pulled from my boot the witch-killer athame that I inherited from my father and held it to Bertrand's throat. His smile faded into a cool
A knock at the door stopped me from laying into the demon and his sidekick. Tavio uttered a polite excuse me and ambled over to the door. In the dim light of Bertrand's office, I could only see the outline of a tall, lanky shadow stepping into the room. Tavio gave him a warm welcome.
My breath caught in my chest when his face moved out of shadows. His delicate features were partially hidden behind a mop of curly black hair, streaked through with electric blue. His face was ghost-pale and he was noticeably thinner since the last time I saw him, but there was no mistaking him. It was my Chicago fling.
About a year ago, Frankie and I took a long weekend trip to Chicago for a little R&R. We had a rough time clearing out a nest of vampires from a Texas border town. They were crossing over from Mexico, hell bent on getting into the U.S. Once we cleared them out, a whole new crop would show up. It was a good 60 days before we were finally able to stem the wave of vampires crossing over. We finally decided to call in the priests and consecrate the ground on the border line. But even that didn't stop them. They preferred imploding to remaining on the other side. It was one of the strangest jobs I’d ever worked.
It had been a fierce two months, so Frankie and I decided to blow off steam in Chicago. That's when I met Elias. I knew he was a drummer in a band, but that was about all I knew about him. Just one wild weekend. What else did we need to know about each other?
"Elias?" I blurted, before I could stop myself. I was shocked to see him.
He came to a dead stop in front of me, looked me up and down. Absolutely no look of recognition crossed his face. He continued to the couch, where he settled into the cushions.
"What's up?" he said with a raspy voice. He sounded a lot older than he looked.
"You two know each other?" Bertrand shifted forward slightly in his chair, a cold smile spreading over his handsome face.
"Nina?" Frankie looked at me, puzzled.
"We met before. In Chicago," I responded evenly, but my heart raced.
Frankie raised his eyebrows. "That's Mr. Chicago?"
"Chicago?" Elias echoed. He shifted in his seat and the confusion cleared for a moment from his face. "Chicago, yes." He smiled and cocked his head. For a minute, it looked like he remembered our wild weekend in Chicago, but then his face clouded up again.
Bertrand laughed heartily. "What happened in Chicago?"
My face burned. I could not believe he forgot about me and the weekend in Chicago. I mean, it wasn't anything serious, but it was really fun. And we weren't that drunk. Maybe he picked up a drug habit over the past year.
"We met in Chicago," I snapped at Bertrand, my pride wounded. "Are we going to talk about the job or what?"
"The job?" A cloud of confusion hung over Elias. My ego slowly started to mend. The guy was clearly on something.
"Yes, did you know a demon was running your fan club?"
"Kittie? She's a siren," Elias said, his voice slow and monotone.
"No, she's a demon," I insisted.
Bertrand laughed. "You are a woman, Nina. To you, a siren is a demon!"
"No," I pushed back. "A demon is a demon."
Tavio chuckled, and Elias let loose a noise that could have been a laugh. Frankie just looked confused, like he was still trying to place Elias.
"I have to open the bar in less than six hours, and I still need to get some sleep, and apparently there's no coffee here. So what's the purpose of this, Bertrand?" My exhaustion made me more punchy than usual.
"You met your cousin." Bertrand leaned back in his chair, a Cheshire-cat grin spreading across his face. "And we reunited you with a lost love."
That did it. I leapt forward and landed lithely on the top of Bertrand's immaculate cherry wood desk. With one movement, I pulled from my boot the witch-killer athame that I inherited from my father and held it to Bertrand's throat. His smile faded into a cool
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