only had two drinks, but there I was dancing on a table. I’m sure someone put something in my drink.”
Emmy wrinkled her nose. “So, some studly vamp fell for you in a hard way and had to ‘trink your blahd’?”
“No. I distracted the partygoers, and G-men raided the party. My table got flipped and next think I knew, I was waking up with a cracked skull and a vamp who looked like Mortimer Snerd sucking me dry.”
“Who’s Mortimer Snerd?”
Pia laughed. “You’re such a baby.”
“Well, I liked the sucking you dry part,” Darcy said, waggling her eyebrows.
“Darcy! You have such a dirty mind,” Emmy cried.
“I can’t help it,” Darcy said, blushing. “All I think about these days is sex. Quentin won’t do the mambo with me until I pop.”
“You make it sound like you aren’t doing anything!” Emmy rolled her eyes. “What’s all that commotion I hear from your wing of the house?”
Darcy swatted Emmy’s arm while Pia chuckled.
“So, was anyone going to tell me there was a new vamp in town?” a new voice chimed from the doorway.
Pia peered around her shoulder, swaying in her chair. “You Lily?”
The newcomer strode inside, dressed in an oversized T-shirt and stretchy pants. Her brown hair glinted red in the light from the chandelier.
Pia’s glance caught on the small mound of her stomach pressing against the cotton shirt. “Good God! Is it in the water?”
Chapter Five
‡
M ax sat at the far end of the conference room table with his arms folded over his chest, waiting for the rest of the team to assemble. He felt like hell and knew he looked it, too. He hadn’t bothered with a shave, and his uniform had that “lived in” smell.
When he’d left the house he hadn’t brought a clean uniform with him. He’d just wanted to put as many miles between him and the woman as he could. So he’d changed into the uniform he’d discovered at the bottom of his locker and hit the firing range. Two demolished targets later, he still hadn’t worked the rage out of his system.
He’d let her go. His mission in life was to keep people safe—and he’d let a bloodsucker walk. And he was angry with himself even though his gut told him she wasn’t a stone-cold killer.
For one thing, she’d missed several opportunities to take him out when he was his most vulnerable—sleeping a deep, dreamless sleep beside her, or lost in the wonder of the most powerful orgasms he’d ever experienced.
He snorted, disgusted with himself. He should have known then she wasn’t human.
Further, she had puppy-dog eyes—wide, brown, liquid—the kind that tore at your heart. Not that she’d touched his. How could anyone who had her soul shining in her eyes hide homicidal tendencies?
The conference room door swung open, and he pushed the memories aside. He had work to do. Werewolves to track and kill. Vampires to expunge from the planet.
Joe walked in, dressed in SU black, a coffee cup in his hand. “Hey buddy.”
Max bristled, grunting his displeasure at Joe’s familiar greeting.
Despite the less-than-polite acknowledgement he’d received, the vamp sat beside him. His gaze swept over Max. “Looks like you had a rough day.”
Max’s arms tensed, bulging his biceps as he tried to contain the growl rumbling in his chest.
Joe’s lips curved, and he tilted his chair, balancing it on two legs. “Captain Springer had the daytime team pull every report of animal attacks in recent weeks,” he said casually. “Other than a few missing dogs attributed to gators, nothing came up. Think we have an isolated incident?”
Max grunted, wishing the others would hurry it up. Making small talk with the undead thing wearing his friend’s face made his stomach churn.
“We’re going to make the rounds of the ‘blood banks’ tonight. See whether anyone’s heard anything. We’ll also check out any new vampires in town.”
Max stiffened.
Joe lifted an eyebrow and gave a slight smile—the mischievous sort
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Jax