Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Bad neglected libido.
Later, when they weren’t likely to have their necks torn out, maybe they could have “Oh thank God I didn’t die” sexy times.
“Victims?” Colette chimed in as she strolled closer to Aldo. She was wearing impossibly high heels that could double as lethal weapons. “Who said anything about victims? We’re providing a service by matching lonely vampires up with humans who want to give them all the love and care they’ve been missing.”
Sky snickered. He couldn’t believe she could even say that with a straight face. No one would ever believe that. That was what they might have told those poor, ignorant humans, but the vampires knew the score. They were collecting pets. Or at least, a hot meal.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Colette sneered at him, her lipstick-red upper lip curling while her chin tipped up.
“I’m his witch,” Sky answered with a cheerful grin.
“You mean his bitch.” The blond who’d tagged along on this trip as hired muscle snickered.
“Actually, the proper term is necromancer,” Sky corrected. That got the response he’d been expecting. The vampires took a step back, fangs bared. They hadn’t appeared all that surprised when he’d stated he was a witch, but the protective circle had likely been a dead giveaway.
But necromancer…yeah, not a favorite among the undead.
“No one here fears you, death talker,” Colette snapped, holding on to her sneer. She wasn’t as convincing, though, now that she’d sidled closer to Aldo’s side and was half standing behind him as if the skinny vamp made a good shield.
“Death talker? Huh.” Sky leaned toward Nolan and continued in a stage whisper. “I’ve never heard that one. They usually go for ghost wrangler or con artist.”
Nolan looked at him, the tiniest hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Really?”
Sky nodded. “Mn. You wanna hear my favorite?” He didn’t wait for a reply. He couldn’t. “Bone whisperer.”
“Bone whisperer?” Nolan repeated. He sounded as though he were barely holding in a snicker. “Is there anything else you can whisper?”
Sky gasped, but it was so fake. “Mr. Banks, are you being dirty?”
“Asks the man who’s been shamelessly flirting with me since last night.”
Sky bumped him with his shoulder. “Not shamelessly. I have some shame.” Sky paused and delicately sniffed. “I just can’t find it right now.”
“If you two are quite through,” Aldo interrupted loudly.
He wasn’t through at all with Nolan, but this was a conversation he preferred to not continue in front of a bunch of unwelcome vampires.
“We can put this on hold for now,” Sky replied as graciously as he could manage. “How are we going to settle this? We’ve talked to Owen briefly, and he feels he has provided you with enough victims, I mean willing customers, to pay off the debt he owed you. I think the fair thing is to stop your pursuit of Owen and let him live in peace.”
“If Owen had requested an end to our partnership prior to taking this job, we would have granted it,” Aldo claimed. He stopped and his expression hardened. “But he didn’t. He agreed to the deal to bring us a shifter. We already have a buyer lined up, and the customer is not the type to accept failure.”
“A shifter?” Nolan asked, his gaze darting to Sky. “What’s he mean by a shifter? He doesn’t mean like a werewolf, does he? Owen promised to get him a werewolf?” With each word, Nolan’s voice was growing louder and lifting higher in pitch.
Sky patted his arm but kept his eyes locked on Aldo and Colette. This seemed bad. It was his understanding that shifters and vampires stayed away from each other for a good reason. He wasn’t entirely sure what the good reason was, but he didn’t question it. He was happy to let the shifters do their thing and the vampires do their own thing so long as it didn’t interfere with his life.
Regardless of the politics, he couldn’t imagine a shifter willingly becoming a vampire’s pet. This was all terrible.
“So, here is our last offer,” Colette said with an ugly smile. “We take Nolan as collateral, and Owen has twenty-four hours to bring us our shifter. If he doesn’t, we keep Nolan and call off any further business.”
As she spoke, one of the vampire bodyguards marched toward them. He stretched out one hand and Nolan shrank away, his arms tightening on Sky’s bag. But those blunt, stubby fingers never touched Nolan. They slammed into an invisible barrier that briefly shimmered gold when hit. The vampire winced and hissed, pulling his hand to his chest.
“I don’t think that’s going to work for us,” Sky drawled. “You’re now dragging an innocent person into a mess that has nothing to do with him. He can’t be held accountable for his brother’s problems. Besides, we have no way of confidently reaching Owen by your arbitrary deadline. Your poor planning is not our problem. I suggest you go to your customer and tell him you can’t give him what he wants.”