to the police station instead? Here’s hoping. “Stolen, but not in the
traditional sense. The only things that left my house are the keys and wallet.”
Again, a stretch
of silence. Most likely Allison hadn’t considered that this event had
taken place inside Veronica’s private residence.
Before Allison could ask more
questions, Veronica added, “We’re pretty much at the ‘please trust me’ part,
Ali. I can’t say more, at least not right now, but I promise I’m fine and it’s
all going to be taken care of.”
Allison released a heavy breath,
clearly unhappy with Veronica’s insistence on keeping quiet on the subject, but
finally relented. “Okay. I’ll trust your judgment on this, at least for now. But
I want you to promise to tell me if this whatever-it-is gets out of hand. I’m
your friend, V. You can trust me, too.”
As the tension fled from her chest
(and the guilt eased in), Veronica smiled and leaned back into her couch. “I
know, and I do. Everything’s just really complicated, and it’s not entirely
about me. I’m sorry, Ali.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Allison
replied. “Anyway, I need to get through this chapter before I go to bed, so
I’ll see you tomorrow?”
An easy grin lifting her lips,
Veronica replied, “You know it.”
****
It would be accurate to say that
Seth’s mind was not entirely focused on his hunt. It would be more accurate to
say that his mind was largely focused on Veronica’s kiss. He certainly hadn’t
expected her to kiss him, but he wasn’t sorry that she had. And it hadn’t taken
his body any time at all to react to the taste of her. His reaction was verging
on dangerous, and it occurred to him to be concerned about what he might do if
she opted to kiss him again, but he couldn’t quite get there. Neither could he
guarantee that he’d wait for her to initiate another kiss.
The vibration of his phone in his
pocket drew him from his thoughts, and fear that it might be Veronica in need
of a rescue had him snatching the device up to his ear without a glance at the
Caller ID. “What is it?”
There was a beat of silence,
followed by faint, distinctly male chuckling. “Well, I’m not sure I’ve ever
heard you answer the phone quite like that. I catch you on a bad night? Or day…depending on which time zone you’re in.”
The voice belonged to Corbin Lee, one of the few vampires Seth genuinely considered his
friend. Suddenly, for the first time in decades, Seth found he was embarrassed.
He felt like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Night,
and no, not really. I was just…distracted.”
“Distracted? You? That’s surprising,” Corbin commented.
“I’ll tell you about it later,”
Seth offered as he stepped out of the building he’d been searching through. Another
dead-end, like every other possibility he’d investigated so far. “I wasn’t
expecting to hear from you. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah,” Corbin assured him. “I just
got to thinking that it’s been a while since we talked. Or, you know, a
comparative while. Are you on a job?”
“I am,” Seth replied. “But it’s
going slow.” Although that was suddenly not so bad thanks to
Veronica.
“Sorry to hear it,” Corbin said. “I
won’t keep you, though. Just thought I’d check in, make sure you were still
kicking. We should meet up sometime when you’re not busy, if only so that we’ll
remember what the other looks like.”
Seth chuckled faintly, pausing
mid-stride to turn his gaze up to the dark, clear sky. The stars were bright
and their shine reminded him of Veronica. “I have a fairly good memory,
actually. But you might be right. I’ll call you when I’m off the clock.”
“Fair enough. Happy hunting, old friend.”
“Likewise,” Seth said before
pulling the phone from his ear and disconnecting. It was good to hear his
friend’s voice from time to time—it was a good reminder of his humanity. Sometimes
he felt like he’d
traditional sense. The only things that left my house are the keys and wallet.”
Again, a stretch
of silence. Most likely Allison hadn’t considered that this event had
taken place inside Veronica’s private residence.
Before Allison could ask more
questions, Veronica added, “We’re pretty much at the ‘please trust me’ part,
Ali. I can’t say more, at least not right now, but I promise I’m fine and it’s
all going to be taken care of.”
Allison released a heavy breath,
clearly unhappy with Veronica’s insistence on keeping quiet on the subject, but
finally relented. “Okay. I’ll trust your judgment on this, at least for now. But
I want you to promise to tell me if this whatever-it-is gets out of hand. I’m
your friend, V. You can trust me, too.”
As the tension fled from her chest
(and the guilt eased in), Veronica smiled and leaned back into her couch. “I
know, and I do. Everything’s just really complicated, and it’s not entirely
about me. I’m sorry, Ali.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Allison
replied. “Anyway, I need to get through this chapter before I go to bed, so
I’ll see you tomorrow?”
An easy grin lifting her lips,
Veronica replied, “You know it.”
****
It would be accurate to say that
Seth’s mind was not entirely focused on his hunt. It would be more accurate to
say that his mind was largely focused on Veronica’s kiss. He certainly hadn’t
expected her to kiss him, but he wasn’t sorry that she had. And it hadn’t taken
his body any time at all to react to the taste of her. His reaction was verging
on dangerous, and it occurred to him to be concerned about what he might do if
she opted to kiss him again, but he couldn’t quite get there. Neither could he
guarantee that he’d wait for her to initiate another kiss.
The vibration of his phone in his
pocket drew him from his thoughts, and fear that it might be Veronica in need
of a rescue had him snatching the device up to his ear without a glance at the
Caller ID. “What is it?”
There was a beat of silence,
followed by faint, distinctly male chuckling. “Well, I’m not sure I’ve ever
heard you answer the phone quite like that. I catch you on a bad night? Or day…depending on which time zone you’re in.”
The voice belonged to Corbin Lee, one of the few vampires Seth genuinely considered his
friend. Suddenly, for the first time in decades, Seth found he was embarrassed.
He felt like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Night,
and no, not really. I was just…distracted.”
“Distracted? You? That’s surprising,” Corbin commented.
“I’ll tell you about it later,”
Seth offered as he stepped out of the building he’d been searching through. Another
dead-end, like every other possibility he’d investigated so far. “I wasn’t
expecting to hear from you. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah,” Corbin assured him. “I just
got to thinking that it’s been a while since we talked. Or, you know, a
comparative while. Are you on a job?”
“I am,” Seth replied. “But it’s
going slow.” Although that was suddenly not so bad thanks to
Veronica.
“Sorry to hear it,” Corbin said. “I
won’t keep you, though. Just thought I’d check in, make sure you were still
kicking. We should meet up sometime when you’re not busy, if only so that we’ll
remember what the other looks like.”
Seth chuckled faintly, pausing
mid-stride to turn his gaze up to the dark, clear sky. The stars were bright
and their shine reminded him of Veronica. “I have a fairly good memory,
actually. But you might be right. I’ll call you when I’m off the clock.”
“Fair enough. Happy hunting, old friend.”
“Likewise,” Seth said before
pulling the phone from his ear and disconnecting. It was good to hear his
friend’s voice from time to time—it was a good reminder of his humanity. Sometimes
he felt like he’d
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