better than I did. Still, I understood what I was asking her to do. If it ever got out that she did such a thing, she could be disbarred, fined, probably jailed, and lose her reputation as a fair and law-abiding citizen. She wouldn’t look at me when she finally spoke.
“Shia, I know I’m not a practicing lawyer, but I could lose my license over this. It could destroy the reputation of H&W. We may lose the business over this.”
I took a deep breath before answering, keeping my voice quiet and level so I wouldn’t betray my own feelings about the whole mess.
“I know. Believe me, I know. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Isn’t my life worth more than the business?”
I didn’t have to say it, and I felt horrible for even letting the words cross my lips, but without Sara’s help, I’d never survive this nightmare.
Eventually, she managed to drag her gaze from the ground to meet my eyes again, looking more drawn and pale than I’d ever seen her before.
“I’ll do it. This once, I’ll do it. But don’t ever, ever ask anything like this of me again.”
I nodded agreement, breathing a deep sigh of relief. With that out of the way, now I just needed to figure out how I could make an ancient vampire view me, a normal human, a woman, food, as a threat.
Chapter 15
I slept fitfully on the couch in Sara’s living room. She had guest bedrooms, but I wanted to be woken up if the dogs started barking at any intruders. After a little more talk and planning, she’d gone upstairs to work on the contract on her computer. I didn’t envy her having to retype the whole thing, not only that but then having to use her skills to edit the document just enough that Royce and I could legally go for each other’s throats without worry of legal interference.
I stared at the ceiling for a while, finally drifting off a little past midnight. Then I scared the crap out of myself when I rolled off the couch onto the floor in the middle of the night in the throes of a nightmare. The bruise on my hip from landing on my keys did not improve my mood one bit. The dogs barked for almost fifteen solid minutes, too. Thankfully, Sara must have figured there was no problem since she didn’t come down to check on me and grind my embarrassment home any further.
Two nights in a row of too little sleep didn’t make it any easier to answer Sara’s cheerful “G’mornin’” when she came downstairs around eight o’clock. Muttering darkly under my breath, I dragged myself off the couch and followed her into the kitchen, blearily watching her make coffee, scramble eggs, and toast bagels for breakfast.
“Hey, it’s Sunday,” she said.
I didn’t say anything, just stared back for a minute before riveting my gaze on the Mr. Coffee. I really, really wanted my caffeine fix.
“Sunday,” she said, grinning at my lack of response, “as in, it’s Damien’s birthday and we’re both expected at your mom’s house in a few hours.”
I started, practically jumping out of the seat I’d slumped into at the kitchen table. “Holy crap! It’s that Sunday?”
Dismayed, I looked at the clock on the microwave. I wouldn’t have enough time to get the gift from my apartment, shower, change clothes, call The Circle, and explain to Veronica why I was reneging on the contract while still making it to the party on time.
“Yup.” She shook the spatula at me threateningly. “Don’t even think about it. Deal with work tomorrow. Today’s supposed to be your day off anyway.”
I slid back into the chair, running my hands through my hair in agitation. Well, as much as I could with the unbrushed, tangled curls.
“It’s not just that. I need to get Damien’s gift. It’s in my closet at home.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. Not since the White Hats broke in the other day. If they’ve been watching you, they may have tried something drastic since you met with Royce again.”
Damn it all to hell and back, I’d forgotten about
“Shia, I know I’m not a practicing lawyer, but I could lose my license over this. It could destroy the reputation of H&W. We may lose the business over this.”
I took a deep breath before answering, keeping my voice quiet and level so I wouldn’t betray my own feelings about the whole mess.
“I know. Believe me, I know. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Isn’t my life worth more than the business?”
I didn’t have to say it, and I felt horrible for even letting the words cross my lips, but without Sara’s help, I’d never survive this nightmare.
Eventually, she managed to drag her gaze from the ground to meet my eyes again, looking more drawn and pale than I’d ever seen her before.
“I’ll do it. This once, I’ll do it. But don’t ever, ever ask anything like this of me again.”
I nodded agreement, breathing a deep sigh of relief. With that out of the way, now I just needed to figure out how I could make an ancient vampire view me, a normal human, a woman, food, as a threat.
Chapter 15
I slept fitfully on the couch in Sara’s living room. She had guest bedrooms, but I wanted to be woken up if the dogs started barking at any intruders. After a little more talk and planning, she’d gone upstairs to work on the contract on her computer. I didn’t envy her having to retype the whole thing, not only that but then having to use her skills to edit the document just enough that Royce and I could legally go for each other’s throats without worry of legal interference.
I stared at the ceiling for a while, finally drifting off a little past midnight. Then I scared the crap out of myself when I rolled off the couch onto the floor in the middle of the night in the throes of a nightmare. The bruise on my hip from landing on my keys did not improve my mood one bit. The dogs barked for almost fifteen solid minutes, too. Thankfully, Sara must have figured there was no problem since she didn’t come down to check on me and grind my embarrassment home any further.
Two nights in a row of too little sleep didn’t make it any easier to answer Sara’s cheerful “G’mornin’” when she came downstairs around eight o’clock. Muttering darkly under my breath, I dragged myself off the couch and followed her into the kitchen, blearily watching her make coffee, scramble eggs, and toast bagels for breakfast.
“Hey, it’s Sunday,” she said.
I didn’t say anything, just stared back for a minute before riveting my gaze on the Mr. Coffee. I really, really wanted my caffeine fix.
“Sunday,” she said, grinning at my lack of response, “as in, it’s Damien’s birthday and we’re both expected at your mom’s house in a few hours.”
I started, practically jumping out of the seat I’d slumped into at the kitchen table. “Holy crap! It’s that Sunday?”
Dismayed, I looked at the clock on the microwave. I wouldn’t have enough time to get the gift from my apartment, shower, change clothes, call The Circle, and explain to Veronica why I was reneging on the contract while still making it to the party on time.
“Yup.” She shook the spatula at me threateningly. “Don’t even think about it. Deal with work tomorrow. Today’s supposed to be your day off anyway.”
I slid back into the chair, running my hands through my hair in agitation. Well, as much as I could with the unbrushed, tangled curls.
“It’s not just that. I need to get Damien’s gift. It’s in my closet at home.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. Not since the White Hats broke in the other day. If they’ve been watching you, they may have tried something drastic since you met with Royce again.”
Damn it all to hell and back, I’d forgotten about
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