Mercy's Debt (Montgomery's Vampires Series Book One) by Sloan Archer Page B

competitive sport in this country.”
    “Surely you cannot be serious,” he said incredulously.
    “Oh, I’m serious.”
    “What do people eat for these competitions?” he asked with curious eyes.
    “I’ve never been in one myself, but they eat all kinds of things. Usually it’s hotdogs or pie.”
    “That is very odd.”
    “Ha! This, coming for a vampire,” I teased quietly, conscious of eavesdroppers.
    “Well, at least we do not binge-drink on humans for sport.” He looked sheepish. “Okay,” he rephrased, “at least not anymore.”
    Keeping my voice low, I asked, “Come to think of it, how do you guys drink? Michael said that you go to blood banks or something?”
    “That is correct. They are all over the city, run by vampires, naturally.”
    “Okay,” I said, waiting for him to elaborate. “And?”
    “ Well, think of blood like you do human food. Some foods, like rice and beans, are fairly inexpensive; nothing fancy, but you would still be able to sustain a living off them, correct? Then there are other foods, like caviar and decadent cheeses, which you eat because you enjoy. Of course, the things humans take a delight in consuming- the gourmet foods so to speak- cost more. It works the same way with human blood.”
    “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what’s the vampire version of gourmet?”
    “The purer, the better. I am not referring to virgins and children, which is Puritanical nonsense, but rather the toxins people have in their body. Sick humans taste the worst because of all the medicines they have in their system. A vampire might as well drink rat blood if they are going to consume plasma from an individual who is undergoing chemotherapy. Women who are on birth control also taste terrible, and so do people who eat processed foods or drink hard alcohol heavily. The best tasting humans are usually vegetarians and athletes, as they tend to be more cautious about the foods and chemicals that go into their body.”
    “ That is so fascinating. I wonder what I’d taste like,” I said without thinking. I trusted that he was smart enough to realize that I had in no way offered him my blood. “So, do you go into the banks and get transfusions? Or do you get it by the liter, like bottled water? And what’s the going rate for something like that?”
    Robert shot me yet another variation of his amused expression.
    “Of c ourse, you don’t have to answer, if you aren’t allowed to, I mean. I’m just curious,” I clarified.
    “So many questions.” He narrowed his eyes at me menacingly. “Are you some kind of spy?”
    “What? No!” I said, my pulse pitching into overdrive.
    H e threw back his head and cackled. “Relax! I was having a laugh.”
    “Very funny,” I said humorlessly.
    He looked ashamed. “Please, forgive me. It is not very gentlemanly of me to frighten you,” he said. “I can only imagine what it must be like.”
    “What do you mean? And for the record, I was more concerned about insulting you on a professional level. Oddly enough, offending the clients that I chaperone is not in my job description.”
    He ignored my last two comments. “Being out with a vampire,” he said. “Are you not afraid?”
    “I’ ve had a bit of time to think about this,” I began, taking in a long breath. “I figure, for as long as vampires have managed to exist without being substantiated, you all must have a huge amount of self-control and have a fair handle on your… urges. Humans are the savages, if you ask me. A human man could just as easily turn on me, so why should I be biased against you just because you have fangs instead of something more traditional like a gun, knife, chainsaw, axe, or one of the million other objects humans use to kill their loved ones on a daily basis? Seriously,” I rambled, “I just saw on the news that a woman murdered her husband with a laptop, of all things. She hit him over the head with it while he was in the bathtub, and then finished him off by