Out for Blood by Kristen Painter

of the KM. Something that could send me back to prison.” His gut rolled over at the thought of being charged with another murder. He would not go back to prison. “How do you think I’m going to explain this? You think the KM isn’t going to check up on him when he doesn’t report back?”
    She leaned over and cupped his face in her hands. The gravity of the situation seemed to fade. She forced him to keep eye contact with her. “I said I would protect you, did I not?”
    Those black, murky depths were impossible to look away from. A sense of calm washed through him. His muscles unclenched and he stood, stepping over Argent to get closer to her. “Yes, that’s what you said.”
    She smiled, cocking her head abruptly to one side. “Now you must trust me.”
    His hands found her hips while his mind forgot the dead shifter on his floor. “I do.” It seemed he always had.
    “Good,” she whispered, leaning into him. “I will tell you what we are going to do next.”
    And with each word she spoke, his fears drifted away, replaced with little pieces of her will, until Creek no longer understood where she began and he ended.

 

Chapter Eleven
     
    L ola looked at her watch. Three hours until sundown. All day she’d waited, frustrated by Preacher’s refusal to turn her into a vampire. She didn’t expect him to understand how becoming a vampire would show the human citizens of Paradise City that there was nothing to fear from their othernatural neighbors. Or how being turned would help her demonstrate to the othernatural citizens that she understood their position. Or how both sides would see she was willing to sacrifice for the sake of the city.
    But of all people, he should understand how difficult it was going to be for her to fight the creatures who’d kidnapped her grandchild if she didn’t have at least some degree of the ancients’ power. Instead he’d insisted she let him handle things. How could he not understand that if he’d turned her, they could handle things together? She was siding with him, after all, and there was strength in numbers.
    A quick knock on the half-open door and Valerie stuck her head into the office. “Madam Mayor?”
    Lola set her paperwork aside. “Yes?”
    Valerie came in and handed her a slim manila envelope. “Here’s the report you’ve been waiting for. If you don’t need anything else, I’m headed home for the day.”
    Lola took the report, eager to read it. “No, that’s all. Have a good night.”
    “Thank you, you too.” Valerie hesitated. John’s large form hovered in the open doorway. “Would you mind if John drove me home? I know he’s supposed to be here with you, but—”
    “No, it’s fine.” Valerie usually rode a scooter. “Everything all right?”
    She shrugged one shoulder. “Guy in the apartment next to mine has been acting a little hinky since Halloween night. He looks at me like he wants to eat me. Just thought if John walked me up, made a little show of being there…”
    Lola nodded. “Sure, no problem.” She looked past Valerie to where John stood behind her. “Stay as long as you think necessary.”
    He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
    Lola bent her head slightly until the door shut, smiling to herself. Valerie’s neighbor might be acting odd, but there was something going on between Valerie and John that was more than just friendship. She’d seen the way they’d been sneaking looks at one another, the way Valerie touched her hair when John was near, the way John’s gruffness seemed to melt away in Valerie’s presence. Lola sighed and turned her chair to gaze out the office windows, hugging the envelope to her chest. It was nice that someone could find happiness amid all this chaos.
    She wasn’t sure it was an emotion she’d ever truly feel again. Not with her daughter dead and her grandchild missing. Which brought her back to the report. She slit open the envelope, pulled out the single sheet of paper, and skimmed the information