1 Dicey Grenor Read Online Free Page A

asked boldly. Keeping her distance.
    “Why would you ask
me that? You know me, Cin .”
    “I saw your eyes
change. You changed. You became something else.”
    “I don’t suppose angel ever crossed your mind?” I smirked. Humor was all I had at this point.
    “Don’t play with
me, Willow. Angels don’t have fangs,” she crossed her arms over her chest
indignantly.
    So she’d seen the
whole shebang and wasn’t backing down. Now what? Arguing that she didn’t know
whether angels had fangs seemed petty.
    “What do you want
me to say, Cin ?”
    “Tell me the
truth. What are you, for God’s sake! You’ve been to my house, watched my
daughter…”
    I didn’t see how
any of that mattered, but apparently it was important to her. “I’m your friend,
have been since I started working here.”
    “Like hell you
are. If you’re a vampire, then I don’t even know you.”
    The angrier she
became, the more her voice raised. The more pronounced her jugular became. It
was jutting, begging to be tasted.
    I accidentally bit
my lip, tasted my own blood. She had to get herself and her accusations away
from me sooner rather than later. Anger made her blood pump faster. Egged me closer to losing control.
    If she truly
believed I was a vampire, she wasn’t acting like it. Like the Incredible Hulk,
she wouldn’t want to make me angry. Surely she’d know being friendly would be
more to her advantage since I could easily snap her fucking neck. Turning my
head towards the chair cushion, I began counting. Ten, nine, eight, seven …
    “You know, I could
really use the money.” Her voice lowered, sounded strained, a little shaky. “Did
you know they were paying ten thousand dollars now for each tip that leads to a
vampire arrest?” she asked.
    “Is that so. ” I didn’t turn to look at her. She was pushing it and I
didn’t trust myself to show restraint.
    She was referring
to the Vampire Extermination Team, un-affectionately known as VET. HPA ordered
execution for all vampires, VET served as the enforcement agency. They hired
ex-military, ex-law enforcement, ex-felons, anyone who had the skills to hunt
down and kill us. Sometimes they contracted out to private vampire hunting
businesses too. It was a dangerous but lucrative industry.
    Which
meant the bitch had just threatened me.
    She sighed
noisily, some of the tension easing. “Yeah, this custody battle is getting
really messy, and really expensive. I could use that money. I’d hate to do it
to you, Willow, but I’m close to losing my daughter. My lawyer’s threatening to
withdraw from my case.” She bit her lip like she was holding back a sob. Her
desperation was palpable.
    I knew she’d been
going through an ugly divorce and custody case. Her hubby played for the Texans
and was spending a nice chunk o’ change to make her look bad in court and in
the media. Even though he’d met Cindy at Hades, her job as a performer here was
now being slanted to make her look unfit. It was unfair. She was a great
mother.
    Her ass should
have asked to borrow some money instead of threatening to expose me, but I had
an idea. I felt sorry for her and wanted to help. It could be a win-win for us
both, and certainly better than driving a wedge between our friendship or
losing it altogether.
    “I never said I
was a vampire, Cin , but I’d like to make a deal with
you. I’d prefer not to be investigated based on mere suspicions because I like
my privacy. What if your problems with your husband disappeared and money was
no longer an issue? Would you be willing to put this behind us?”
    Her eyes narrowed
suspiciously. “You didn’t say you weren’t a vampire either.” She paused
as if she was considering my proposition. “Yes, I’d be willing to put
everything behind us if my husband was no longer an issue. But Willow, I don’t
want him dead. He’s still Lucia’s father. She needs him.”
    “I understand.”
    Most people
believed vampirism meant soullessness, unredeemable