Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

my living room. "You still have to worry about those vamps who wanted to kill you."
    "Yeah." He wallowed in gloom and self-pity for a moment. "I was only trying to get her away—she was scared. I can't blame her—Granger tends to murder what he has no use for."
    "Granger?"
    "Old." Mason shrugged. "Has a bunch of local vamps under his thumb. Figure the law would like to ask him a few questions about missing people."
    "You—you were a cop, I'm guessing. Before you developed a taste for blood."
    "Good guess," Mason rose and stretched. "Only on the job five years when I got shot in Sacramento. Somebody took pity on me and made the turn."
    "Is that what convinced Watson to fall asleep in your presence?"
    "Yeah. He remembers the huge flap in Sacramento six years ago when a cop disappeared. Haven't been seen, since," he shrugged.
    "You mean Granger didn't bother to place compulsion?" That surprised me.
    "Hmmph."
    I held back from asking the next question that tickled my brain. It could get both of us in trouble.
    "Did it take all five of those vamps to bring you down?" I asked instead.
    "Six. One of 'em didn't get back up after I put him down. I hear you took out the rest."
    "We won't discuss that," I held up a hand.
    "Sounds fine. Wish I could ask for a beer, but it wouldn't do any good. I have bagged blood in the fridge at my place. Better get goin'."
    "I think you ought to stay here—at least for now," I said.
    "I need to eat," he said. Simple. Direct.
    "Great. There's a bar around the corner. Want to satisfy both cravings at once?"
    "I don't bite women," he growled. "I hate biting guys."
    "Transvestites, then?"
    "You know—that almost made me laugh. Come on, we'll find somebody who's had a bath and didn't drown in cologne afterward."
    I understood something as I followed Mason out the door—I figured he'd been in his twenties when he joined the Sacramento Police Department. Five years as a cop, followed by six as a vamp had given him wisdom beyond his age.
    * * *
    Lexsi
    "Hey, want to get a drink after work?"
    Anita called me first—I figured I'd have to call her if I wanted to make friends.
    "That sounds great," I said. "I just have to get this flash drive downloaded for Vann and I'm done for today," I said. "Where?"
    "I'm headed in your direction," she said. "There's a place off 101 in Sausalito that serves food, so we can eat and drink."
    "Sounds really good, I'm starved," I admitted. She gave me the name and address and said she'd be there in half an hour. I was grateful for her invitation the moment Vann stuck his head inside my cubicle to ask me if I were free for dinner.
    * * *
    "Canada," Anita shrugged when I asked her where she was from. "I have citizenship here, now. Applied right after I got my degree from UCLA."
    "What the heck are you doing working in HR, then?" I asked.
    "I don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't a lot of people of color—black or otherwise—working for Rome Enterprises. No offense," she held up a hand.
    "None taken, and yes, I have noticed."
    "So," she toyed with the saltshaker for a moment, as if she were deciding whether she could trust me or not, "I went to work in a low-level job so I can write an article on Rome's hiring practices. If I'm lucky, I can sell it to a New York newspaper or magazine."
    "Sounds good to me," I said. "Can you include womanizing bosses in your article?"
    "Vann giving you problems already?"
    "He's asked me out twice, and I've only been on the job two days."
    "Yeah—his last assistant of the female persuasion got engaged and married in self-defense, I think."
    "How long have you worked for Rome Enterprises?"
    "Nearly a year. You should see the stuff I have on my computer," she laughed.
    "Aren't you worried that you'll be found out?"
    "No—I sort of want them to fire me," she said.
    "Well, that could cut into our budding friendship," I said. "Have you gotten any directives from someone above you—to only hire certain people?"
    "No, but that doesn't mean