One More Bite Read Online Free Page B

the tires squealed, signaling imminent impact. I got the impression of shaggy brown hair with a matching beard. A suit coat and pants in the same color that sagged so badly the man must’ve bought them when he was forty pounds heavier. And a gold chain running from pants to vest pocket.

    Then our window swung sideways. I braced myself against the dashboard. Craned my neck, trying to see whether the man had jumped out of the way in time, tensing against the thud that would signal the beginning of a dreadful few days. It never came.

    As soon as the Alhambra screeched to a stop we jumped out and ran to the spot where the man’s body should be lying. Nothing.

    “You all did see him?” Vayl asked as he yanked off his sunglasses and shoved them into his pocket.

    We agreed somebody had walked in front of the van. “Even Jack noticed him,” I said. But now the dog, who should’ve been straining at his leash to explore new scents, stood right next to me, his shoulder leaning against my knee as if to push me back into the vehicle.

    “He cannot have gone far.” Vayl strode toward the trees on the west side of the lane. I followed him, pulling a reluctant pup behind. Beyond the nice, neat outer row of Scots pines grew a thick copse of spruce, larch, and fir that pressed so close to one another we couldn’t find any easy way to step among them. At least not without taking cuts and scratches that our pedestrian would surely have avoided.

    “Where’d he go?” I whispered as we turned back to the road. Cole had knelt to look under the vehicle while Albert leaned against the hood and worked on lighting a fat cigar.

    “I cannot—” I lost the rest of Vayl’s sentence in a furious red haze as I raced back to the van, Jack galloping gleefully by my side.

    “Are you out of your mind?” I demanded. I yanked the cigar from between Albert’s teeth and threw it on the ground, grinding out the barely smoking tip with the heel of my boot. “What, you’re free of your nurse’s care for a few days and suddenly you think you’re cured? Shelby must’ve wanted to shove his resignation down your throat when he saw you’d started smoking again!”

    “He didn’t quit,” Albert growled. “He got married. And I haven’t started anything. I just thought it would be a treat.”

    “Diabetics don’t smoke for a reason, Dad! For chrissake, the last thing I need in the middle of an important assignment is to haul your ass to the hospital!”

    “Aw, would you look at that? Now your mutt’s eaten my cigar!”

    I glanced down. Sure enough, Jack had chewed up and swallowed the best part of it. Goddammit! “When he pukes it up, I’m going to make sure he’s standing over your suitcase,” I informed him. Unfortunately Jack had an immediate reaction, which left the remains of Albert’s treat all over the lane. “There you go,” I snapped. “Smoke that!”

    “I don’t see why you’re getting all bent out of shape,” Albert grumbled. “It was just an old stogie.”
    He shuffled back to the van, his ruined knees making him much more the candidate to carry Vayl’s cane than the vamp who swung it thoughtfully between the fingers of his left hand as he,

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    too, made his way back to the vehicle.

    I gestured for it. Inside the tiger-carved sheath was a sword I could use right now.

    Vayl shook his head. Behave yourself, his eyes told me.

    Huh.

    I followed Albert around to the passenger door. At least I knew why he’d come now. Without his nurse to take care of him, he’d had to resort to one of us kids. Dave had taken his Special Ops unit deep into North Korea for some major hush-hush mission, so he was off the hook. Albert had just spent the past couple of weeks with Evie. So now it was my turn. s wt="0%">

    And how exactly did I feel about an extended visit with dear old Pops?

    When he turned his back on me to open the