Scion's Freedom (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Online Free Page B

out a bray of a laugh before clapping her hands over her mouth. Cassy jumped and let out a breath she had not realized she was holding. Had she been paying attention to her senses, she would have tasted their perfume on the air, smelled the hairspray and talc, or heard the clicking heels they were trying to cover up. Most of the tenants were either vampires or werewolves. Cassy recognized two of the girls as the building’s rare human occupants. They were not sneaking. They were making an effort to be polite.
    The door to her apartment looked as it did when she left. The locks tumbled and opened when the key twisted. The handle turned with the same effort as always. She pushed and stood alone in the doorframe. It swung open and hit the back side of the bar. No one was there. It looked the same as it had when she left.
    She was not sure whether to feel relief or disappointment. Erica was not here, had not been here during the day, but nothing indicated she would not return. Cassy sighed and turned on the TV for noise.
    The refrigerator held the same empty white wire shelves and nothing else. Not up to going to the store, Cassy opted to call Vein for takeout delivery. Within half an hour dinner was at the door.
    “That’ll be $22.87, please,” said the spotty teenage human boy. He handed her the brown paper bag and took the money. He made it a point not to look her square in the eyes. It was company policy to help avoid being compelled.
    “Keep the change,” Cassy told him. The boy smiled. It was a good tip.
    “Thanks, lady! You guys are always the best tippers,” he said with an enthusiastic smile. Cassy wished she could share his optimism. “Just to be fair, I’ll give you a tip in return. There is a cop car parked outside of your building. I saw it there on my last delivery this way, too. So don’t speed, okay?”
    Cassy’s chest tightened. “Okay. I promise,” she whispered. She gave him a weak smile. He turned and left whistling a happy tune.
    Cassy put the bag on the kitchen counter and waited. Nothing. She pulled out the contents, uncapped the bag of O positive, and poured some of it into a mug. She waited. Nothing. The microwave whirled around and around until it beeped. Still nothing.
    “You’re just being paranoid,” she told herself. She took her mug into the living room and sat down to the news. She might as well have been looking at a blank screen. Nothing registered with her. Fangs extended, she sipped dinner carefully as to not clip the ceramic cup.
    Halfway through her second mug and sometime between “And now to Chet with the weather!” and “Tonight will be great autumn weather…” someone knocked on the door. Cassy froze. The knocking continued in short bursts.
    “Miss Daniels, please open up. We know you’re in there,” said a polite yet unfamiliar male voice. “Miss Daniels, please.” Three more raps followed. Then silence.
    Cassy did not even put down her mug. Having something in her hand gave her a sense of being steadier. She walked to the door. Any words announcing her approach were stuck in her throat. Fear ran through her. She could not even retract her fangs. It was rude to answer the door in such a state, but it could not be helped this time.
    She undid the locks and gave the handle a turn. Half expecting someone to force their way past her when she cracked the door, Cassy braced herself. Once again, nothing happened. Two thirty-something uniformed officers just under six feet tall and a plain-clothed man with a badge around his neck stood there. It seemed like Cassy should know this man. He wore short black hair framing a face she was sure she had seen before.
    Cassy was stunned. The plain-clothed cop was David from Halloween! Panic flooded her system. Was this about Erica or her? He had been in the bar. There were signs everywhere. Any human who consented to enter the building consented to being bitten. It was why most humans went there!
    David asked, “Miss Daniels? Are