Deathtrap (Crossbreed Series Book 3)(2)

“You’ll learn to live with it. It’s not as if we’re in a rush, and one day something might link back to those old cases and allow us to solve them. Maybe you should get out more.”

“I would, but I’m without transportation.”

“Last I looked, you had two strong legs.”

“The walk to town is too far, so I’m saving up for some wheels. It would be a different story if the train were near the mansion.” I took a bite of my sandwich, the bread so buttery I had to wipe my fingers on a napkin. “You know, I used to sleep in trains and subway stations before they started beefing up security. It was a lot safer than alleyways or abandoned buildings.”

“You’re just full of happy memories.”

When Betty set my pie down and slipped away without a word, I peered over my shoulder to watch her. She looked back at us briefly before clearing off a table.

Vampires weren’t especially frightening to look at when their fangs were receded. While their black eyes could be unnerving, they didn’t stand out in a way that drew attention. Lots of people had dark eyes, and it was only when you looked close enough that you realized how bottomless they were. Betty’s peculiar behavior made me even more curious about the man I was partnered with.

“Jaysus wept. You’re not going to convince me this is cheese.” He dropped his sandwich on his plate and then wiped his fingers down his black coat. “I’m suddenly reminded why I gave up eating. Cuisine just isn’t what it used to be.”

“I thought your aversion to food had to do with the latrine.”

“That too. So, are you going to explain why you dragged me all the way into the city on such a fine morning?”

I finished half my sandwich and waited for the pregnant woman walking past us to go into the bathroom. “It’s about that favor you owe me.”

“You mean the favor for that inane bet where I had to abstain from sex for your amusement?”

“That’s the one.”

He slowly dragged the glass of milk toward him and gulped it down as if it were ale. When he finished, he held my gaze.

I struggled not to laugh at his milk mustache. “I want you to take me to see my father.”

He tapped his finger against the edge of his glass. When he didn’t reply, I shifted my eyes to the parking lot outside. A couple emerged from an SUV and held hands as they waddled like penguins toward the front of the diner. A few snowflakes clung to the window, and I clung to the hope that this wasn’t going to erupt into an argument. Why did everything with Christian turn into such a fucking battle? He owed me a favor, and that was supposed to mean something in our world.

“Then hurry up and eat your sandwich,” he finally said.

My heart skipped a beat. “I don’t mean now.”

He leaned back. “For feck’s sake, then why did you invite me out all this way?”

“I didn’t want anyone overhearing our conversation, especially Viktor. You know the general opinion about cutting ties with our human life. He wouldn’t approve, but this is something I need to do. When the time is right, I want to see my father without having to give you an explanation.”

“What does this have to do with me? Can’t you go by yourself?”

“You know why. I need a Vampire to scrub his memory when I’m done. He’s already moved on with his life, so this isn’t about making him feel better. If anything, it might do the opposite. I need to get some things off my chest.”

“Besides your bra?” He cocked his head to the side. “Why not just go now and get it over with?”

Christian wouldn’t understand. I was terrified of how my father would react when he saw me alive. Terrified that the truth might send him into cardiac arrest. Terrified that seeing him might be a mistake. Would he resent me for abandoning him? Maybe I wasn’t ready for the truth that my father might be happier without me in his life. But I needed that final good-bye. That was all I really wanted—a hug from my daddy and maybe his forgiveness.

Eventually.

Just not right after my apple pie.

“Can you be available when I ask? No questions?”

Christian scratched his ear, a perturbed look on his face. “And here I thought you just wanted to share my good company. I can’t be at your beck and call for the rest of eternity while you make up your mind. If you haven’t called me in a fortnight, I’ll drag you there myself.”

I started to laugh and held it back.

He propped his elbow on the table and tucked his fist against his chin. “What’s so funny?”

I averted my gaze from his milk mustache. “I just had a tickle in my throat.”

“Hurry up and eat that pie. I want to get out of here before I start smelling like processed cheese and fish sticks.”

“I’ll tell Betty to bring the check the next time she comes by the table.”

“Tell you what. I’ll just leave a flat hundred on the table, and we can skip the formalities.”

I took a bite of warm apple pie. “Don’t be such a fanghole. She’s my friend.”

“She’s a cocktail in an apron. You shouldn’t form attachments to mortals. That’s a habit your maker would have broken had he stuck around.”

I shoved my plate away and leaned back in the booth. Now I’d lost my appetite. Christian was pressing my buttons on purpose.

He slapped a large bill on the table. “Let’s go build a snowman.”

I furrowed my brow. “Say again?”

He scooted out of his seat and stretched his arms. “We drove all this way into the city. Might as well have a little fun while we’re here.”

“How is building a snowman fun?”

He grinned fiendishly. “Grab the ketchup and I’ll show you how Vampires have a good time.”





Chapter 2





As soon as we made it home to Keystone mansion, I ducked around the winged statue just inside the front door and headed down the side hall that led to the back of the building. After I ascended to the second floor, I moved through a dark hall absent of windows but illuminated by a few wall lanterns, the light of which soaked into the crevices of the stone that arched overhead.

I should have been downstairs training with Niko, but my head just wasn’t in it today. All I could think about was my father, and I didn’t want Niko to read my color and start asking questions.

Out of nowhere, Gem flew past me from an intersecting hallway.

“Wait!” she cried out, her roller skates skidding to a stop. Gem circled back around, her wavy tresses curtaining her face. She hooked her arm in mine and swept back her purple hair—a pale shade of amethyst that matched her eyes. “Where in the world have you been? I went by your room earlier to see if you wanted to hang out. I’ve been searching all over the mansion trying to find you.”

We continued our walk down the hall, her rolling beside me.

“I went into the city with Christian to have breakfast.”

She flashed me an impish grin. “That sounds mysterious.”

“The only thing mysterious was his aversion to pie.”

“I want to hear all the details.” Gem had her eyes on Wyatt’s office just to the left and broke away to skate ahead of me through the open door. “Visitors!” she announced in a bright voice.

I moseyed inside and noticed Shepherd lying on the black sofa to the left, an ashtray on his chest. Little flecks of grey ash were scattered across his black T-shirt. His ankles were crossed, one arm behind his head while he watched an action movie on TV.

Typical Shepherd.

Gem whirled around and finally took a good look at me. As her eyes dragged downward, she gaped at my pants. “Did you and Christian get into a fight?”

Wyatt spun around in his computer chair and looked me over. “Son of a ghost. I knew I should have made popcorn. What’s the scoop?”

“There’s no scoop.” I glanced down at the red ketchup splattered on my jeans. “Suffice it to say that after building a bloody massacre of snowmen, we’ll never be invited to Saint Vincent’s Church again.”

Wyatt flipped his beanie off, revealing a messy head of nut-brown hair. “You’re going to hell in a handbasket.”

I walked around him and sat on the leather stool. “I ate your chili last night. I’m already there.”

He stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles, his boot heel propped on the stone floor. Wyatt’s attitude was a lot more easygoing now that—according to him—the house was ghost-free. I hadn’t caught him racing down the hallways in the wee hours of the morning, spooked by something he’d seen. “I’m looking forward to the feast you’re cooking tonight, Julia Child.”

Crap. I’d forgotten it was my week to cook. Everyone rotated chores, including cooking, laundry, trash, and general cleaning to name a few. They were spread out so that one person wasn’t given both cooking and laundry on the same week. After just over a month, it was finally my turn in the kitchen. I hadn’t boiled water in probably seven years. Was it possible to make ramen noodles look gourmet?

Gem glided toward a beanbag chair and plopped down. The oversized chair dwarfed her as it puffed out.

I eased my elbows on the desk behind me and faced Shepherd, who was entertaining himself by blowing smoke rings. “Is this what you do all day?”