I made him stop and face me. “Are you saying Tristan is probably having sex with whoever he’s chomping on right now?”
“He’s definitely doing that.” Dan’s eyebrows rose. “Jealous?”
My nose tilted in the air. “Why would I be? He’s not my boyfriend. Even if he was, he’s not the same man when he’s a vampire.”
Dan looked at me for a full five seconds, clearly not buying what I had to say. But it was the truth. I no more wanted Tristan as a vampire than I did the Judge.
Double eww and shudder on the Judge.
Dan finally released me from the evaluating stare and continued towards the end of the room. “Lana looks upset. Let’s see what that gang has their heads together about over there.”
We joined the little group, and to my delight Augustus immediately acknowledged me. “Welcome to friends old and new,” he squawked.
Lana closed her eyes, her usual smile nowhere present. “It’s Dan and Brandilynn.” Opening her eyes again, she spoke to the air over my left shoulder. “Bad news. Another escort has disappeared. She wasn’t from the same service you worked for, Brandilynn, so I don’t know if you were acquainted with her. Vesta Canody?”
“I didn’t know her. But that’s awful.” I sighed unhappily, and Augustus bumped his head against my arm. I buried my fingers in his white feathers, taking refuge in the softness.
Lana continued her grim news. “Taylor is already out looking for her body. I just wanted to report to Tristan before I join her. Dan, can you come too? In case she’s staying near her body?”
Dan slowly shook his head despite the turmoil on his face. “Brandilynn is in danger. I have to stick with her.”
As Lana frowned, Augustus spoke up. “The beast is not content with blood. The very essence must be consumed. My angel is safe with me.” His golden eyes stared into my face.
My angel. I melted in adoration of the ancient creature.
Eddie the werehog grunted a very piggy sound. “I sure wish you’d speak plain, Augustus.”
Lana offered a strained smile. “He speaks as plain as he’s able. He wants to protect you, Brandilynn.”
Dan turned to the griffin. “Can you do that, Augustus?”
The noble creature dipped his head. “My life to shield her from worse than death.”
Wow. Forget knights in shining armor, I was under the protection of a griffin. “Thank you,” I said, remembering my manners in time.
Dan added his thanks and returned his attention to the rest of the group. “I’ll join you then, Lana. What else is going on?”
Lana looked up at the big werepanther. “Dan wants to know your news, Gerald.”
Dazzled by Augustus, I’d barely paid the hired muscle any mind. But then, it would take a rare creature like the griffin to steal the spotlight from this gorgeous fellow. His brown muscular body with those subtle black markings deserved a photo shoot. Cool green eyes shifted in his handsome face continuously to take in the entire room, as did the triangle points of his ears. I wondered if Gerald purred when he was happy. At over six feet tall and bulging muscle, he didn’t look the purring type.
Gerald’s voice was shivering deep, and it seemed to thrum through my body. Wow. Barry White, move the heck on over. “A protest was held at city hall today. A group of humans are calling for the repeal of para rights. Tristan claiming Brandilynn’s body was big news. Some believe he’s covering up for the killer.”
Dan rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. Cliff Tattingail is at the forefront of the protest.”
Before Lana could pass the message on, Gerald supplied, “Cliff Tattingail made a speech during the rally.”
Having had a councilman on my regular client roster, I was pretty familiar with the goings on of Fulton Fall’s political arena. “Tattingail ran against Tristan at the last election,” I murmured to no one in particular.
Cliff Tattingail owned a chain of Christian bookstores in every county of southeast Georgia. He stood adamantly against paras, and it stuck in his craw that a monster like Tristan had been elected over him.
Dan told me, “He’d love to see Tristan’s image suffer.”
Lana huffed her disgust. “Even Fulton Falls isn’t fundamentalist enough to elect a snake-handler to the commission.
It amused me to think how a Christian fundamentalist could be considered more extreme than a vampire. But Tattingail did take things to the limit of most people’s intolerance. His call for making shifters illegal and subject to a hunting season like deer was viewed as pretty over the top. Most people had some family member who’d been infected or killed by the shifter virus.