Argeneau Family 12. The Renegade Hunter(37)

The front door wasn't locked but there was a doorman. Nicholas slipped into the man's thoughts, making sure he didn't see or stop him as Nicholas trailed the female to the elevator. It arrived disbursing a mixed group of people in their twenties. Nicholas followed the woman on board once it was clear and offered her a polite smile as he waited for the doors to close. The moment they did, he slipped into her mind and had her turn toward him. He stepped forward, intending to take her in his arms and feed on her, but paused as a fragrant odor enveloped him. Nicholas had been vaguely aware of the scent as he'd trailed her, but it had been faint then. Now that they were enclosed in the small elevator, it was impossible to ignore, and he glanced around curiously for the source. It reminded him of something from when he used to eat. Something…

Nicholas traced the smell to a bag she carried and took it from her to peer inside. All he saw was a box. He reached in to open it and was immediately hit with a strong wave of the scent. Fried chicken, Nicholas realized, smiling. Annie used to make it on Sundays. It had been his favorite.

That's what he'd get Jo, Nicholas decided, closing the box and peering at the bag. KFC. He recalled passing a restaurant with that logo.

"What are you doing with my chicken?"

Nicholas glanced to the woman with surprise. He'd gotten so distracted by his find that he'd released his control over her and she was now peering at him with confusion. Setting the bag on the floor, he slipped into her thoughts and took control again. Nicholas then quickly took her in his arms and sank his teeth into her neck, using more speed than finesse. His distraction had cut into the time he had for this endeavor. Fortunately, he still had time to do what he had to do. He'd finished feeding and just released the woman when the elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at her floor. Nicholas picked up the bag of chicken and gave it to her, and then sent her off the elevator before releasing her mind.

He felt much better now, the cramps had eased considerably. One more bite and he should be good to get the chicken and head back to the hotel, Nicholas thought as he hit the button to return to the ground floor.

The elevator had traveled down only two floors before it stopped to allow a young man on. The fellow was all alone, and a quick check of his thoughts proved he was healthy as a horse, a real health nut, in fact, into natural foods and something called green tea. Nicholas smiled to himself as the doors closed. It seemed fate was on his side for a change. He'd be back at the hotel in no time… then he just had to figure out some explanation to give Jo for everything that had been going on.

That or tell her the truth, Nicholas thought as he slid into the young man's thoughts and leaned in to bite his neck. His preference was to tell Jo the truth, but he doubted she'd be allowed to keep her memories of that truth once they had her back at the enforcer house… and he would eventually have to take her there. On the other hand, they hadn't taken away her memories after the first time. True, she didn't really know much, but still…

The elevator dinged. Nicholas finished feeding and stepped back from the young donor, rearranging his thoughts and making him move to the doors as they opened. He kept control of him until they were out of the building, and then released his thoughts and turned to make his way back to the busy street where he'd first spotted the chicken lady.

Twenty minutes later Nicholas let himself back into the hotel room, his arms weighted down with a large bag marked KFC. He let the door close behind him and strode into the room, mouth opening to speak, but closed it again when he spotted Jo sound asleep on the bed. He peered at her blankly and then to Charlie. The dog lay beside her, but his head was up, eyes open and alert.

Sighing, Nicholas set the bag on the small table by the window. The moment he did, Charlie was off the bed and at his side, tail wagging frantically.

"Hi, buddy," he whispered, giving him a pat.

Charlie promptly lifted up, resting his feet on Nicholas's leg so that he could reach more of him, and then turned to nose the bag of chicken curiously.

"Hungry, huh?" Nicholas asked quietly. "Luckily for you I thought you might be and got a bucket. But you'll have to wait until I strip the meat for you. I'm not sure you can handle chicken bones."

Charlie dropped back to sit on his haunches patiently, and Nicholas smiled wryly as he opened the bag to retrieve the food containers and paper plates inside. He then settled in one of the two chairs at the table and set to work, selecting three meaty pieces of breaded chicken and then using one of the plastic forks provided to strip the meat onto the plate. He'd barely started on the first piece of meat when he couldn't resist and popped a bite of the delicacy into his mouth. The flavor exploded on his tongue, making him moan softly. Charlie whined in complaint.