Kiss of the Vampire(24)

“Can’t help what?” Maldonado asked, folding his arms lazily over his chest.

“Couldn’t you just have said, ‘Yes, it’s possible she kept things from me’?” Nix rolled her eyes. “Good grief, Byron. You certainly haven’t changed.”

He stared at her, his expression stern, then a wide grin split his face. “And you haven’t changed that much, either. Still calling people on their bull.”

“That’s me. A regular bull caller.” She turned the conversation back on topic. “Is there anything else we should know about Rinda?”

“Not at the moment, but I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

Tobias stepped forward and held out his hand. “Byron.”

Maldonado clasped his hand and the two men hugged, pounding each other on the shoulder a few times before pulling away. “Tobias, it’s good to see you. You’ve been gone too long.”

Tobias glanced at Nix and didn’t comment.

When Maldonado reached out a hand toward her, Nix let him clasp her fingers in his. “Nix, as always, it’s nice to see you, too. You should come by my clubs more often.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.

“Maybe I’ll do that,” she said.

He dropped her hand and looked at Tobias. “I expect you to keep me informed, old friend. I have to protect my own.”

Tobias lifted his chin in acknowledgment. Nix gave Maldonado a sympathetic glance and turned to leave. She and Tobias said their good-byes and left Maldonado’s suite of rooms. The big vampire bodyguard who’d escorted them in waited for them at the elevator and the ride down to the ground floor was accomplished in silence. She believed Maldonado hadn’t known what was going on, and he seemed righteously angry over the killings.

As soon as they were outside, Nix let out a breath. “Why does it seem like this investigation is going exactly nowhere?” She was so frustrated she felt like screaming.

“Probably because it’s going exactly nowhere.” Tobias unlocked his black Jaguar and opened the door for her. He didn’t seem to notice the frown she shot him as he said, “Just the fact that Rinda had distanced herself from Byron, that she was keeping secrets from him, tells me there’s a lot more to this.”

Nix slid into the low-slung vehicle and he closed the door behind her. He walked around the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. Hand on the ignition he said, “She was mixed up in something that made her keep secrets. Made her pull away from her closest friends.” His stormy eyes cut her way. “Whatever caused that can’t be good.”

“I agree.” Nix fastened her seat belt and then stared out the windshield, her thoughts tumbling over each other as she tried to make sense of everything.

“She didn’t say anything to you?” he asked.

Nix swallowed back regret. “We hadn’t…” She cleared her throat. “I hadn’t talked to her in a while.” When Tobias seemed about to question her further, she slashed one hand through the air. “Just leave it alone, all right? Please.”

“All right,” he said slowly. He twisted the key in the ignition and put the vehicle in gear.

Nix turned her head and looked through the side window. If she’d kept up her friendship with Amarinda, would the vampire have let her know what was going on? Or would she have kept her as in the dark as she’d kept Maldonado, a man she’d known for centuries? Nix was saddened at the thought that she would never know the answer.





Chapter Five





Apparently Detective MacMillan had been in the mood for pancakes, as Tobias found out an hour later. The man shoveled the last of his short stack into his mouth and leaned back with a sigh, one hand on his flat belly. Which wouldn’t remain flat for very long if he kept eating like that.

“I don’t know where you put it all,” Nix muttered from where she sat next to MacMillan. Tobias had hoped she would sit next to him. Not only had she insisted he take her home so she could get her own car, when they both arrived at the restaurant and had been led to their booth, she hadn’t even looked his way as she slid in next to the detective.

“Hollow legs.” MacMillan took a sip of coffee. “That’s what my mom always used to say, at any rate. Man, that hit the spot. Whoever suggested we meet here had a damn good idea.” At Nix’s snort, he shrugged. “I’m just sayin’.” He stretched out his legs under the table and murmured an apology when he bumped Tobias’s foot.

“No problem.” Leaning forward, Tobias clasped his hands around his coffee cup and rested his elbows on the table.