Kiss of the Vampire(26)

He eased out of the booth. Picking up the check and Nix’s fiver, he added his money, then snatched his suit coat from the edge where he’d draped it. “I got you covered there, chief,” he said with a nod toward Tobias. The detective shrugged into his jacket and said, “I’ll meet up with you outside.” He walked toward the cash register at the front of the restaurant.

Tobias stood. “You and MacMillan seem close.”

Nix slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Yeah, well, when you see what we see on an almost daily basis, you tend to establish a rapport pretty quickly.”

“You took longer than a month to warm up to me,” he replied as he followed Nix out of the restaurant. The bright sunlight hit his eyes like knives. With a low oath he slipped on his sunglasses.

“Yeah, well, Dante’s not a pret.” She put on her own sunglasses, small rectangular ones with purple lenses that made her look damned adorable.

To give his hands something to do because otherwise he might just haul her in for a kiss, Tobias fished his car keys out of his jeans and began flicking them back and forth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just about every pret out there looks down on demons. Especially vampires.” She pushed her glasses down her nose and stared at him over the rim, her head slightly tilted to one side. Little yellow flecks danced in her eyes, showing him again just how easily his presence brought out the demon in her. “Looking back on it, I’m amazed you and I ended up being together as long as we did.” Her voice held a note of the surprise she claimed to feel. She pushed the glasses back up. “We should have known it wouldn’t last.”

Tobias scowled. She didn’t have to sound so perky about it. “And you think something with a human like MacMillan would last longer?”

“I didn’t say that.” She frowned and looked toward the building, muttering something about someone getting up on the wrong side of the coffin. “It’s not like it’s any of your business, anyway,” she said in a louder voice. MacMillan walked toward them, shoving his wallet into his back pocket as he came. “You ready to go?” she asked him.

He gave a nod. “You wanna ride with me?”

“Why don’t we all just go in my car?” Tobias flipped his keys faster.

Nix glanced at him. “In your Jag.” Her voice held sarcastic disbelief. “With someone, probably me, climbing in and out of the backseat?” She shook her head. “No, thanks.”

MacMillan looked disappointed.

“You want to hitch a ride with me?” Tobias asked him.

“Sure.” He gave Nix a grin. “I’ve never ridden in a Jag before.”

“Boys and their toys.” She grimaced. “Fine. I’ll meet you at Pickett’s.”

The detective pulled out his small notebook. “Just need to check…” He thumbed through a few pages. “Ah. Okay.” He looked up and slipped the notebook back in the inside pocket of his suit coat. “I’ve got the address. We’ll see you there.”

Tobias hesitated. “You sure you don’t want to ride with us?”

“I’m positive.” Her smile looked forced. “You boys have fun.” She waved and walked off toward her car, hips swaying, sun glinting off her dark curls.

“I’m this way,” Tobias told MacMillan, tearing his gaze away from Nix and heading toward his low-slung limited edition sports car.

The detective gave a low whistle when he saw the sleek black vehicle. He ran his palm over the fender as he walked along the side of the car. “Nice.” When Tobias unlocked the doors, MacMillan got in. “How in the hell’d you manage to get your hands on one of these? They made less than two hundred.”

Tobias grinned. “A hundred seventy-five for their seventy-fifth anniversary. I know a guy who knows a guy.”

MacMillan fastened his seat belt and settled back in the leather seat. “Sure beats the hell outta my four-by-four. Make a right onto Mountain View and take it to Gainey Ranch.”

Tobias pulled smoothly out of the parking lot. He saw Nix’s small red Prius already half a mile down the road. Little spitfire, she always had had a lead foot. He wondered how many points she had accrued on her driving record now. “What do you drive?” he asked MacMillan.

“Heavy-duty pickup truck.” MacMillan twisted to look at the backseat, then faced forward again and stared at the dash. He looked at Tobias. “I need the torque for hauling my horses.”

“Oh? What kind?”

“An Appaloosa and a quarter horse.” He grinned. “And a burro. He’s kind of the stable mascot. Keeps the horses calm.”