Kiss of the Vampire(30)

She transitioned into a slow lunge to the left, then to the right, always moving her arms. The jittery feeling dissipated, leaving her once more feeling if not exactly serene, at least calm enough to continue dealing with Tobias and the emotions she’d thought long gone.

Nix heard a car engine then two doors slammed. She headed back to the parking lot, rounding the corner of the building in time to see Tobias and Dante heading her way. “You didn’t need to get out,” she said.

“It’s no trouble,” Tobias replied. He sent her a look, his expression a little bemused. He probably could sense she was calmer than she had been and wondered how she’d gotten control of herself so quickly. Well, she wasn’t the same girl he’d known before. A lot had changed in the last five years.

She unlocked her car and grabbed her purse, then joined the two men at the SUV. “It’s a Porsche,” she stated, staring at the dark blue vehicle.

“So?” Tobias’s dark brows drew down in a frown.

“I thought you weren’t into material things.” At his confused look, she rolled her eyes. “Never mind.” She opened the back passenger door of his expensive SUV and hopped in.

Dante wrapped a broad hand around the edge of the door before she could close it. “Why don’t you sit up front? You can ride shotgun.”

“That’s all right.” Nix pulled her notebook out of her bag and tapped it. “I can add to my notes and review them better back here.” Plus she wouldn’t be as close to Tobias. Sitting in the front seat with him would feel too intimate even with Dante in the vehicle with them. Being with him in the Jag had been bad enough. She didn’t want to do it again.

Dante didn’t appear to buy her explanation, but he closed her door without another word. Both men got in the front of the vehicle, buckling their seat belts with moves that mirrored each other exactly.

“You two should try out for synchronized swimming,” she quipped.

“I don’t think I’d look good in one of those flowered swim caps.” Dante sent her a look from the corner of his eye, one side of his mouth twitching.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Tobias started the car but didn’t take it out of park. Without looking at Dante, he mused, “Get a blue-and-white one. You’d look fabulous.”

Nix rolled her eyes. She didn’t get how men could go from being rivals to acting like best buds in a heartbeat. Making good on her excuse, she flipped open her notebook. She read through the notes she’d taken inside the house, then jotted a few more thoughts. Sticking the capped end of the pen in her mouth, she chewed on it and then said, “I don’t think Pickett’s former business partner had anything to do with either of their deaths based on his alibi. It was pretty solid.” She looked at the men in the front seat. “And there’s a lack of motive, on the surface anyway.”

Dante thumbed through his own small notebook. “The sooner we talk to this friend of the second vic the better.”

“Her name is Amarinda.” Tobias’s tone was biting.

“Sorry?” Dante’s brows quirked as he glanced at the other man.

“The second vic. Her name is Amarinda.” He turned his head to look at the detective.

Dante gave a nod. “Sorry. I’d forgotten she was a friend of yours.”

“We hadn’t seen each other in a while.” Tobias’s head turned slightly and Nix knew he was looking at her in the rearview mirror, though she couldn’t see his eyes through the reflective lenses of his sunglasses. “I have no idea what she was mixed up in or if that might have had anything to do with her murder. It’s possible that she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Dante murmured, “Hopefully some of her other friends can shed some light on that.” When Tobias shot him a glance, Dante held up one hand. “Didn’t mean anything by it, chief. It was just a comment.”

Nix glanced back down at her notes. “So let’s go talk to Samantha Smith.” She looked up, her gaze going from one man to the other.

“Yes, let’s.” Tobias backed out of the parking space and stopped at the roadway. When traffic cleared he pulled out onto the road. He put the vehicle in drive and pulled out into traffic. “Where does she live?”

Nix gave him the address and the main crossroads, then sat back in her seat.

“So, Amarinda was a student?” Dante twisted in his seat to look at Nix over his shoulder.

She nodded. “A perpetual student. She loved to learn.” Nix rested her arm along the edge of the car door and stared out at the houses going by. “That’s one reason she was so happy when prets were outed. She could go to school without trying to hide what she was.”