His face sobered, though the look he shot her held lingering humor.
“Hey, you think we could stop somewhere and get something to eat?” Dante leaned forward in his seat. “I’m starving.”
“After that huge breakfast you had?” Nix twisted around to look at him. He just shrugged and grinned.
“I’ll run through a drive-through for you,” Tobias said. “Just holler when you see something you like.” He slowed to navigate a curve, then accelerated as the road straightened. “Nix, you and I will handle the rest of the interviews with prets, including Finn. Dante, I’d like you to conduct the remaining interviews with any humans who still need talking to.” He glanced over his shoulder at the detective. “And seeing how violent these murders have been, I think it would be a good idea for you to take someone with you.”
Dante nodded and sat back. “No problem. There are a couple of people in the Phoenix area I need to talk to. Nix, once we do get back to Scottsdale, how ’bout some dinner?”
“You’re going to eat lunch and then turn around and eat dinner again in a couple of hours?” She was hungry now, too, but she didn’t want to eat lunch and then have dinner as soon as they got back home.
“Well, yeah, I’m sure I could eat again.” He flashed a quick grin. “But I meant having dinner at the dinner hour. Around six or so.”
She caught the scowl on Tobias’s face and wondered at it. Why would he be surly that they were talking about food? It wasn’t their fault he couldn’t eat. “Sure.” She decided to ignore the bad-tempered vampire behind the wheel. “Anywhere in particular?”
“Devil’s Domain.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re just a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? I told you, it can get pretty rough. Besides, I thought you said dinner. Not drinks.”
“They have appetizers, don’t they?” He grinned. “Come on. What can happen?”
“Oh, I don’t know, you could get a troll on a rampage—that happened several years ago. We ended up with twenty dead prets and eleven dead humans,” Tobias mused.
“I remember that.” Nix shifted in her seat and faced forward again. The incident had happened right before she and Tobias had started seeing each other. She’d been at the bar that night and had been detained for questioning. Even at her worst behavior, though, she’d never been stupid enough to mess with a troll. She smiled at the memory. Catching Tobias’s heated gaze, she looked away.
“Yeah, well, nothing’s happened recently that I’ve heard of,” Dante said. “If you’re so worried, chief, why don’t you come along?”
“I don’t eat, remember?”
“You drink, don’t you?” Dante looked at Nix with raised brows. “I’m sure I’ve seen vamps drink. And not just blood,” he added with a slight frown.
When Tobias didn’t respond, Nix said, “They drink, but I’m sure Tobias has other plans.” She did not want him tagging along.
“Not really,” Tobias said.
Nix gritted her teeth.
“Great!” Dante rested one arm along the back of the seat. “It’ll be nice to talk over food and drinks instead of over a dead body.”
Nix wanted to discourage Tobias from joining them, but she didn’t want to appear churlish. “Yeah, sure.” Her tone was definitely not enthusiastic. In a cheerful voice she added, “You should come.” That was even worse. She pressed her lips together and looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
Tobias shot her a glance. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. We can meet up there and compare notes. I just need to get home at some point so I can…” He paused. “I’ll just need to go home first.”
Get home and feed was what he’d been about to say. She couldn’t help but wonder if someone would be waiting for him, ready to bare her throat.
What he does is none of my business. He could have a harem of willing donors for all she cared. She tried to ignore the pain that knifed through her at the thought of him biting someone else. Maybe even having sex with someone else, because sometimes being a vampire was as much about sex as it was blood.
She drew in a breath and promised herself another round of tai chi just as soon as she could manage it. “Devil’s Domain it is.”
“After we stop at Mickey D’s,” Dante said, tapping on the back of Tobias’s headrest. “Don’t forget.”
“I won’t.” He glanced at Nix, a slight smile tilting one side of his mouth.
It made her want to kiss him. She turned and stared out the window. If she stayed focused on the job, she could make it through this.