"Nope. The Council said they'd reimburse me." He was smiling. "It was worth it, even if we didn't get to see you for more than a little bit," he said. "Neither one of us have ever seen a female vampire before."
"Well, that's too bad," I said. "I hope I get to see you again."
They both gave me cell phone numbers and I gave out my email address. "Don't be afraid to email me," I said. "I like hearing from my friends." We loaded up into the second Cadillac. Dalroy dropped Rhett off about a block away from the other car before making our way to the Marriott. I hugged Rhett, too, before he trotted off to collect the Cadillac. I leaned over and kissed Dalroy on the cheek before getting out in front of the Marriott, and told him thanks. He helped me get the cooler out of the car; this one had wheels and a handle so I dragged it behind me as I walked into the hotel. Winkler had given me room numbers so I carried my bags of clothing, my purse, my laptop and dragged my cooler down to Winkler's suite and knocked on the door. Winkler looked through the peephole before letting me in. Yeah, I didn't blame him a bit.
"Come on, you'll miss it," he said, nearly dragging me inside his room and closing the door. Weldon was there, glued to the images displayed on Winkler's flat screen television. There was the usual media circus surrounding a residential area, with cameras rolling, journalists talking and all of them being held back by the police. A reporter announced the breaking news with glee: the suspect in the Saint James hotel murders had barricaded himself inside a house and exchanged gunfire with the police. Things were now silent and the authorities were cautiously moving in.
"That didn't take long," I muttered.
"Davis said they picked him up earlier," Weldon muttered. Eventually, a body was hauled away from the house. I wondered if Kelvin/Kevin had died before or after he'd arrived in the first place.
"Were either of you aware that there are werewolf FBI agents?" I had my hands on my hips. Weldon had the good grace to look guilty.
"You did. I may smack you myself," I snapped.
My cell phone rang roughly an hour later. It was four in the morning and Winkler and Weldon had gone to bed. I always put my cell on vibrate during that time so they wouldn't be wakened. The call was from Tony.
I walked into the hall to take it. "What do you want?" I asked. Yeah, I was grumpy.
"Lissa, I still want to talk to you."
"Tell me why."
"What did you mean earlier when you said I was like all the other males, now?" Why was he worried over what I thought? And he knew I was vampire. He ought to let it go.
"Tony, every male I know is manipulative and controlling," I sighed as I explained. He waited patiently while I'd gone silent, wondering whether I should answer or not. "You joined their ranks tonight. Congratulations."
"Even Winkler?"
That deserved a snort. "Even Winkler," I said. I wasn't about to go into detail about that—how Winkler blackmailed me and the Council declared me rogue—all when I was newly made.
"Renfro said he heard the word fiancé over the phone."
"Yeah. How about that? Not that the huge diamond on my hand was a giveaway or anything," I grumped.
"Lissa, I don't know what to think about all this. Do you love this man? Is he a man?" That thought just hit him, I think.
"Not in the ordinary sense, no," I said. He knew what I meant.
"Is this someone I might meet, sometime?"
"No. Not if you want to stay in one piece," I said.
"Ah."
"Yeah."
"Lissa, we could make this work."
"No. Don't even go there."
"What if I need your help sometime?"
"You can try. I'll be honest with you; they keep me on a short leash because I'm young. My kind doesn't get to just run around and do as they please until after they're a certain age. That won't be for a while, yet. Feel free to email me, though, if you have a problem."
He took my email address. "You're dumping your phone, aren't you?" he asked. "What if I promise not to have it traced?"
"No deal."
"Is this just because you don't want me to know where to find you or because of your associates?" He was digging for information.
"The latter, I assure you. It's safer for both of us that way."
"They wouldn't harm you."
"Yes they would. Trust me on that," I said.
"The other agent tonight, Townsend?" Tony was giving me the vampire agent's name.
"Yeah?"
"He said to tell you he was the one who tipped off the Council about the rogue in Florida a few months back."
"Tell him thanks," I said.
"You know about that?"
"Tony, I killed the f**ker." There was silence on the other end for a minute.
"You still there?" he asked finally.
"Yes."
"Lissa, why do I have the feeling that you took out the terrorists that attacked Winkler's house in Texas?"
"You'll have to stew over that one. I admit nothing."
"You did. I know you did."
"You'll never hear me admit it. If somebody ever comes and tells me you told them that, I will call you a liar."
"Lissa."
"Don't Lissa me, Tony. Even the little bit of information you have could get me killed. You don't have any idea what my life is like. None at all."
"What happened to the Tate kid?"
"Same thing that happened to the Miller kid."
"Did you have anything to do with that?"
"No."
"I still want to see you, Lissa. Townsend tried to tell me what a rarity you are. I can't believe that. Is it true?"
"As true as anything can ever be," I told him. "Stop talking and go to bed, Tony. You have to be tired."
"I'd feel better if you were here with me."
"Yeah. I get that a lot," I said. "What would you do with me, Tony? How would you feed me? Deal with my sleeping habits? Keep me safe when I do sleep? How?"
"Townsend says there are ways."
"Yeah. Forget about that, Tony. My fiancé doesn't take kindly to advances by others."
"How did you get engaged to him in the first place? I get the idea that this isn't a love match."
"Tony, stop digging. We get along okay. Forget it, all right?"
"Lissa, I had more fun with you on three dates than I've ever had with anyone before and we didn't even sleep together."