God knew she would relive their interaction tonight over and over again, and it’d be nice to know he had reacted to her, even in so small a way.
Dallas nudged him, and the two focused on each other. A conversation about sports ensued, followed by an exchange of wedding gossip. Hector relaxed, the fine lines around his eyes easing.
Since neither of them seemed keen to discuss the case, she whipped out her cell and texted Ava.
R U a vamp yet? Fingers crossed the text interrupted something important.
McKell’s blood could turn anyone or thing—like, say, a dog named Hellina that Noelle used to own—into a vampire. And now that bloodsucking bastard was vamping up her Ava. Her sweet, baby-faced Ava. Would her tan fade? Probably. Would she sprout fangs? Definitely. Hellina had.
No worries, though. Noelle would ensure Ava always looked her best. She drafted a mental Christmas for her friend. Sunless tanner, bloodred lipstick that wouldn’t smear, a car with UV-repellant shield armor, and a recipe for making Mr. Bloody Marys with McKell’s blood. Because they were mated, Ava would be unable to drink from anyone but McKell without sickening. So no noshing on agents or targets who got on her nerves.
Noelle’s phone vibrated, signaling the reply had just arrived.
Knowing Ava, her cell rested on the nightstand beside the bed. Just in case Noelle needed her. A darling gesture, and one of the many reasons Noelle adored her.
Screen name Tits McGee said: Nope. We bargained. He has 2 last 30 mins before I let him turn me. 3 tries in, and no go. Noelle had named her after a character in an old movie she and Ava loved to watch, but just then she seriously considered changing the name back to Pocket Rocket. That one always had a nice ring.
2 excited about having U 4 eternity, I guess.
I know! He’s so lucky!
The waitress arrived with the coffees, sloshing them on the table before hurrying away. Noelle added a liberal amount of fake cream and fake sugar, wishing to God she’d thought to bring a purse full of the essentials.
After a few sips of the nasty concoction, she started typing again. Thought: maybe I should become a vamp 2. She tossed out the suggestion as a joke, but absolute, utter longing swept through her. Ava was going to age slowly. Noelle wasn’t. Ava was going to live a long, long time. Noelle had another forty or fifty years. Maybe. And that just wasn’t good enough.
So what if she would never again be able to venture out in the daylight. There were simulators and virtual reality programs available. So what if she would be as pale as milk. That’s what cosmetics were for. As long as she had Ava, nothing else mattered. Right?
Tits McGee: R U joking? U better not B joking! I will stab U in throat if U R joking!
Her gaze strayed to Hector, who was still engaged in conversation with Dallas. Still ignoring her. If she vamped it up, he would age quickly and she would age slowly. She would have to watch him die.
Okay, so maybe something else mattered. Even though Hector currently occupied the top spot on her shit list, the thought of him dead and gone made her chest ache.
She typed: Let me think about it.
I will do my best 2 help w/right decision. Luv U.
Luv U 2.
A few seconds later, her phone gave another vibration, and she had to blink rapidly to see the screen clearly.
Tits McGee: Food 4 thought. U will look so hawt w/ fangs & I will
The text ended there. Without punctuation, without finishing. Then Noelle’s cell was ringing, Ava’s voice saying, “You better answer this, genius, or I’ll kick your ass!”
Frowning, Dallas glanced around the diner. “Ava’s here?”
“No.” Hector pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s Noelle’s ring tone you’re hearing.”
“Uh, yes, hello?” Noelle said into the piece, knowing exactly who it was. On her way here, she’d programmed her ringer to go off for everyone but her mother, who had tried calling again. “Noelle Tremain, master of the universe at your service. How may I help you?”
“Stop texting my wife,” McKell growled from the other end. Bingo. “I need her full attention right now.” Click.
A chuckle escaped Noelle as she put her phone away. Original mission accomplished.
Hector’s golden eyes pierced her, becoming a spotlight on all the needy places inside her. “Who was that?”
To hide the fact that she was now quivering inside—God, his intensity was arousing—she waved the question away with a flick of her wrist. “You have no right to the answer. Besides, we’re here for business. Let’s get to it, shall we? If you two are done cackling like hens, that is.”
Dallas popped his jaw. “I do not cackle. I bitch like a he-man.”
“We have that in common, then.” She sipped at her coffee, grimaced at the thickness, and added more cream and sugar. “So why are you here when I’m secondary on the case?” A fact she would not let either of them forget.
Hector answered for him. “He helped me a year ago, with the women found in the warehouse. A mysterious Arcadian popping in and out after our tipster comes out of hiding. It’s suspicious.”
So he’d jumped to that as well.
“And I’m so ready to nail whoever was responsible,” Dallas said.
The fact that both men remembered that case, despite the hundreds of others they’d since worked, meant it had left a mark deep in their souls.
“Any luck on identifying the Arcadian who snatched the women out of the hospital?” she asked. Nothing had been in the file, but then, all details weren’t always reported.
Dallas shook his head, dark hair falling over his forehead. He didn’t brush the strands aside. Maybe he didn’t notice them. He’d been silent and stiff at the crime scene, but after seeing the body, he’d become deadly silent, and savagely stiff. “First order of business is finding out who Marks was working with and if any recent dealings had gone sour.”
“I’ll search Marks’s home and office in the morning,” Hector said. “Talk to his employees, that kind of thing.”
With me, right? she projected at him. Partner.
His expression remained blank.
She brought her mug to her lips, blew into the steam, gulped. The sugar had dissolved, sweetening the taste, and the cream had thinned the liquid. To make sure she had his full attention, she moaned her approval louder than necessary, as if she were having sex with her cup.
He rubbed at his arm, his jaw clenched. Not so blank any more. “Don’t do that.”
Innocent as the devil, she blinked over at him. “Don’t do what?” Arouse you? Make you crave more of me?