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Authors: Rosalie Stanton

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BOOK: Know Thine Enemy
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He grunted his hello.
"Yer too damn skinny. Bin wantin' ta do this sinch ya firs' come in."

She looked from the food to his eager face and forced a smile. Connor was a bear of a man, standing a few inches over six feet and packing at least four hundred pounds. His receding hairline betrayed deep worry lines in his brow, and the sweaty wife-beater tank stretching across his globular chest had might been white once, but that time had long since past. Yet, despite his size and appearance, he was one of the fastest men Izzie had ever met. No matter how drunk, loud, and offensive the regulars became, they knew not to take their disagreements beyond a verbal level
—they'd never get the second swing in before Connor would toss them out.

"
I don't have much cash," Izzie said at last, despite her stomach's hungry growl.

"
Not askin' fer cash. Can tell by da fact I din't take yer order." He placed a chubby finger against the rim of the plate and edged it forward a few inches. "Eat up, girlie."

Her stomach rumbled again and swayed her decision. Wright would have a cheeseburger ready for her when they met later, but that was hours away and she couldn
't remember having much of anything the day before. And, while she didn't make a habit of accepting food from passing acquaintances, she found herself liking Connor too much to think ill of him. Granted, Wright didn't approve of befriending people who knew too much about them . . . or anyone for that matter. He didn't like much of anything he wasn't already acquainted with, and his comfort zone was rather small. However, Wright's rules were not her own.

Izzie flashed Connor a grin and popped a cheesy fry into her mouth.

"Thank you," she murmured between chews.

Connor didn
't move. He stood and stared at her long enough to make her uncomfortable.

"
What?" she asked.

"
Whuddya mean, 'whut?' Innit good?"

"
Oh yes." She licked her lips. "Very tasty."

He snorted.
"Knew that, din't I?"

"
I guess so, yes."

Connor didn
't seem to hear her. Instead, he tapped the frothy beer glass he'd set beside her plate with his pudgy middle finger. "Drink up. Norml'y charge six bucks fer that."

Izzie looked to the perspiring glass, her grin fading. The last time she consumed anything alcoholic
, she'd blacked out. It had been her twenty-first birthday and her only experience with anything alcoholic save communion wine. Though Wright wasn't one to lighten up more than once or twice a decade, he'd seen it as his personal duty to ensure she experienced one coming-of-age ritual.

However, drinking on the job was a different matter.

"No, thanks," Izzie said, shaking her head. "I don't drink."

Connor grunted.
"Old 'nuff, ain'tcha?"

"
Well, yeah, but I don't have an ID."

"
Not a cop, are ya?" He shifted his weight to his other leg, his brow furrowing and confusion flooding his somewhat glossy gaze.

Now this was getting ridiculous

"Really, Connor, I appreciate it, but I don't drink. A glass of water would be nice."

"
Ain't nufink wrong with my beer."

His typically pasty skin had started to burn a light pink, and
, though his expression hadn't changed, he was genuinely agitated, which shocked the hell out of her. She'd never seen Connor upset over anything, and she might have laughed had she not been acutely aware of how quickly this could develop into a full-blown scene. As it was, this was the sort of place she went to blend in, and her plan had backfired. Connor's raised voice had drawn every set of eyes under the roof. Of all the attention to attract, this was the worst.

"
I'm sorry," she heard herself say. "I just—"

Something rustled in her peripheral vision, casting whatever she
'd been about to say aside. Her attention wrapped itself around the man now approaching her table, and everything around her stopped.
Him.

The vampire

her
vampire—from last night's patrol was right the hell there, taking long, confident strides toward her booth with a cool grin stretching his sinful lips. And, before she could blink it happened again—the strange paralysis from the night before. The same foreign tingle itched through her veins and spread across her skin like a virus. She felt hot and self-aware in ways she never had been before. The sensation was strange and confusing, and she didn't like it. If she could find her strength, she'd kick in his teeth and make a beeline for the door.

Only she couldn
't find the strength. She couldn't find anything. She just sat and stared, soaking in all the details she thought she'd already catalogued, things shadows and weak streetlights couldn't do justice. She'd remembered his cheekbones, high and prominent, accentuating his strong jaw. His skin was moon-pale like hers, and, under the light, his features had an aura of being too perfect. That perfection was a common trait among vamps, one she'd recognized but never truly comprehended until now.

Then her wandering gaze clashed with his, which shone a bright sea-blue
—a splotch of color on an otherwise white canvas. His hair was short and jet black, and he wore a Matrix-style leather duster that billowed behind him with every lengthy step. He looked pristine, even in a dirty place. Cool, collected, encompassed with a familiar sense of old-world power. Had she seen him immediately, as she should have, Connor and his plate of instant heart attack would have been the least of her worries.

"
Don't mind the lady, Conn," the vampire purred.

He spoke with a cool, refined timbre, his lips pulling tighter on his smirk. Though he addressed the barkeep, his eyes never left her face.

The vampire continued, "No sense letting good spirits go to waste."

Connor
's giant head jerked at the new voice. Then his shoulders dropped. "Evenin', Ryker."

Izzie slumped
in her seat.
Well, fuck
.

The vampire inclined his head politely.
"Evening," he replied. He stared at Izzie a second longer before his long fingers slipped through the mug's handle. "You don't want this?"

"
What the hell are you doing here?"

"
Getting free drinks, so it seems." He nodded at the glass. "You
sure
you don't want this?"

"
Bite me."

Ryker chuckled.
"Dangerous words. Guess that you won't mind if I help myself."

"
Knock your socks off."

He raised the glass in a toast before tossing back a healthy gulp.

"Personally, I don't think you know what you're missing, but all's the more for the rest of us." He consumed the beer at a speed that seemed downright unnatural, then shoved the empty glass against Connor's chest. "I'll have another. And bring the lady an iced tea."

"
The lady can order for herself," she said pointedly.

Ryker grinned, helping himself to the vacant seat across from her.
"I'm sure she can."

"
And I'm not staying."

She would have sounded at least partly convincing had she budge
d an inch. The most she could hope was he wouldn't notice the lack of conviction behind her words.

"
Shame," he said, plucking a cheese-drenched fry off her plate. "All this goes to waste."

"
I didn't know you people ate real food."

He shrugged.
"What you don't know about
us people
could sink the Titanic. Weren't you leaving, anyway?"

Izzie stared at him
, shock fading into older, more familiar irritation. "What the hell is this?"

"
Dinner?"

"
Last night—"

"
I followed you."

"
Yeah," she replied shortly. "I caught that part."

"
Didn't tonight, though. Got the answer I needed."

"
Ah-huh." She eyed Connor, who had made his way back behind the bar and kept shooting them furtive glances. "Your friend, I take it?"

"
You sniffed around his bar. It's bad for business."

"
Bad for business?"

Ryker held out his hands like scales weighed against each other.
"Demon hunter in a demon bar. You do the math."

A long breath rolled off her shoulders
and any lingering thought of an early night abandoned her completely.

"
So you knew," she said. "What I was."

"
Sorry to break it to you, but you're not exactly inconspicuous." He waved at her. "Connor had it figured the first night you popped in."

"
Did he?"

"
Rang me up almost immediately. Said he either had a demon hunter or a groupie looking for a rush on his hands, and since you hide in corners and don't talk to anyone . . . ."

"
Groupies are more upfront."

"
Exactly."

Izzie licked her lips.
"Funny," she said. "All this time, I've operated under the assumption that I'm only visible when I wanna be."

"
Most hunters are like that."

"
Not Zack."

Ryker domed a
n eyebrow. "Zack? This the fella you travel with?"

A rush of panic tore through her before she fell slack. If the vampire knew where she retreated at the end of the night, finding out about Wright and Berlie wasn
't much of a stretch. She doubted Ryker was a problem since he hadn't done much beyond lurk and annoy her. Still, sitting with the enemy—let alone disclosing information—was definitely on Wright's You-Will-Be-Killed-For lists. While they differed on many ideological points, she owed him her life and wouldn't disrespect him by over-sharing with someone she barely knew.

Someone Wright would kill on sight.

As though sensing her discomfort, Ryker flashed a grin. "Don't worry. It's not him I'm interested in."

"
Great. My lucky day."

He
continued as though she hadn't spoken. "Sure you won't have a drink?"

Izzie scrunched her nose and shook her head.
"No thanks."

"
Your loss."

"
I take it Connor decided I was all right, if he wants me fed."

"
I told him you were all right," Ryker clarified. "And don't mind how he acted earlier. Connor's a different kinda guy. He doesn't put himself out there often, so you telling him 'no' really shook him up."

"
To beer?"

"
This is his bread and butter. He doesn't know anything else. 'Cept those he keeps close, like me. And I vouched for you."

"
Yeah, 'cause all it takes to get to know me is a few nights playing stalker."

"
Cutie, you got nothing I haven't seen before."

"
Aw, and I try so hard not to be like the other girls."

Ryker grinned.
"You don't have to take it personally. We just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be a bother. Wouldn't be good for business if you started butchering the clientele. This here"—he nodded at the cooling plate of grease between them—"was just Connor's way of saying he thinks you're all right."

"
I'm flattered."

"
You should be."

Izzie crossed her arms and leaned forward.
"And what's your take in all this?"

Ryker shrugged.
"Got free spirits, which is always good. And you for company."

"
My lucky day." Izzie glanced at the door. She was nowhere near fast enough to make it there without the vampire catching her or her breaking something valuable in the process. While her demon radar had stopped tingling the second Ryker opened his mouth, she knew better than to get comfortable. Older vampires excelled at disarming their prey—not at all like the clowns she'd battled the night before. And though she didn't know this guy from Bob Barker, she could tell he was old.

Much older than the sort of vamps she usually tracked.

"I'm not holding you here," Ryker said softly.

"
What?"

"
You're thinking of making a run for it. Go ahead. It's a free country, as they say."

A rush of idiotic bravado raced down her spine.
"Thanks for the permission, jackass, but if I wanted to move, you wouldn't know it until I was gone."

Ryker chuckled.
"You're just adorable."

BOOK: Know Thine Enemy
10.04Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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