Page 15 of Fangs and Fudge

“Today?”

I nodded. “Yes. He needs a place, and you need a distraction.”

The front door opened.

We hurried to the dining room and found Cross bending down to pick up something off the ground outside. When he turned, he was holding a black cat by the scruff of its neck. His expression as he stared at it was pure revulsion.

“Don’t eat it,” I said, hurrying to grab the cat.

“I prefer my food clean and not–” he leaned in a little and sniffed at it “–digging around garbage cans.”

I took the cat from him. It started purring the instant it was in my arms.

“I think this is the same cat from Blur,” I said. It was hard to tell since black cats tended to look alike, but my gut feeling told me it was the same cat. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

Cross moved to take it back, but I turned toward the kitchen.

“Everly, there is something concerning about that cat,” he said as he followed me.

“The fact that he’s homeless and hungry?”

“No. His scent.”

“Yeah, Buzz already mentioned it smells like a vampire.”

“The same vampire scent I found at Juicy. Everly, you do not want his vampire to track him to your house.”

“If he was going to track him, he would have done so by now.”

Cross moved faster than I could see, stealing the cat from my arms and moving to the back door to toss it outside. The cat yowled as it landed safely, and I scowled at Cross.

“Did you not learn your lesson, Everly?” he asked, frowning back at me. “Vampires will track their possessions. Simply because the creature roams does not mean it is not a kept pet.”

“I’m siding with Cross on this one,” Vena said before I could retort. “We’ve had too many run-ins with vampires to take in a vampire’s stray. That’s just asking for it.”

“You don’t know it belongs to a vampire. One might have just stopped to pet it.”

Vena gave me a disbelieving look before glancing at Cross. “Would a vampire have any issue with feeding on a cat?”

“It’s not a preferred source of nourishment. However, you are right that vampires are not overly affectionate and are unlikely to stop to pet a stray cat.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll let the poor thing starve on our doorstep.”

I went to the kitchen and started fixing our breakfast while Vena leaned against the counter and asked Cross questions about what kind of place he was looking for.

“House or apartment?”

“I have no preference,” he said. “I will not spend much time there.”

“So, a creepy basement?”

He gave her a dry look.

“Well, I don’t know your style.”

He looked around our home. “Spacious. Clean. Preferably not close to railroad tracks, but I will overlook the noise as long as it’s close to here.”

“Here?” she asked. “Why?”

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