Page 47 of Blood Moon

“Delgado’s Tacos? That doesn’t seem sketchy at all,” Delilah teased as I parked the car and opened her door.

“Don’t dis Delgado. He’s the best,” I defended my favorite food truck fiercely.

“Wait, can you eat tacos? I thought you had certain dietary restrictions,” she said. Delilah was obviously trying to be subtle about her curiosities. That was a good thing, since we were on a public street, and not in a vampire part of the city.

“I’m not allergic to them. It’s complicated, but I can explain more when we get home.” I hoped that she would understand that I didn’t want to discuss it in the open.

She nodded. “So what’s good?” We were standing in front of the truck looking at the menu.

“Everything. Do you trust me?” I couldn’t resist asking and a wicked smirk crossed my face.

“With my life,” she responded simply, with the most serious expression I’d ever seen on her face.

I turned to the order window just as Delgado poked his head out. “Hey, Eli! I haven’t seen you in a while. I thought something had happened. I can see now that you’ve just been busy with your lady,” he said as a large smile crossed his face.

“I had no idea that you knew the guy personally,” Delilah whispered.

I leaned closer to her and whispered back, “I know everyone, love.” Then I turned to Delgado. “Sorry, man. Did they give you any trouble?” When he shook his head, I continued, “Can we get my usual, but make it a double and throw in a dessert?”

“Anything for you, Boss.” Delgado smiled at Delilah and retreated back into the truck to make my order.

“Did he just call you ‘boss’?” Delilah cocked an eyebrow at me.

“He did, but this truck is one of the few things I want to own that I can’t convince the owner to make a deal about. We have an arrangement that keeps me in tacos and makes things easier for him to follow his dream. It’s not a big deal,” I assured her.

“I feel like I’m learning more about you by being out in the city than I have by talking to you,” she laughed.

“I’m sure Vik helps people out too,” I tried to defend myself. I couldn’t have her thinking I was weak.

“I don’t think he does. But he did pay for all of Uncle Vinny’s expenses at the hospital, so who knows? The two of you are a mystery,” she responded.

A few minutes later, with tacos to spare, we were headed back to the safe house. “So you really can eat regular food?” Delilah asked as soon as we were in the car.

I laughed. “Yes, we can. Some vamps only drink blood. Personally, I like food too much not to eat it. I still need blood to survive, but the food doesn’t hurt anything.”

“Hmm, that’s interesting. Does it taste different now?” I was impressed that I’d found a way to distract her without even trying.

“Everything is more crisp. Flavors are more potent. It’s the same with our vision and hearing. Sense of smell. The change enhances everything. Why do you ask? Are you thinking about joining team vamp?” I had meant it as a joke but one look at her face told me that she might actually be considering it.

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Her response was quiet, as if she was still thinking about how it would change her life.

“Wait a minute. I was joking. We’re not turning you. If you want to discuss it later when Vik is with us, we can, but for now, let’s just drop that thought all together.” I didn’t want her to try and talk me into turning her without finding out what Vik thought of it.

I had to admit, the thought of Delilah becoming a vampire just to be with us for eternity was an appealing one. Maybe I could talk Vik into it. I had to push the thought away as I drove us back to the safe house.

Chapter 46

Viktor

I ditched the bike in the woods just outside of the city and hiked to the cabin. It was a three mile walk and by the time I arrived, I almost missed the fact that someone else was there. I crept around back. There had to be a way to see who it was without giving away my position.

My security feed! Of course! Time to see how well Eli did duplicating my phone after all. When I finally pulled it from my pocket, I realized that I had missed a text from Delilah hours ago. She was probably worried about me. I would have to call her the moment I knew it was safe.

I searched for the security app on my phone and logged into it. From there I was able to get a real-time video showing what was happening inside my cabin. I decided it would be safer to climb a tree and hide while I figured out my next step. I walked silently through the trees until I found just the right one to climb. I needed to be far enough away from the house to not be seen, but close enough that I was still on the wi-fi so I could keep the video going.

Climbing wasn’t easy with the damage to my hands from the sun. I would have to arrange another UV implant as soon as possible. Once I made it up into the tree far enough to be sure I wouldn’t be seen from the ground, I pulled my phone out and opened the app again.

As I switched from room to room throughout the cabin, I saw that every room had been tossed. I realized that whoever this was seemed to be looking for something. If I could figure out what they were looking for, I would know who had sent them. There was no way to do that without tipping them off to my position.

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