Page 15 of Vas

After that it hadn’t taken long for him to make a name for himself.

That name was Veles—Shadow of Death.

Chapter 6

The next morning, Anna was grateful that only her plants were a witness to the pathetic display of hersitting on her couch ready and waiting and staring at the front door a full half hour before Vas was due to arrive. And like a watched toaster, she jumped when his knock sounded.

Hand on the deadbolt, she took a deep breath. “Play it cool,”she mumbled under her breath as she swung the door wide, a smile plastered on her face. “Hi.”

Vas had a deep frown plastered on his. “You didn’t check who it was.”

Shoot. And she had a little side window just for that purpose too. Not that she got many visitors beating down her door and the rare times she did, it was usually someone trying to sell her something. Case in point, the last time someone had knocked was a month ago, leaving her now with a box of Thin Mints sitting in her freezer—well, technically, a half-eaten box.

“I was expecting you.”

The furrow between his brows grew deeper. Yeah, he wasn’t buying that excuse.

“I promise, next time I’ll check,” she said to appease him though it wasn’t a lie. She was smarter than to be so careless andwouldhave remembered to be more cautious had she not spent the last half hour on tenterhooks.

Ignoring his scowl, she took a step to the side. “Would you like to come in? I have coffee made. It should still be hot.”

He didn’t say anything, but he did walk past her, stopping once he reached the center of her living room, his eyes scanning her space and taking everything in.

She shut the front door. “Can I get you that coffee?” She ran her palms down the thighs of her jeans, then not knowing what to do with her hands, crossed her arms.

“No, thank you. I would like your phone, though.”

“My phone?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” she asked bewildered.

“I’d like to see it.”

That wasn’t really an answer and they both knew it, but she also had a feeling she wasn’t going to get one either. “It’s, um, in the bedroom. I’ll need to get it.”

His chin dipped in a nod. “I’ll wait here.”

She quickly made her way down the hall and snatched her phone out of her purse. Less than a minute later she was back, handing it over.

He promptly tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“What are you doing?”

He handed her a different phone in answer.

“What’s this?” Eyeing it suspiciously, she hit the contact button and saw he was the only one in it.

He clarified what she already suspected. “Your new phone.”

A little confused, she looked up at him. “Why?”

“I don’t want you to ever be without phone access again. I put you on my plan.”

Like she was playing a round of Hot Potato, she shoved the phone forward, pushing it against his chest. “I can’t accept that.”

He ignored her attempt to give him the phone by taking a step back. “You can and you will.”

---