Page 67 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

Sig’s smile faltered.

‘Right. Who’s on call then?’ I asked.

‘Yours truly,’ Gunnar grunted, tapping the phone on his hip.

‘Better you than me!’

‘Got some bad news,’ Gunnarsaid quietly. ‘We got the letter from Alfgar’s locker back from forensics. No fingerprints.’

‘Damn.’ I sighed.

‘No business talk!’ Sigrid admonished him. ‘Unless you get a work call,’ she amended.

Connor had brought champagne for everyone and he poured me a glass. I was planning on sipping mine slowly but I must have blinked because suddenly the glass was empty. Whoops! Connor poured me another without comment but I saw Stan grin. ‘Bunny’s going to dance on the table later,’ he predicted.

I glared. ‘I amnot!’ I definitely wasn’t going to, now that he’d said that! ‘You’re going to eat your words.’

Stan smirked. ‘We’ll see.’

I sipped at my new glass of fizz, relishing the bubbly burn as it hit my mostly empty stomach. I’d had a mug of blood earlier but it hadn’t touched the sides, so I dived into my food with gusto. I did love good food and wine, and it was a real pleasure to have a change from my normal diet of frozen dinners and tea. I spotted Anissa snaffling the dinner with similar enthusiasm and saluted her. She was a girl after my own heart.

By the end of the meal, I was feeling smug. I hadn’t drunk my date under the table and I was still seated, notsinging and dancing on the tables. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

But I shouldn’t have because the night was still young.

Chapter 38

At some point in the evening, Sidnee had talked me into colourful cocktails instead of wine, and after a few spins on the dance floor with Connor I found myself taking the mic from the band’s singer and singing a torchy rendition of ‘Fever’. Connor’s eyes burned in his shadowed face.

After that Sidnee and I danced together to a fun Taylor Swift tune. Halfway through Thomas cut in, leaving me dancing alone. I gestured for Connor to join me but he just leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and watched. I forgot everything and danced for him alone, slow and sultry, my hands roving over my body.

At some point, Sidnee had taken Thomas back to the table and was sitting on his lap making out. I downed another cocktail in one to try to soothe my dry throat but it didn’t, so I drank another. My head was swimming and my inhibitions were long gone.

An upbeat song came on and I started dancing faster. After that, I grabbed a couple of tequila shots – and thatwas the last I remembered of the party. Imaynot have been making good choices.

I woke up with a pounding head and a sour stomach. When I pried my eyes open, Connor was standing over me with a mug of warm blood. I wrinkled my nose. ‘If I drink that I’m probably going to vom.’

He smirked. ‘If you don’t, you’redefinitelygoing to vom,’ he advised. He held the mug closer to me. ‘Bottoms up!’

Ugh. As I sat up, I realised I was in Connor’s bed. I clutched my head and groaned, then reached out and took the mug. I slammed back the blood – I didn’t even raise my other arm to plug my nose. I thrust the mug back to him. He waited a minute then asked, ‘Better now?’

I actually was. The pounding in my head was already receding. It was a wonder Connor didn’t get drunk more often, given that we had a hangover remedy ready at any time.

I gave him a flat look. ‘You know I am.’ I groaned. ‘I’m a bad fur mummy. Shadow and Fluffy!’ I was worried about them, though I knew that if ever they were in a tight spot Fluffy could become Reggie and deal with it. Leaving them overnight wasn’t quite the same as abandoning a real dog and cat – that was what I told myself, anyway.

‘I’ve already been over to check on them,’ Connor soothed. ‘They’re fine. I’d have brought them back here, but they seemed happy and we have to leave for the mine soon. They decided to stay home.’

‘Maybe we should take Fluffy?’

‘You want him deep inside the earth at the mercy of an unstable hag and a group of unknown combatants behind a ward?’

‘When you say it like that…’ I grumbled. Still, I was used to Fluffy’s presence at my heel and I felt a bit off-kilter without him. When he finally got around to embracing his human self, it would be one hell of an adjustment for me, too; even so, I still wanted that for him.

‘We have to pick up the doughnuts in an hour, so you better get your pretty ass in the shower,’ Connor warned me.

‘An hour?’ An hour sounded luxurious – I usually got ready for work in half that. ‘I’ll shower now if you join me.’ I looked up at him through my lashes, trying to be sexy. I guess it worked because he kicked off his shoes and started peeling off his clothes.

I giggled and ran into the bathroom – only to see the horror of my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a rat’s nest and I had smeared mascara and lipstick all over my face; I looked like a clown after three consecutiveperformances in a sauna, or a creepy one that lived in the sewers and lured small children to their deaths. I gave a small scream, which made Connor laugh aloud.

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