Page 52 of Betrayed in Blood
“Hey, Cook. Is this a bad time for a visit?” I poured a cup of coffee from the urn he always kept filled.
“Ah, Cressa. I have a few minutes to talk before we start dinner preparations. It will be a full house tonight.”
“Really? It seems pretty empty right now.” I plucked a biscuit from a basket and found half a platter of sliced cheese in the fridge. “Is it safe to take some of this cheese?”
“It’s left over from lunch. There should be another one with sliced meats, and there’s some fresh marmalade for those biscuits.”
I made a small plate of leftovers and sat at the corner of the counter to watch him work.
“What are you making?”
“Meat pies. They’re The Wolf’s favorite. It took some doing, but Decker got me in touch with The Wolf’s personal chef, and he gave me a few ideas.
A slice of cheese fell out of my biscuit. “The Wolf? Is he coming here today?”
Cook nodded and ran a sleeve under his nose. “Argh. My nose always itches when I have my hands filled with dough.” He placed the shells in tiny pie pans then pulled over a mixing bowl that had been covered with a towel. Each tiny pie was filled with a spoonful of an herb-scented mixture. “In fact, he should be here soon, but I heard Devon was running late from his meeting at Oasis.”
So that was where he went. “He must be checking on the security since the attack.”
“From what I hear, everyone else has gone to one of the safe houses. Although they weren’t part of the Oasis attack, Sergi wanted to add some additional features since Venizi’s men have been doing drive-bys.”
I picked at my food. I could have helped with that if anyone had bothered to ask. “I’m starting to feel useless around here.”
Cook’s brow lifted. “I heard you were in the thick of it at Oasis.”
“Yeah. But what do I do between the attacks?” I worked up a grin. “A girl can only train for so long.”
“Ah. Yes.” He pointed a spoon filled with meat mixture at me. “You need a project.”
I slammed my fist on the counter. “Exactly. I’ve been thinking the same thing. I just can’t figure out what it might be.”
Cook finished filling the pie shells then placed little pie crusts on top. He began fluting the edges. “What skills or knowledge do you have that you could share? Maybe Sergi has something you could help with.”
“My specialty is stealing things.”
Cook grinned. “And I hear you’re very good at that.”
I laughed. “But it’s not a skill anyone needs on a regular basis.”
“What about your defense skills?”
“I’m pretty sure the vamps don’t require my assistance in that area.”
“What about the humans?”
“Ginger was doing that.”
“Then she went on a mission and has been busy with Lucas and the translations since she returned.”
“Sergi was filling in for her.”
“Somewhat. His schedule was impacted while everyone was on missions and the training was canceled.”
My gaze flickered to the far window that looked out at the sycamore tree. “I wasn’t aware.”
“Maybe you could get that running again.”
“I don’t know. That’s Ginger’s project.”
