Page 36 of Countdown to Murder
He stood. “Your steaks will be on the table soon. Stop and buy candy before you get to the beach house. Costumes are already there, so you don’t need to worry about buying those. The house was already decorated, and the costumes match the theme.” He placed a phone on the table. “It has the Drake app on it, so you can phone home. It does not have GPS, and the towers in this county will only give them a seven-mile circle. Please leave it on so I can contact you. My contact information is programmed in, as is the phone number for your northern neighbors, should you need backup.” He smiled. “Or anything else, if Ruth takes a liking to you.”
He walked off without saying goodbye, and a waitress appeared with a steak and broccoli for me, and four steaks with two baked potatoes and a piece of chocolate pie for Panda.
“Did you order this for us?”
He shook his head. “Ryan likes to show you how well he knows you. Don’t let it freak you out. So long as you aren’t a danger to humans, he won’t kill you. The slayers in this county live by that code as well. Not all slayers do, but as long as we don’t threaten anyone, we have safe passage here until Ryan recalls it, and he’s promised he’ll give us time to exit before he does so.”
I opened my mouth to let my Jacobson’s organ tell me about the food, and I noted Panda paying attention. I’d told him more about it in the car — it’s available to me no matter what form I’m in, and it tells me more than my sense of smell.
I cut into the steak and it was red on the inside, seared only on the outside, just the way I like. Whether Ryan knew that, or the cook guessed, was probably a toss-up. The plain steamed broccoli with clarified butter to dip it in was something I hadn’t even told Panda about though, and I wondered how Ryan found out it was one of my favorite foods, and one of the few carbs I ate in quantity.
“Will it be safe for me to run on the beach in the morning?” I asked.
“Just don’t leave the county. I should probably get off my lazy ass and run too. What time were you planning to do this?”
“I like to run before the sun comes up, so I can watch it rise while I’m outside.”
He shook his head. “In this, we are not compatible, but I suppose I can wake with you and run, knowing I can come back and nap.”
I leaned back and looked at him, trying to figure out how to keep from angering him by telling him I wanted to run alone. Nothing came to mind, so I just said it.
“I’d rather run by myself.”
“I get that, but we’re going to be observing the buddy system this week. If you make a slayer friend and would rather run with her, that’s fine. Otherwise, you’re stuck with me.”
I crossed my arms. “Remember when you said it was going to be nice to date someone who doesn’t need rescuing?”
His smile was both tender and firm. He had no intention of letting me run alone, but he wasn’t upset by my argument. “I do, but that isn’t what this is about and you know it. The Concilio wants you back, and I can easily see them in a boat, rationalizing to themselves that the beach is part of the ocean and not the town. Maybe they’ll do the same whether I’m with you or not, but at least I’ll know who took you.”
“Can I assume I’ll be able to run as fast as I want? Are there humans who don’t know about supernaturals in Slayertown?”
“There’s an obfuscation spell on the county. Keeps outside electronics from focusing, and makes humans whoaren’t given a key uncomfortable, so they won’t stay.” He smiled. “Which means we can turn it into a race, and I won’t be bored.”
My turn to give him an in-your-face smile, and I turned it up to a million megawatts. “I’m going to have fun toasting your ass.”
“Smoking my ass. Whoever worked with you on idioms did a mostly good job, but that one didn’t come out right.”
I frowned, trying to remember if that was what I’d been taught, but he pulled me away from my thoughts.
“By the way, what we’re doing now? It’s what can make or break a relationship. We have to talk, and negotiate, and make sure we’re on the same page. Once we get past tomorrow, if you still feel the need to run alone, we’ll figure something out. The slayers have a track towards the middle of town. I know it won’t be the beach, but the Concilio won’t be able to abscond with you there.”
I uncrossed my arms. “Yeah. Okay. We both have the same goal — to keep me from being taken back to a Concilio stronghold and reprogrammed. I’d also like to know who I’m supposed to remember to kill when I see him. Fawn must’ve tried to figure it out. She and Kendra have been in my head plenty. Abbott too, before he left for Alaska.”
“If they can’t retrieve a name or face, I doubt anyone can. Once Aaron sees you as his, he might find a way to strong-arm them into telling him.”
“Doubtful. No one strong-arms the Concilio into anything.”
“Rewind a second. Conversation last night. Who is Nathan in a relationship with?”
A god-of-old and a demi-goddess, if the rumors were to be believed, but no way was I going not say that out loud. I looked around. “Should we be talking about this here?”
“Every slayer in the room is aware, but I’ll finish my pie and we’ll go. We need to buy a few things before we go to the house.”
Chapter Nineteen
Panda
I wanted to strip her down, throw her on the bed, and fuck her brains out. Or rather, part of me did. The rest of me wanted to stretch her out naked and lick every part of her lean, muscled body until she couldn’t remember her name. I wanted to give her orgasms with my fingers and my tongue until she couldn’t breathe, and only then would I finally sink my dick into her and show her true pleasure.
