A Taste of Love and Evil by Barbara Monajem Read Free Book Online Page A

in my favor.”
    “What do your dumb balances matter?” Gil sighed again. “I’ll see what I can find.”
    The pigeon nipped a chunk from the bun. “Short-term will do. She’ll probably blow her chance within a day or two,but she’ll have served her purpose by then. In the meantime, see what you can find out.”
    “Wait! What if they’re planning to ambush you outside the shop?”
    Jack frowned down at the pigeon, which ripped its third hunk off the bun as another two pigeons muscled up to share. “Not in Bayou Gavotte. Unwanted people disappear; they don’t get shot on the street. The underworld wants to keep the tourists safe in Bayou Gavotte, not scare them away.” Even hours away in Mississippi, why pick such a public place to get rid of him?
    “Stay where you are,” Gil said. “Just till I get some information.”
    “My ride won’t wait.” Jack shifted his feet to counteract the urge to camo. The new pigeons scattered, but the old one stuck with the bun. “The underworld has no reason to connect me with my ride, or with the rescue for that matter.” Here we go again. “Yes, my ride has a phone. No, I don’t want to get her number for you. This is someone I can’t afford to owe.”
    “Don’t pull that ‘even Stephen’ crap,” Gil said. “It’s a phone number. Why does it matter?”
    Shit. But he wasn’t about to lie. “Because she’s a vampire.”
    Gil groaned. “Another one? Where do you find these women? Get over it. I have to be able to reach you if there’s an emergency. She can’t force you into bed.”
    Jack’s insides curled with uneasiness, drawing him toward the safety and comfort of total camouflage. He resisted, pacing along the wall past a bench and a trash can.
    Gil went on. “I need to set up a rendezvous, find a safe place for the girl, if that’s even possible where the underworld’s concerned—”
    “I have to get rid of the vamp first,” Jack said, louder now, swiveling, striding the length of the building. “Compared to dealing with a vamp, the underworld is a piece of cake. Vampiresare animals. They’ll do anything for blood and sex. They skew your judgment, they destroy your self-control…” A couple of truckers approached and he faced the wall.
    “Oh, come on,” Gil said. “They can’t all be bad.”
    “So,” Jack said, “how’d the meeting with the real-estate agent go?”
    Silence.
    “When you can get up the guts to spend half a day with an attractive woman in the interest of a cause you care deeply about,” Jack snapped, knowing he was being an unsympathetic jerk, “you’ll be ready to see a vamp from a hundred yards away.” But, damn. Now he had to even the balance with Gil. “Fine. I’ll get her number. But you’re the one who owes her, not me.”
    “That’s garbage, Jack. It’s all in your head.”
    “So are your fears, Gil.” We’re both fucked-up, and we know it.
    With Gil’s keyboard clicking in his ear, Jack went indoors to wait at the entrance to the restaurant for the women to return from the restroom. At least the meal was on him; that might balance out the use of Rose’s phone.
    As she and Juma approached, he put on a bland face and tried to ignore the three fools following Rose, and several others gawking from a distance.
    “How about a French braid?” Juma hurried beside Rose, brandishing a purple hair pick. Half Rose’s hair trailed about her face, and the remains of the ponytail flopped to one side. “At least let me take that rubber band out of your hair. You should never, ever use a rubber band.”
    “I’ll remember that,” Rose snarled. She would have swept past Jack if he hadn’t put up a hand. “What do you want?”
    “Hold on, Gil.” He caught Rose’s eyes and wished he hadn’t. Wished he had never met her. Wished this was over. “I need a number to give my friend in case he needs to call while we’re on the road.”
    “Sure,” Rose said, but Jack sensed her fizzling, hissing,ready to blow.