Cherry Stem by Sotia Lazu Read Free Book Online

lip, I turned away. “It was a long time ago.”
    That was the perfect time for him to say something, but he was quiet, even the wheezing gone from his breath.
    “A long, long time ago.” I needed to know he was fine with it, even though I had no clue as to why. “Never mind. Forget about it. The point is, the guy whose remains I’m now wearing was the one who found me after my turning. His name was Ted. Back then he’d said he recognized me. That he was a fan.” Alex was looking at me, expressionless. I wanted to slap him. “Tonight he said he’d never seen me in action, which means he lied before. Also, hey, he was here with my maker! Isn’t it too much of a coincidence?”
    For the first time, I thought maybe my situation hadn’t been an accident. Maybe I was supposed to have been found. “I remember waking up, hungry and disoriented. I had just found my footing when Ted appeared. He made a big fuss about how he loved my work and insisted he take me to the council. If he and Willoughby are a team now, they could have been back then too.”
    Even my maker’s insistence on leaving the party early made sense with that scenario. Newly turned vampires don’t rise until the next evening, if their turning is less than a few hours from dawn. If my rising had been the following night, they’d have risked someone else finding me first, and the happy coincidence of my discovery just as I was awakening would probably have had to take place in the morgue.
    “Are you sure it was him? Ted?” Nice . He would pretend he hadn’t even heard the porn part.
    “Yes. I knew his voice the moment he spoke. I just couldn’t place it until now.”
    “Hmmm.” He motioned for me to lean closer, and I did. I was worried he wasn’t feeling well; perhaps he needed me to help him up. He smirked. “Can I get my hands on either one of those films?”
    I matched his expression. “If you beg, maybe.” I sensed he was about to kiss me again, so I got back to the subject we should be concerned with. Great though the temptation was, flirty territory was too shaky under the circumstances. “We have to do something.”
    He grimaced. “I know. I finally have a lead, thanks to you, but I can’t very well say to my lieutenant that vampires did it all.” He pulled me sideways onto his lap. “Any clue where we can find that guy?”
    “I told you, I thought he was dead. Executed for turning someone recognizable.” I loved how soothing his hands felt caressing my back, yet had to wonder how exactly we’d gotten where we were. I guessed his acceptance of my undeadness was due to my fighting on his side, but could we really pick up where we’d left off the night before? A question for another time. “A huge mess was stirred when I was found. The existing council at the time was overthrown. My turning was the reason for the ruling against any but the oldest of vampires turning people. Even they have to have a special permit.”
    “Maybe you should start at the beginning.” This time his chuckle was forced. “My head is spinning with all the random data.”
    Before I lost my nerve, I offered what I saw as a good alternative. “I can do better than that. I can make you forget that I—that we —exist at all .”
    He pushed me back. Not hard. Not a shove. He just grasped my shoulders and made me sit up, my upper body away from him. “No. You do not get to mess with my head. Don’t even think about it.”
    I felt the need to explain, if not defend myself. “It won’t be messing. I won’t take away anything you need, just the—”
    “ No ! You will take away nothing.” He threw his arms up. “God!” Upset as he sounded, he didn’t make me get off his lap.
    “I’m just trying to help.” Maybe, just maybe , I was sulking.
    “Help?” His eyes widened. “How? By making me forget important info about a case that may never be solved otherwise? By making me forget one of the best nights of my—”
    What I’d heard was enough to