Hell's Belle by Karen Greco Read Free Book Online Page A

thinking about Marcello. But dealing with Marcello was clearly more important.
    He was definitely after me, but there wasn't a clear reason why. Most vampires stayed out of the spotlight, attacking in alleyways and on deserted streets. Or they seduce you and attack in the privacy of your own home. An attack in the open was rare. Marcello seemed like a rogue. But more important, why was a rogue targeting me?
    I padded back to my armoire and opened it again, this time pulling out an oversized t-shirt. After shimmying into it, I climbed into my bed, snuggling into my down comforter.
    I suspected the answers about Marcello had more to do with me than with a vampire I staked. Wasn't it weird that I returned home after 30 years essentially undercover in Blood Ops to get attacked by a rogue vamp? I thought so. And then there was the knife -- a near replica of the one that belonged to my father. I had never seen one like it before, and then this clown shows up at Babe’s, stabbing at me with the damn thing. I spent a lot of years hanging around Vegas, so I was a betting girl, and I’d double down on this having something to do with my murdered parents.
    Babe, Dr. O and Frankie were my only links to my past. I hoped one of them had some answers.
    My mind began to drift, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 7
     
     
    Babe was in her usual position at the end of the bar when I arrived by late afternoon. Plywood covered the hole where the window once was. A few regulars -- a bunch of old men who lived in the neighborhood, including Alfonso the drunk -- were dotted along the distressed wooden bar, nursing their drinks and chattering about crime statistics while they leafed through the newspaper. Babe’s may be a college dive bar at night, but the daytime is reserved for the old-time neighborhood guys.
    I poured myself a cup of coffee and plopped down on the stool next to Babe.
    "Business as usual," Babe said with a nod. "Just a little more cave-like in here than we're used to."
    "Well, you know I always appreciate that," I smiled. "Did you find Dr. O?"
    "Said he'd fly out on the jet last night, while Frankie was still -- " Babe pursed her lips. "Able."
    "Good," I nodded.
    Frankie was full-vampire. The majority of them weren't depraved blood suckers. Hell, Frankie was descended from nobility.
    Frankie and the rest of my crew would arrive once the sun went down, which was soon. The sky was already turning a vibrant pink, and a cold wind was kicking up.
    I glanced up at the muted television. Ami Bertrand was back on the tube.
    "Turn that up, will ya, Nina?" Alfonso hollered from his stool. I vaulted the bar and snatched the remote, turning up the volume. Then I gave him a refill on his beer.
    Bertrand's voice was like silk in our ears. "It's a shame that the good citizens of this fair city, a city founded by a renegade, an outcast, have had to tolerate a political insider for all these years. He bought and sold your freedom ten times over..."
    Alfonse blew a raspberry at the television.
    "What do you make of that, Alfonso?" I asked.
    "I don't like him, and I don't trust him." Alfonse sipped his beer thoughtfully. "But he'll win the special election."
    His fellow regulars whooped and laughed at him.
    Alfonso just shook his head and grunted. "What do you think, Senorita Babe?" he called out at the end of the bar.
    "Al, you know I am way too old to be a senorita," she chuckled. "But you're right, he'll win."
    "Shut that fool off, would ya?" Alfonso went back to his newspaper. I hit the mute button again and began slicing lemons for the night crowd.
    "Nina, how are you feeling?" Babe looked at me over the rim of her glasses, which were sitting on the tip of her nose.
    "Eh, okay," I sighed. There was no point in lying to Babe. She always knew when I wasn't telling her the truth. I hadn’t slept well. Marcello kept invading my dreams, taunting me with images of a fire. I didn't recognize where, and I didn't see anyone