Midnight Bites (The Morganville Vampires)(129)

“Pass,” I blurted. “And if you’d have never existed . . .”

“Morganville would never have existed,” he said. “Or at least, not in this form. The world would change. You might not be here. Claire might not. Things would be . . . quite different.”

I didn’t want different. I shuddered to think about it, actually. “Thanks for warning me about that up front, man.”

“I didn’t!”

“Sarcasm. Look it up.”

“Oh. Well, you see, I didn’t tell you because I knew if I had explained the stakes, you’d have not allowed me to go.”

Suspicion struck me. “That’s why you didn’t get Claire to do this. She’d have figured it out. Right?”

“Right,” he said. “Whereas you’re not as . . . ah . . .”

“It’s okay to say I’m not as smart. Not many people are.”

“Very true. And I’m sure you have other sterling qualities. Sports, perhaps. Something like that.”

I kind of wanted to kick his ass, but he did look like he’d had some part of his heart ripped out, so it probably would have been mean. Also, he’d have killed me if I’d tried.

“So, am I done?” I asked him. “Because I need twelve kinds of showers.”

He was looking off into the distance. “Yes,” he said. “I suppose we’re done here.”

“Not until I get paid, man.”

He shook his head, pulled open a drawer, and pulled out a wadded fistful of money. I grabbed for it before it could start falling to the floor, where something might eat it in the chaos. Wow. All hundreds. “Um . . . I think that’s too much.”

“Is it? Oh, never mind; take it and go.”

I didn’t argue about it. I headed for the stairs, and the lights came on to guide my way . . . and lit up the modern, leather-clad Jesse, Lady Grey, sitting halfway down the steps in what would have been the darkness until I’d triggered the motion detectors.

She looked . . . strange.

“Hey, Jess,” I said, and she nodded to me, but her eyes were fixed past me, on Myrnin. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” she said. “I’d forgotten. Isn’t that odd? To forget something like that? So much time. Or maybe I wanted to forget.”

Yeah, no doubt, she’d seen it all. From this spot, she’d have had a balcony view of Myrnin’s past, I guessed—and of her own. She was rubbing her arm as if she remembered it being broken.

“Well . . . see you,” I said.

She nodded and stood up as I passed.

Across the room, Myrnin raised his head to meet her eyes, and he straightened, as if wary of what she was going to do. I’m not going to lie—I paused at the top of the steps, and watched.

Jesse crossed slowly to him, and silently held out her hand. He took it.

“Too long,” she said. “Too long. The girl I was then is long gone, you know. I’ve changed.”

“I’ve changed, too,” he said. “Well, I bathe now. And I’m less insane. But yes, it’s been too long. We can’t go back to . . . what never was. It’s for the best.”

“Oh, my sweet fool, that’s not what I meant at all.”

And she kissed him. Same kind of kiss. Same kind of unexpected flash of passion. And Myrnin, caught by surprise, just stood there . . . until he put his hands up, traveling slowly up her sides, her arms, to cup her head as he kissed her more deeply, more fully.

Yeah, I knew how that felt. And I knew where it was heading.

So I left.

What? I’m not a perv. Much.

? ? ?

I parked the Murdermobile out front, next to Eve’s black hearse—they made a hell of a curbside statement—and jogged up the walk to the front door, keys in hand. Nobody tried to eat my face, which was nice. I got inside, slammed the locks, and turned to see Claire standing in the hallway. She gave me a look that was half-resigned, half-appalled, and all hers.

“Really?” she asked, and sighed. “Wow. And also, you smell.”

“Wow,” I agreed. “Blame your boss. Also, you really need to teach him about money. But maybe not until I do a few more jobs.”

“Funny. How about you go straight upstairs and take at least one layer of dirt off? I guess there must be clothes under that, so maybe throw those in a garbage bag and I’ll do the laundry.”

“Laundry?” Eve popped her head around the corner, and her Goth-rimmed eyes widened. “Holy shit, did you crawl out of a sewer? Because I can smell you from here, and that is a whole world of gross.”

“Hey, nice to see you, too, Vampirella. What did you want?”

“Well, I was going to say that I’d put some stuff in the laundry, too, but again, oh, hell no to that. Try not to get whatever is on you on anything I have to touch, okay?”

I was too tired to give her the finger, but I did it anyway. She winked and pulled her head back around the corner.

I wanted to kiss Claire, but I knew better; there was no way I’d want to kiss me. So I trudged upstairs, trying to keep my grave dirt to myself, and grabbed a garbage bag on the way to bundle my clothes in.

I brushed my teeth to get the taste out. I needed a Silkwood shower, to be honest, something with fire hoses and wire brushes wielded by guys in hazmat suits, but at least the hot water held out long enough for me to use soap and shampoo about four times, until I couldn’t feel the phantom wriggle of worms anymore.