Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(34)

Chase might become useful after all.



I glanced at Niko in the back seat. “How did it go with the redhead?”

Christian was busy paying for gas, and his absence gave us the illusion of privacy.

Niko kept his head reclined and eyes closed. I had a bad feeling after we’d found him wandering around in the parking lot alone.

“Sorry about tonight,” I said under my breath. “Thanks for scoping out the place and verifying it’s not a Breed hangout. You won’t need to come with us next time—Christian stands out enough as it is.” I waited a beat, and when Niko didn’t say anything, I continued. “We came up with a plan to bait our dealer, so I’ll be hanging out there a lot for the next week or so.” I glanced down at my raggedy jeans. “I’ll probably need to buy some sexy clothes. I don’t have anything that would work, unless you count that slutty black dress that Christian—”

“She found me odd.”

I shifted in my seat. “What do you mean?”

His eyes opened halfway. “Odd. That’s what she said to me. My mannerisms and the way I speak and dress. She asked me what I did for a living.”

I forgot about that part. Humans usually made careers a topic of conversation—something I needed to think about before my next visit. “What did you say?”

“That I was a bodyguard. I knew she would ask about my employment, so I had to think of a profession that was freelance—one I could speak about convincingly.”

“And?”

He lifted his head. “She didn’t believe a blind man could be a bodyguard. They laughed and said I was cute, but it wasn’t a compliment. It was pity. The more I elaborated on my experience in martial arts and weaponry, the more they ridiculed me. All but the yellow one. She remained quiet, and her light dimmed with disappointment.”

My jaw set. “Want me to go back? I have no problem with kicking a woman’s ass. I’ll even leave my daggers in the car so it’s a fair fight.”

He generated a ball of light between his fingertips and idly played with it. “Let it go, Raven. As I said before, I have nothing in common with humans.”

“But you used to be one.”

He chuckled softly. “Over a thousand years ago. Besides, I had little in common with them even then. I was blind. They shut away people like me. Eventually my destiny would have led me to wander the roads as a beggar.” He crushed the light into his hands, sparks dissolving like dying embers.

I faced forward in my seat. “People are really shitty to each other sometimes.”

“Those with difficult lives have purpose.” He opened the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To be alone for a while.”

“We live in a mansion with plenty of rooms to be alone.”

“I need to walk. Surely you understand.”

I did. Except my domain was on rooftops. As expansive as the mansion was, the sights and sounds of the city were a welcome distraction to my overactive mind. I suspected Niko felt the same way. “Call if you need us to come pick you up,” I said. “No sense in wasting money on cab fare.”

He exited the vehicle and disappeared into a flurry of snow. Niko was a fantastic guy, and anyone with half a brain who spent five minutes talking to him realized it. Humans were usually more tolerant than Breed, but I should have known they’d cut him down.

“Those little bitches.”

When Christian got into the car, a curtain of snow blew in behind him. “Men don’t like to be rejected.”

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop.”

“It can hardly be helped when the dolt at the counter is prattling on about the weather.”

“Niko has needs like the rest of us, but he doesn’t put himself out there enough. He’s not used to rejection.”

“Sometimes a man’s ego and pride are all he has. Why would you set Niko up with a couple of cocktails?”

“I hate when you use that word to describe humans.”

“Would juice box suit your fancy? Or perhaps sippy cups.” Christian scratched his neck. “There’s nothing worse for an immortal than having a human turn you down because you’re not good enough.”

“Men get rejected all the time. Why should it matter if it’s by a human or a rhinoceros?”

“What you know about men would fill a thimble.”

“I beg to differ.”

“That snippy attitude will hinder your chances of picking up our trafficker. Most men aren’t attracted to rabid animals.”

I stared at my chipped nail polish. “I have no trouble in the flirting department.”

Christian shifted in his seat and smiled wolfishly. “Is that so?” He slid his hand between my legs.

“You better stop,” I breathed, my skin flushing at the thought of him reclining my seat back. “Niko might still be around.”

“That poor bastard is long gone.” He squeezed my leg again so that his pinky finger pressed against my sex. “Raven, I’m going to build this thing between us to such a scorching degree that you’re going to beg me to strip down those panties and take you hard.”

I laughed and knocked his hand away. “I think your ego is as big as your bank account.”