Free A Taste of Love and Evil by Barbara Monajem Page B

said. “And now you need to speak to Jack.”
    Jack took the phone and stalked hurriedly away from the others. Gil said, “Go ahead, cuss me out, but I had to ask Rose for help. She didn’t need any convincing, so you can’t blame it on my damned voice.”
    “I’m not blaming anyone.” Except myself. Jack watched Rose hug Cindy good-bye and head smiling toward the two truckers. Judging by his past experience, Rose should be a conniving bitch, and yet she seemed so consistently nice. So goddamned fine. As for his own behavior—
    He wheeled for the men’s restroom and a small measure of privacy. “What’s going on?”
    “Linda Dell is finally ready. You have to go there now. Rose said she’d take you, no problem. Oh, and your mothercalled again. She’s going to the Caribbean to spend a month with your father.”
    Momentarily distracted, Jack said, “At this rate, my parents will be spending all their time together soon.”
    “That’s great, after twenty-something years mostly apart.”
    “I guess.” Maybe in later life, his father’s libido had subsided to a normal level. The vampire who’d had him in her clutches all through Jack’s childhood had left years ago, and he’d run through a string of both vamps and ordinary women after that, but lately he seemed happier doing without.
    But, by God, if the old bastard started cheating on his mother again, he’d—
    He’d do nothing. He’d never been able to do anything about it, not when he was seven years old and not when he was full grown. His mother wouldn’t thank him for butting in now any more than she had back then.
    “Maybe you’ll finally learn to forgive your father. I told Rose if anyone owes her, it’s me.”
    “I wish it were that simple,” Jack said, back in hell. One measly apology wasn’t enough to right the balance.
    “She said nobody owes her,” Gil insisted. “If you can just be polite for a few hours—”
    Jack interrupted. “What’s the plan?” He sorted through Gil’s instructions automatically with half his mind, while the other half processed the transactions between himself and Rose. Snippets of conversation dropped through the cracked-open window high in the restroom wall. The querulous voice of the old man, who sat on a bench in the winter sun and raved about seeing a vampire. The amused responses of his blissfully disbelieving audience.
    No wonder Rose was so angry. With her acute vampire hearing, she must have heard every insulting word Jack had said earlier about vamps, even if the window in the women’srestroom was closed. Which meant one more huge discourtesy in the appalling tally he’d run up in only a few hours.
    Rose hugged and kissed her two truckers chastely on the cheek, laughing off their protests and pleas. “My kisses are dangerous. But you guys are the greatest!”
    “Would you like me to drive?” Jack sounded as if the polite offer took an effort. “This isn’t a short detour. She lives in a place called Calico, at least an hour and a half each way.”
    “Maybe later,” Rose replied. Once they reached the highway, she said, “I don’t know the first thing about rescuing people, but I assume we don’t just up and knock on her front door.”
    “She’s meeting us at a store,” Jack said.
    Rose accepted an egg and toast sandwich from Juma. “You don’t sound so sure about that.”
    “Of course I’m not sure.” Jack spoke caustically, but then his tone shifted abruptly to neutral. “She’s been shilly-shallying for a long time.”
    “Gil said she finally made up her mind.”
    “Let’s hope so,” Jack muttered around a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “Otherwise we’ll have wasted your time and gas. We’ll pay you for both, of course.”
    Rose swallowed hastily. “I don’t care about the gas. Or the time. This is someone’s life we’re talking about!”
    “Unfortunately,” Jack said, caustic again, “you’re absolutely right.”
    “Cindy says you’ve rescued a lot of