Free Bite of Envy (Just One Bite #4) by Kay Glass

taunts, cautioning Diandra to stay
silent when she sat up suddenly and leaned closer to hear the phone call. Dia
nodded in response, acknowledging that she wouldn't interrupt.
    Carson frowned, looking down at the phone in his hand.
Normally she rose to the bait, but tonight she didn't seem interested in her
usual idle threats and angry responses. "I merely wanted to know how you
enjoyed your present today. After all, I worked hard to make sure you got it,
planting the pills so the case would be sure to tumble into your waiting
lap."
    Lizbeth hissed, and Carson gloated silently. Finally, a
response, he thought. He'd been beginning to wonder if he was wasting his very
valuable time tonight. "Her name was Heather Segman," Lizbeth
responded, "and she was not an 'it' but a person. And she didn't fit your
profile, so why her?"
    "Because I knew how much you'd want that tender reunion
with Sandra," Carson replied, his tone mocking as it so often was when he
spoke to her. "Didn't you enjoy having her sob in your arms?" he
asked.
    Diandra raised an eyebrow at Lizbeth, but stayed quiet.
"Watching me, were you? Boy, I didn't realize how positively dull your
days must be," she responded. She pulled the sheet up over her small
breasts and lay back against the pillows. Reaching for her nightstand, she
pulled out a baggie of blood and punctured it with her fangs. She was going to
need to keep up a supply if these late nights continued. The blood seeped
through her system, jolting her as though it was caffeinated. She felt more
awake and alert, and that was what she'd been seeking.
    "My days are not boring, you insolent little bitch. I
was hoping to catch the two of you fucking. Oh well, maybe next time," he
sneered, and Lizbeth rolled her eyes. If this was the best he could do, he was
rapidly running out of material to work with, for which she was grateful. Maybe
he'd finally quit calling.
    His next words ended that. "Filling her in was a
mistake, and there will be blood spilled to rectify that. Her days are
numbered, Lizbeth, so if you miss it, I'd fuck her quickly and as often as
possible before you find yourself visiting that particular crime scene,"
Carson said nastily before disconnecting the call.
    All the blood drained from Lizbeth's face. "Eamon was
right- filling Sandy in was a mistake. He must have my office bugged, and now
I've made her a target." Putting her head into her hands, she began to
weep. "Oh, God, what have I done?" Diandra wrapped Lizbeth in her
arms and attempted to console her, but they both knew it was a futile effort.
Sandra's days were numbered to begin with, but never more so than before Lizzie
had confided the truth.

 
Chapter
Twelve
    The next morning found Lizbeth rushing through breakfast.
She couldn't bear the thought of trying to eat, but she also knew that if she
tended the human side, the vampire part of her was easier to keep in line. So
she drank her baggie of blood, and realized that soon she'd be able to cut down
to once a day or so. She looked forward to it, eager to pretend she was still
human as much as possible. She ate a piece of whole wheat toast with one hand
as she filled her travel mug with the other- she had to get to the office and
have Sandra come to her as soon as possible. Maybe there was a way they could
keep her safe.
    Diandra spoke from behind her. "Invite Sandra here,"
she said softly. Lizbeth spun, surprised at the words, and the sincerity behind
them. "It could be like protective custody. She could come here, and we'll
keep her safe. We'll tell Rae to behave herself, and we'll keep ourselves as
human as possible, and we'll find a way to stop Carson, if we have to track him
down and kill him ourselves." Her tone was matter-of-fact, but the fierce
light in her eyes was anything but.
    "Oh, baby, I wish we could do that, but I have to catch
him. It has to be legal, don't you see? I need him to have a trial, and be
punished within the constraints of the law. It isn't right if I do it