Free Death's Servant (The V V Inn, First Prequel Book) by C.J. Ellisson

leap into action, drawing level with Rafe, while Dria calmly grasps the child and rights him before his parents notice. She twists and sits, quick as a wink, making it appear as if she was headed to the water’s edge to take a seat the whole time.
    A pent up breath I didn’t know I was holding whooshes out. Heat burns my face as I realize I immediately thought the worst of the vampire. Like she’d be bold or stupid enough to grab a child to feast upon.
    Rafe’s low chuckle has me spinning to face him. “You should see your face. Fucking hysterical. Did you really think she meant the child harm?”
    Shame courses through me. “I... uh...”
    He nods his head in the direction of Dria. “My wife is very old. She doesn’t need much blood to survive.” Rafe stares me in the eye. There’s a hardness to him I hadn’t seen before. “And if you think she’d ever harm a child then you should never have asked her for help.”
    The tension coiling in me eases out. “You’re right. I’m being an idiot.” I rub my hand over my face. “I’m exhausted and have been running for days. It’s been almost a week since I escaped the mansion. I don’t know if the wolves I left behind are alive or dead.”
    When the parents come to retrieve their child, Dria dips her chin in greeting, as if nothing is amiss and the toddler didn’t almost fall in while they were distracted.
    “If he’s addicted,” Rafe says, “he won’t kill them. They’re too valuable.”
    I nod, not really reassured by his assessment but unable to prove him wrong.
    Dria saunters to us, her face guarded. “You certainly are a determined son of a bitch aren’t you?”
    I jam my hands into my pockets, unsure of my decided course to offer myself to her, even though it’s the only option I’ve got. “I have a proposition for you.”
    Her deep green eyes trail down my body. “I bet you do.” Rafe clears his throat. Dria’s face lights up with a cheeky smile. “I was just teasing him, love.”
    “Hear the boy out.”
    My spine stiffens at his words. Boy? I’m twenty-one. Hardly a boy. Then again, next to the older man’s obvious fifteen years on me, I’ll let it slide.
    The people visiting the pool wander off as the last of the late afternoon light fades. We’re not alone by any means, but no one stands close, either. I guess this is as safe a place as any to voice my concept.
    Only one tiny hitch I need to clear up first. “You’re not addicted to Were blood, are you?”
    A pensive look crosses the vampire’s face. “No. I don’t suffer from such a weakness.” Her eyes turn calculating. “Were you worried if I did agree to help I might try to take the place of this ruling vamp and seize his captive pack for my own needs?” Anger colors her tone and fear grips my heart at the rage I see boiling in her eyes.
    Her misunderstanding was not my reason for asking—I was more worried she’d feast on me and kill me by accident—but damned if my line of questioning doesn’t sound suspicious of me in hindsight.
    “No! I swear that thought hadn’t occurred to me.” I look from one to the other, noting doubt clearly on Dria’s face and amusement on Rafe’s. “Couldn’t you just look inside my head and clarify I didn’t intend what you inferred?”
    Dria glances into my eyes. Her face sets in a hard mask and she whirls away, “Get rid of this fool.”
    Crap! I stepped in it again. And this time I wasn’t even trying.
    A loud sigh escapes Rafe. “Damn, you really need to think before you speak. I almost had her convinced it was the right thing to do.”
    “What the hell did I say wrong?”
    “Well, furball, you managed to insult her three times in less than five minutes.” He nods toward the pool. “First, you briefly entertained the thought that she might snack on that family’s child.” The expression on his face clearly proclaims he thinks I’m an idiot. “Then you ask if she’s an addict, even though she showed no interest in