Free Edged Blade by J.C. Daniels Page B

time I pulled into the parking lot.
    I didn’t let myself worry.
    I was getting better about that.
    I couldn’t live my life behind locked doors every time the sun disappeared.
    Or maybe I could.
    Cold wind brushed down my spine, even though I still sat in my car—my locked car. And the air was still.
    That wasn’t the source of the energy, though. It was the vampire.
    I couldn’t see him, but I felt him.
    Fear screamed through me. Instinctively I flexed my hand. My palm went hot and tight—but there was nothing there. No blade came to my call and the music in my head was gone.
    That’s fucking fine . I grabbed the katana Chang had given me and climbed out, drawing it and tossing the sheath back into the car. My other blade was tucked in behind the passenger seat but I wasn’t about to ignore the threat long enough to get it. Casually, I rested my hand on the firearm strapped to my left thigh. The Glock XT23 was strong enough—and fast enough—to put a hole through a vampire.
    All I had to do was…
    Shadows gathered in front of me.
    A good thirty feet separated me from that cluster, but it was still too close.
    I had the Glock leveled by the time the shadows cleared and his face emerged.
    The sight of Abraham Allerton didn’t make me feel any better.
    Penetrating gray eyes stared at me. His hair, thick, black and straight, flowed back from a widow’s peak to his shoulders. He was tall and slim and he carried himself with military bearing.
    His gaze landed on the Glock and he cocked his head.
    “Do you intend to use that?”
    I smiled. “I’m thinking about it.”
    “Then I’ll stay here until you’ve made up your mind. I recall how fast you are.”
    Ah. Yes. He’d seen me use a gun before—right before I blew the brains out of a friend of his. My finger tightened convulsively on the trigger and I forced myself to let up. “Why are you here?”
    “I’m looking for Justin Greaves.” His lids drooped. “You’ve seen him today.”
    “And you know this…how?”
    A second later, I was ready to kick myself. I shook my head. “Never mind. I dunno if anybody’s ever pointed this out, but the smell thing is annoying .”
    “Your lover is a shapeshifter. His sense of smell is keener than mine.” Abraham lifted a shoulder, looking unconcerned. He lifted an elegantly arched brow, his expression patient.
    Perfectly patient.
    Like most vampires, his expressions were too perfect. Practiced almost.
    The only time I’d ever seen what seemed to be real emotions from vampires…
    Don’t go there, Kit , I told myself, wrapping a choke-chain around my memories.
    “Have you seen Justin?”
    I stared down the barrel of the Glock at him, debating. Slowly, I lowered it. Not because I trusted Abraham, but because I trusted Justin and Justin trusted Abraham.
    I wasn’t going to stand there all night with a weapon pointed.
    I kept it unholstered there, hanging at my right side, while I gripped the katana in my left hand.
    Abraham’s gaze slid from one weapon to the next, lingering on the blade.
    Just as I was about to respond, he murmured, “I know that blade.”
    I think I hid my surprise better than he hid his. I think .
    “Yeah?” I angled it, letting the streetlights dance off the surface. There was only one way he’d know this particular blade and that would be if he’d been in Chang’s inner sanctum. My skin crawled at the thought of it, but Chang was Damon’s top man. He was going to have odd bedfellows.
    His gaze slid to me and if I wasn’t mistaken, he looked somewhat disgruntled. “Yes.” Eyes narrowed, he said, “I offered a fair sum to buy it from Mr. Tanaka."
    “I guess it wasn’t fair enough.” Mr. Tanaka—Chang—wasn’t going to sell his toys.
    “I’ll pay double.” His gaze rested on the blade with a covetous greed that I could completely understand and I found myself relaxing. Odd, that. He was all but drooling over a deadly weapon and that made me breathe easier.
    “I didn’t