Free Knight Predator by Jordan Falconer Page A

this evening, angel?” Bronwyn finally asked.
    “You want to go for a ride on the bike?” I had slipped out of the house and fed before she knew I was awake, so I was really only offering a ride.
    “I don’t know,” she said.
    “Yes?” I asked, nudging her again, very gently. “You wanted to do something else this evening?”
    “I’d like to go out, all right,” she said. “But not as far as the city.
    How about to the Civic Center?”
    “What’s in the Civic Center?”
    “There’s an art display by all the seniors from the local schools. It’s a parents and friends thing, and I promised one of my friends ages ago that I’d go.” She braced herself. “I was kinda wondering if you were interested in going?”
    “Sure.”
    “Look, it’s okay if you . . . what did you say?”

    “I said yes.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.”
    “You’d go with me to a school function?”
    I chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I?”
    She blushed and fidgeted. “I don’t know.”
    I looked at her curiously. “That’s not the only one, is it?”
    She shook her head.
    “Ah,” I said. “Which other one is there that’s so important?”
    “I have my graduation ball in a couple of months.”
    “And you want me to be your partner? Sure. Why not?”
    Her beautiful face lit up. She had a broad smile as she finally met my eyes. “Could I ask for a special favor, just for me?”
    “Okay . . .”
    “Would you consider wearing a top hat and tails for my grad ball?”
    I laughed. “Sure. Any particular reason why?”
    “Is there any reason you keep agreeing to what I’m asking you to do?”
    “We’re friends, aren’t we?”
    She hesitated, studying me closely. Her eyes misted. “Yeah, I guess we are,” she murmured and chewed her lip.
    “Hey,” I said, cupping her chin. “Why are you chewing your lip?
    And you haven’t answered my question yet.”
    “I just think you’d be hot in a tuxedo . . .”
    “Yes, but I’m sure I’m hotter in an evening gown.”
    Her face darkened as I expected it would. “Stop teasing me with that beautiful body of yours.”
    I smiled. “I’m a grown woman and a free spirit.”
    A thin sheen of tears glistened in her eyes. “Oh, god, I know. Stop baiting me.”
    I flinched. “Look, you’re the only person I’ve ever agreed to wear a tux for.”
    She slipped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest.
    Hot tears stung my cool skin, and I stroked her back.
    “C’mon,” I said, pulling back and smiling into her slightly bloodshot eyes. “Let’s go to this exhibit of yours. Sounds like a lot of fun.”
    She nodded. “Some of the work is pretty good.”

    “Okay, what are we waiting for?” I asked, standing and pulling her with me.
    Half an hour later, I was parking the car, and we were looking at the thick crowd of parents and teenagers milling around the front of the Civic Center.
    As we approached them, Bronwyn scanned the crowd for her friends, while adults glanced at us, some dismissing us, some looking at us curiously. One or two older brothers eyed us from top to bottom, and I returned each stare, taking in the blushes and dropped eyes with an internal smile.
    One of the onlookers kept his eyes on us. He was about my height, and seemed to be all of nineteen years old. He had a handsome face, one that would be rugged in later life, and stylishly unruly hair. There were a cluster of girls Bronwyn’s age surrounding him, but he ignored them and focused on me.
    “That’s Chris Carlton,” Bronwyn said, following the direction of my gaze and moving in closer to me.
    “Okay.”
    “He’s the big brother of one of the most popular girls in school. All the girls are after him.” She rolled her eyes.
    I gazed into his eyes and saw something flickering in them that I didn’t like. Perhaps it was a species of young arrogance, or the reflection of the cruelty lurking around his mouth.
    “I don’t know why,” I said.
    “Don’t you think he’s cute?”
    I glanced at