Free In the Blood by Abigail Barnette Page A

one of those…things, one day. But I don’t understand what would make that happen, or where I come in.” That sounded like something a spy would ask. A very inept spy, which was apparently what Anthony thought she was. “Look, I’m nobody. Honestly, I had no idea that vampires existed until I met Viktor. But if there’s something wrong with him, like he’s going to die or something, I have a right to know.”
    “No, actually, you don’t have a right to know.” Anthony sighed in frustration. “Look, I’m going to be watching you. If you don’t have a reason to hide this, you should tell Viktor about the accident. That way, I know you’re not up to anything and Viktor can make up his own mind on whether or not he wants to feed from you.”
    “What, because I had a car accident my blood is damaged somehow?” She frowned. “Viktor would have been able to tell, right? He would have tasted it.”
    Anthony shook his head and took the envelope back, tucking it into his jacket. “Not because of your accident. Look, I can’t tell if you’re playing dumb or not, but you killed somebody. That stays in your blood. Viktor has been losing his humanity at an even faster rate than usual lately, and drinking the blood of a killer is only going to speed up the process.”
    The blood of a killer. The cold way he’d stated it left her no room for argument. She had killed someone. Maybe not as directly as pulling a trigger, but her actions had led to someone losing their life. “You said he’s losing his humanity. What happens then? When it’s all gone, what happens to him?”
    It was clear that Anthony still didn’t believe her, from the way he paused before answering. “You know what happens. You met it in the alley last night.”
    Cassie shivered at the memory of the creatures that had surrounded her. She couldn’t imagine Viktor being one of them. They’d been faceless, void of personality or compassion or fear. They’d been…inhuman. “I don’t want to hurt Viktor. I just met him, and he’s been nothing but kind to me.”
    “Neither do I. But I’ll have to, if he becomes one of them. You need to make your choice.” He poured himself a splash of whiskey in a highball glass. “Or I’ll make it for you.”
    After he downed his drink, the entire conversation seemed to have never taken place, as though the whiskey had washed it away. “What do you like to read? I’ll swing by the bookstore before I bring your dinner.”
    “Um, anything, really. Just magazines would be fine, I guess.” Anthony might have been able to flip his switch from threatening to solicitous in a heartbeat, but Cassandra was less able to switch from threatened to not-threatened while he stood there, cold expectation still glinting in his eyes. “Thanks.”
    “Not a problem,” he said with a friendly wink before setting his glass aside and moving toward the stairs.
    Cassandra sat at the bar for a long time after he’d gone. So, Anthony wasn’t just a personal assistant, then, that much was clear. And if he thought she had been sent to harm Viktor, that would be the story he told him. Not the story of how she’d paid her debt to society through hours of community service and probation check-ups. Not how despite all that, she still felt like a murderer. Still was a murderer. She had to tell Viktor before Anthony did.
    Then she thought of the way people had looked at her after the accident. Mixtures of hatred and pity and relief that it hadn’t been them. She’d become a walking cautionary tale. She couldn’t stand it if Viktor looked at her that way.
    And what if he decided he didn’t want her around, if she had killed someone? What if he thought, as Anthony did, that she was working for someone, trying to ruin Viktor’s humanity? If he sent her away, who would protect her from those awful creatures? On the other hand, she’d been living with them stalking her dreams for a long time now. Maybe she would be fine on her own. She