Free Influential Magic by Deanna Chase Page B

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    “But he works for Cryrique, one of the most powerful vampire corporations in the world. He could’ve heard something. Or found out something.”
    “I doubt he has those kinds of connections,” she said.
    I stared at my plate. Phoebe had a point. Being a newly turned vamp meant he’d have entry-level status. No one tells the new kid secrets. “You’re right.”
    She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “At least now you have a place to start.”
    The steel I found in her eyes somehow strengthened my resolve. Phoebe would exhaust every lead, no matter how obscure, until we found Beau’s killer. She had a brother she’d lay down her life for. What she didn’t know was how soul-wrenching it was to lose one. I prayed she never found out.
    “We’ll get answers,” Phoebe said. “I promise.”
    I gave her a slight smile. “Damn right. But if the blood-sucker in the other room thinks I believe a word he says, he lost his mind in the change.”
    Phoebe’s eyebrows rose. “The blood-sucker?”
    Raising an eyebrow of my own, I tilted my head. “Since when do you stick up for David?”
    “I don’t. But he was important to you once and vice versa. Don’t you think it’s at least possible he told Allcot about being a double agent because he’s trying to protect you?” She tapped her fingers on the table. “Think about it. If his boss found out he’d been hiding that information, David would be dead and so would you. This way he can claim loyalty to Allcot while controlling the information he passes to him.”
    “You really believe that?”
    “What I believe isn’t as important as what you believe. But I do think it’s possible.”
    “So I should give him the benefit of the doubt?” Skeptical didn’t even begin to describe my tone. I didn’t for a minute believe David had any loyalty to me or any reason at all to worry about my safety. If he cared, where the hell had he been? And to claim he was only protecting me? Right. Going double agent and working two powerful entities against each other was a surefire way to end up shackled to a boulder at the bottom of the Mississippi. Not that it would kill him now that he had changed. But it would hurt. A lot.
    “A good agent considers all angles,” Phoebe reasoned.
    “Whatever. I still can’t trust him.” I stifled a yawn.
    “Go get some rest. I’ll clean up.”
    “Thanks, but I won’t be able to sleep with him awake.”
    Phoebe retreated into the heart of the kitchen, pulled a bag out of the freezer, and then reached for a grinder above the refrigerator. “If you’re going to keep vamp hours, you’re going to need a little stimulation.”
    I grinned, spotting the Fated Cupcake logo on the package of Mocha in Motion, a blend of coffee and cocoa beans infused with natural energy magic. Guaranteed to keep me awake for hours, the stuff was better than speed and not at all addictive. It was one of my more brilliant creations.
    A few minutes later, with an on-the-go cup in one hand and my phone in the other, I found David in the living room. “Let’s go.”
    He looked up from a battered book. “Where?”
    I grabbed my keys. “Work.”
     
     

Chapter 8
     

     
    David hovered over my shoulder as I unlocked the door to my bakery. My inner vampire detector squeezed my chest, and it started to throb.
    I turned. “Can you give me some space?”
    He shot me an irritated look but backed up a few paces.
    Despite him moving away, the pain intensified, making me wince. Something was very wrong.
    “What is it?” David took a step closer but froze when my knees buckled.
    “I can’t breathe,” I wheezed. “What are you doing different?”
    “Nothing, I—”
    A blond-haired male figure jumped from the roof, landing inches to my right. I stumbled backward, barely avoiding a collision with David.
    Instead, he reached out, catching me by the shoulders, his vampire reflexes steadying me. I barely recognized the sting from David’s vampire