Free Bite Me if You Can by Lynsay Sands Page A

before he could admit or deny it, the woman went on, “And why didn’t you tell me she was awake? For heaven’s sake, Lucian. Just teach her to use her teeth to feed until you can get hold of Thomas. It’s faster anyway.”
    Lucian heaved a sigh that sent his kerchief billowing.
    Wondering absently what the woman was talking about, Leigh reached out absently and petted Julius. The action roused the animal from sleep, and his whole body went stiff under her hand as Marguerite began to speak again. He was suddenly very much awake. Awake, alert, and stiff and quivering as he searched the room for the source of the voice.
    “Try calling Jeanne,” the woman was saying. “She’ll know where her brother is and how to reach him. He always gives her a number in case of emergencies.”
    Lucian rumbled something that might have been an agreement to her suggestion, and the woman went on. “And thank you for waiting for the kennel people. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t arrived. We probably would have had to drop Julius off at the—” She stopped abruptly as Julius barked in response to hearing his name. “What was that? Was that Julius?”
    Julius barked again despite the glare Lucian had turned on him, and Leigh bit her lip at the frustration on his face as he clutched the phone to his ear.
    “Why is Julius still there?” Marguerite sounded alarmed. “I thought the kennel people came to collect him!”
    “They did,” Lucian answered. “A woman came by.”
    “Then why is he still there?”
    Lucian opened his mouth, closed it again, then reluctantly admitted, “She didn’t arrive at an opportune time.”
    Silence seeped through the room. When Marguerite finally spoke, her voice was terribly calm, even a little cold, as she said, “Explain.”
    Lucian’s eyes shifted to Leigh, and her own widened in surprise at the accusation in his gaze. It seemed obvious he blamed her for whatever had happened.
    “I’d left the front door open and gone in to check on... er... Leigh,” he said, grasping for the name. “She was back to her screaming and thrashing so I decided to take her up to Lissianna’s room.”
    He ignored Leigh’s startled gasp at the announcement that she’d been “back to screaming and thrashing” and continued, “I picked her up to carry her upstairs, and when I got into the hall there was a woman in the doorway. I started to explain that Julius was in the kitchen, but the sight of Leigh covered in blood and in a fit must have upset her, because she... er... took off.”
    “She saw Leigh covered in blood and in the midst of turning?” Marguerite said carefully.
    Leigh glanced down, noting the large red stain on her blouse, and supposed the sight of it might be somewhat distressing. She certainly found it distressing.
    “I believe Julius may have been barking rather frantically at the time as well,” Lucian announced.
    “You believe?” Marguerite asked dryly.
    “I had my earplugs in to drown out the screaming,” Lucian explained.
    Leigh gaped at the man. Geez, he was all heart.
    There was a long drawn-out sigh across the phone. “She probably thought you were some mad killer.”
    “That’s what the police said,” Lucian agreed.
    “The police?” Marguerite squawked.
    “Everything is fine,” he said shortly. “I explained everything.”
    “You explained what?” Marguerite sounded almost hysterical. “You couldn’t tell them the truth.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Marguerite, of course I didn’t tell them that.” He released a long sigh that sent his kerchief fluttering again. “It’s obvious you’re on edge from your long journey. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything here. Get some rest.”
    “You’ll take care of everything?” Marguerite sounded a bit stressed, but Lucian wasn’t listening. He’d set the receiver back in its rest and was pushing buttons, trying to disconnect as she went on, “I’ve known you for seven hundred years,