Free Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 by Connie Suttle Page B

front of him . Kirby Lee and that other man are sitting outside at slot machines, but they're not playing. She looks normal and fidgety, but the man—Adam, I think there's something wrong with him .
    Why do you say that? I accepted the menu from our waitress with a nod of thanks.
    He's sitting there, completely still. Not moving at all. That's just not natural .
    Are they talking? Manuelo and Kirby Lee? I reminded Joey of the man's name, and briefly pondered his kinship to Rita, Anna's assistant. Something was definitely wrong, here.
    He's not talking. Kirby Lee talked with a man who sat down to play the slot machine next to hers, but he got up and left after a few minutes. Are you going to tell Anna?
    After we order. The waitress is hovering.
    Adam, you dog. Is she pretty?
    Joey, stop.
    Adam's got it ba-ad , Joey responded.
    Joey . I put as much sternness as I could into my reply.
    I've just never seen you get interested in anybody, and we work together a lot.
    There was nobody worth my interest, I returned, my mental voice cold. Stop teasing. We have work to do .
    Yeah, but it's boring, watching these two. I don't want to be obvious about watching them, so I put money in a penny machine. I haven't won anything so far, but I'm only playing a penny per spin.
    Up your bet. I'll pay you back.
    You got it.
    "I'll just have coffee and the special," I handed the menu back to the waitress. She was pretty, but I had no interest in her. Anna sat across from me, and that's exactly what I wanted.
    "I'll have the veggie burger," Anna handed her menu back.
    "Mustard or Mayo?" the waitress asked.
    "Mayo. Please."
    Anna and I watched as the waitress walked away, swinging her hips slightly. If she knew how many times I'd seen that suggestive walk and ignored it, she wouldn't have made the attempt.
    Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed Joey. Pretend I don't already know what's going on, I sent as the phone rang. This is for Anna's benefit .
    Gotcha , Joey said, before answering his phone. He proceeded to tell me everything he'd already told me. I rang off and turned to Anna.
    "Joey found Cheek in the poker room, and it looks as if he's winning," I said. "He says Manuelo and Kirby Lee are sitting outside the room at slot machines, but they're not gambling. Joey says that Manuelo hasn't spoken, but Kirby Lee talked to a gambler for a while."
    "Manuelo may not be able to speak," Anna muttered, turning her head away.
    "How can that be?" I asked.
    "He may not be human. Not anymore."
    "How can that be?" I repeated. In my experience, the only way to make a human not a human but still alive was to turn him vampire, and we had a photograph of this one in daylight. That couldn't be. Besides, Joey would have scented a vampire.
    Joey , I sent, did you get any unusual scent off Manuelo?
    He's wearing cologne, but there's something odd underneath , Joey responded. Why?
    Odd? How? Have you smelled anything like it before? What about Kirby Lee?
    Kirby Lee smells human, although she's wearing perfume. Manuelo, though, I don't know what that smell is . So far, I've lost a hundred dollars of your money.
    Move to a different machine, but stay close to the targets.
    Will do .
    The special turned out to be pot roast. In my human life, I might have enjoyed it. As a vampire, it was extremely difficult putting any part of it in my mouth. I chewed methodically, distracting myself by watching Anna and going over what Joey told me.
    I couldn't tell Anna about the scent—that would betray the mindspeech I had with Joey. There wasn't any way I wanted that secret out; Wlodek would punish both of us for hiding such a desirable talent from him and the Council.
    "Adam, you can stop chewing, I think that bite's done for," Anna said. She wasn't looking at me when I blinked at her, she was stacking crisps on her plate instead.
    I swallowed with difficulty before nodding as she looked up at me. "I'm done, then." I shook my head at my plate—I'd gotten through half of it while I