Free Tears of Blood (The Blood Chronicles) by Tamela Quijas Page B

matching era. I must remember you were changed long before me.”
    “Have we been friends for so long the differences of centuries can be so easily forgotten?”
    He smirked. “Your human self was long gone by the time of my birth.”
    “Our deaths, our births, the dates are nothing more than numbers.” Dominic shrugged indifferently but bitterness tinged his reply. In spite of his solemn expression, he laughed unexpectedly. “Anyways, enjoy your photographs. The decade before the Civil War wasn’t a time when people took pictures of their half-white slaves.”
    “Perhaps you should count the oversight as a blessing.” Amado countered sullenly. Broodingly, his eyes went back to the photographs, his past laughing up at him. “You don’t have your history staring at you from late night television screens, or adoring fans holding costume parties in remembrance of your death.”
    Dominic inhaled sharply and nodded, his gaze fastened to the sepia colored images revealed on the glossy pages. He raised his eyes and stared into Amado’s somber face, before issuing a halfhearted grunt.
    “Personally, you look as ugly as ever,” he grinned as he turned from Amado. “Though, you’ve softened around the edges.”
     
    Chapter Five
    “I told you, Chesca, I don’t know why you insist on standing in these crazy lines for hours on end!” Meghan chastised, her pleasure stilling the sharpness from the criticism. She sipped at the cup of iced coffee she held, before turning toward the woman.
    “Oh, Meg, don’t give me that crap. You enjoy being in this line as much as I do,” Chesca countered, leveling a well-aimed punch at her forearm. “Even though you don’t read Vivi Delaneaux’s work, I know you buy her books off the Internet.”
    “You’re so certain?” Meghan intentionally batted her lashes at the observation.
    Chesca made a sound suspiciously resembling a halfhearted snort. She leaned in close to Meghan, whispering conspiratorially in her ear.
    “You can’t pull the visually impaired shit on me, young lady, and pretend you aren’t aware of the latest books on the market. You forget I’ve known you most of your life.”
    “What’s that to do with a stupid-assed romance novel?” Meghan asked innocently, batting her lashes in the process.
    Chesca giggled, standing on the tips of her toes in an attempt to get a better view of the author at the head of the line. “I know your damn PC reads every deliciously sinful and wicked word to you out loud.”
    “Me?” Meghan’s pink cheeks brightened more. She struggled to keep a straight face and took another long sip of coffee. “What would I do with a computer? I can’t see the keys, or read the screen.”
    “Shit, Meg!” Chesca managed with a laugh. “Who are you trying to kid?”
    “You know better…” Meghan tried to correct, and guessed she was failing miserably.
    “Meg, you handle that keyboard like a pro, and you have a screen reader program. Besides, your voice recognition software takes care of a majority of the crap you want to hunt down.” Chesca giggled, and she could imagine the wicked gleam in her dancing eyes. “I installed a large amount of the shit on that system of yours, so I know what you’re up to before you do half the time!”
    “You really believe that?” Meghan responded with saccharine sweetness. “I’m a busy woman, and I don’t have time to squeeze in an eBook whenever I want.”
    She wasn’t going to let Chesca off the hook easily. It was true her friend did know her too well, and Meghan wished she’d a tad more privacy than their companionship allowed. However, she wouldn’t complain, since she’d pulled her out of more than one sticky circumstance over the past couple of years!
    The event of three weeks ago was one of those situations where she was grateful for having a friend as wonderful as the vivacious redhead was. Surrounded by police officers who were lost on how to interview a visually impaired woman in