Free Love Bites by Lynsay Sands Page A

officials?”
    â€œI didn’t have to,” the man announced. “We went unseen. We’re just lucky they decided Pudge made off with her.”
    â€œWhat about the hospital paperwork on Etienne’s corpse?”
    â€œI took that before we left, while Etienne was turning the girl. All I had to do this morning was help the EMTs forget his name, and take the paperwork they had. Oh, and get the paperwork on Etienne’s car from the police station.”
    â€œIs that all?” the woman asked.
    Bastien shrugged at her amusement. “It could have been worse, Mother.”
    The woman made a face, then turned back to Etienne. “You really have to deal with this Pudge fellow.”
    â€œI know.” The blond man sounded unhappy. “If you have any ideas, I’d be happy to hear them.”
    The woman’s expression relented somewhat. She patted his knee in a both soothing and affectionate gesture. “Well, I shall think about it. We all will. We’ll come up with something.”
    â€œYes,” Bastien agreed. “And Lucern will get here later. Between the four of us, we should be able to figure out a solution.”
    â€œWhen is he coming?” Etienne asked.
    â€œA little later. He’s working on galleys for his latest masterpiece but promised to come after dinner.”
    â€œWhich means about midnight,” the woman grumped. “In the meantime, I think we should offer our guest a drink.”
    Rachel ducked quickly out of sight, but she caught a glimpse of the startled expression on Etienne’s face as she did. Her heart thumped near her throat. None of them had looked her way, but somehow she must have given away her presence.
    â€œShe’s been standing outside the door for several minutes,” Rachel heard Bastien announce.
    â€œNo, she hasn’t,” Etienne replied.
    He suddenly stepped out into the hall, surprising her. Rachel’s first instinct was to run. Unfortunately,her body apparently didn’t agree. It seemed to be frozen to the spot.
    â€œYou are up.” He paused a foot away and stared at her.
    Rachel stared back, a squeak slipping from her lips.
    â€œWhy didn’t I sense her approach?” He looked behind him, obviously asking one of his companions.
    The question managed to free Rachel’s frozen limbs somewhat, enough so that she was able to ease along the wall until she bumped into a table. There, she stopped and smiled nervously as the man glanced back at her. Crossing her fingers, she prayed he wouldn’t notice she had moved.
    â€œDidn’t you?” The woman’s voice floated out from the other room. “How interesting.”
    Her apparent fascination only increased Rachel’s nervousness, and it seemed to annoy Etienne. He turned and scowled back at her. The moment he was no longer looking, Rachel eased around the hall table and sidled toward the front door. She paused again when he muttered something under his breath.
    He’d turned and seen she was almost at the door, and he frowned. Gruffly he informed her, “It isn’t a good idea to go outside.”
    Rachel scowled. Anger overcame her panic. “Why? Because you’ve turned me into a bloodsucking demon, and the light of day will kill me?” she sneered. She didn’t really believe any of this was happening…but, at the same time she had an irrational fear that it just might.
    â€œIt’s nighttime,” he pointed out gently. “But it’s also uncommonly cold for late summer. Too cold to be gadding about in nothing but a sheet.”
    Reminded of her lack of proper clothing, Rachel gasped. She made a run for the stairs, half fearing her host would give chase, but much to her relief she made the upper hall unpursued. Still, she didn’t slow her steps but ran straight back to the bedroom where she’d woken and rushed inside, slamming the door behind her.
    Inside, Rachel simply stood,