Free Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1) by Connie Suttle

closely.
    "I know you," Kory pointed at Tiburon. "Farin, why are you here?" he asked.
    "Because two vampires decided they wanted her to answer questions about Rick's whereabouts," Tiburon answered.
    One of Kory's companions went still.
    The doorbell rang a second time. I hoped it was Anita and not vampires.
    * * *
    Kordevik
    "Where the hell is Mike?" I hissed at Watson. I'd dragged him into an empty bedroom before I started asking questions. "They're looking for Farin's brother, now. We need to stop this before it goes too far."
    Not least among my fears was that Lexsi would figure out who I was, and that could ruin everything.
    In other words, I'd have to lie to get her—and everybody else—off my back. Meanwhile, we needed to find Mike, if for no other reason than to let them know they couldn't just grab people on a whim.
    "You don't know where Granger's house is?" Watson muttered, backing away from me. Yes, I was breathing smoke by that time. After I'd almost strangled him at my place, he knew to get away from me when my breath turned cloudy.
    "No. Please tell me," I flung out a hand.
    "On Nob Hill," he said, dropping his eyes.
    "Well why didn't you say that to begin with?" I demanded.
    "It's a big house," he added.
    "Great. Where will they have Mike—if he's still alive?"
    "Probably in the basement." He rattled off an intersection in Nob Hill.
    "How big is this house?"
    "Five levels. Nearly nineteen thousand square feet. Good luck getting past all the vamps to find one human."
    "Really? I'll burn the fucking building down if I have to," I snapped. "Vampires don't do well against fire, you know that?" I added and skipped to Nob Hill.
    It wasn't difficult to locate Granger's house; it was the one with all the windows blacked out to prevent the intrusion of sunlight during the day. As Watson said, it was huge.
    I was about to go through Granger's front door. If anybody stood in my way, they'd get their fingers burned at the very least. Turning to my smaller Thifilathi, I took off at a run.

Chapter 5
    Lexsi
    "The police are checking the area for evidence," Rick accepted the cup of decaf I handed him. "I don't think they'll find anything in Mike's rental, but they're hauling it in, too."
    "You?" I lifted a cup at Kory's friend—the one who wasn't locked up in one of my bedrooms with Kory.
    "Black," he shrugged. I think that's when I understood he was vampire. I resolved to sort that out later.
    He's a vamp , Anita's mindspeech echoed in my head.
    I get that , I agreed. Automatically I shoved a coffee pod in the brewer before pulling a box of tea from a cabinet to make a cup of chamomile for Anita and me.
    "Have anything to eat?" Kory's friend from the bedroom now walked into the kitchen.
    "Where's Kory?" I asked.
    "In the bathroom," the man ran fingers through dark hair, mussing it up.
    "All right. I have stuff for sandwiches, or I can throw pasta together, but that's all I have right now," I said.
    "Pasta? I'm Watson, by the way," he held out a hand.
    "Nice to meet you," I said as we shook.
    "This is Mason," he pointed a finger at his vampire companion. "In case he hasn't told you. He's pretty close-mouthed."
    "Mason," I nodded to the vamp. He offered a lopsided grin and lifted his coffee cup in a salute. "I'm Lexsi," I introduced myself. "This is Rick," I pointed in the proper direction. "Anita, Farin and Tiburon," I finished the introductions.
    "I know Tiburon—from his boxing matches," Mason nodded. "Damn good fighter."
    "Thanks, man," Tiburon said. "I guess I ought to check in with my manager, in case he gets worried." He pulled a cell phone from a pocket and walked toward the living area to make his call in private.
    "Farin," Anita turned toward her, "I hope you understand that you can't talk about vampires outside present company," she laid the obsession. "You, too, Rick. No talking about vampires. You'll die if you do—they're sort of murderous that way."
    "Werewolves, too," Mason pointed out. Anita laid a second