Free Assassins Bite by Mary Hughes

dangerous. Civilized vampires did not wage war on innocent humans, an unspoken agreement enforced by blood. If Sunny knew, she was vulnerable.
    Damn it, Elena’s master vampire husband hadn’t done his job. Aiden snapped out his phone and punched redial.
    â€œStrongwell.” The voice was female.
    â€œWhy didn’t Bo erase Sunny?”
    â€œHe did. He phoned her last night and used his best v-guy voice. I was as surprised as you that she still remembered everything.”
    â€œDamn. You’ll have to have Elias talk to her.” The leader of the Iowa Alliance was so powerful he could erase even immune humans’ memories.
    â€œCould. But every time we do, he manages to squeeze a few favors out of us in return. I’m already up to my ass in alligators, like Nosferatu’s little forays into our territory—I kinda wish you hadn’t given up assassinating, because if anyone needs eliminating, it’s Nosy—which reminds me.” There was a pause, and he could practically hear the next question coming. “Whatcha doin’ in Nosy’s backyard?”
    â€œI can’t talk about it.”
    She sighed. “Can you at least tell me how long it’ll take?”
    â€œI plan to be done and on my way soon.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œYou don’t sound relieved.”
    â€œSure I am, sort of.”
    He suddenly realized where this conversation was going. “ What did you do?”
    She winced. “Could you sound less like my stepmom scolding me? I just thought while you’re in the area you could make yourself useful and…well, I assigned Sun-Hee to watch you.”
    â€œTo track me?” He practically growled it.
    â€œNo, you idiot, so you can keep her safe. Bo and I have too much on our plates to look after a stray immune human, and since you’re around to do it—”
    â€œYou want me to protect a cop?” His anger died. Insanely, he felt like laughing. He didn’t, of course, his training too ingrained. “You want me to protect a pugnacious cop who doesn’t want to be protected ?”
    â€œAnd try not to let her know you’re doing it.”
    Aiden hit concrete steps. He was back at the cop shop.
    He cast mournful eyes at the stars. “Why me?”
    The stars only smiled.

Chapter Seven
    I escaped Titus’s scolding, smarting and mad. How could he ask me to spy on my hero? Inconceivable. And Elena wanted me to shadow the epitome of shadows. Impossible, much?
    I was well and truly roto-rootered. As if being Ruffles wasn’t enough.
    I dug a hand into my hair. Problem was, I wanted to do Elena’s job with my whole heart. But I knew it was bad for me, from a lifetime of sermons about the right thing being the hard thing.
    Hard, like Blackthorne’s body… Rawr.
    I smacked myself in the face. My heart wasn’t the only thing that wanted to follow Blackthorne like a puppy dog…panting, barking, her tail wagging in the air… I stopped, thumbing my temples against a developing headache.
    What to do? My duty was to protect my community.
    Wait. Aiden Blackthorne, assassin, deadly vampire…unpaid parking ticket…was the most dangerous being in Meiers Corners! In fact, maybe that was why Elena asked me to watch him. She hadn’t come right out and said it, but maybe she was saying it without saying it, like when she asked me about my Ruffles genes.
    So I could investigate Blackthorne, dig into his background, tail him, arrest him, cuff him, interrogate him with my mouth…
    I slapped a hand to my hot and sweaty forehead. Even I didn’t believe me.
    On the plus side, my headache was gone.
    â€œSunny?” My brother’s voice floated down the hallway.
    That pushed me into motion, if only to save my poor skin from another scalding. I ran for the front door.
    â€œSunny?” My brother’s voice followed me. “Mom packed this neat cheese curd in my lunch that