Free Duncan by D. B. Reynolds Page B

laughter.
    Not that Emma gave a damn about Sharon or her handsome husband. Except that Sharon’s insane jealousy was a major roadblock to advancement in the Congressman’s office for anyone female and under sixty, and Emma had aspirations for her career that went well beyond dealing with constituent complaints. She had a law degree, dammit, and sometimes she doubted her decision in coming here at all, which brought her thoughts right back to Lacey.
    “Em, there’s a birthday party next door and I need cake. You want some?”
    Emma looked up at Noreen and gave her a blank stare.
    “Earth to Emma, you want cake? I bet it’s cho-co-late.” Noreen dragged the last word out tantalizingly, but Emma shook her head, glancing down at her watch. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t sit here like everything was business as usual while she waited for the vampires to decide if something had happened to Lacey.
    “I have to leave early today.”
    Noreen goggled at her. No one left early, not from this office, and pretty much not from anywhere on the Hill when Congress was in session.
    Emma felt her face flushing, but she ignored her friend’s disbelief to open her desk drawer and drag out the enormous bag she called a purse. She’d tried a million times to go with something smaller, but each time she invariably ended up back with the big one. She was closing the drawer when the staccato sound of high heels announced Sharon Coffer’s return.
    “Emma, the Congressman wants you in on this meeting.”
    Emma turned in disbelief. She was never invited into meetings, especially not meetings like this one. They were reviewing the Congressman’s domestic priorities for the rest of the session, which meant every important piece of legislation likely to come up before the summer recess would be discussed and analyzed. It was everything she lusted after.
    But why did it have to happen today?
    “Emma, let’s go!” Sharon’s voice was sharp with impatience as she turned and headed back toward the Congressman’s inner office.
    Emma shoved her purse back into the drawer, grabbed a bottle of water, tucked her laptop under her arm and rushed to follow.
    Chapter Nine
    Emma closed her car door and staggered up to the house she shared with Lacey, thankful she’d managed to snag a parking space right out front. A sudden gust of wet air blew down the street, chasing the remnants of a newspaper someone had dropped or tossed aside. Its pages littered the gutters, rattling as they rushed ahead of the icy wind. She climbed the stairs, her fingers nearly numb as she inserted her key into the lock. The door opened to a cold, dark house, and Emma stood there for a moment, feeling lost.
    She was lucky to be home before midnight. The way the meeting had dragged into the evening, she’d expected Sharon to order in some cots so they could have a sleepover. And Emma knew she shouldn’t complain, even if the meeting had gone into the wee hours. Today was the first time she’d felt like she was actually doing the job she’d been promised when she came to work for Guy Coffer. And yet, it didn’t feel like any kind of victory. There was no adrenaline rush and none of the excitement she would have expected. Somehow, with no Lacey to help her celebrate, it all felt empty.
    She sighed and kicked the door closed, then dropped her keys into the ugly dish on the small table near the door. Walking across to the light switch on the living room wall, she thought again how stupid it was to walk through a dark room every night when she came home. She should get a small lamp for the table. Of course, she’d been telling herself that same thing for two years now. And usually, Lacey got home before dark, at least on weeknights, so most of the time it didn’t matter.
    But what if Lacey never came home again?
    “No,” she said out loud. “She will come home, and she’ll be full of great stories about the hot, vampire lover who swept her away for—” A whole week,