Free Dead and Kicking by Lisa Emme

the deal.” Figuring I was safe enough and, since I felt
stupid standing there holding my katana, I sheathed it, but didn’t hang it back
up.
    “Why your
charming conversation of course.” Salvador managed to say it with a completely
straight face so I was almost inclined to believe he meant it, especially when
I looked over at Tomas, who appeared to be having an aneurysm or
something. The look on Tomas’s face
alone might have been worth the date.
    “We have so much to talk about, you
and I,” Salvador continued on, seemingly oblivious to his Lieutenant’s distaste
at the thought. “I find you most
intriguing. Why have we not met
before?” He paused to look at me
appraisingly. “And then of course,
there’s that nasty business on the video you provided to me.”
    “You’ve watched the video? Do you know who the men are?” I was eager to learn what I could, in case it
helped lead us to Bryce’s killers.
    “Yes, yes, all in due time. Shall we say nine o’clock, tomorrow
evening?” Salvador rose from his
seat. He reached into the breast pocket of
his three piece suit and pulled out an official looking piece of paper. “And as
a show of good faith, I have already taken the liberty of signing the building
over to you. Let us shake hands and call
it a deal, shall we?”
    I looked at the deed and then
Salvador’s outstretched hand. There had
to be a catch. Just like the saying, if
it was too good to be true…there was probably a vampire involved.
    “Just dinner
and conversation, nothing else. And, I get to come home, safe,
afterwards?” I hesitated.
    “Yes, you will be perfectly
safe. It is simply dinner and
conversation, and the building is yours, free and clear.” If there was more, he didn’t get a chance to
say it before someone began to bang on the door.
    “Miss Russo! Harry! Open up. It’s Detective Nash.”
    “Well my dear?” Salvador arched an eyebrow at me. “Do we have a deal?”
    “I…” I looked to the door then back
to Salvador, “…yes.” I reached out and
he grasped my hand firmly. Unlike our
handshake from the other night, this time I felt a tingling sensation followed
by a sense of well-being. Salvador bowed
over my hand, turning it palm up to press his lips against the pulse throbbing
in my wrist. Deep in the recesses of my
mind, I knew that I had just made some sort of mistake, but it was hard to be
concerned with such a warm and inviting feeling running through me.
    “Harry! Are you there?
We need to talk.” Nash’s voice
broke through my reverie. I looked up,
but Salvador and Tomas were already making their way to the door leaving me
standing with the deed in one hand and my katana lying in its sheath on the
floor beside me.
    “Until
tomorrow, my dear Miss Russo.” Salvador smiled at me, looking like a
Cheshire cat. Tomas opened the door,
surprising Nash with his hand raised in mid-knock. “Detective Nash.”
Salvador nodded to Nash then proceeded out the door, followed by Tomas.
    “Harry! Are you okay?” Nash rushed over, grabbing me by my
elbows. He looked me up and down as if
assessing me for injury, frowning at the red marks around my throat. “What the hell did he want? Did he hurt you?”
    “What? No.” I
still felt a little dazed from my skin to skin contact with Salvador. “I…I shook his hand.” I held up my hand to look at it.
It looked absolutely normal. I swallowed in relief only to have the pain
remind that someone had hurt me. I touched my throat. “It was that asshole, Tomas.” The dazed feeling was quickly dissipating and
I was getting my mad on instead. “What
the hell is he anyway?”
    “What is he? You mean you don’t know?” Nash ran his hand through his hair. “No, of
course you don’t.” There was something
in his voice, more frustration than anger, but it wasn’t directed at me. He looked down at the paper in my hand. “Look, Tomas can wait. What else happened?”
    “I made a deal with Salvador. He gave me the firehall.” I