Free When It Comes (Vampire Assassin League Book 31) by Jackie Ivie

something. Go all dominatrix on him. You know...S and M.”
    “S and M?”
    “What era are you from? You never heard of sadism/masochism? Oh. Never mind. I forgot. You’re from the Titanic. Times were different then. You guys probably never even said the word sex.”
    “I was aboard the Lusitania ,” Addie answered.
    “Same difference. Two big-ass ships full of big shots with bigger egos. Both liners were advertized as unsinkable. Both sank. Am I right?”
    “I need more than two hours. I need all night.”
    Nigel gave a heavy sigh. It echoed through her phone.
    “Please?” she added.
    “Women. You give them an inch, they want a mile.”
    “Nigel. Please? He’s a bobby. ” Her voice lowered on the word. “I don’t even know how to talk to him.”
    “Oh, all right. You’ve got until sunup. I hope I don’t regret this...”
    Adelaide pressed the disconnect button and pitched the cell phone toward the sofa. The move sent it through the material and deeply into the padding. She hadn’t meant to. She was simply rushing. She had so little time! So much to explain. Somehow find the words to convince him.
    And she no longer felt anything like a bride.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    He knew the exact moment his life had gone off-track. And where. One fifteen in the morning. At Red Rocks. Two nights ago. And every moment seemed to bring more insanity.
    Mitch had spent hours with the hypnotist, acting like he was cooperating while fighting anything that might send his mind on hiatus and reveal his secret. They’d broken the session for a late lunch. Captain Thomas had sent Donny to a Chinese restaurant. He’d brought back sushi. A large portion of sweet and sour chicken pieces. Kung Po chicken . Szu Szechuan beef. Chow mein with noodles .
    And how had Mitch repaid that?
    By grabbing up and devouring the inside of a bloody-rare steak sandwich that somebody had ordered. Mitch had ignored their expressions. He couldn’t explain. He didn’t know what to say. He’d been ravenous and everything else tasted like dirt. That meat had tasted fantastic.
    The session hadn’t yielded anything. Mitch kept recounting what they already knew. She had dark eyes, almost black in shade. Shoulder-length brown hair. A trim figure. She was attractive. Her name was Adelaide. She went by Addie. The hypnotist had finally ended with Mitch and gone to work on Randy, Sam, and then Tom. Individually. Mitch had been given the green light to go.
    That was easier said than done.
    Sunlight was still an issue for him and Colorado was experiencing high pressure this week. Lots of sunlight. Soaring temperatures. Rocky Mountain summer weather. Mitch had hung around the station house until evening. He couldn’t get his bike home if he couldn’t see. But then the taxi drive home had delivered more bad news.
    Somebody had cut the security cord around the light pole and stolen his bike. Mitch had squatted down and looked over the array of footprints about the pole. They’d been intersected with deep impressions of truck tires.
    Damn it .
    The bike was fully insured, but he’d have to file a police report first. That was more shit to deal with. He was a cop. Cops rarely had these problems. And why? Because they knew the odds and how to stack them in their favor. Denver wasn’t a crime capital, but leaving that bike had been tantamount to posting a ‘take me’ sign. Mitch had looked at the crime scene, debated his options, then pulled the cord from around the pole and dove back into the cab. He’d been snarling.
    Fuck it.
    The police report could wait. As would the taunts and mocking he was sure to receive over it.
    And then, he’d experienced another off-the-wall incident. He’d had the cab stop at a supermarket and tried to walk sedately inside. That had been followed by a lot of salivating while viewing rows of uncooked red meat. Mitch had loaded a cart with what felt like a paycheck worth of beef. The cabbie had