Free Slayed by Amanda Marrone

makeup. She elbows my side and gives me a look that says she wants an introduction. “Sooooo, who’s your new
friend
?” she asks drawing out the words.
    I scoff. “He’s not my friend; he’s just some guy who horned in on our gig.”
    Tyler shakes his head in disgust. “Guess what—any handshake agreement our parents had is officially nulland void. If you want the job, make sure you do a better job than us.” He gives Kiki a brusque nod. “Nice meeting you.”
    “I’m Kiki!” she calls out as he marches toward his room. “Hopefully I’ll see you again soon!”
    “Tyler,” he says without turning around.
    She tilts her head and watches him walk away. When he slams his door shut, she turns to me. “Are you always so rude to hot guys?”
    “He’s not hot, he’s just another slayer. He and his dad had an agreement with my parents not to get jobs in the same area, but here they are nonetheless.”
    “Mmmm. Maybe I can work with
him
next time.” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down. “I’d let him slay me anytime!”
    I scowl at her and rub my arms to chase away the chill. I glance at his room. “Do you really think he’s hot?”
    “I could stare into those baby-blues twenty-four-seven. Did you notice the darker blue on the outside of his irises?”
    “I guess.” I fold my arms across my chest. Apparently my boobs were nothing to openly gawk at. “He’s a jerk.”
    “So is Gabe, but he’s still good in the—”
    “Tyler wears a black trench coat and eyeliner,” I interrupt. Kiki is obviously the kind of girl who tells her friends
everything
, and I don’t think I could stomach listening to her bedroom antics—not when I’ve never even held hands with a guy or gotten one to stare at my chest.
    “Ew. Guy-liner?” Kiki wrinkles her nose and snaps her fingers dismissively in the air. “Dealbreaker. I’m more partial to blonds anyway.”
    I smile. The last thing I need is a budding romance between Kiki and Tyler. I tilt my head toward my room. “Let me get my stuff and we can get started.” We start walking and I feel drained from my encounter with Tyler. Talk about an energy vampire—someone needs to put a psychic stake through him and his father.
    Kiki bounces along beside me. “I’m so excited!” she gushes, grinning. “I woke up at five and couldn’t go back to sleep.”
    “You’re awfully perky for having gotten up at five o’clock in the morning. Shouldn’t you be hung over or something?”
    “Going to the police station seriously cut down on my drinking last night—do you know how many papers we had to sign? It was ridiculous. All they need is one form that says ‘tell no one or we ship you off to Area 51’!”
    I laugh. “Yeah, dealing with vampires seems to require a ton of paperwork.”
    “Anyway, I’ve had at least four cups of coffee thismorning. I wanted to be ready for action!” She does a few karate chops in the air and then a roundhouse kick. At least she manages to stay upright this time.
    I slide my key card in the door and lead Kiki in. She looks around the little room with the tacky bedspreads and I can’t help but feel self-conscious. “Home sweet home,” I say, trying to sound lighthearted. “When you’re a full-fledged slayer like me you, too, can live in the lap of luxury.”
    She plops herself on the unused bed. “So slaying doesn’t pay too much?”
    I pull a brush through my hair and start to braid it. “Nope. The big bucks go to paying off witnesses—I just do it because I love working with vampires.” I give her a look so she’ll know I’m kidding. “We do get full government health insurance; that’s supposed to make up for the low pay, but we’re kind of at the mercy of town budgets. A lot of slayers have full- or part-time jobs on the side. Lucky me—my parents decided to make a career out of it.”
    “What about big cities? They must pay better.”
    The cities do pay better, and over the years I’ve repeatedly asked my