Free Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines

you so? I am not about to leap over the desk and go for your jugular, Shiarra.”
    Now that was embarrassing. I must have been exuding nervousness more than I thought for him to be remarking on it. Turning my eyes away, I forced myself to relax a little, leaning forward to put my purse down between my feet to show that I wasn’t about to make a run for it.
    “It’s not you exactly, Mr. Royce.” How could I explain my fear without sounding like an unenlightened racist idiot?
    “There is no need for the formality; call me Alec. Has someone at The Circle been filling your head with stories about me?”
    I started. He smirked. Damn it, he knew, he already knew what I’d gotten myself into and was just toying with me now. I started to rise, but he held out a staying hand.
    “Please, sit. I know you’re doing something for them, and I know it has something to do with me. I’m prepared for that. What I don’t understand is why it is you. You’re obviously terrified to be here, yet here you are. What hold do they have on you? Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”
    An arrangement. Would he be able to keep The Circle and the White Hats off my back? Doubts immediately assailed me. I didn’t have much to offer a vampire like Royce. He had more money than God, owned a good chunk of prime real estate in several states, and had more flunkies and fawning donors than one would think he’d know what to do with. I didn’t have anything to give him that he didn’t already have, except maybe a line into The Circle.
    Not to mention he’d probably be pissed once he knew what I was really after. Plus, I was contracted. There were all kinds of confidentiality clauses tied into that contract, and I could lose my license if The Circle didn’t just splatter me out of existence for turning on them. Oh, and let us not forget that this was a vampire I was dealing with. Judging by our previous encounter, he’d probably try to charm me into revealing what I was really after. The devil was a sweet talker, too.
    Thoughts racing almost as fast as my pounding heart, I chose my words very, very carefully. “With all due respect, Mr. Royce, I can’t divulge my other clients’ information without their blessing. I wouldn’t last long in this line of work if I did that.”
    He leaned forward on the desk, folding his hands and propping his chin on his knuckles. Those black eyes narrowed as he took in my words, weighing what I did and didn’t say.
    “I would hate to see you come to some harm on my account.”
    Oh great. That was comforting.
    “My resources are considerable, Ms. Waynest. I’m not withdrawing the offer of protection, even if you choose to continue this farce and work against me. I take care of my own.”
    What the hell was that supposed to mean? I wasn’t one of his donors, or even an employee.
    “I appreciate that. I’m sorry I can’t give you what you’re looking for in return.”
    About as sorry as a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I still wanted my cookie, er, money, damn it. I had bills to pay.
    He inhaled through his nose deeply, eyes closing. I wondered why. Vamps didn’t need to breathe like a living person did.
    “The Circle wants something badly if they’re giving you Amber Kiss perfume. I thought the alchemists stopped making it centuries ago. It does an admirable job of hiding your scent, but your heartbeat gives away your fear.”
    Hairs on the back of my neck rising in renewed terror, I tried to quell the shakes that started up at his words. What the hell was he playing at?
    “I’m not sure I understand where you’re going with this.” That sounded safe enough. Except that I really, really wasn’t sure I wanted to know where this conversation was going.
    His eyes stayed shut. He didn’t look at me at all, or speak right away, instead kept taking the occasional deep breath to, I guess, see what he could smell on me under the perfume. Talk about creepy.
    “You’re attracting the