Page 29 of Silent Stalker
“I see. This is a serious matter. We will discuss the rewards for the person who does not snap first after we have finished our work for the evening. This will take more time than we have right now.” Emerick slid off his desk and headed in the general direction of our bedroom. “Expect a fight, so bring the appropriate number of stakes, and once you have strapped them in place, grab a few extra stakes just in case.”
“So, you’re saying bring them all?”
“If tonight’s hunt goes as expected, you would not be amiss in bringing every stake you can get your hands on. We may need them.”
I worea silky blouse beneath the leather corset, which lacked the boning typically put in such devices to help shape a woman’s figure. As the leather went completely over my chest to protect my heart and other important organs, it was more of a shirt with a certain amount of sexual appeal to vampires named Emerick.
He borrowed from his feline self and purred when he looked me over.
Wearing jeans had been a smart idea, as they did nice things for my legs and worked well to distract Emerick from the flocks of people bustling about the penthouse in preparation for our outing.
Ignoring Emerick’s displays of interest would drive him up the wall, so I turned my attention to Ben. “I think I have a stake everywhere possible that won’t interfere with movement. Do I pass scrutiny?”
I had stakes strapped to my upper arms, I had stakes strapped to my legs, I had a belt of stakes ready for easy access, I had stakes shoved into my boots, and I had my little toothpick of a stake tucked between my breasts in its little sheath.
“You have enough stakes,” Ben replied, although he came over and adjusted the top of my corset, eyeing its placement near my shoulders. “Wear the jacket. There are some stake pouches in the forearms, and until we have a better idea what we’re up against, I’d rather if you have coverage on your shoulders.”
I retrieved the jacket, put it on, and chuckled as it allowed space for the stakes I had already strapped to me. In a pinch, I could shuck the first layer of leather off to gain access to more stakes. As promised, the forearms had space enough for five stakes each, which I filled with a smile. “This is a nice jacket.” Aiming my widening smile at Emerick, I zippered it up. “Isn’t it?”
“You are a most ruthless wife.”
I walked over to him and whispered in his ear, “Guess you’re just going to have to snap then, aren’t you?”
“Wicked, ruthless wife.”
Grinning, I did another check of my stakes, nodded my satisfaction over my selection and their ease of access, and rubbed my hands together. “I’m ready. What’s our rules for engagement?”
“You are engaged only to me, of course,” Emerick stated.
“Wrong kind of engagement, Mr. Lowrance. Do we have a list of fugitive miscreants I can get a bad breakfast from, or are we rescuing people tonight?”
Ben stared at me before bowing his head and sighing. “We just don’t know. If you see Emerick going in for the kill, it’s safe to assume you’re dealing with a fugitive. If he takes an aggressive pose and starts growling, hissing, or snarling, it’s safe to assume he wants to attempt to take the vampire alive. If he doesn’t know, he’ll posture.”
That worked for me, and deciding what to do would be much simpler if I could follow some cues from Emerick. “And no wasting perfectly good blood if we do take out a miscreant, you.”
Emerick glared at me. “You don’t have to drain every miscreant dry, Pepper.”
“Wasting perfectly good blood is wrong, especially when the asshole in question doesn’t need it anymore.”
“Good luck, Emerick,” Ben muttered before heading off in the direction of the kitchen.
“I don’t think he approves of my meal choices,” I said, resting my hands on my hips, which took care considering the number of stakes affixed to me. “It’s wasteful. I don’t like wasting perfectly serviceable albeit disgusting blood.”
“The idea is to wean you off vampiric blood, not promote its consumption,” my husband reminded me.
Right. I’d forgotten that part. “It is a pretty bad habit, isn’t it?”
“Eating other sentient beings without their direct consent is typically considered to be a bad habit.” Then to make it clear that while old, he had an excellent grasp of modern times, he leered at me.
Damn. “Can you hold that thought until a little later?”
“That depends. Is that an indication you plan on snapping and declaring me to be the winner?”
Even when I lost, I won, but I needed to think about how badly I wanted to lose to win first. “Hold that thought until a little later.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Wicked, ruthless husband.”
