Page 78 of A Shade Too Far
Eli slid a sideways glance at the flamethrower. “That works, huh?”
“It does,” I said.
His eyes lit up and Sadie stepped away from him. “This is mine,” she said, cradling the weapon.
“Let the child have her fire.”
“But Mir,” he whined. “You didn’t let me bring my gun or anything…” His mouth fell open and he sat up straight. “Oh, baby.”
A low-slung red car prowled to the curb. Its engine revved once loudly, then it fell silent, the two doors opening upward like dragon wings extending.
Eli had gotten to his feet. “LaFerrari.” He whispered it like a prayer.
For a moment I expected Laurent to step out because the sports car had the same predatory feel that he did, and I stood up, watching the driver smoothly disengage from the vehicle.
“Good evening, Ms. Feldman.” Zev BatKian wore dark jeans and a light sweater instead of a suit. He could have been any tech billionaire, which compared to the vibe he usually gave off made him basically look like a commoner.
Eli prodded me in the back, and I stopped gaping, the two of us descending the porch stairs to greet the vampire. “Mr. BatKian. Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you.” Zev smiled at Eli, whose face lit up like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time at the sight of the car doors folding down to resemble a beast at rest. “A fellow Ferrari aficionado, Detective Chu?”
“No shit, considering this is the ultimate Ferrari,” Eli blurted out. I elbowed him and he blinked, recalling who he was speaking to. “Sorry. May I get closer?”
“By all means.” The vampire waved a hand at the sports car and Eli bounded over to it, though he stopped short of touching the fancy vehicle.
Good man. Proceed with caution. I released my breath.
Eli circled the Ferrari, speaking in tongues—okay, muttering car words, which made about as much sense. The only thing I caught was that the price tag was well over a million dollars.
I swallowed, silently willing him to back up.
Sadie had remained on the porch, but now she sidled up behind me. “Hello.” Her voice was steady, however, she white-knuckled the flame thrower.
Zev’s eyes darted to the weapon and his lips quirked up. “You must be Sadie. Your mom talks about you all the time.” He held out his hand to shake.
Sadie barely hesitated before she took it. “You feel way warmer than I thought you would.”
“Sadie!” I hissed.
Zev laughed. “I detest being cold.”
“Me too.” My daughter nodded enthusiastically.
That was nice, I guess. He was trying to put her at ease. I wouldn’t have expected that from him.
Zev leaned in conspiratorially. “Do you have fuzzy sleep socks? Mine have stripes.”
“Mine have hearts,” Sadie said. “But I always get too hot in the middle of the night and kick them off.”
Zev nodded sagely. “I hear you.”
All right. That was enough of that. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time,” I said, stepping forward with a polite smile. “Tell me what you need for—”
“I bet this is all pretty scary,” Zev said. “Magic, vampires. Shifters.”
“Shifters?” Sadie’s hand went to the lid of the flamethrower, and I shook my head at her.
Zev gave me an innocent look. “Oh, you didn’t mention your friend Laurent is a wolf?”
