Having Jake touch her didn’t affect her the way it used to. She could easily remove his clasp on her. As a vampire, she was way stronger than him, but the way he clenched his hand tight, not letting go, brought on a craving. A thirst. Being this close, smelling his apple shampoo, made her want a small sample. But the closer she got, a burning at the lower part of her back intensified to an annoying throb. She screeched at the discomfort, which made her jump as if electrocuted. Both men frowned at her.
“I need to feed.”
With that, she left them standing there as she fled from the room and headed into the kitchen. Once there, she pulled out a unit of blood from the fridge, tearing the plastic cannula and draining it to quench her thirst. Swallowing the cool fluid eased her craving, but as she pressed her lips tight, she stared at the layered blood packs and grabbed another one. Damn Jake and his comments. She would never compel a human so she could drink from them. But he’d been spot-on about her hunger. Her thirst seemed to be increasing. After draining the unit of blood, the need for another one was insurmountable as the first, and she sighed with satisfaction when she finished. Closing the fridge door, she spun around, and Jake leaned against the granite counter, assessing her with his eyebrow arched.
“You okay, Sparkles? Craving satisfied? Drayton sent me to get you. He has a mission for us in the city that never sleeps.”
Isabella wiped her mouth, conscious of what she had just been doing and hoping she didn’t have any blood drooling down her chin.
“A mission? What kind of mission and why New York?” The thought of being within breathing distance of Roman filled her with disgust. She threw the empty blood bags into the trash and strolled past, sliding him a quick glance.
“Well, if you get a move on, we’ll find out,” he snapped.
The conversation she had with Drayton came back with a resounding smack and she paused to study her friend closer. “Are you okay? I mean, I know you’re not okay—no one would be after someone they cared about ended their life after discovering they had a dark side. Wow, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Look, I’m crap at this…don’t look at me that way. I’m trying to be nice. I know you liked Elizabeth, well, more than liked her, and I’m sorry things ended the way they did. I just wanted you to know, I’m here if you need to talk...”
Isabella broke off, leaving her words hanging in the air, not sure what else to say. She had never been friendly with the doctor, but after listening to the woman as she relayed her story, a smidgen of understanding and empathy filled her. Jake glared at her, not speaking. Drayton had asked her to check in with him and as far as she was concerned, she had fulfilled her promise. Irritated by his silence, she broke away, but he grabbed her arm. Her lower back tingled again with heat, not as bad as before, but the awareness nevertheless there. She studied the broody man, wondering why she had this strange reaction to him now all of a sudden.
“I didn’t know anything of her past…I still can’t believe it. Liz had so many secrets. And I thought I had trust issues. For fuck’s sake…she was working for the Morrigan,” he said.
The stinging pain in her back ratcheted up a notch and she turned, scratching at it and twisting awkwardly to give Jake her full attention.
“Look…Elizabeth was always a private person.” She rubbed the lower part of her spine where the bothersome sensation originated until it eased. “She didn’t want you to know her business and I respect that. When you start a new relationship, you’re not sure where it’s heading and the last thing you want to do is dump your baggage on your boyfriend. I know what that’s like. Don’t you remember? Anyway, I think Elizabeth was protecting you, and from the note she left you, the only one by the way, she tried to explain and apologize. You couldn’t possibly have known or guessed what was going on. No one did.”
“Thank you for saying that, but how come you’re being nice about her now? You didn’t seem to get along.”
Isabella didn’t want to get into this. She hadn’t taken to Elizabeth, but she wasn’t sure whether it was mixed up because of her history with Jake, and she didn’t want to analyze it with him. Not now. Not ever. Relationships were a no go. Facing him, she rested her hand on his shoulder.
“It doesn’t matter what I thought about her. We’re friends. Now, I’ve said my piece. Are we good? Because we need to get back to what we’re good at, which is weeding out the bad guys, for Steel and the doctor.”
The man with playful blue eyes and easy smile held hers for a moment, brooding, before he pushed away and strode off, glancing back over his shoulder.
“We’re good, Sparkles. We’re good as long as you keep that hunger under wraps. Because I won’t let you suck my blood—no matter how much you beg.”
“You’re a dick, you know that, right?” Isabella sighed, marching behind him. Jake was Jake. Humor was his way of protecting himself and that was fine, because they needed to get back to work. But he was observant and right; she needed to control her thirst.
****
Hours later, Isabella stood with her hand covering her eyes as she studied the De’ Luca glass skyscraper on Park Avenue that sparkled like a diamond in the clear New York afternoon sunshine. The magnificence of the architecture shocked her. Finally, she stopped staring and spun around to inhale the atmosphere of the
