“Tao,” I said, a touch impatiently as I slammed the front door shut and coded the alarm, “it’s your day off and it’s only ten thirty in the morning. So there has to be a problem if you’re already out of bed.”
His warm brown eyes were twinkling, which meant the problem—if there was one—wasn’t major. “Hey, maybe I just never got into bed.”
“Oh, you were in bed,” I said wryly, “but whose is the million-dollar question. And if you say Candy, I will kill you.”
“Then I won’t say Candy.”
“Tao! She’s the best waitress we’ve got, and she’s not a wolf.”
“So?”
“So you know humans take sex more seriously than wolves, and she’s just going to quit like all the others when she realizes that you’re never going to be anything more than casual.”
“And if Candy herself doesn’t want or need anything more than casual?”
“How many times have you heard humans say that, and how many times has it actually been true?” I said impatiently. “Damn it, Tao, we have a hands-off policy for a reason.”
The humor in his eyes faded at the testiness in my voice. “I know, and honestly, I didn’t seek this out. Quite the reverse.”
“You should still know better.”
He snorted. “Why? Because I’m a man? Why should it always fall on the male of the species when it comes to self-control?”
“It shouldn’t,” I agreed. “But you’re the boss and you shouldn’t be fucking around with employees. Literally or figuratively.”
He muttered something under his breath, then said, “Stane gave me a call this morning. He’s finally picked up the nanowires we asked for. He needs us to drop by his place ASAP so he can fit them.”
“Fit them?” I said, frowning. “Don’t you just click them on like a necklace?”
“Not these, apparently. We did say cost was no object, so he’s gone for the latest technology.”
I grunted. Cost wasn’t an object—not when we had vampires like Hunter to deal with. “I’ve got a couple of appointments I have to deal with first, so I won’t get there till midafternoon at the earliest.”
“He’ll be there.” He hesitated, then added in a softer tone, “Are you okay?”
I smiled at the concern so evident in both his voice and his expression. We might be long-time friends and past lovers, but that didn’t really do justice to the depth of our relationship. We weren’t soul mates, but I couldn’t ever imagine living without Tao—and Ilianna.
“Yes,” I said. And, for the first time in weeks, almost meant it.
“Good,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
“Wait!” I said. Then as he paused, I added, “Can get you get Stane to sweep our apartment for bugs? I’ve got a feeling either the council or the Directorate is listening in.”
“Why the hell would they want to do that?”
“Because they’re after information about my father, just like everyone else.”
He grunted. “You’d think they’d realize by now that we know jack-shit, but I’ll ask.”
“Thanks. See you tonight.”
I hung up, then shoved the phone back into my pocket and walked across to my bike. Once I’d tucked everything into the under-seat storage, I pulled on my helmet, then glanced at the house one final time. Good-bye, I thought. May you bring the next family better luck.
“A house is an inanimate object,” Azriel commented, suddenly appearing beside me. “It can bring neither good luck nor bad.”
“I really wish you’d keep out of my head!”
“I would, except for the fact you sometimes have very