Tainted Blood (Hell's Belle Book 2) (10 page)

I pulled a My Bloody Valentine concert tank top off the floor and gave it a sniff. Not clean but clean enough. After shrugging out of Frankie's leather, I pulled it on. Casper grumped, "You're just nasty. That's gotta be the vampire side."

"You're like my goddamned conjoined twin. Can't you just float for a while?"

"Girl, please. You'd miss me."

There was a nugget of truth to that. While I didn't relish being possessed, we had finally settled into a comfortable relationship where it felt almost homey having him around, kind of like having an annoying kid brother. Plus, as long as he possessed me, it was a ton more difficult for other ghosts to make themselves at home. Only one ghost per body, that's the rule.

Anyone with some knowledge could cook up a spell, although non-witches who spelled were less likely to get the spell to work. But actual witch talents went beyond casting. Eva was a seer — when she wasn't scamming people to make a buck, she could actually see their future. Her tarot throws were damn accurate. Babe was a Shaman, a medicine woman. She could cure just about anything. Since turning on my witch DNA made me able to communicate with the spirit world, it was easier for ghosts to slip into my body and stay a while. With Casper leaving his imprint, I was much more likely to be left alone.

Hearing more footfalls clomping up the stairs, I snatched Frankie's jacket off the floor and headed back out to the kitchen, hoping to clear the apartment before more people showed up and someone decided that adding a bottle of tequila would turn it into a party. I really just wanted to hit the sack.

In my rush out of the bedroom, I ran straight into Max's shoulder, bouncing me back about a foot, my back colliding with the knob on the bedroom door behind me. A stream of colorful words cascaded from my mouth.

"Hey," Max said, looking sheepish. "Peace offering?"

He held out a paper back with the New York System logo and my heart just about exploded out of my chest. He brought me hot wieners, an only-in-Rhode-Island delicacy of hot dog topped with spicy ground beef, mustard, onions and celery salt. The circle of grease told me that fries were in that bag too. My mouth watered.

Struggling to contain my excitement over the food, I glared at him. "Maybe. What else are you selling?"

He shrugged. "I know I need to reconcile living in the monster world with my human part. Can you put up with me while I try to figure it out?"

The smell of greasy, delicious food was clouding my judgment, so I relented. "Yeah, sure. Just, you know, don't be an asshole."

I snatched the bag from Max's hand and made a beeline for the kitchen. Stepping in front of Frankie, who was showing Babe how his ass looked in his new jeans, I noted that the creepy tourist guy was still stalking around behind my aunt.

"Oh, thank the gods, Nina. The last thing I ever thought I'd be doing was giving star ratings to Frankie's behind."

"Are we done for the night, Aunty?" I held up the bag of wieners.

"You're going to get a stomach ache this late," she said, shaking her head, snickering. "But yes, we are done. But we are trying again tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded, my eyes still on the Gringo behind her. Something about him just felt off. "Watch your back, Babe. I still don't like the looks of that guy."

She laughed. "You worry too much. This place fills up early now for the festival, which is good. Good for the businesses here."

"Abuelo is doing well then?" I hesitated a split second. We didn't talk much about my grandfather. He tried to kill me when I was a toddler — spawn of vampire, after all. That's when Babe took me to Dr. O, and the Blood Ops unit. Apparently Gramps was gunning for me ever since.

"He's your grandfather, Nina." Babe sighed. "That man always does well."

Gramps was a powerful witch, but he was also a black magic brujo. Black magic was blood magic, powerful spells designed to harm that required blood being spilled. Babe was stiff upper lip about him, but Casper and his family were from the Veracruz region, and his mom shared some good gossip. Apparently, my grandfather was legendary down there, and not necessarily in a good way.

"Right," I sighed. I decided not to ask if she told him about me, assuming probably not. It was probably safer for me, anyway. I knew Babe learned a lot from him, and she loved him, but he was also a huge source of shame for her. Blood magic scared the crap out her — understandably — so she was militant about keeping her magic clean. Which was why we were charging herbs in the kitchen instead of making a spell to off Kittie and her cohorts.

After waving my goodbyes to my aunt, I dropped the bag of deliciousness onto the coffee table in the living room and started to unpack it. Frankie leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms, eyes flicking between me and Max. My clueless cousin flopped on the couch, kicking me in the hip while he stretched out its full length.

"Nice day? Get plenty of rest?" I snarled at him.

"Those blood bags hit the spot. But I prefer AB to O negative. Any more in the fridge?"

Staring at him, I considered snapping his neck. It wasn't like he'd die from it. He'd wake up after an hour with a stiff neck, and I’d feel a lot better.

Closing my eyes, I took a big breath, counted to 10, and exhaled. It probably wouldn't be diplomatic. I pulled out the box of fries and popped one into my mouth. The salt melted on my tongue, and I felt a little better.

"Nina?" Darcy yelled up the stairs. "Can you come down for a minute? Dog's about to eat some lady, and she won't listen when I try to call her off."

CHAPTER TEN

"Dammit, Dog," I muttered, shoving in a few more fries. Wiping my hands down the front of my yoga pants, I bolted downstairs before I had a lawsuit on my hands. Or worse.

I almost turned back up the stairs when I saw that the lady Dog cornered was Kittie. But since the bar was full of human witnesses, I had to play along.

"Dog!" I called sharply. The impudent beast turned her head to glare at me for a split second before turning back to Kittie. Dog gnashed her teeth and growled low. Forgetting myself, I smiled with pride. I loved that she was a menace.

Darcy came up beside me and nudged me with her elbow. Two customers slinked out of the bar. I could smell their fear as they hurried past. Darcy raised her eyebrows at me.

"Dog!" I said again, but this time with more force behind it. "To me!"

This time she turned and, with her head hanging low, she skulked over to me. She wrapped herself almost cat-like around my legs but she kept her teeth bared and her eyes on Kittie. Cookie Puss, curled up on the top shelf behind the bar, hissed. Worried she would push my aunt's "moonshine" off the shelf, I saw that her animosity was also directed at the self-professed siren. For once, the Hell Hound and the cat were united in a common enemy.

"I'm just looking for Matty," Kittie snapped, cowering away from Dog. "Tavio said he'd probably be with you."

She didn't look happy about that either. She walked a wide circle around me and Dog to the bar, where she plunked herself on a bar stool beside Elias. I was so wrapped up with Dog that I didn't notice he was there.

"Nina?" he said, standing with his eyes wide in surprise. "Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah. Nice to see you again, Elias." I crossed my arms as he spirited across the bar towards me. Considering how he treated me at Bertrand's this morning, his behavior was downright weird.

"Wow! I can't believe it!" He swept me into a hug before planting a long, passionate kiss on my lips. A flood of memories from our wild weekend in Chicago poured into me, and my body responded. Between the shock of his enthusiasm and the knee-buckling worthy kiss, it was a good thing his arms were around me. I would have dropped to the floor.

"Well, I see you weren't that forgettable after all," Kittie said with a smirk.

I reluctantly pulled away from Elias. Max stood at the foot of the staircase, staring at us, his hands balled into fists by his side. 

I wiped my mouth nervously. "Elias, yeah, we saw each other this morning. Really early. Remember?"

He looked confused for a minute before melting me with a Cheshire cat smile. "I don't believe that. We would have woken up together."

I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing heart rate. If it was anything like Chicago, we would have never gone to sleep.

"Where's Matty?" Kittie demanded. I had forgotten she was there.

"Right here, doll," Matty said, his voice coming ahead of his footfalls on the stairs. "Sorry I split this morning. Frankie and I got our party on. It's a guy thing."

When Kittie wrapped her arms around Matty's neck, pulling him closer, a crestfallen Darcy slipped back behind the bar. Matty smiled uncomfortably as he tried to extract himself from Kittie's embrace. He stared at Darcy longingly but she turned her back on him, her lower lip trembling.

Shit. Darcy was close to tears. If she started crying over this dude, it could be deadly for the 20-odd humans currently drinking in the bar.

"You need to go home, sweetie?" I asked Darcy quietly.

She looked at me, eyes brimming with tears, and nodded. This was going to be close.

"Frankie!" I hollered a little too loud. With his vampire hearing, I could have whispered.

Frankie moved so quickly that he didn't make a sound coming down the stairs. I wondered if his feet even touched the ground.

"Everything all right?" Frankie said, looking quickly around the bar. When his eyes landed on Kittie, he stood a little straighter and fluffed up his hair. "Oh, hello again!"

He
fluffed up
his hair. What the hell?

Eyes wide, I rounded on him. "You need to take Darcy home."

"In a minute, love." And just like that, he blew me off and walked towards Kittie, Matty and Elias.

My blood began to boil. I felt my teeth start to shift, fangs at the ready.

"She's not feeling well," I insisted. "She needs to go. Now!"

Darcy sniffled. Frankie just ignored us.

"You want me to take her?" Max asked, still glowering in Elias's direction.

"No!" Darcy and I yelled at the same time. If she started wailing in the car, Max was a goner. It had to be Frankie. She couldn't kill what was already dead. Maybe she'd give him a headache. But that was the worst that could happen.

Taking a small running start, I dove onto the bar and bodysurfed my way to the end, where Frankie mooned over Kittie. Beer bottles and shot glasses went flying as I slid down the bar. I felt splinters from the old wood bar embed into my skin. My tank top rode up to my bra, and the thin fabric of the yoga pants offered zero protection to my legs. Only Alfonso was quick enough to save his drink.

Latching onto Frankie's arm, I skidded to a halt. Ignoring the needling pain of fresh splinters, I swung my legs over and landed on the floor. Still gripping his arm like a vice, I marched him towards the door, cursing under my breath.

I pressed the key to the Fiat into his hand. "Snap out of it, Frankie. Darcy's about to blow."

He shook his head, as if clearing the cobwebs. "How much time do we have?"

I shrugged and watched Darcy scramble to get her stuff together. "Hopefully enough. Get her home and into the soundproof room."

Silently, I hoped that the crying jag would last until tomorrow afternoon, tops. I had never seen Darcy cry when it wasn't her time to let loose. I had no idea how long she would be out. "How much time did she and Matty spend together anyway?"

"I fell asleep, but they were talking for a while. Matty said he only got an hour or two of sleep before sundown. I guess they stayed up talking until she left for the bar."

I groaned. Darcy was smitten. Between the she-devil wrapping herself around Matty and Darcy's banshee nature, nothing good could come of this.

"Darce," I called, as cheerfully as possible. "Frankie's going to take you home now, sweetie! I'll close up."

She nodded and rushed toward the door. Her eyes were watery and red. She looked about ready to burst.

"Drive fast, Frankie!" I said as I shoved the two of them out the door and headed back to my post behind the bar, picking splinters out of my thighs as I went.

During the ruckus, Al took beer matters into his own hands. With his glass under the spigot, he was pouring himself a draft from his perch opposite it. Of course, it was half head. I killed the tap, tossed his pour in the sink and started over.

"No one pours like you, Nina," he slurred, his eyes half closed.

"This is your last, Al." He sure tied on a good one tonight. Al was a barfly — a serious drinker — so for him to be hammered meant a lot of booze. I was kind of shocked that Darcy served him so much. She was usually the levelheaded, responsible one. When she wasn't wailing, of course.

He scowled and opened his mouth to argue but then caught sight of Max, brooding to his left. He raised his eyebrows at me and shrugged. "I'll make this one last." He brought the pint glass up and missed his mouth twice before he sipped a bit off the top.

Wiping down the spot beside Al, I gestured for Max to sit.

"God, you look amazing," Elias settled in next to Max and Max shot him a look. "What are you doing in Providence, of all places?"

"I live here." Uncapping a bottle of Raging Bitch, I took a long pull from it and then handed it to Max.

"I thought you lived in Vegas."

"Outside Vegas," I corrected. "I moved."

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" He grinned at me and looked like a goddamn cherub. I felt my face flush.

Max reached over and squeezed my hand. "Obviously lots of things changed."

"Are we getting any service down here or what?" A shrill voice carried up to the bar, making my neck hairs stand on end.

"We're closed," I said as I pulled my hand away from Max and yelled down to Kittie, who was still hanging all over my cousin. Matty looked appropriately uncomfortable with her over-the-top PDA.

"We'll move on then," he said, trying to untangle himself from her kudzu-like attachment.

"You aren't closed," Kittie sneered at me.

"It's under consideration," I sneered back.

"The girls are meeting us here, then we'll hit the bar around the corner," she cooed at Matty. "Trust me, I don't want to hang out here any longer than I have to." Her eyes flicked critically around the bar before making contact with me.

"Well, you don't exactly class up the place," I shot back. Her eyes went pitch black, and the rattle on the snake tattoo began to shiver. I was amazed that no one believed she was a demon except me. Why didn't anyone else see it?

In a rush of anger, I marched to the end of the bar, fangs forcing their way through my gums. My green eyes made contact with her coal black ones and I leaned into her, just inches from her face.

"Calm the snake," I warned her. I didn't want any trouble in the bar. Too many normals were around. Plus I'd already dealt with The Cleaner twice in one week. Dr. O would start sending me the damn cleaning bills.

She smiled coyly, pulling away from me. "Whatever do you mean?"

And that's when I snapped. I just hauled off and punched Kittie square in the nose. There was a satisfying crack of bones breaking, and blood sprayed out. Matty — his face a twisted mess of fear, disgust and hunger — grabbed a stack of cocktail napkins and handed half to her while he used the other half try to wipe up the mess on his obnoxious jacket. He tossed the wet pile of napkins aside after grinding the blood further into the fabric, turning part of the sleeve of his purple crushed velvet coat into matted spots of crap brown.

"You witch!" she half-sobbed. (And ain't that the truth?) "You broke my nose!"

The entire place came to a standstill, except for Alfonso, who stood and applauded before staggering down to the end of the bar, grabbing onto customers to keep himself from falling over.

"Thank you for stopping this thief," he slurred. Then like some gonzo magic trick, Al pulled his wallet out of Kittie's cleavage. He turned and gave me a wink.

"Yes, thief! Out of my bar!" I played along, but nearly botched it out of surprise.

"I'm not done with you yet." It was hard to take her threat seriously when her voice was so nasal from the nose injury. It was like being threatened by Betty Boop.

Al grabbed her by the arm and hustled her to the door. He swung it open and shoved her out, slamming it behind her. Then he turned to the bar and took a bow.

That's when I caught Matty licking the blood off his fingers. He made a face and took another taste. I hoped that everyone else was too focused on Alfonso to notice.

"Nina!" Matty called to me. I ignored him, wanting to avert my eyes from his repeated finger licking, as if it were fried chicken grease instead of demon blood. But he repeated my name. Twice.

"What Matteo?"  I asked shortly.

He held out his hand. "Does this taste weird to you?"

"Stop that!" I swatted his hand away from his mouth, and glanced at Elias, who was walking to us.

"Closing early?" he said, smiling. "Maybe we could take some time to catch up?"

That was tempting. So tempting. "I need to clean up, and maybe we can...Elias?"

His face went slack, and his eyes vacant. He turned and ambled towards the door.

"Kittie's outside," he mumbled on his way towards the door, leaving it wide open after he stumbled out to the street. Al slammed the door shut behind him.

Stunned, I looked at my cousin. "Matty, is something up with Elias? He's been acting weird."

"Nina, please. Dude's just not that into you anymore, okay?" He was still going to town, nibbling the blood off his fingers.

"Clean up your hands! Please!" It was really grossing me out now. I tossed him a wet bar rag already streaked with Kittie's blood from wiping down my own knuckles.

"I am not asking because I am interested," I lied. Sort of. "He's just not the same guy I hung out with in Chicago, that's all. I mean, he barely acknowledged me last night. Now we're besties?"

I glanced at Max, who was headed our way.

"Yeah well, he was into you in Chicago," Matteo said. "It's the scene, cuz. Girls in every city. One hot night of rocking sex isn't going to change that."

"Please," I scoffed.

"Those were his words, exactly," Matty insisted. "When he heard you were my cousin, he said you guys had a hot night of rocking sex. So it's not like you're a bad lay."