She pulled back, black eyes narrowed. “Plain, huh?”

“Yeah, no pockets, no internal organization, not enough closures to protect stuff from getting lost, it had more rips and tears than yours and, well, there’s some really cool, functional stuff out there.”

“This is fully functional, bub. I don’t need that fancy, expensive corporate thing you’re talking about. Nope, this is solid traditional workmanship right here,” she said.

He raised both eyebrows back at her, then leaned over to poke a finger through a small tear. “Really? You don’t say,” he smirked.

She swatted his hand and he pulled back at a sharp sting. Glancing at the back of his hand, he found a red mark.

“Oh, did my nails cut you?” she asked, concerned.

“No, luckily my shirt sleeve must have gotten in the way. Just a little red scrape. But I’ll show you Declan’s when you meet him. He held out too, but when he saw the beautiful piece of gear we bought him, he caved in to reality. You will too,” Mack said, turning her homework so he could see the first question.

He knew she was looking at him, as his side vision was good enough to pick up on that. When he looked at her he caught a frown that immediately flashed into a killer smile. Stunned a little, he took a second to bring his thoughts back online. “So, this one here. Do you understand it?” he asked.

“No, Mack. That’s why I’m here, drinking this fattening cup of goodness and probably gaining ten pounds.”

He couldn’t help a glance at her svelte form. “No worries there, Lilly. But let’s break this down,” and he proceeded to walk her through the problem.

Chapter 8

“We are currently thirty minutes from touchdown at Charles De Gaulle airport,” the speaker said, breaking into the strategy session.

“Thanks, Omega. Who’s meeting us?” Tanya asked the other two vampires.

“Our guide will be Hosokawa,” Galina said.

“What?” Both Tanya and Lydia asked simultaneously. They shared a glance and then Tanya spoke. “Why him?”

“Well, we all know him and more importantly, he knows us,” Galina said. “At least that’s how it was explained to me.”

“Does his fighting ability have anything to do with it?” Lydia asked, frowning.

“Let’s see, we’re coming in to speak for Senka and we have Tanya, who none of the others is much of a match for. The mathematics seems clear,” Galina said.

“That’s actually a good thing,” Tanya said. “He’s not likely to be afraid of me, more confident. And I don’t think he hates me or Chris.”

“Actually, if anything, he was really stoked by that fight he had with Grim. I heard him say several times that it was the best fight he has ever had,” Lydia said, leaning back in her seat to consider the ceiling.