Chapters (48)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Erin Jade Lange
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
But there was no version of me that could leave Reg behind. Mortal or immortal, Smith or Drake, Reg and I were nothing without each other. For a century, we’d been two halves of a whole, and everyone else was just extra. On that much, we agreed . . . at least for now. But if we were stuck here much longer, I worried Reg might just leave me in the dark and stay in the sunlight forever. And not in a cool way like Lina.
Adelina la Prima. An Ancient. Our ticket back to immortality.
Reg cleared his throat. “So, naturally, we’ll take this slowly—feel her out, earn her trust. Then, when the time is right, we’ll go to her—”
“I’ll go now.” I jumped up from the table and grabbed my jacket from where it was slung on the back of the chair. “I can’t sleep anyway, and she works the night shift.”
Twenty-Three
She Said
A tiny bell jingled as I pushed open the door to All Hours, and a flush filled my cheeks as I traded the night chill for the cozy warmth of the coffee shop.
“This is your third visit today. You may have a caffeine problem, princess.”
Lina was perched on the counter, legs crossed under her, using a rag to polish an antique-looking copper kettle.
“Why do you bother with heat?” I asked, pulling my scarf away from my neck.
“Customers tend to enjoy temperate climates.” She didn’t look up from her polishing, and I found myself irritated that she was doing it so slowly. Still pretending.
The door closed behind me, jangling the bell once more before it sealed shut. I frowned up at it.
“And the bell? You can hear people walk through this door from a block away.”
“Superpowered hearing but no power to outshine this spot.” Lina sighed, holding up the kettle in the dim shop light.
“So you admit it,” I said. Not that I needed her confirmation at this point. “You’re vampire.”
She met my eye finally. “Took you long enough.”
“If you were expecting this, why not just tell us sooner?”
“I try to mind my own business . . . and stay out of Sal’s. I figured it was best to let you come to it on your own. To be frank, I expected you back here ages ago. But I suppose you’re not as quick as you used to be.”
Was she talking about my physical speed, or was that a crack at my intelligence?
The smirk she gave me as she hopped off the counter told me it was probably both.
She was lucky I needed something from her, or I would show her just how quick-witted I could be.