Addict Read Free Page A

There were no blank spaces on that piece of paper. “Tell me he’s kidding.”
    “Dev never kids about a schedule.”
    “When am I supposed to work on a case?” That damn faery had me training on every weapon known to man. I was attending some form of therapy. He’d enrolled me in a class titled “Magical Creatures and How to Destroy Them.” I had a personal trainer and daily hour and a half sessions with her. I looked up to my uncle with a bit of panic in my eyes. “When do I take a nap?”
    He nodded sagely. Werewolves understood the need to work in a good nap. “I’ll look into it. As for your caseload, you have an assistant and an hour blocked off from six to seven. We’ll move it when daylight savings kicks in. You have to keep your office hours at night. Most of the supernatural world is nocturnal.”
    “I’ll get so much done that way,” I groused. An hour wasn’t enough. Did Dev think I could simply listen to a problem and solve it? I wasn’t psychic. Detecting took time.
    The limo pulled into the parking lot of Starbucks. It wouldn’t fit into the curved drive-through. That was fine with me. I hopped out of the car as Zack’s cell rang.
    “It’s my master,” he said, touching the accept call button. “Hey, get me a latte, will you? And maybe some of those cookies that look like tiny sliced breads? And see if they have scones. Hello, master…”
    I shook my head and wondered if Starbucks was really prepared for a couple of wolves. I doubted it. A red Porsche pulled into the slot next to the front door as I breezed through, letting the smell of coffee wash over my newly opened senses. I held the door open for the man who had gotten out of the Porsche. He was tall and lanky with dark eyes.
    “Thank you, love.” And he had an upper-crust British accent. I was surrounded by Euros even back in the States.
    I ordered two espressos since it seemed I’d need an enormous amount of energy to get through the day Quinn had planned for me. Along with Zack’s venti latte, I bought up most of the baked goods and a chicken salad sandwich. My tummy was grumbling. The breakfast Lucia had fixed was gone now, and it seemed like it would be a while before Quinn scheduled in some food. We were going to have to talk about my snack schedule.
    The wide-eyed barista promised to pack everything up, and I headed to the bathroom while my order was being prepared. I took care of business and then washed my hands, catching a glimpse of myself.
    I stared at the girl in the mirror. She seemed slightly foreign to me. I sometimes didn’t recognize the vibrant face that stared back at me. This girl looked well taken care of. She smiled readily and laughed often. She was a woman who joked with her lover and didn’t hesitate to jump him when she felt the need. My dark-brown hair was thick and for the first time in my life cut into something fashionable. I had playfully pushed Lucia out of the way to apply my mascara this morning. She’d shoved right back because Marcus was right about the single, tiny bathroom in my house. I’d begun to actually give a crap about properly applied makeup. I still didn’t wear much, just mascara and some lip-gloss, but it made a difference.
    Things were going to change now that I was back in the States. I didn’t get to simply be Marcus’s protégée. For months he’d coddled and protected me even while we trained. For months I hadn’t worried about anything but when dinner was or how my meditation sessions were going. I’d let the world slide away, and here I was back in it.
    Sighing, I realized I was going to have to change again. I had to find a way to balance this happy, carefree woman with the Nex Apparatus I was going to become.
    I had to find a way to live with the fact that I hadn’t talked to my mother or Nate or Liv in months.
    Or Gray Sloane. Yeah, I really tried not to think about him.
    Pocketing my gloss, I headed back out to pick up my enormous bag of food and caffeine. I