Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series Read Free Page A

the other dozen or so voyeurs that were wandering up and
down the aisle that housed the glam booths.
    “What is it?” I stared at the card the small,
curly-haired vampire was holding out to me. He had a lovely,
androgynous face and for a moment I wasn’t sure of his sex. Of
course, that wouldn’t matter since most vamps are bisexual
anyway.
    “His private number,” the androgynous vamp
said. “He says that you may call him any time day or night.”
    “Wouldn’t he be asleep during the day?” I
demanded, forgetting that I didn’t want to call Corbin no matter
what time it was.
    The little vamp shrugged. “My master is old.
He requires very little daytime rest anymore.”
    “I see.” I took the card and started to tear
it up but somehow, instead, I put it in my pocket.
    “Do you have a message for Master Corbin
before you go?” the little vamp asked.
    “No,” I said shortly. “Wait—yes. Tell him if
he thinks giving me his private number will inspire me to make a
booty call, he’s sadly mistaken.”
    The androgynous vamp gave me a puzzled look.
“A booty call? You will call his buttocks on the telephone?
I do not understand.”
    I stifled a snicker. “You don’t have to.
Basically it means I’m not interested in fucking a vampire.”
    He looked grave. “I am sorry you dislike my
kind so much. We were once as you are, you know.”
    “Yeah, I know.” I frowned. “And some of my
best friends are vampires—I just don’t like Corbin. Now if you’ll
excuse me…” I looked down at my watch. Three AM and time for me to
get home. Since I work with vamps I have to be out at night but my
shift was finally coming to an end. Thank goodness.
    “I will faithfully repeat your words to
Master Corbin,” the little vampire assured me. “Though I am still
uncertain about the meaning of this ‘booty call’ you spoke of.”
    “Don’t worry your pretty little head about
it—your master will get it even if you don’t.” That was one thing
about Corbin, he was surprisingly good with modern slang for an
older vampire. Every once in awhile I could hear a soft,
Gaelic-sounding burr in his deep voice and he had a tendency not to
use many contractions but other than that, he was certainly up on
the current century. Which was probably the secret to his
longevity.
    Though they are technically immortal, not
many vamps are adaptable enough to keep up with the ever changing
world. A lot of them just shut down after a couple of centuries,
which is a good thing or the world would be overrun with
bloodsuckers and we humans would become little more than
cattle.
    I headed for the exit more purposefully this
time, not allowing myself to be sucked into the various bizarre
fetish fantasies I heard being whispered about in the clear glass
booths on either side of me. Sick, this whole damn thing was sick
and I wished for the umpteenth time that I was in another line of
work. Still, the pay was too good to quit, and besides, I had
personal reasons for doing what I did. Also, I usually didn’t have
to put up with the amount of bullshit I’d endured that night. Most
vamps hate and fear me and none of them but Corbin had ever dared
to come on to me. I didn’t have to visit Under the Fang again for a whole month so maybe my night was looking up.
    That was what I thought, anyway, until I got
out into the parking lot and my cell phone rang.

Chapter Two
     
    I groaned when I saw the number on my cell.
It was my best friend Taylor and I was already feeling anemic. I
hoped she just wanted to talk and wasn’t looking for a midnight
snack.
    See, I wasn’t kidding when I said some of my
best friends were vampires. Taylor and I have been BFFs since my
sophomore year of college and she’s a vamp, though unfortunately
not a very good one.
    I answered the phone on the third ring and
tried to make my voice light. “Hey roomie, what’s up?”
    “Not too much.” Even in those few words, I
could tell Taylor was holding herself back. Her