Death's Daughter Read Free Page B

“Next time the parents are all yours,” she told him. “I’m done.”

Chapter Two
    An hour later, Juliana sat at a pitted, scarred table at her favorite watering hole. Papers lay scattered across the table in front of her and a half-full pot of coffee rested near her elbow. Ordinarily she wouldn’t bring her work to a bar, but with the Den of Iniquity closed indefinitely, no one was around to complain. Thomas Kendrick, master vampire, Council member and all around pain in the ass, happened to own it. Since they were also United, she came and went as she pleased.
    Not that he was around to notice. At the moment, her mate wasn’t speaking to her. She assumed he wasn’t, anyway. She hadn’t seen him once since he dropped her off at home after she saved him from a demon. While he could still be dealing with the fallout of everything that occurred while he was demon-ridden, it was just as likely he was mad at her. Whether that was because she stabbed him or because he thought she’d slept with his best friend she had no idea.
    Miguel popped his head out of the back room. “Are you doing okay, Jules? You need anything?”
    She glanced at the coffee and shook her head. “I’m good. Thanks.” He nodded once and disappeared behind the door. Miguel was the reason she came here. He left her mostly undisturbed when she came in, but at least he was there. It was better than sitting at home alone or holing up in her office at the Agency. Working in the office made her feel like a specimen that people came by occasionally to observe. In fact, she was so rarely there that she wouldn’t be surprised if she had to ask directions just to find her desk.
    Miguel’s mothering reminded her of Tony and a knife of grief pierced her heart. Her last case had been brutal and his wasn’t the only life lost, but he was the one closest to her. They’d been friends for years. The demon in Thomas methodically tortured Tony simply because it could and when it was done with him, it slit his throat in the middle of the dance floor of the Den right in front of her. She might have saved him if she’d been willing to kill Thomas, but it wasn’t a trade she’d been willing to make. Miguel hadn’t gotten away unscathed, but he’d recovered from the torment. Now, he’d taken over Tony’s job as manager. Not that there was anything to manage.
    Thomas had spent an exorbitant amount of money to erase all signs of the brutality from the premises, even going so far as to completely replace the flooring and some of the furnishings. Somehow, he’d managed to maintain the hole-in-the-wall atmosphere despite the smell of fresh wood and flooring adhesive that still permeated the air. She wondered if he was ever going to reopen. The realization she was moping came with a flare of annoyance. Curse the man. She’d have to talk him into opening a new bar if he gave up on this one. Every other place in town sucked.
    Laying a hand against the side of the coffeepot, she wove a thread of fire through the cold beverage, then topped off her mug with the now-steaming liquid. The click of the front door echoed in the empty bar. A tendril of warm comfort brushed the back of her neck, caressed her cheek and wrapped itself around her. A tremor ran through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the air. Her mate had arrived. Doubtless, Miguel called and told him she was here. She kept her eyes on the table in front of her. She’d face a drunken ogre before she gave Thomas the pleasure of acknowledging his arrival after she’d spent weeks with no contact from him.
    She stared at the papers in front of her, not really seeing them. She’d read every file front to back at least a dozen times. All the information in them had long since been cataloged into her brain. But she kept looking, hoping to find something she’d missed. So far, nothing. Not even a period out of place. Somewhere was the answer that would help her find those kids and she would be the one