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do you mean?” Slade said, leaning in.
    â€œWho the hell are you?” Larry demanded.
    â€œThis is my colleague Slade Corbin,” I said.
    Larry looked Slade over in what he probably thought was an intimidating stare. Slade simply stared back, cold as ice. I covered my smile with a hand. The thought of Larry intimidating anyone was laughable. The fact he was trying to intimidate a killing machine like Slade was downright hilarious.
    Finally, under Slade’s penetrating gaze, Larry cleared his throat. “Anyway, Zeke Corbin’s dead to me. He was supposed to show up for work two days ago and I ain’t heard one word.”
    â€œAny idea where we can find him?” I asked.
    The male shrugged. “I think he hangs out at that strip club on Van Nuys.”
    â€œThe Tit Crypt?”
    He nodded. Shit , I thought. So far, all the clues were leading us around in circles.
    â€œDo you have an address for him?” Slade asked.
    Larry sighed. “Hold on, I got it here somewheres.” His hefted his bulk from his stool and went to a file cabinet behind the counter. As he rifled through stacks of paper, he muttered to himself.
    Slade and I exchanged a look. Chances were good Zeke wouldn’t be at home, waiting for us to put a bullet between his eyes. But if we had the address, we could search the place for any clues on where he was hiding out.
    Finally, Larry came back over and slapped a coffee-stained job application on the counter. “The address is on that,” Larry said. “You find that asshole, you tell him he owes me two hundred dollars for all the videos he checked out and never returned.”
    I nodded and handed the paper to Slade. “Thanks, Larry. I owe you one.”
    Larry shifted on his seat and leaned in again. “Let me know if you change your mind about making a movie. I’d love to get you on my casting couch, if you know what I mean.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Slade’s mouth twitch. “No, thanks,” I said.
    â€œAw, c’mon. It’ll be fun.” He wiggled his bushy eyebrows suggestively.
    â€œI said no.” Not just no , I thought. Hell, no .
    â€œLet me give you my card anyway.” He pulled a greasy rectangle of paper from a stack at his elbow. “When you change your mind, call me. There’s vamps out there’d pay good money to see a prime piece like you fangin’ some pole.”
    Slade laughed out loud this time. I turned to him with an eyebrow raised. The porn king wiggled his eyebrows again, pointing a bony finger at Slade. “Don’t laugh, good-lookin’. I was talking to you .”
    One minute, Slade stood next to me with his mouth agape and his cheeks red. The next, the bell over the door rang and I got a nice view of Slade’s ass before it disappeared.
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    Back in the car, Slade’s tight jaw hinted he was in no mood to be teased about Larry’s parting shot. So, I bit my lip and avoided looking at him while I settled into my seat. He turned on the ignition before he finally spoke.
    â€œI think we should hit Zeke’s address tomorrow. I don’t want to chance getting caught there near sunrise if shit goes down.”
    I glanced at the dashboard clock. It was about two hours until sunrise. Not a big deal for me, but getting caught at sunup would be an issue for my unwilling partner. The only benefit of being mixed-blood was my ability to be in the sun without suffering debilitating pain. Granted, it weakened me, but I didn’t have to dive for shelter like every other vamp on the planet. “Makes sense.”
    â€œYou hungry?”
    â€œLiquid or solid?” I asked.
    Slade smiled for the first time since I met him. “Solid. I fed earlier.”
    â€œNow that you mention it, I could use a burger.”
    He put the car in gear. “I know just the place.”
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    Slade insisted we go to the window to order, instead of using the