Sunset Strip: A Tale From The Tome Of Bill Read Free Page A

over,” I snarled, grabbing Christy by the arm and steering her toward the exit. “Your kind is not welcome here.”
    Before she could say anything further, I opened the door and pushed her through. Turning back, I caught sight of Starlight.
    “I’m taking this trash out once and for all. You’re in charge while I’m gone.”
    I didn’t wait for her acknowledgement before I slammed the door behind us.
     

Chapter 4
    “You in the mood for a drink?” I whispered once the door was shut. “Because I sure as shit could use one.”
    “Not with the baby,” she replied, confused.
    “Coffee it is, then. Come on, you’re buying.” I led her toward the elevator. Considering my show back there, it wouldn’t do for anyone to walk out and find us having a friendly chat in the hall.
    Unlike her boyfriend, Christy wasn’t a complete moron. She followed and kept her mouth shut rather than argue. The elevator opened at our floor and we stepped in. I’d feel better once we were out of the immediate area, away from where the others could hear, see, or smell us...oh shit!
    I put my hand in the door just before it shut. Fuck! I had forgotten about Monkhbat. Though tentatively under my command, he was far older than me. There was no way he wouldn’t notice Christy’s scent when he returned. That wasn’t good.
    I had lied to his master about her fate. Her having survived was easily explainable - magic, duh! - but me failing to sic the entire coven on her could be an issue if he blabbed. Thus, this needed to look a bit more convincing.
    “What’s wrong?” Christy asked warily.
    “How’s your magic?”
    “Fine...now, I guess. I mean, I’ve been self...”
    “That’s fascinating. Can you do me a quick favor?” She nodded. “Good. Blast the shit out of the door.”
    “Why?”
    “Monkhbat.”
    “Who?”
    “Gan’s lackey, the one I told you about.”
    Christy’s eyes briefly flashed with power at the mention of the little Mongolian bitch. Those two weren’t destined to be on each other’s BFF lists anytime soon. Heh, I knew there was a reason I liked the witch.
    “Don’t feel you need to hold back. If anyone is too close to the door, that’s their own fucking fault for trying to eavesdrop.”
    * * *
    The elevator shut before the smoke cleared. Sure, it would mean some cleanup for the coven, but a little collateral damage was preferable to having my many lies unravel...lies that would, no doubt, leave me on the business end of an execution.
    At some point, my house of cards would come tumbling down, but today wasn’t that day.
    “You clawed out that girl’s eyes,” Christy said, breaking the silence.
    “They’ll grow back. How have you been?”
    “A little tired.”
    “Still puking?”
    “It finally stopped, thank goodness.”
    “So have you heard from...” we asked in unison just as the doors opened to the lobby. Neither of us needed to reply to know the joint answer was no .
    Goddamnit!
    * * *
    Christy held her tongue until we reached our destination, a little café in SoHo that served killer espresso. It was busy enough that our conversation would be lost amongst the inane chatter of the other patrons.
    The waitress took our order and I finally got down to business. “Not a social call, I take it?”
    She shook her head. “I need your help.”
    “Bill related?” A glimmer of hope weaseled its way into my voice. Damn that fucking nerd for making me care!
    “No. I was kind of hoping maybe you’d heard something.”
    “Yeah, but it’s amounted to Jack and shit. I know he hasn’t returned home, to his job, or his parents’ house.”
    “Do you think he’s...”
    “Well yeah, we’re vampires. Of course he’s dead.”
    She chuckled. It broke some of the tension. Maybe now we could get to the point of the matter. It wasn’t particularly smart for us to be socializing in public. I had little interest in getting my ass handed to me, no matter how good the coffee might be.
    “It’s Tom...”