The Flash of a Firefly Read Free Page A

deal because she works for Phoenix.” I snatched the portrait back. “She’s probably here to collect information for him.”
    He held up his hands. “Wait. You think the master vampire sent her here for something like that? Don’t you think he’d do something a little more drastic? I mean, what does he need to know about you? It’s pretty well known how you live here.”
    He was right, but I still felt that something was off. She wouldn’t have been vacationing, and I hadn’t received any requests to enter my territory. Working for Phoenix, though, she didn’t need to get permission. The whole world was her playground.
    “There was a murder last night where the man was drained of blood,” I said and began pacing back and forth.
    Reece sighed. “I think you’ve become paranoid. I’ll talk to one of the wolves that works down in the morgue, but it’s probably just some local vampire gone crazy.”
    “It’s too coincidental—” I started.
    “Kaden, it’s not this Francesca person. You need to stop worrying that Phoenix is going to send someone to kill you. It’s been what? Like two hundred years?” He yawned again. “Let the past be the past. Relax a little.”
    I sat down in one of the leather chairs and sighed. He was probably right. If the master had wanted me dead, then it would have happened by now. There would be no point in coming to get me after all these years. But grudges could last forever—I should know.
    “I’ll relax after I figure this out,” I told him. And I would figure it out.
     
     

  Chapter 3
     
     
     
    The cops had probably cleaned up the crime scene and gotten rid of anything I might have found useful. I was determined to try though. Maybe there would be something they missed or something they didn’t think had any relation to the murder.
    Reece had gone home sometime during the day. He hadn’t called yet to tell me what his friend from the morgue had said, but I could wait to hear about it until after I checked things out. I should have asked him to measure how far apart the fang marks were. Francesca had a large mouth with fangs set farther apart than most vampires. But it was too late to ask now.
    When I opened my bedroom door, I heard voices. As I made my way down the hallway, I realized it was just the television. Reece must have left it on when he went home. Or that was what I thought until I saw the blond head of someone sitting in one of my chairs.
    Flo was wrapped up in a white fluffy robe. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that reached her hips, and her makeup was flawlessly painted on. She was sunk down into the chair cushion and idly flipping through the channels.
    She, like me, used to work for Phoenix, but she came to live here shortly after I did. There were actually four former family members living in New York. Phoenix’s “family” was another way to say “vampire royalty,” and I was their rogue prince. The four of us who had left didn’t see much of each other. I suppose it brought up bad memories for all of us.
    Flo had a habit of showing up unannounced once in a while though, then disappearing. Only now wasn’t a good time for her to be around. If Francesca saw her, then she could be added to the hit list, assuming there was one. But it was a little pointless to worry about Flo. She had always known how to take care of herself, and she never appreciated anyone getting in the way.
    I walked slowly up behind her and crossed my arms. “Make yourself at home, why don’t you?”
    She bent her head backward to look up at me, batting her big blue eyes innocently. “I did.”
    “I noticed,” I said under my breath.
    She looked me up and down before turning back to the TV. “Where are you going tonight?”
    “Central Park.” I went to the closet beside the front door and pulled out a pair of white sneakers. “I think someone was killed by a vampire there.”
    “I heard,” she said offhandedly. “I checked it out last night, but there