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EVEN WITH THE BATHROOM door shut and the water running, I heard Freya use the phone in the room to order me room service. A huge grin appeared on my face as I washed my hair with the complimentary soap and shampoo. I rushed through my shower, then towel dried my hair.
I was still smiling when I pulled on a fresh set of clothes and exited from the bathroom. Freya had turned the TV on. She sat on the bed, holding Epsilon on her palm and was doing her best to ignore him. His beady little eyes were trained on her face. I wished I had the ability to read his thoughts, but Alex was the only one who’d inherited that talent from our mom.
“What’s wrong?” Freya asked.
“Nothing,” I replied and sauntered over to the coffee machine.
“I saw sorrow in your eyes. What were you thinking about?”
I glanced at her in surprise, then remembered how perceptive her kind could be. “It’s personal,” I said uncomfortably.
“I thought you said I was your mate,” she pointed out. “Don’t shifters share everything with their partners?”
“Only after they’ve become mated,” I retorted and poured myself some coffee. “Once we’re bonded, we’ll be able to read each other’s thoughts. There won’t be any secrets between us.” Freya made a sound of disbelief, so I turned the tables on her. “Why did you follow me into the nightclub last night?”
That threw her, just like I’d known it would. “There was something familiar about you,” she said with her usual frown. “I was curious and decided to take a closer look at you. Your sister looks very much like you, so that must have been why you seemed familiar.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason why you followed me,” I argued. “You were drawn to me because I’m your mate.”
A knock sounded at the door and she was standing at the peephole almost before I registered that she’d stood up. “Your dinner has arrived,” she said.
“Room service!” the waiter called out in confirmation.
Freya turned to toss Epsilon at me. I caught him and tucked him into my pocket just as she opened the door. “Give the tray to me,” she ordered rather than letting the guy into the room.
“He’ll want a tip,” I said just loudly enough for her to hear me.
“I don’t have any money,” she whispered back as she took the tray.
I strolled over and reached over her shoulder to hand the guy some cash. “Thank you, sir,” he said without tearing his eyes away from Freya’s face. His expression was a cross between being attracted to her and terrified of her. Humans could sense we weren’t like them when we were close enough to touch them.
“You can go now,” my mate said pointedly. He flushed, then turned around and hurried over to the elevator.
“Do you always frighten the poor humans away like that?” I asked, taking the tray from her and letting the door swing shut.
“As often as possible,” she retorted with a smirk.
I took a seat on the edge of the bed and lifted the lid off the plate. She’d ordered me a burger and fries. Inhaling the aroma in appreciation, I took my time to eat rather than wolfing it down. When I glanced at the mug of coffee I’d left in the kitchenette, Freya strode over to retrieve it for me. “Thanks,” I said in surprise that she was being so thoughtful.
“The sooner you finish, the sooner we can find out where Killion is hiding and kill him,” she said as she handed the mug to me.
“You keep telling yourself that,” I said with a grin.
“I suppose you think I’m being a dutiful mate,” she said with a scowl. “Am I to wait on you hand and foot like a slave?”
“Nope,” I replied, wondering if she was thinking about the chieftain and his brutish friends. “Mates can’t help but look out for each other,” I explained. “It’s instinct to keep each other happy.”
“I don’t care about your feelings,” she said harshly. “I only agreed to accompany you because you’re a means to an end for me.”
“Okay,” I said, unwilling to push her too hard or too fast. “You have my permission to use me as you see fit,” I added with a grin. She made an exasperated sound and headed for the bathroom. “Don’t worry, Epsilon,” I said to my tiny zombie. “I can tell Freya is warming up to me.”
“No, I’m not,” she muttered and I snickered at her annoyed tone.
By the time I finished my meal and coffee, Freya had braided her hair again. She didn’t need a reflection to see what she was doing. If she was as old as she’d said, she’d had enough practice to braid her hair in her sleep, so to speak.
It would be about nine o’clock in Vermont by now, which meant we needed to go. I took a light jacket out of my duffle bag and donned my holster and gun. The jacket covered my weapon, but anyone with training would be able to spot it.
“Are we finally leaving?” Freya asked as I carried the tray over to the door.
“I’m ready when you are,” I replied.
“I was ready an hour ago,” she said sourly.
“Why didn’t you wake me when you woke up?” I asked as she opened the door.
“Your mouse wouldn’t let me.”
I almost tripped over my own feet at her admission. “What do you mean?” I asked, putting the tray on the floor next to the door.
“He slapped my hand away when I reached out to shake you awake,” she said with a scowl.
I looked down to see Epsilon pull his head back into my pocket. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to avoid the vampire, me, or both of us. “Our zombies are pretty protective,” I said apologetically, leading the way to the elevator.
“Did Alex order him to protect you like that?” she asked.
“Alex’s zombies aren’t like normal ones,” I explained. “Some of them have personalities.”
Freya pushed the button to call the elevator to us, then leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “How can zombies have personalities?” she queried.
“It’s a long story,” I said, then gestured for her to enter the elevator first when the door opened. “It’s also classified,” I added.
“The PIA has many secrets,” she muttered as she preceded me into the elevator.
We rode to the ground floor in silence, then exited from the hotel. It wouldn’t be wise to discuss our private business around humans.
Freya took hold of my arm once we were outside, then took off before I could brace myself. My feet left the ground and I finally knew how Crowmon felt to be carted around by Yas and Alex. She stopped in a park a few seconds later. “Is this a suitable location for your mouse to take us to Vermont?” she asked, amused by my startled expression.
“You’re almost as fast as Yas,” I said appreciatively. It was going to be interesting to see how the two vampires would get along.
“Yasmine isn’t a master like I am,” Freya said. “How can she possibly be faster than me?”
“Alex boosted her with her necromancy. There’s no other vampire more unique than Yas on the planet.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” I thought I heard her murmur. “Are we going to Vermont now?” she asked before I could ask her what she was talking about.
Epsilon took us into the ground before I could respond. He could rummage around in my head for any location I’d been to before by using my sibling link to Alex. It was one of the many things about zombies that made them so awesome.
