Blood Debt - By Tanya Huff Page 0,9

her thoughts, Celluci chose that moment to come back into the office and growl, "I thought vampires were unable to share a territory."

Vicki's chin rose. "I refuse to be controlled by my nature."

Celluci snorted. "Yeah. Right." He took a swallow of steaming coffee. "Tell that to the vampire who used to live here."

"I was willing to negotiate," Vicki protested, but she felt her lip curling up off her teeth. The other vampire had taunted her with the death of a friend and claimed downtown Toronto. When Vicki had fi?nally killed her, she'd felt no regret, no guilt, and no need to tell Detective-Sergeant Michael Celluci the full details of what had happened. Not only because of what he was-not only because he was human- but because of who he was. He wouldn't have under?stood, and she didn't think she could stand it if he looked at her the way he'd sometimes looked at Henry.

So she'd told him only that she'd won.

Now she changed her incipient snarl into something closer to a smile. "Henry and I will manage to get along."

Celluci hid his own smile behind the coffee mug. He recognized the tone and wondered if Henry had any idea of how little choice he was about to have in the matter. He didn't want Vicki going to Vancouver, but since she'd already made up her mind, he couldn't stop her-nor was he suicidal enough to try. Since she was going, regardless, he didn't want her going alone. Besides, he'd enjoy watching his bloodsucking, royal bastardness get run over by Vicki's absolute refusal to do what was expected of her.

"All right. You win. I'm going with you."

"... things are slow right now, and I've got the time."

Inspector Cantree snorted. "You've always got the time, Detective. I'm just amazed you actually want to use some of it."

Celluci shrugged. "Something came up with a friend of Vicki's out west."

"A friend of Vicki's. Ah." The inspector stared into the oily scum on top of his coffee, the heavy stoneware mug looking almost delicate in his huge hand. "And how is 'Victory' Nelson these days? I hear she's been dealing with some strange cases since she got back in town."

Celluci shrugged again. "Someone has to. At least if they're calling her, they're not calling us."

"True." Cantree's eyes narrowed, and the look he shot at the other man was frankly speculative. "She never struck me as the type to get involved in this paranormal, occult bullshit."

Celluci only just stopped himself from shrugging a third time. "Most of her work's the same old boring crap. Cheating spouses. Insurance fraud."

"Most," Cantree repeated. It wasn't quite a ques?tion, so Celluci didn't answer it.

Inspector Cantree had narrowly escaped becoming the enchanted acolyte of an ancient Egyptian god. The others who'd been caught up in the spell had created their own explanations, but he'd insisted on hearing the truth. As he'd never mentioned it again, Celluci remained unsure of how much he'd believed.

The memory hung in the air between them for a moment, then Cantree brushed it aside, the gesture stating as clearly as if he'd said it aloud: Forty-seven homicides so far this year; I've enough to deal with. "Take your vacation, Detective, but I want your butt back here in two weeks ready to work."

"Vicki, we will never make it to Vancouver in that.'''

"I know it doesn't look like much... " Hands on her hips, Vicki swept her gaze over the grimy blue van and decided not to mention that it'd probably look worse in daylight. It looked bad enough under the security light in Celluci's driveway. "... but it's mechanically sound."

"Since when do you know anything about mechani?cally sound?"

"I don't." She turned and grinned at him, meeting his eyes and allowing power to rise momentarily in hers. "But nobody lies to me anymore."

Because it had been used for deliveries, the van box had no windows to cover. Vicki'd had a partition with wide rubber gaskets installed behind the seats and an?other just inside the rear doors.

"You got it done fast enough, didn't you?" Celluci brushed at a dusting of sawdust at the base of the front barrier and frowned at the inner bolts that en?sured there'd be no unwelcome visitors. "What hap?pens if there's an accident and I have to get you out?"

"Wait until sunset and I'll get myself out."

"There's no ventilation, and it's likely to get hotter than hell in there."

She shrugged. "I doubt I'll notice."

"You doubt?" His voice started to rise, and he forced it back