“Yeah, tonight’s a big television night for her. She DVRs her favorite soaps and watches them all at once.”
Dom loaded the Porsche with Mackenzie’s things as they waited for Sam to pack her bags, and when she pulled her car out of the garage, they were right behind her.
“What was that all about?” Mackenzie asked. “With her boyfriend.”
“Sam is a massage therapist, right?”
“Yes. She works for one of the boutique hotels downtown.”
“She doesn’t realize it, but her boyfriend is a vampire. I only had to look at her to realize it. He’s been taking too much of her energies through her massages and other touches, which has made him a little too aggressive. That happens sometimes, but it’s more common in the South.”
That explained why her roommate had been looking so tired lately. “What did you say to him?”
“I didn’t do a lot of talking.”
BACK AT THE loft, after Dom left for the field office, Mackenzie took her mocha, her laptop and her recharged cell phone up to the rooftop terrace.
She had a few voice mail messages, but she decided to call Corey first. Dom wanted to meet him as soon as possible to see if he was Sangre Dulce. If so, he was in danger and they needed to figure out how to get him either here or to another safe house. But what were the odds both of them having this type of blood? Not high, Dom had told her. He’d also said Corey hadn’t been on the list of known Sweetbloods, but still, they couldn’t take any chances. She wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew for certain Corey didn’t have the same blood characteristics she had.
“Hey, Kenzie, what’s happening?”
“Are you free for dinner tonight? I’ve got someone I want to introduce you to.” She didn’t know that she was quite ready to start introducing Dom as her…what…boyfriend? What an inadequate description. But it made for a good excuse to get together with Corey.
“I’ll have to talk to Vanessa first. She hates it when I make plans without consulting her.”
“Talk to her and let me know as soon as possible, all right?”
“Does it have to be tonight? I’ll have a better chance of talking her into it if we schedule something in advance.”
“No,” she said quickly. Realizing she sounded a little desperate, she cleared her throat to give her a moment to collect herself. “It’s just that this guy means a lot to me and I really want you to meet him.”
“Okay, what’s going on? You’re not planning a trip to Vegas anytime soon, are you?”
She didn’t argue. Might as well let him think what he wanted if it got him to agree to dinner this evening.
After she hung up with Corey, she looked out over Elliott Bay and knew she could never tire of this ever-changing yet constant view. Today the sky was completely gray with clouds and the water looked cold and ominous. She hoped Sam was doing better.
Okay. Email or voice mail?
Remembering she hadn’t checked the email for her new business in a few days, she settled back on the canopied lounge, tucked the blankets around her legs and grabbed her laptop. Cool. A friend from college she hadn’t seen in a couple of years had found her website and contacted her. Mackenzie fired back a quick hello and suggested they meet for coffee sometime. Oh, and someone from a small farming town near the Canadian border was interested in having her do a commissioned piece of one of her whimsical landscapes. Wanted to send her a few pictures or drawings—weird—of his childhood home in Europe. Oh well, should be fun.
After finishing her email, she speed-dialed her voice mail. Five new messages had come in while her phone’s battery was dead. Steve needed some pictures of a small marina in the evening. If Corey could meet tonight, maybe she could drag Dom to the one in Des Moines. That way she could take a few pictures while they were down there as she didn’t know when she’d be able to go out again. Dom certainly wasn’t about to let her go out on her own anytime soon.
Three messages from Dom. She listened to them next. Closing her eyes, she pressed replay a few times just to hear the timbre of his voice. He sounded heartbroken. She felt a little guilty that she enjoyed hearing just how torn up he had been about leaving.