predators—such as Max Carlyle and Alec Royce.
“Ah, so you are here! Ms. Waynest, just a few quick questions—”
“No.”
“It won’t take but a minute—”
“No.”
His eyes glittered with impatience and something else I didn’t want to explore too deeply, that ingratiating smile wilting around the edges. “Don’t be so quick to turn me away. You haven’t even heard me out yet.”
“I don’t need to. You’ve been shadowing me for over a month—so if you haven’t found whatever the hell it is you want from me yet, I’m sure it can wait a few more days. I’ll get back to you after my vacation. Hell, I’ll even give you an exclusive if you can promise to stay the fuck away from me until then.”
“An exclusive?” he said, one bleached blond eyebrow arching high. “My, my. You must be desperate to hide something from me.”
“Fuck you.”
“Thanks, you’re not my type,” was his deadpan reply. I frowned, and his smile returned, brighter than ever. “All I’m interested in is a story. I hear things are heating up around you. I want to know why.”
“Tough. You can wait ’til I’m back. Please, Jim, I promise I’ll talk to you if you just leave me the hell alone until Monday.”
“Tempting as the offer is, I’m not sure I can take it. But I’ll tell you what—here’s my card. Call me when you figure out you’re in over your head.”
He gave me a shit-eating grin as he flicked the card at Jen and sauntered out of the office. She muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath about his theatrics and slid the square of paper off her desk and into the trash. I was tempted to call out for him to stop and explain himself, but the idea of souring my vacation worrying about whatever he was after was deterrent enough to keep my mouth shut.
Jen tapped her nails lightly on the desktop, scowling after his retreating form in the beveled glass. “Shia, I know it’s none of my business, but you should really figure out what’s going on and get these people to leave you alone. They all seem like bad news.”
“No kidding.”
“He’s not the first one to stop by.”
That put a chill down my spine. “Who else was here?”
“Some other reporters. A girl with blond hair who looked like she was packing some weapons, and who was wearing a White Hat pin. She tried to trick me into telling her where you were vacationing, but I got her out of here without letting anything slip. Oh, and some guy named Devon said he’d swing by once you got back into town. That one was cute.” The hopeful way she looked at me at the mention of the ex-White Hat didn’t ease the frown from my features. Not one bit. “Anyway, they all wanted to see you, but none of them wanted to leave a message or wait around. I told them all you’d left already so they wouldn’t keep bothering us.”
“Thanks, Jen,” I said, retreating back into my office. “You did the right thing. Don’t worry about it; I’ll handle whatever it is they’re so worked up about next week.”
I shut the door and leaned against it, closing my eyes. Something big must be going down, but whatever it was could happen without me. I wasn’t going to put my vacation on hold—not for reporters, not for vampires, and definitely not for White Hats—even if said White Hats weren’t card-carrying, pin-wearing members anymore.
The world wasn’t going to end if I put this on ice. Royce and Jack would’ve had more to say in their messages if they thought some big bad thing was coming to town. I’d just put it all out of my mind for the weekend.
A touch of paranoia made me scribble down a list of who had tried to reach me before I settled with grim determination in front of my computer again. Contacting those people would be my to-do list—as soon as I got back.
Luckily, Chaz arrived early, only fifteen minutes or so after I’d immersed myself in the shiny distractions of the Internet. Jen eyed him appreciatively over the rims of her glasses while he examined some of our new brochures. She gave me thumbs up as I lugged my suitcase out of my office. Eager to get out of town and brimming with excitement now that I could leave all my worries behind for a few days, I grinned and winked back.
Chaz is a personal trainer, so his schedule is fairly