Page 186 of Hunters and Prey

Now she was wondering what to do for me.

She was wondering how to help me.

She was also realizing that, like Black, she was more or less yelling at me because she was worried about me, and that I was probably too poisoned from vampire venom to really fight back.

Swallowing the rest of my second bite of the cheeseburger, I put it down, and clasped her arm with my hand.

“It’s okay, Ange,” I said. “I know you’re worried. I know Black is, too.” Reaching for the coffee she’d brought me, I picked up the cup, taking a sip before adding, “I was embarrassed by what he did in the conference room, but he told me he was going to do it. He explained why, Ange. I agreed with him. It was a huge breach of trust, what I did. He needed it out in the open, so we could work through it as a team.”

She snorted at that, refolding her arms as she leaned back further on her stood. Her dark braids fell down her back after she shook her head to get them out of her face.

“Team,” she muttered. “We’re becoming more and more like a dysfunctional family than a team.” Thinking about that, she winced a little.

Briefly, I saw Dex in her mind.

“I know,” I said. “I’m going to talk to him. Dex,” I clarified, when she looked over. At her quirked eyebrow, I added, “I’m not reading you. You’re just sitting close and thinking loud. Hasn’t your boyfriend taught you how to shield your thoughts?”

Angel grunted at that, too.

“That’s another thing he said. Black.” Turning, she gave me a sideways look. “…Your ranting husband. He basically ordered all of us humans to seer camp. He said we all have to start taking mental strengthening lessons. Like, tomorrow.”

“Your Louisiana accent is stronger,” I informed her, smiling as I popped another French fry in my mouth. “Cowboy is turning you back into a bayou girl.”

She gave a real laugh at that, shaking her head.

Her smile faded as she continued to look at me, though.

“Miri, at some point, you’ll need to talk,” she said, her voice worried. “Or scream. Or punch a heavy bag… or a few thousand pillows, or something.” Hesitating, as if not sure if she should ask it, she said, “Are you going to try and contact her? Zoe.”

Looking at Angel, I felt the loss of Nick suddenly, sharply.

Before he got turned into a vampire, it would have been the three of us talking about this. It would have been Nick sitting on a third barstool, probably with a beer in his hand, probably talking the least, but asking the right questions.

I missed his gruff, steering voice in the background.

Angel seemed to see something on my face, or maybe she’d seen me staring at the third barstool, the one on the other side of her. Whatever it was, she clasped my hand on top of the counter, squeezing it.

“I miss him too,” she said, soft.

I bit my lip. I’d been thinking it, so I couldn’t exactly blame her for going there. But I wasn’t ready to talk about Nick. Not even with Angel.

I couldn’t even think about him yet.

Not without seeing his face that night on the roof.

Not without remembering––

I cut it off, biting my tongue so hard, I tasted blood.

Even so, my head started throbbing again, low in the background. I hadn’t even noticed the headache had pretty much gone, somewhere in the time after Angel first walked through my door. I felt a plume of worry leave her as she watched my face.

“What about outside?” I said, my voice flat again. “Have the riots quieted down at all? Black said they were spreading to other neighborhoods––”

“No.” She let out a low, barking laugh, shaking her braids again. “We are not talking about that, Mrs. Black.” Pursing her lips, she looked at me with narrow eyes. “What if we watch movies and get pedicures? Or go sit in the sauna or something? Get a massage?”

Pausing, she gauged my eyes, adding,

“Your husband’s a damned billionaire, Miri. The world might be ending, but I bet you anything he could get a whole damned spa set up in here in under an hour, if we asked him. Or we could just call his people and have them bring us a bunch of decadent food and some of those little bubble bath thingys you can stick your feet in.”

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