Page 71 of Ophelia's Vampire

“I mean, if Philippe’s got some plan to whack me and leave me sleeping with the fishes, I’d appreciate a heads up.”

That earns me a small, sardonic smile. “No, I don’t think that’s likely.”

“Good to know.” Thelikelyin that answer is doing a whole lot of heavy lifting, but I decide not to press her on it. “I need answers.Weneed answers. Me and Cas. The Bureau. And even if you claim they’ve got nothing to do with the rogues, they know more than they’re letting on.”

“I get that. And I hope you get the answers you’re looking for.” She moves to get up from her barstool.

“Andie,” I say, and she halts midway through standing, then sinks back into her seat. “Are you happy here?”

“What do you mean?”

“In this world. Working for them. Are you happy?”

I half-expect for her to snap back that it’s none of my business, that it’s an overly personal question to ask, given our nonexistent friendship. And while all of that might be true, her expression softens.

“I’m fine, Phee. Really. It’s… I’ve gotten used to it, you know?”

I nod slowly. “You graduated with an accounting major, right?”

A twitch at the corner of her lip. “Right. And even ancient vampire covens need someone to keep the books in order.”

“Lots of other places do, too,” I point out, and that smile gets a little wider.

“Yeah, but lots of other places are a lot more boring.”

“Fair enough.”

We sit in silence for a couple of seconds before she rises again, sliding off her barstool and smoothing out the black sheath dress she’s wearing.

“Be careful,” she says. “Philippe is… well, just be careful.”

“I will,” I say, and she gives me one last nod before she starts to walk away. “And if you ever get tired of it, or if you’re ever looking to go west or find something a little more boring, let me know. The Bureau’s always hiring and I could put in a good word.”

She glances back over her shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alone again, I settle into my chair and resume my perusal of the crowd, replaying the conversation in my mind, trying not to jump to any conclusions or give in to the temptation to say the hell with this and leave.

But it turns out I don’t have too much longer to think about it.

“Miss Rossi?” My name comes from a vampire standing next to the bar, looking at me expectantly.

“Philippe?”

He shakes his head. “No. My name is Vincent. If you’ll come with me, though, I can take you to him. He’s expecting you.”

I debate the wisdom of going anywhere with him for a split second before nodding.

Like the last time I was here, I’ve got a knife tucked into the top of my boot, and while I’ve always been more of a runner than a fighter, I know a decent bit of self-defense.

Not that I’m going to need it.

This is going to be fine.

Philippe and I are just going to talk. I’m going to get some answers, and he’ll be just as calm and collected and cordial as he was on the phone.

I follow Vincent into the same hallway Marcus led me and Cas down the last time we were here, but instead of another one-way ticket to the alley, he leads me to a set of double doors further down the hall.

Behind them, an elevator.

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