Page 26 of The Devil and the Dancer
The thought made her want to giggle. She was the furthest thing from a vampire she could imagine, but she still felt weird leaving Gavin in Ben and Tenzin’s territory without her presence.
She took a deep breath. “It’s my house too.”
Ben and Tenzin had always made that clear. This was Chloe’s home. She wasn’t a visitor. She wasn’t couch surfing. This was her home. She helped pay the bills—what little she could—and she left her shoes by the door. She cooked and stocked the fridge.
And she could leave her vampire boyfriend in the vampire vault if she wanted to.
She shook her head. “Cara, how did my life get so weird?”
“I’m sorry, Chloe. I cannot answer that question.”
“No, I don’t think anyone can.”
She rinsed her hair, turned off the water, and began the meticulous process of treating her hair with argan oil before she wrapped it again. She dressed in leggings and another long sweater, though this one was her own and not one she’d stolen from Ben.
She was grabbing her keys when a call came through the house system.
“Incoming video call from Beatrice De Novo.”
Chloe stopped short of walking out the door. Ben’s aunt rarely called the loft. And she had to know Ben was in Puerto Rico.
Weird.
“Accept call.” She walked to the screen in the kitchen. “Hello?”
Ben’s aunt appeared on the screen with a toddler in her lap. “Hey, Chloe.”
“Hi!” Chloe grinned. “Hey, Sadia. How are you today?”
The toddler always looked suspicious. She sucked hard on a jewel-green pacifier, turned into her adoptive mother’s shoulder, and hid her face.
“She’s having a morning.” Beatrice’s hand ran over Sadia’s curls. “I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your day.”
“I’m fine.” She glanced out the windows. “How are you still awake?”
Chloe knew Beatrice didn’t sleep much. Her father had been blood-bound to Tenzin before his death, which meant Beatrice and Tenzin shared some odd traits, including a very abbreviated sleep schedule. Normally, though, she’d be asleep at this hour.
“California time, remember? And Sadia wanted me, so I woke up. She couldn’t sleep, so I don’t either. Dad isn’t quite as easy to wake up.”
“Got it.” Vampire families were weird. “What’s up?”
“It’s looking like we may need to head to the city in the next couple of days. I know Ben and Tenzin aren’t there, but is it okay if Gio, Sadia, and I crash at the loft?”
“Uh…”Sure. Just give me a night to move my vampire lover out of the safe room.“Yeah, no problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, I’m assuming Gio will need the safe room. The bottom floor is all light safe except for the bedrooms, and Ben had shutters fitted in his room, so you and Sadia can probably stay in there. Uh…” She racked her brain to figure out the logistics. “The loft isnotbaby proofed. That’s the only thing I can think that might be a problem.”
“Don’t worry about the baby proofing.” Beatrice smiled. “I don’t think she can reach Tenzin’s sword collection yet. They’re mounted pretty far up the wall. And we’ll bring baby gates for the stairs.” Her face brightened. “Oh! You haven’t met Dema yet.”
“Dema?” Who was Dema and where was she going to put another person? The futon in the training area was the other option, and it was hard as a rock.
“Yeah, Dema’s our nanny slash bodyguard person. She’s great. And she’ll take care of all the baby-proofing stuff, so don’t worry about that. Just give her a corner to crash and she’ll be good.”
“Are you sure?”
“She’s ex-military. She’s not picky.”
