Page 57 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
I finish the first coffee, smile at her and grab the second cup. This one is hotter, so I sip it slowly, actually savoring the deep flavors of the French roast.
“Can we be friends now?” she asks in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at me. “You were so grumpy yesterday, but I guess that’s to be expected what with all you’ve been through.”
“Nearly getting blown to bits will do that to a girl.” I take another sip of the coffee and look at the name on the cup. I don’t recognize the roaster, but the coffee is delicious.
Evelyn’s high-pitched laughter makes me wince. “You’re so funny.”
I say, “ha,” and make a face which only makes her laugh harder.
Who knew I was such a comedian?
“Once you’re finished with your coffee, I’m taking you shopping.”
“No.”
She frowns. “Demi, don’t be difficult.” Her tone is chastising, and while I appreciate her bringing me coffee, I’m not ready to be her human project.
“Evelyn, I’m sure your intentions are good, but I’m not going to pretend like this is all okay.” I gesture between us with the coffee. “This isn’t going to happen. I’m not a pet you can dress up and walk around town with so all the other vampires can coo over how cute the stupid human looks. I’m not your friend, and I’m not going shopping with you.”
Evelyn scrunches her face and looks away.
I almost feel bad for what I said.
Then she turns back to me with cold eyes. “One day you’ll wake up and regret rejecting my friendship, Demetria. When they’ve all taken their fill of you and abused that poor little human heart, you’re going to wish you had me on your side.”
She hops off the counter and leaves, not bothering to say goodbye.
I groan in frustration. Now I feel bad.
Fucking vampires.
I spendthe rest of the morning getting ready and making migas in my kitchen. Someone had come in while I’d been showering and left a few bags of groceries.
I lay out the contents from the reusable bags—ha, these vampires are green, go figure—and take inventory. Essentials for coffee, a new small coffee maker, eggs, chorizo, tortilla chips, salsa, bread, butter, a bottle of hazelnut creamer, chocolate chip cookie dough, a tub of my favorite ice cream, and a bottle of wine.
Eyeing the liquor while I butter my toast, I wonder if Grayson feels bad about dinner last night and is trying to make up for it. I use my foot to scoot out one of the barstools and sit at the bar. I’m only two bites into my breakfast when Colt waltzes into my apartment with a serious look on his face. He looks over the mess on the counter, at my plate, and then meets my gaze.
“I was coming to take you to breakfast.”
Raising a brow and saluting him with my fork, I say, “All taken care of there, little buddy.”
He scowls at the nickname. “Evelyn’s upset. I’m assuming you had something to do with that.”
I take a bite of my eggs, watching him as I chew. I wash the food down with coffee. “She needs to find another human to give a makeover; I’m not really in the mood to play Barbies.”
“Evelyn’s nice.” He crosses his arms over his chest, his fancy suit sleeves straining against his bulging muscles.
How does he fit those arms in the jacket?
“Maybe she is, I still don’t want to be her new project.”
Colt frowns. “She’d be a good ally.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Now I need allies?”
Uncrossing his arms, Colt takes a step toward me. “You’ll need more than yourself if you’re going to survive here. This isn’t some college frat. Blood Mafia is home to the most ruthless of vampires, and while you may feel some false sense of security because Mateo wants you alive—for now—not everyone is going to play nice.”
I finish my next bite of migas and take a bite of toast. Colt has a point. Now that I’m here, I should be trying to find friends and people to trust. The problem is I don’t think I’ll ever trust any of them because at the end of the day, they all planned to watch me die.
