Bitten 2 (51 page)
“Hey, you,” I said, embarrassed.
Laughter continued to bubble in his voice as he returned my greeting. “Hey, you, too.”
Cradling the phone in the crook of my shoulder, I slumped back into the couch, drawing the fallen afghan back over my knees and closed my eyes. I could feel the goofy smile spreading across my face, but didn’t care.
“Did you get my flowers?”
“Yes, they’re beautiful, thank you,” I said, glancing at the dozen crimson roses sitting in the middle of my coffee table in a crystal vase. They’d been delivered just as I was sitting down to eat, and I’d been gazing at them like a love sick fool ever since.
“And the chocolates?”
“Those too,” I said, resisting the urge to pop another one in my mouth. I figured it was only fair for me to save one or two of them for him, but if he didn’t come home soon the likelihood of there being anything but empty wrappers was slim to none.
“And the wolf?”
“Yes, Darius. I got them all,” I said, fighting against the chuckle bubbling in the back of my throat as I ran a hand over the velvety fur of the dark grey stuffed wolf holding a red velvet heart that said ‘I Ruff You’ in its mouth.
“I have one more surprise for you.”
“You really don’t need to—”
“Yes, I do. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person, but I wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”
“I—”
“Just say thank you, Riley.”
“Thank you,” I said. “But really, you don’t have to send me anything else,” I added before he could cut me off again.
“Okay, okay,” he said through his laughter, the rumbling sound of it making me wish he was already there, curled up next to me. “But I do still have a surprise for you.”
“Oh?” I asked with a degree of wariness. I don’t like surprises. I’ve found that they rarely turn out in my favor.
“Watch the news tonight at six.”
“Umm...”
“All will be revealed,” he said in a mysterious tone, and I pictured him waving his hand in the air with dramatic flair.
Does that make me his lovely, doe-eyed assistant?
I wondered and snorted at the mental image of myself prancing across stage in heels and sequins.
Right. And for my next trick I’ll sprout fairy wings and fart rainbows.
“Er... okay. When will you be home?”
“Tomorrow. We touch down at four so I’ll be back in time to take you to dinner,” he replied, the affection in his voice forming a lump in the back of my throat and bringing a moistness to my eyes that most certainly was not tears. Nope, no sappiness going on over here. The warmth in the pit of my stomach turned to something far more heated when he added, “And after dinner, maybe you can model my Christmas gift again.”
“I might be able to make that happen,” I replied, my voice sounding husky to my own ears while my cheeks flamed.
* * *
Switching over to the local news promptly at six, I almost choked on my pizza when Holbrook’s face appeared on the TV screen alongside several other suited men. They wore matching professional smiles that only partially hid the mixture of excitement and nervousness. Behind them loomed the cast iron dome of the capitol building in Washington, D.C.
“What the fuck?” I murmured, letting the slice of pizza fall back onto the plate.
Beside me, Loki let out a questioning meow and cocked his head to one side as though he shared my confusion at seeing our FBI agent on the news.
“...pleased to announce the development of the Arcane Investigation Bureau,” a rather official sounding man in a dark brown suit and too much hair gel was telling the camera from his vantage point behind a podium baring an unfamiliar seal, which I could only assume belonged to the new governmental agency. “This new, specialized task force will be responsible for investigating crimes of a supernatural nature, and will consist of skilled individuals from all branches of law enforcement.”
I didn’t have to guess at the kind of skills they had sought in their applicants as the camera panned along the line of men and women. I was easily able to pick out the delicately pointed ears of a fae here and the subtly feral features of a were there.
Over the next five minutes, the speaker droned on about the importance of the new bureau, making a point of noting that the AIB would be working closely with the FBI and local law enforcement to protect citizens, both supernatural and mundane. His speech ended with details of the five regional offices that would be opening in Sacramento, Austin, Nashville, Boston, and of course, Denver.
My appetite gone, I reached for a napkin to wipe the grease from my fingers as the TV switched back to the local news feed. The napkin fluttered uselessly from my fingers and I almost swallowed my tongue when the camera alighted on Chrismer standing in front of the FBI headquarters in Denver, the blue mosaic glass panes reflecting the glare of the lights illuminating her. Loki jumped up like a shot and high-tailed it over the back of the couch, disappearing into the relative safety of my bedroom when I let out a wordless cry of fury and pounded a fist on the arm of the couch.
“You’ve
got
to be shitting me!” I snarled when I could finally form words again.
“Hi, Chris and Rachel! I’m here outside the Denver FBI Field Office where Division Chief Javier Santos is preparing to deliver a statement regarding the formation of the Arcane Investigation Bureau. As you know, the AIB will be working closely with the FBI and other factions of law enforcement to investigate supernatural crimes. To help foster the close working relationship between the two agencies, the AIB will be housed here in the Denver Field Office, and will be headed up by former FBI Special Agent Darius Holbrook.” Here Chrismer paused to flash the camera a wide smile.
Whatever she said next was swallowed by the low buzzing sound in my ears as I stared unseeing at the screen.
That conniving bitch.
I’d risked my life more times than I could count over the past several days, all in an effort to protect Holbrook’s secret, and in the end it had all been for naught. Chrismer’s threats had been as useless as a paper sack in a flood, and I’d gone along with her scheme like a puppet on a string.
She had played me, and rather expertly so.
“Well, shit.”
###
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading
Bitten
. I hope you enjoyed reading about Riley’s latest exploits and learning more about her world. If you’d like to know when her next adventure comes out, visit my website and sign up for the
newsletter
to receive new release alerts and exclusive free content.
I hope you’ll also leave a review with your thoughts on the website where you bought
Bitten
. It helps other readers find the series and helps me keep writing the stories you love. Also, your feedback makes me dance a happy jig in my living room that makes my fiancé laugh like a demented gnome.
Thanks for all your support. Happy reading!
A.J. Colby
http://www.ajcolbyauthor.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bringing a story to life truly is a group effort, and could not have been accomplished without the marvelous help of my team of dedicated supporters. I’d to think thank all the people who helped make this book possible:
Thank you to my amazing editor, Lisa L. Bingham, who spent many hours scouring the pages of my manuscript with a critical eye. You nearly gave me a heart attack with all that red, but your guiding hand helped transform this story into something far stronger and better. I’m so glad you agreed to come along for the ride, and I can’t wait for you to see what Riley and Holbrook get up to next!
My beta readers Leslie Dietz, Bryan Lott, Chip “Squatch” Holton, and Dale Asmussen are a blessing and I’m so grateful to have them on this journey with me. Thank you to each of you for the time and effort you put into helping me make this the best story it could possibly be.
Last, but not least, I owe the biggest thanks to my most treasured friend, companion, and partner, Mr. Awesome Sauce. You have been along with me on this roller coaster ride more than anyone, enjoying the ups and downs (of which there were many!), and have always been there to whisper words of encouragement when I needed them most. I can never repay you for all that you’ve given me, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to buy that shiny motorcycle you really want ;o)
MEET THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in England until the age of thirteen, A.J. Colby moved across the Atlantic and settled in Colorado in the mid-nineties, where she has lived ever since in the shadow of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Enchanted by science fiction and fantasy from an early age, she has had a love for all things urban fantasy since first picking up
Interview with the Vampire
at the tender age of ten. Since then, she has made it her life’s mission to one day pen her own story filled with vampires, werewolves, and ghouls (Oh, my!)
A.J. lives with her fiancé/manager/pimp, Mr. Awesome Sauce and their horde of feline minions. When not writing, she divides her time between reading, playing World of Warcraft, and collecting sewing machines and neuroses.
Some day she would love to buy a quaint little farmhouse in the English countryside, as long as she can get crates of ranch dressing shipped over and have a butler named Jeeves.
Find out more about the author at
http://www.ajcolbyauthor.com
.
