Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Williams?” Mistress Yank’doodle frowned. “What an odd name.” She shrugged. “Well, odd or not, I’m so grateful you came to help me out. If you ever need anything, please let me know!”
“I will, thank you.” Imani smiled at her once more and then exited Mistress Yank’doodle’s suite the same way she had entered it—by the gaping hole in the wall.
“J’are?” she called hopefully as she entered the door, which had been left standing open. “J’are? Where are you?”
But though she searched the whole suite, the big Nightwalker was nowhere to be found. Imani was beginning to think she’d better slip out of her nightdress and put on some decent clothes—if Yonnie Six clothing could be called “decent”—and go look for him when she saw him coming down the hallway.
The only problem was, he wasn’t alone. Marching on either side of him with pain prods at the ready were two big, scaly Horvath guards and trailing after them was an angry-looking woman who appeared to be some kind of manager—if the gold nametag with elaborate script pinned to her collar was any indication.
Uh-oh… Imani bit her lip.
It looked like there was going to be trouble.
Twenty-One
“I’m very sorry, Ms. Williams, but you simply cannot stay here at the Luxx any longer. I’m going to have to ask you to pack your things and go.”
The manager, a Mistress with short, no-nonsense black hair, fixed Imani with a glare.
“What are you talking about?” Imani demanded, putting a hand on her hip. “Your employee was the one who tried to blow me up! And now you’re kicking me out?”
“You have absolutely no proof of that,” the manager said frostily. “And I have an eye-witness account from the Mistress in the room across from yours that she saw your bodyslave detonate the bomb that damaged our building and nearly killed one of our guests!”
“What?” Imani exclaimed. “That’s crazy! It was your praying mantis—I mean your morphid—that brought up the bomb on a tray and pretended like it was a complimentary breakfast! You ought to be questioning your own staff instead of accusing me and J’are!”
She nodded at the big Kindred who was growling menacingly at the two Horvath guards on either side of him. She couldn’t tell if he had gone into feral mode or not but he certainly didn’t look happy.
“I beg your pardon, we have no morphids on staff here,” the manager said icily. “We do not allow non-humanoids to work at the Luxx.”
“What? But I was checked in by one at the front desk yesterday!” Imani protested. “And when I called for dinner last night, I talked to another one. And—”
“And I believe you have overstayed your welcome, Ms. Williams,” the manager interrupted her. “I will give you and your bodyslave half an hour to vacate the premises. After that, I’ll have my guards escort you out.”
Without another word, she turned and strode down the hallway, followed by the two lizard-looking Horvath guards who flanked her on either side.
“J’are?” Imani looked up at the big Kindred uncertainly. She still didn’t know if he was in his feral state or his “thinking mind” as he had put it. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Fine.” He took a deep breath and blew it out, then did it again. It looked like a calming technique to Imani. “Don’t worry,” he added, when she continued to look at him anxiously. “I’m still in my thinking mind—my feral side hasn’t taken over.”
“Oh, good.” Imani felt a rush of relief. “I was afraid those Horvath guards…”
“They did make it more difficult not to revert to my feral state—especially since I spent the last three or four months in it,” J’are admitted, running a hand over his hair. “But I’m trying to stay in my thinking mind—I’m no good to you if I revert to my wild side.”
“You’re fine either way but it is easier to have a conversation with your, uh, thinking mind,” Imani admitted. She sighed. “Though for right now, all there is to talk about is how fast we can pack and get out of here. I can’t believe the manager is throwing us out when it was her employee that tried to kill us! Did you see anything when you ran down the hall?”
J’are shook his head.
“No, but that doesn’t prove anything. Fucking morphids are quick.”
“Who do you think sent it?” Imani looked around nervously. Even if they hadn’t been kicked out of the Luxx, she would have wanted to leave. There had been two attempts on her life in the past twenty-four hours and both of them had involved the huge pink praying mantises which seemed to be everywhere around here—no matter what the manager said.
“Don’t know.” J’are shook his head. “Probably whoever killed Mistress Zangelo.”
“But why?” Imani asked. “Do they think you know something? You didn’t recognize whoever it was on the vid-clip.”