Dead But Not Forgotten Read Online Free Page A

drink.”
    He made a grand after-you gesture, and she straightened her jacket and headed on in.
    It was probably wrong to admit, even to himself, that watching her back was purely a pleasure.

    Kevin had been to the vampire bar Fangtasia before, but he hadn’t liked the place much, and it had made him feel worse about vampires, too. Fangtasia had seemed like a cross between a cheap B-movie set and a butcher shop. He’d had the uncomfortable feeling that everybody in it with a pulse was looked on as cuts of meat. He hadn’t stayed long, and he’d lied to his mother about where he’d been.
    The Bat’s Wing made Fangtasia look both better and worse. It was bigger, louder, glossier, and packed with people, but it seemed . . . soulless, in ways even the smaller vampire bar hadn’t. If Fangtasia was a butcher shop, this place was a slaughterhouse, moving cows through with ruthless efficiency from farm to plate. Women dressed in skimpy, tight dresses tottered around on heels that ought to come with warning labels, and the men with them were either aging, balding, and wealthy, or gym-obsessed and cruising for a sugar momma.
    And then there were the vampires.
    They didn’t mingle as much as the Fangtasia regulars did; a few glided through the crowd untouched, icy and perfect, but most were sitting in what was obviously a special section, roped off from the general public and guarded by two linebacker-sized human guards with experience in looking tough. More vampires there than he’d expected, but then Dallas was a big city. It only made sense that their community was just as big.
    There was no mistaking who was in charge, although he wasn’t at all what Kevin had expected. The man sitting in the concentric circle of vampires looked like a poster of a nerd, from the cheap sports shirt and khaki high-waisted pants to the tape fixing one side of his Buddy Holly glasses. It wasn’t that the nerd sat higher than the others, but it just seemed that way; it might have been the way the others aligned themselves, half turned toward him, half away to watch the room. He was the hub at the center of the deadly, glittering wheel.
    Kenya stopped at an empty stand-up table and signaled to a thinly dressed cocktail waitress; she ordered a Coke, and Kevin got a beer, because he felt like at least one of them ought to look as if they were here to party.
    Then he felt like an idiot when Kenya openly ogled a passing vampire who must’ve been born of Asian heritage in his human life. The vampire noticed and gave her a bare nod, which was apparently how they expressed approval around here. Kevin heard jealous murmurs from a couple of women near him.
    â€œWhat?” Kenya asked as their drinks were delivered, and he realized he was staring at her. “Got to fit in, right?”
    â€œRight,” he said, and looked around for a woman to admire. He couldn’t find one who intrigued him half as much as the woman sipping her Coke across from him, dark eyes lively and darting from one threat to another around them.
    He saw her fix on something behind him, and whatever it was, it got her unwavering attention. Her hand slid away from her drink and under her jacket, and he almost turned before she made a sign, just a little one, to stay where he was. She gave him a sudden, bright smile and leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
    â€œGlick’s here. He’s right behind you.”
    â€œShit,” Kevin whispered back. “I should have brought my gun!” They’d discussed it but decided it was too big a risk to come strapped into a vampire club in a strange town. Vampires took their personal security damn seriously.
    She nodded and laughed as if he’d said something hilarious, and
dammit
if he couldn’t help but notice how warm her cheek was as it brushed against his, and how soft. “I’ve got my baton,” she said. “Get in front of him and I’ll