Zane's Redemption
Page 29
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Zane rubbed his neck, noticing the flawless skin that had grown over his injuries. He would do better asking Samson for a few nights off so he could investigate Brandt’s son and find out where he’d been before he’d arrived at his house. With a bit of luck, it would lead him straight to Müller. He was clearly wasting his time here.
When he suddenly heard a door open on the upstairs floor, he sat up straight.
“Thanks so much for helping me out!” Portia drawled.
“Anytime. What are friends for?” came Lauren’s predictable reply.
Blah, blah, get out! Zane cursed inside.
“Can we go through the questions once more right before class?” Portia asked.
“Sure. Shall we say a half hour before? We’ll meet at the cafeteria?”
“Perfect.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Zane quickly slunk back into the sofa cushions and grabbed a news magazine from the coffee table, pretending to read.
Lauren’s god-awful perfume spread in the living room as she came down the stairs. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that she’d already pulled the hoodie of her grey Parka up as she wandered to the door. He gave a quick nod acknowledging her presence, but didn’t look at her. That was all he needed: Lauren telling Portia that he gave a shit.
When the door closed behind her, he tossed the unread magazine back on the coffee table and impatiently tapped his foot, trying to stop himself from jumping up immediately to storm into Portia’s room. At least he could keep up the pretense of control and not make it obvious that his need to take her to task about her earlier seduction was outweighing his common sense and his restraint.
He managed about ten minutes of holding himself back, before he shot up from the couch. “Fuck it!”
Lauren’s perfume still hung heavy in the house as he reached the upstairs landing and became even more intense as he neared Portia’s room. How Portia would be able to sleep at all tonight with that stink filling her room was beyond his comprehension. He for one was positively choking on the stuff.
Zane halted in front of the closed door, hesitating for an instant. Should he knock? The thought instantly pissed him off. Of course he wouldn’t knock. This wasn’t a social call where he begged to be admitted. He was here to dole out punishment for her earlier behavior. There would be no friendly knock to announce his arrival. Maybe she had already sensed him approach, even though, as always, his footsteps had been soundless, and with the fucking perfume stinking up the house, she would have a hard time smelling him, as he would her.
His heart suddenly rocked to a halt. He couldn’t smell her. He yanked at the knob and swung the door open, charging into the room, already knowing what he would find.
“That little bitch!” She’d outsmarted him.
On Portia’s bed, Lauren lay stretched out, lazily flicking through the channels on the TV. When she saw him, the remote fell from her hand, and she sat up in a start.
“Ah, shit!” Lauren had the good grace to look somewhat guilty at being caught at the deception the two had concocted.
“Your fucking perfume!” he growled. The two women had purposefully screwed with his sense of smell so he wouldn’t notice Portia sneaking past him. The thick grey Parka with the hood and the wide, dark sunglasses had topped off the disguise. “I should have known it was a trick!”
“Shoulda,” Lauren replied with a shrug.
Zane snarled, not bothering to hide his fangs. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
Zane recognized a lie when he heard one. He was in no mood to play a little cat and mouse game with a juvenile hybrid. Without warning, he pounced, snatched Lauren’s arms and pinned her against the wall at the head of the bed. The girl stared at him, stunned. She clearly hadn’t expected him to get physical.
“Now I’ll repeat my question: where is Portia?”
“My dad is going to have your ass for this.” She thrust her chin up in defiance.
“Your father is going to ground you for what you did and he’ll pat me on the shoulder.”
Lauren pressed her lips together. “He won’t.”
“Talk, or I’ll haul your ass to your father and we’ll find out, shall we?”
The standoff took thirty seconds, and Zane didn’t blink a single time. He was good at this, and Lauren was a mere amateur and obviously not as sure about her father’s sentiments as she pretended.
“Fine. She went to a party.”
“Where?”
“At one of the fraternities.”
When he suddenly heard a door open on the upstairs floor, he sat up straight.
“Thanks so much for helping me out!” Portia drawled.
“Anytime. What are friends for?” came Lauren’s predictable reply.
Blah, blah, get out! Zane cursed inside.
“Can we go through the questions once more right before class?” Portia asked.
“Sure. Shall we say a half hour before? We’ll meet at the cafeteria?”
“Perfect.”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Zane quickly slunk back into the sofa cushions and grabbed a news magazine from the coffee table, pretending to read.
Lauren’s god-awful perfume spread in the living room as she came down the stairs. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that she’d already pulled the hoodie of her grey Parka up as she wandered to the door. He gave a quick nod acknowledging her presence, but didn’t look at her. That was all he needed: Lauren telling Portia that he gave a shit.
When the door closed behind her, he tossed the unread magazine back on the coffee table and impatiently tapped his foot, trying to stop himself from jumping up immediately to storm into Portia’s room. At least he could keep up the pretense of control and not make it obvious that his need to take her to task about her earlier seduction was outweighing his common sense and his restraint.
He managed about ten minutes of holding himself back, before he shot up from the couch. “Fuck it!”
Lauren’s perfume still hung heavy in the house as he reached the upstairs landing and became even more intense as he neared Portia’s room. How Portia would be able to sleep at all tonight with that stink filling her room was beyond his comprehension. He for one was positively choking on the stuff.
Zane halted in front of the closed door, hesitating for an instant. Should he knock? The thought instantly pissed him off. Of course he wouldn’t knock. This wasn’t a social call where he begged to be admitted. He was here to dole out punishment for her earlier behavior. There would be no friendly knock to announce his arrival. Maybe she had already sensed him approach, even though, as always, his footsteps had been soundless, and with the fucking perfume stinking up the house, she would have a hard time smelling him, as he would her.
His heart suddenly rocked to a halt. He couldn’t smell her. He yanked at the knob and swung the door open, charging into the room, already knowing what he would find.
“That little bitch!” She’d outsmarted him.
On Portia’s bed, Lauren lay stretched out, lazily flicking through the channels on the TV. When she saw him, the remote fell from her hand, and she sat up in a start.
“Ah, shit!” Lauren had the good grace to look somewhat guilty at being caught at the deception the two had concocted.
“Your fucking perfume!” he growled. The two women had purposefully screwed with his sense of smell so he wouldn’t notice Portia sneaking past him. The thick grey Parka with the hood and the wide, dark sunglasses had topped off the disguise. “I should have known it was a trick!”
“Shoulda,” Lauren replied with a shrug.
Zane snarled, not bothering to hide his fangs. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
Zane recognized a lie when he heard one. He was in no mood to play a little cat and mouse game with a juvenile hybrid. Without warning, he pounced, snatched Lauren’s arms and pinned her against the wall at the head of the bed. The girl stared at him, stunned. She clearly hadn’t expected him to get physical.
“Now I’ll repeat my question: where is Portia?”
“My dad is going to have your ass for this.” She thrust her chin up in defiance.
“Your father is going to ground you for what you did and he’ll pat me on the shoulder.”
Lauren pressed her lips together. “He won’t.”
“Talk, or I’ll haul your ass to your father and we’ll find out, shall we?”
The standoff took thirty seconds, and Zane didn’t blink a single time. He was good at this, and Lauren was a mere amateur and obviously not as sure about her father’s sentiments as she pretended.
“Fine. She went to a party.”
“Where?”
“At one of the fraternities.”
