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Cadge had tried to get their hands on the remedy used to treat porphyria patients years
earlier, but they hadn t been able to manage it. Porphyria was a milder version of the
vampirism that ran through their lineage. A much tamer adaptation of the virus was
rumored to be the result of a Daywalker mating with a human several generations back and
watering down the gene pool, though no one knew for sure.
Some years back, the council had run the testing on volunteer Nightfeeders and
deemed the treatment useless for them because their bodies required complete transfusions
once their human DNA had been infected. Daywalkers, on the other hand, only needed a
boost to their own system. It was Teague s belief that heme would work as well for them. Of
course, they wouldn t know that for sure until they tried it. They couldn t waltz into a health
clinic and request the blood treatment without arousing a hell of a lot of questions neither of
them wanted to answer.
Standing at the counter, he grabbed an apple and ate it while he waited. He pitched the
core into the garbage can just as the timer went off. He popped open the door and stuck his
finger in the cup, stirring the blood and then heated it up for another thirty seconds. Sucking
the blood from his finger, he tapped his foot on the cool ceramic tile until the buzzer finally
dinged again. One long gulp drained the cup. His hunger sated, he strolled into the living
room and flopped down on the couch.
He picked up the remote, turned on the TV, surfed through all the channels, and
stopped on none. He felt twitchy, as if there was something he should be doing. The club was
closed; he d already gotten off, showered, and eaten. What else was there?
Out of the corner of his eye, Teague saw his cell phone doing donuts on the end table.
He must have forgotten to switch it over from vibrate to the ring function the night before.
Leaning over, he grabbed his phone, flipped it open and glanced at the caller ID. Yeah?
Where in the hell have you been? I ve been trying to reach you since last night.
Secrets and Lies 47
Good evening to you too, Red. It s so nice of you to call just to chat.
Eat me, asshole. I worry.
Teague laughed. I never pegged you as the mothering type, big boy.
Shut up, smartass. So, where were you?
Here and there, Teague hedged. I forgot to turn on my phone s ringer, so that s
probably why I didn t hear it before now. What s up? You have news to share on what we
were discussing last night?
No, there isn t anything yet, although your little problem upstairs has been taken care
of. I was just trying to get in touch with you to find out if you could provide any insight on
the list of defunct members your brother provided me with. I thought one of the names
might jar your memory about who you sired.
I don t know how that would work.
No matter. That s actually what I wanted to ask you before I talked with your staff last
night.
Teague swallowed. Yeah, so?
Well, you d be surprised how loose your employees lips are. If I were you, I would
definitely round them all up and give a lecture on discretion and the perils of workplace
gossip. All I had to do was ask a few roundabout questions, and I found out all sorts of
interesting information.
Like what? Teague stood up and paced in front of the sofa. There wasn t much he
cared to hide, but what he kept to himself was important. Was it possible his human
employees were catching on to what happened upstairs? That wouldn t bode well for any of
them.
When I couldn t find you, I questioned a few people to see if anyone knew where
you d gone. One of them said you d probably gone out for a booty call. Apparently, it s pretty
common knowledge that the man you ve been seeing hasn t been in recently. The staff has a
bet going. Three-quarters of them think you ll cave and find someone new to fuck within the
month, while the rest hold out hope that you ve finally met your match and will go after
your lover. They say you re much nicer to work for when you getting laid on a regular basis.
Shit. Teague rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to come up with something that
would sound believable about his trysts with Kyle. He d never forgive himself if something
happened to Kyle as a result of Teague s lifestyle. If he explained who Kyle was, Red
wouldn t be able to refrain from involving him. Kyle didn t deserve to have his world turned
upside down because he d chosen the wrong man to fuck.
Shit pretty well sums it up, pal. Like I said, I d definitely have a talk with your
employees. So, do you want to tell me about the mystery man, or would you like me to share
what I already know.
48 Amanda Young
There isn t anything to tell. There was a man I was fucking -- it happened a few
times -- but then he stopped coming around. It was no big deal, Teague lied, sticking as
close to the truth as possible.
So your disappearing act didn t have anything to do with this guy?
Nope.
Really? Because I find it kind of odd that the name of your new beau matches
someone on the cancelled membership list. Your little fuck-toy wouldn t happen to be the
man you sired, would he?
Excuse me? Teague growled, damn tempted to throw the phone at the wall. First of
all, I don t need to sire someone in order to get laid. Secondly, fuck you, Red. Who I sleep
with is none of your damn business.
Wrong. If you re intentionally withholding information that could help me do my job,
it is my business. If you want to put your ass on the line for a tight hole, so be it, but I m not
going to let it endanger other people s lives or the life of your brother. Don t make me take
steps that ruin our friendship, Teague. We ve been pals too long for you to throw it away
over a piece of ass.
How could you -- Teague jaw clenched as he parked his ass on the edge of the couch.
Is that what Red really thinks of me -- that I m that self-centered? His knees moved up and
down of their own free will, his body unable to stay still because of the tension coursing
through his muscles. I would never intentionally risk Cadge s safety -- not for any reason. I
don t know how you can even accuse me of it.
I don t want to believe it, but you aren t leaving me much choice. I know you re
hiding something. You took off like your ass was on fire last night. Help me out here. Make
me believe differently. You know it s only a matter of time until I find the creature you sired
anyway. I would think you d want to help me catch him before he kills anyone else, since
you re the one responsible for creating him.
Ah, nothing like a guilt trip to start the day. I wish you all the luck with that. Really.
If there was anything I knew that would help, I would tell you. Beyond the name on his
membership form and where I dropped him off on Victor s doorstep, I don t know of
anything to share with you. Except the name of the one man who could provide more
details.
The chances were slim that Kyle would know anything useful. It wasn t as if Darren
had gone back to his old life and tried to set up house as a Nightfeeder. He d ditched his life
like an old shoe, his lover along with it. Teague was certain Kyle didn t know anything.
There was no reason to get the other man involved with their lifestyle. He was too sweet, too
trusting to be brought into a world that thrived on carnage.
All right, but you know I m going to find out if you re lying.
I m not.
Secrets and Lies 49
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