Timothy, a vampire turned no nonsense bounty hunter who keeps peace among supernaturals, has his world turned upside down when he meets a mysterious young witch who requests his help.
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Timothy is excellent at what he does. He's a vampire boun...
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I drove impatiently, cursing when a red light stopped me. It was just after dark, and Antoinette was waiting for me. She was probably wearing that corset of hers that I loved so much, the red one with the black lace. What better way to start my vacation was there than an evening with Antoinette?
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel in irritation as I waited for the light to turn green.
Lead Councilman Carbry Alesky had given me extended time off from Knight Corp for the first time since we'd taken out the Axeman in 1919. That mission had been a close call. Anyway, not that I didn't enjoy my work. I adored my job as a Knight Corp's head of security. I essentially trained and led paramilitary teams of supernaturals whose task it was to track down and eliminate rogues, supernaturals who failed to adhere to our American Order's laws. My people and I kept the peace, protected innocents, and ensured our kind remained hidden in the shadows. We didn't want humankind to find out about us lest we generate mass panic, and that Axeman murderer monster had nearly unveiled our existence to the world.
So yeah. How could I not love my job? I saved people who didn't even know they needed saving. And I was good at it, too. Efficient. Like with the Axeman. In the end, I'd killed him because I always killed the targets, and our company handled the cover-ups. As the light changed, I smirked before stepping a little too hard on the gas in my eagerness.
No, I didn't get time off often, but Alesky had granted me this gift as an apology after he very nearly ripped my face off when he'd lost control. When he'd attacked, I'd held him off, which was no small feat considering my boss was a vampire nearly five times older than me. He could have snapped me in half like a twig if he had wanted to, but ultimately, Alesky reigned in his rage before he ended up killing me.
I got it, though. Understood his ire.
When he had attacked me, he hadn't been directing his anger at me. It was us. Our vampire hubris almost killed Meriwa when we made the miscalculation that resulted in the attack on the human by three starving vampires. My boss had been in love with the human woman, but he wouldn't admit it to himself because he was an idiot.
So, Alesky had directed his rage at me even though Meriwa ended up surviving the attack. The human was tough, tougher than most of the supernaturals working for me. She was probably kicking ass and taking names somewhere awesome since she left Knight Corp because Alesky couldn't work up the courage to tell her he loved her.
But, hey, my boss' love life was none of my business, and, as a whole, humans were clueless sheep content to follow the rules and never concern themselves with what happens in the shadows with creatures that go bump in the night. Meri was just the exception to this 'humans are cute but dumb' rule.
With a wide grin plastered onto my face, I barreled down the street through the Third Ward of New Orleans, Central City, and I couldn't help but wonder at what had happened to my city over the past hundred years. The sight of New Orleans flying by on the other side of the windows had me shaking my head and made my grin slip just a little.
