The Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [38]
“What’s your definition of good?” she asked, making a point not to move toward him.
He pulled a book from the shelf: Renegade, by Elizabeth Charcoal. Showing it to Jessica, he said, “You’ll love it. Trust me.”
“You’ve read this?” Jessica had seen a magazine article about the author, though she hadn’t had a chance to read the book. Elizabeth Charcoal claimed that she was a vampire, and that Renegade was actually her autobiography.
“I know the author,” Alex answered matter-of-factly. “She gave me an autographed copy of the manuscript. Right after she tried to slit my throat, but why sweat the details?”
“Oh, really?” Jessica said skeptically. He was either teasing her or trying to impress her.
He shrugged. “We got into an argument.”
“Does this happen to you often?”
“Fairly frequently,” he answered, his tone nonchalant. “Elizabeth and I don’t like each other very much, but her book is … interesting. It’s the kind of thing you’d like.”
“How do you know what I like to read?”
“I can tell,” he answered cryptically and then he turned to the checkout. He paused so that she could catch up and walk beside him, not behind.
The woman at the counter looked at Alex with contempt and whispered something under her breath.
“Hasana, what a surprise.” Alex greeted her coolly. He smiled malevolently. The woman glared at him, but he ignored it.
“You two know each other?” Jessica asked foolishly seeing the angry sparks fly between them.
“Hasana is Caryn’s mother,” Alex offered, as if that explained everything. Jessica remembered Caryn’s reaction that morning when she had first seen Alex, and wondered what had happened between him and this family.
“Watch out for this guy” Hasana warned, nodding toward Alex. “He probably knows more about you than your taste in books.”
“And how could that be?” Jessica asked dryly.
“I can read your mind, and learn your secret fears and darkest desires,” Alex answered.
Jessica paused, examining his expression. She had written those exact words, Aubrey’s words, in Dark Flame, the novel that was presently waiting on her editor’s desk. She couldn’t remember whether she had used them in Tiger, Tiger.
“Do you always talk like that?” she asked, unnerved.
He looked at her challengingly as he said, “Don’t you know?”
She just shook her head, alarmed but unwilling to show it.
As Alex paid for his book, Jessica realized that she was still holding Tiger, Tiger. She placed it on the counter, not intending to buy it; she had plenty of copies at home.
Alex’s gaze drifted to the cover, and his expression leapt immediately from amusement to anger. He spun away and, without another word, stalked out of the store. Jessica was left staring after him, too shocked to react.
“If I were you, I’d just avoid him,” Hasana advised.
“Why? Is he going to hurt me?” Jessica’s sarcasm was sharpened by her confusion regarding Alex.
“Unless you keep away from him, he most likely will,” Hasana answered seriously “He has a temper.”
Jessica was out of sharp remarks. To hide her discomfort, she picked up the copy of Tiger, Tiger and said, “I guess I’ll put this away before it makes anyone else freak out.”
“If you want it, just keep it,” Hasana answered softly. “You are the author.”
Jessica froze, dumbfounded.
“I’m sorry,” Hasana said quickly. “I just —”
“How did you know?” Jessica interrupted, annoyed to learn that this woman had connected her to Ash Night. She had used a pen name to avoid recognition.
“I’ve read it, and I … recognized you as the author,” Hasana fumbled. “You just have a look about you …”
“What look?”
“Never mind,” Hasana said, shaking her head. “Take the book and the advice, and ignore me.”
She turned away, suddenly very busy with some papers, and Jessica left in a daze.
CHAPTER 9
AUBREY HAD LEFT THE STORE to avoid hurting someone — probably the witch.
Though he had a house on the fringe of town, he preferred to spend his time in the heart of New Mayhem, in his room behind the nightclub known as Las Noches. There