King's Gambit Read Online Free PDF Page B

particularly ambitious, fill them completely. One vial per person.”
    Chewing my lower lip, I took the vials. How the hell was I supposed to inconspicuously fill these up? Last I checked, sleeping potions didn’t work on vampires, and I doubt there’s any way to “accidentally” stab all four of them.
    “Maybe I’ll just hit them all with a car,” I mumbled.
    “Do you have a car?” Khalil asked, his perfect white teeth bared in a smile.
    I scoffed. “ That’s your issue with my plan?”
    “I admire a woman who can think in unique ways.”
    “You enjoy women of all types,” Elise said dryly as she turned to me. “Attend the party Robert Franklin is hosting tomorrow night. If you have an opportunity to get his blood, do so. Otherwise, gather information and plan accordingly.”
    Khalil crossed his hands over his heart. “So dismissive, my dear. Keep saying those hurtful things, and I may begin to take them seriously.”
    “Take them however you want,” she said. “Outside, for example.”
    Elise stood and we followed suit, bidding each other good night and all those niceties as I wondered if she could be the first vampire/gargoyle hybrid, before making our way out. A cursory glance revealed a pleasant lack of creepy children, but there was no shaking the feeling I was being watched as the winter air kissed my face.
    Khalil was kind enough to offer me a ride home. That, or he knew I’d set him on fire if he left me here to hunt for a taxi. Fire was a vampire’s greatest weakness – even the slightest spark against their skin could cause insane amounts of damage. It was the “sun’s curse" or something much more eloquent I couldn’t remember.
    Sitting in the car, I let my thoughts drift to Elise. She was a hard woman to read – I’ve seen more expression on a blank piece of paper. Marcus trusted her, though, so I guess I couldn’t complain. Then again, the thought of giving blood – even if it wasn’t my own – to a thaumaturge made me feel prickly all over. She’s on my side, however, and that was what mattered right now. I’d cross any blood-soaked bridges when I came to them.
    Khalil’s dulcet tones interrupted my reverie. “Penny for your thoughts?”
    “That’s rather cliché.” I pressed my temple against the cool glass window.
    “You’re deflecting.”
    “No, I’m just not answering.”
    “One might argue that you are in fact answering, but I’m not the type to waste time on semantics.”
    “Is that so?” I asked with a lazy drawl. He had heated seats, which were currently winning a gold medal in lulling me to sleep.
    “Things tend to go better for me when people don’t look too closely.”
    He’s a con man, then. For some reason, the thought put a smile on my face. It added to his whole charming criminal appeal. We drove in silence a while before I peered at him from the corner of my eye.
    “How do you know Marcus?”
    “Through a few business contacts,” he said with a throaty chuckle. “I make a good living providing the more influential of my kind with a variety of services.”
    “What kind of services?”
    “Whatever is necessary…provided they can pay.”
    “Everyone has a price,” I repeated.
    “Indeed. What’s your price, I wonder?”
    “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
    “That isn’t what I meant, I assure you.” He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green. “Tell me, Morgan, do you practice blood magic?”
    “No.”
    “Is that why you don’t trust Elise?”
    No one likes a profiler, dude. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting. “In this line of work, it’s not really a good idea to wear your heart on your sleeve.”
    There was a hidden expectation in his silence.
    “I don’t get her end-game,” I admitted. “Marcus told me she recently became his magical advisor. If she wanted the job that badly, it wouldn’t be too hard to schmooze her way into Flavius’ good