A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

away.”
    Could she read my thoughts? My laughter
died in my throat at the oppressing silence.
    Cass crossed her arms over her chest,
grinning. “That kiss between Aidan and you last night wasn’t bad for a start,
but I prefer a bit more oomph.”
    I gasped. “He told you? That moron—”
    “The image rolls before my eyes like on a
movie theatre screen because you can’t stop thinking about it.” She leaned in. “Honestly,
you’re good for Aidan. I’ve heard he’s been such a grump over the last century.
A little action might loosen the stiff up.”
    I didn’t believe one word. How dare he kiss
and tell, bragging to half the neighborhood? That is, if we had any.
    “Ha, you wish. I know his kind. He’s so
uptight he wouldn’t even tell his own brother. Now try me,” Cass said.
    “Try you what?” I blinked, unable to keep
up with Cass’s changes in topic.
    “You want to know if I can read your mind.
Ask me questions, then.”
    I hesitated. “How did you know—”
    “Come on, mate. I haven’t got all day.”
    “Let me think.” Breathing in, I focused on
the first string of words my mind came up with: doo-da-di sausage with gravy and apple crumbs.
    Cass scoffed. “Doo-da-di sausage with gravy
and apple crumbs. Seriously? You were more fun to tune into when you thought I
was dating your guy.”
    “How did you know that?” There had to be
some sort of explanation. Maybe some circus trick, like pulling a card out of
one’s sleeve.
    “I could try the card trick for you, but I’m
such a klutz most of the time. I’d probably end up with cards scattered all
over the floor.” Cass smiled.
    I stared at her, enthralled. “How do you do
that?”
    “What? Oh, that.” Cass waved her hand; her
smug grin made her look as though she enjoyed entertaining her audience. “It’s
just something I do. Can be quite a pain in the butt when you’re trying to
sleep and the next-door neighbor keeps obsessing about the dripping water tap
and whether the doors are indeed barricaded for the night.”
    “You’re good,” I said, impressed. I wished I
could read other people’s thoughts. Then I’d drive Dallas crazy by answering
his questions before he asked them. Now, that would freak him out. “Can you
hear anyone’s thoughts?”
    “There’s a few exceptions.”
    “So, are you a vampire too?” I bit my lip
to stifle the sudden onset of hysteria. Talking about the existence of vampires
was one thing, facing one was another. I could only hope Cass had a hearty breakfast.
    “Did my pale face give me away?” Cass
laughed. “I knew I should’ve worn more bronzer. I guess I could pass for a
vampire, but there’s one giant flaw in your theory.”
    “What’s that?”
    Cass rolled her eyes as she pointed at the
large windows. “Uh, daylight. How could I be sitting here without sunglasses
and draping myself in blackout curtains?”
    “Right. I forgot that tiny detail. You’d be
in your crypt sleeping like my boss, or so you say.” If she wasn’t a vampire,
what was she then?
    Cass hesitated. “I can’t go into detail
right now. Let’s just say I’m here to save your butt since Aidan’s keeping you
in the dark. I thought you should know what you’re dealing with in case Aidan
decides to bite a bit harder than the usual boyfriend.” Cass tilted her head to
the side, her eyes shimmering bright red like two Chinese lanterns. “ Urgh , Dad’s calling. Gotta dash.”
She air-kissed my cheeks and loitered out the door, waving as she called over
her shoulder, “See ya , mate.”
    “Wait. You mentioned some court. Who’s coming
after me?” I bolted after Cass in time to see her jump into her huge SUV.
Shooting me a smile, she sped off, a puff of smoke lingering in the air. Of
course Cass had to disappear when I was finally warming up to the idea that
maybe—just maybe—I lived in a house inhabited by immortals. What
did they even want from me? And how dangerous were they really?
    Returning to the living room, I slumped
down on the sofa and stared into empty space. I shouldn’t be slacking off
during working hours, but no way could I focus on going about the chores now. Was
Aidan really a vampire? I hadn’t seen him around during the day, hadn’t
actually seen him eat , but he didn’t
look like the usual Dracula sidekicks on TV. For one, he didn’t wear a cloak.
He didn’t turn into a blood-sucking maniac at midnight. And he seemed to travel
by car rather than beam himself to places. Of