Kate Daniels 05.5 - Magic Gifts

Jim put me on some shapeshifter murders and I needed to interview him. I asked for a chance to apologize."
    Raphael, you spoiled moron, what the hell did you do?
    I took her bottle and drank from it. I needed some alcohol for the next part. It tasted vile. I swallowed it down anyway. "How did it go?"
    "He replaced me with a better model."
    "He what?"
    "He found another girl. She is seven feet tall, with breasts the size of honeydew melons, legs that start at her neck, bleached blond hair down to her ass, and her waist is this big around." She touched her claws together. "They are engaged to be engaged."
    Of all the stupid, idiotic things... "He brought her
here
?"
    "She sat in this chair right there." She pointed at a chair. "I'm thinking of burning it."
    Andrea loved Raphael the way birds loved the sky and until a minute ago I would've sworn that he would run into the fire for her. "Did you punch him?"
    "Nope." Andrea shook her head. "After he told me that his new sweetheart's best quality is that she isn't me, it didn't seem like it would make any difference."
    "Is she a shapeshifter?"
    "A human. Not a fighter. Not that bright either." The false cheer evaporated form her voice. "I know what you'll say - it's my own fault."
    I wish I knew the right words to say. "Well, you did check out of his life. You checked out of my life for a while. It still makes him an asshole."
    "Yeah, yeah." Andrea looked away.
    Raphael was spoiled. He was handsome, and treasured by both his mother and Clan Bouda in general, but he was never mean or cruel. He was also the male Alpha of Clan Bouda. He had to know exactly what sort of risks he faced by bringing another woman and shoving her at Andrea. He had to have done it to provoke a reaction. The next time we met I'd pound his face into ground beef.
    Still, I couldn't believe that there was no method in his madness. He'd chased Andrea for months and he'd won her. Perhaps this was some sort of stupid attempt to make her chase him.
    "Are you going to fight for him?"
    Andrea stared at me like I was crazy.
    "Are you going to fight for him or are you going to rollover on your back and take it?"
    "Look who is talking. How long did it take you and Curran to have a conversation after that whole dinner mess? Was it three weeks or more like a month?"
    I arched my eyebrow at her. "That's different. That was a misunderstanding."
    "Aha."
    "He brought his new main squeeze here after you called him with a peace offering. That's a slap in the face."
    "You don't have to tell me that. I know." Andrea growled.
    "So what are you going to do about it?"
    "I haven't decided yet."
    I wasn't sure she felt Raphael was worth fighting for. But once, when I was in a really bad place, Andrea told me that she felt like being with Raphael had healed her. She said he was picking up broken pieces of her and putting them back together. Well, all the pieces had fallen now, and Andrea was trying to reassemble herself on her own.
    I'd seen Andrea fight. I saw her in unguarded moment, taken over by bloodlust and rage. Raphael would have to tread very carefully, because whether she decided that she wanted him or revenge, nothing would stop her.
    I tried to pick my words carefully. "Nothing is free. If you want it, you have to fight for it."
    "I'm thinking about it," she said. "How did your day go?"
    I nodded at the vampire head.
    "That good, huh."
    "Yup."
    "I have a vamp body for you," Andrea said. "It's in the freezer."
    I gave her a nice smile. "You shouldn't have."
    "It's a bribe for putting up with my psychotic break."
    The car motor came on. Curran got tired of waiting.
    "That's my ride," I said.
    The door swung open, and Curran walked in. I held my breath. Having Andrea and him at each other throats would be more than I could take.
    Andrea got up.
    A show of respect for the Beast Lord. I decided that breathing was a good thing.
    Curran nodded to Andrea. I got up, too, walked over to him, and kissed him, just in case he was entertaining any violent thoughts. He winked at me.
    "Hold on, let me grab the vamp head." I went to the back and got my head.
    When I came out, carrying the head in a plastic bag, Andrea and Curran were still in one piece and joined by a freshly washed Ascanio.
    I waved at Andrea and Curran and I went to the car. Ascanio tried to linger, but Curran looked at him, and the kid decided to follow us.
    We got into the car and pulled away.
    "And how did your day go?" I asked Ascanio.
    He turned to me, a