Death Cursed (Death Touched, Book One)

Chapter 19

The address took them to the apartment section of the city where the towering masses of bricks and steel contained cramped humans. Nena rolled down her window and breathed deeply the familiar scent of trash cans and car exhaust.

She glanced up at the tall buildings and sighed. "My apartment's near here."

"No."

She lifted her eyes and frowned at Jack. He had his head turned so she could see one side of his face. "No what?"

"You can't go back. That life is over."

Nena frowned. "I just want to grab a few things."

"Take a nap there? Maybe call a few friends? Maybe your dad?" he suggested.

Nena narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you know about him?"

A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "Not so much that I deserve that look. Scratch wanted to see who might look for you, so I volunteered to do the digging.' He gave her a wink. "Not too deep, of course. We wouldn't want Scratch to know you have a criminal record."

Nena slouched down and wrapped her arms around herself as she frowned at the empty seat beside her. "I was fifteen, okay? Besides, it was only a stupid Twinkie."

He chuckled. "You're as bad a thief as you are a liar. The shopkeeper caught you because-"

"That was a long time ago!" she insisted.

Jack shrugged and looked ahead. "I suppose, but if I'd tried to hide that large a desert in my cheek's I wouldn't want-ooph." Nena had given the back of his seat a good kick and shoved him forward to the end of his seatbelt. Jack whipped his head around and glared at her. She sat behind him with both legs up and prepared for another swift delivery of justice.. "Will you quit that?"

"You're a ghost, go through your seatbelt," she dared him.

"It doesn't work on a sneak-attack," he reminded her.

"Then I'm giving you practice, or do you want to call a truce?" she asked him.

A snort came from the seat beside Jack. He lifted his narrowed eyes to his partner. The corners of Peter's lips twitched upward as he stared straight ahead. Jack frowned. "Don't say a word."

Peter straightened and shook his head. "I do not know what you mean."

Jack took out his cigarette and wagged it at the vampire. "You know what I mean, Pete."

Peter shook his head. "I do not know of what you speak, but I do recall a certain incident involving a stuffed bear and-"

"Pete!" Jack shouted.

Nena's eyebrows shot up. She lowered her feet and leaned between the seats to look at Peter. "What stuffed bear?"

A true smile appeared on Peter's lips. "During a rather hectic assignment Jack and I were chasing a suspect through a toy shop and-"

"Come on, Pete!" Jack pleaded.

"-he stumbled into a stack of stuffed bears and dematerialized his upper body, but neglected his lower half. The result was that one of the stuffed bears attached itself to his shoulders and its head took the place of his own."

Nena barked out a laugh and fell back on the seat clutching her sides. Jack slid down in his own and glared at his partner. "Thanks, Pete. . ."

Peter bowed his head. "It was my pleasure."

"I bet. . ."

Nena managed to gather herself and grinned at Jack. "You were saying something about my squirrel cheeks, Teddy?"