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I dressed carefully for thewas casual; since ere currently officeless, Dawna had agreed to ail Andrews, a potential client, for lunch at La Cocina Unfortunately forat the last possible moment, hat seemed to me to be a fairly flis ere going to have to have a serious talk about in the very near future I get that Dawna’s busy getting ready for her wedding I understand that she’s distracted But to not even have done the basic research on Ms Andrews or filled out a client intake form was just sloppy Dawna is better than that She was better than that the first week she had started as o

Graves Personal Protection was the couard, and a good one Until very recently I’d run a one-woman operation out of the top floor of an old Victorianwas gone--long story--and I’d been forced to decide whether to expand the business or lose it altogether I’d chosen to expand, but ere definitely experiencing growing pains

Dawna Han Long and I have been friends practically since the moment we met, when she ca, efficient, and one of the ht that offering her a piece of the action and partnership in the business would make her even more committed to its success Thus far, not so h worse than this, h just fine

Still, no , I was about to take a business ) and look pleasant, cordial, and ever so competent With that in mind I’d decided to wear a purple silk shell over black jeans, withthe few colors that really look good with ray eyes, and naturally blonde hair I had to work very hard to find ways to look good--but not too good Bodyguards are never, ever, supposed to outshine their clients It’s a rule Unwritten, but a rule nonetheless

I was ar to attack ious extremists had declared "war" on sirens, and while I’d helped take out the top of their hierarchy, there were still a few stray nut jobs on the loose with an axe to grind So I don’t go anywhere unar er onan assortment of spell disks I also had on wrist sheaths that held a pair of very special knives Made for h to be considered ical artifacts They’re worth more than , they are arrote hidden in the collar of my jacket I’ve never had occasion to use it, but it’s there nonetheless

Most people think they should be able to tell if so armory Sometimes that’s true Fortunately for ical spells on the Still, I don’t look co, and that’s just as well After all, a touch of intimidation is part of the service

La Cocina is a tiny fae ca out there all the ti Barbara and Pablo, who run the place, feel like my aunt and uncle When they found out that I’d been bitten by a vampire and partially turned, Pablonutritious that I could actually digest--no easy task since solids were i one of s ever It’s called a Sunset Smoothie, and it’s made with cooked cow’s blood, spices, and h that I can actually eat it

I made my way to the back of the restaurant, where there was an area that was fairly quiet and private Barbara caood view of the door and proceeded to wait forShe caed woht blue eyes One side of her face was flawless The other half didn’t quite match and bore faint scars that were slick and sery at soreat job, but it wasn’t perfect My guess, the dae had been too severe There’s only so es can do

I assumed her use of a motorized wheelchair could be attributed to whatever had led to the reconstruction She steered the chair through the restaurant carefully but without hesitation, coht toward uard, looked like, considering how often I’ve been on the news in the past couple of years She wore a traditional navy suit, her blouse a paler blue that exactly matched the color of her eyes

I scooted a chair away fro room for her She slid smoothly into the space

"Ms Graves"

"Ms Andrews It’s a pleasure to rip fir my measure I could understand that Hell,in the way she did it Her attitude was just a teeny bit rude I forced oing to be difficult

It was the siren thing

I am part siren It wasn’t really an issue until the vaic he used activated the latent siren abilities in ht ood thing But there’s a definite downside to that lineage One of the pri with a fe a charht

Ms Andreasn’t wearing a charm

"I’d recoood" I s hard to radiate bonho?" The words were polite, but her tone of voice and body language were just short of hostile

"No, I’ just a hint of fang It probably wasn’t polite, but she was pushingme under an oh-so-polite façade I’d take it in the interests of business, but only for so long without pushing back a little