Netherworld II: Blood Potion No. 9 by Tracy St.John Page A

like he was watching a tennis match. The smirk on his
face told me he didn’t mind the obvious unhappiness between us one
bit. “Oh well, let’s have it,” he invited pleasantly.
    Tristan as a human ghost is just as
elegant and urbane as he is as a vampire. But he’s so much warmer.
His skin reverts to the tan he left mortal life with, his dark
eyes, while still almost black, aren’t nearly as predatory. There’s
no hunger to sharpen the planes of his face. He doesn’t look at
others as if wondering how good they taste. This is the man I
love.
    I started off with the revelation that
C.K. and Hazel were directly responsible for the tainted blood
supplies and followed up with the even bigger news that they
planned to infect the norms with Zoo Flu. Tristan and Patricia both
turned appropriately pale at the murderous pairs’ plot. Even Dan
let go of enough anger to be aghast.
    But Tristan’s horror didn’t preclude
him from scheming to take advantage of the situation. Boyfriend
Number Two is always interested in what’s in it for him, whether
he’s vampire or human. If he didn’t actually care about others, it
would definitely turn me off.
    He said, “This is huge. If we can find
out when the shipment of tainted blood is due to come in, we’ll
have that hateful little pig right where we want him.”

    I scowled. “You can’t screw up Bane’s
investigation, Tristan. Not if you want the Beasts put out of
commission here in Fulton Falls permanently. Hands off the
case.”
    He waggled a paternal finger at me.
“You’re there on my behalf, Brandilynn. Surely the ATF can share
the credit with us.”
    I snorted in a most unladylike fashion,
but Tristan’s ambitions were ticking me off just a bit. “And
further your political career?”
    He folded his arms over his chest and
gave me a level look. “So sue me for being ambitious. If my people
just happen to be on hand when the bust goes down, everyone
wins.”
    At least he’s honest about his
less-than-stellar motivations. I can’t fault that.
    Dan finally joined the conversation. “I
can pick the Beasts back up now, Tristan. I think Brandilynn’s done
enough.” The glare he gave me let me know he wasn’t referring to
spying.
    “I prefer you to stay with the main ATF
office so you can keep us abreast of the plans they
have.”
    “Then I’ll do both,” Dan said
doggedly.
    Patricia stared at him. “What is your
problem?”
    I answered because it was up to me to
tell Tristan what I’d done, not Dan. “His problem is that I took
over a living woman’s body and had sex with Bane.”
    Tristan started. He turned to me, his
expression a mix of anger and disbelief. When he could speak, his
tone was still cultured but noticeably furious. And he cursed. “Why
the hell would you do that?”
    Shamefaced, I repeated the sordid tale.
Dan turned away again while I spoke.
    When I was finished, Patricia said,
“Way to take one for the team, Brandilynn.”
    I couldn’t tell if she was being
sarcastic or sincere. I was betting on sarcastic.
    Tristan stared at me, his expression
wiped clean of any feeling. His eyes gave away the internal
struggle he was fighting though. It was the longest ten seconds of
my life, that silence.
    Finally he spoke, shaking his head and
letting his disappointment in me come through. “I can see why you’d
sacrifice yourself in such a way, but I can’t say I’m happy about
it either. This relationship is crowded as it is.”
    I’ll admit I got defensive. I’d hurt
two men with my need to save Bane, and it was easy to give into the
shelter of anger. Anger is simpler than shame. So, true to
Brandilynn form, I pointed out, “You have your blood groupies. You
have sex with other women, what, two or three times a night? If
anyone has no right to argue, it’s you.”
    Dan swung around to face us all. He
spoke through gritted teeth. “Keep her away from the Beasts,
Tristan. I don’t want her saving that agent again.”
    I was still in