No, Anna. You won't want to feed from anyone here. Trust me.

I don't. It doesn't make sense. You'd better explain. I'm not picking up any mental vibes. No shape-shifters. No vamps, either, that I can detect. I stop and reconsider, "tasting" the air like a dog sniffs for a scent. Something is coming through that I hadn't picked up on earlier. Okay. There is one vamp. In the back. She's feeding. Why can't I?

Culebra has a face that Sergio Leone would have cast as a villain in one of his spaghetti westerns. Craggy, world-weary, expressive.

Right now, the expression is embarra.s.sment-a strange emotion coming from one who has been nothing but a good friend to me.

What could possibly be causing this kind of reaction?

Unless he's trying to protect me from something-or someone.

Who's in the back?

No answer. But I know I've hit on something. He's exerting such great effort to shield that information from me mentally that he doesn't detect the physical movement behind him.

A vamp walks into the room, a tall, willowy redhead with a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose and green eyes shining with contentment. She acknowledges me, a fellow vamp, with a subtle nod of her head. She doesn't shield her thoughts.

Why should she? She detects no threat. She's fed and she's had s.e.x. She's content. She's holding the arm of the donor whose expression mirrors her own. He's a big man, walking with a slight limp. When he looks up and sees me, his eyes flicker, his face goes blank.

For an instant.

Then he smiles. A cold, impersonal smile.

"h.e.l.lo, Anna."

The vamp looks from one of us to the other, a spark of interest quirks one perfectly shaped eyebrow. You two know each other?

Oh, yes. It takes a minute for me to recover from the shock. Another to acknowledge her question with a nod. Oh, yes, we know each other.

"h.e.l.lo, Max."

CHAPTER 6.

MY VOICE ECHOES IN MY HEAD, COLD, SHARP AS the crack of ice on a frozen pond.

Max and I stare at each other.

"This is getting to be a bad habit." The bitterness in his voice is as obvious as the vamp on his arm.

I don't respond. I don't need to. I know exactly what he means. This isn't the first time we've run into each other unexpectedly here in Beso de la Muerte. He's a DEA agent, or at least he was the last time I saw him. He and Culebra have worked together.

Neither has ever explained how or why, and I haven't pushed.

Tonight, though, is different. These circ.u.mstances are different.

I'm struck dumb by what I see in front of me. I can't take my eyes off the man who, until a few months ago, was my boyfriend and lover. Max and I have had an on-and-off relationship for the last few years. The off times have always been my fault; I accept that.

When he walked out of my life for good, he did it because he found out what I was. He saw me turn. He saw me kill. The circ.u.mstances warranted it. Still, I a.s.sumed he couldn't come to terms with a girlfriend who needed to suck more than the obvious every few weeks.

To find him here, and know that he and this vampire shared what he didn't want to share with me, provokes hurt and confusion. I don't deal well with those emotions. When I was human, I tended to wield them like a double-edged sword against whoever had the bad fortune to injure me. That hasn't changed. Instead of beating my breast and asking him why, I revert to the familiar. I attack."Well, well. This is interesting. You decide getting f.u.c.ked by a strange vampire is better than getting f.u.c.ked by one you know?"

The vamp with Max takes a step back. Whoa, she says. I didn't know he belonged to someone. He showed up and offered himself.

At the same time she's conveying that message to me telepathically, Max is throwing me a puzzled frown. "How did you know we had s.e.x?"

I feel my face split into a sour smile. "I smell it on you. Was it good, Max? It must have been to overcome your sensibilities about s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g a vampire. Which is why I a.s.sumed you left me."

His expression hardens, confusion into anger. "Don't lay that on me, Anna. You hid what you were from me for months. You would never have told me at all if I hadn't been there to see it."

He's right. Hiding what I've become from the mortals I want to stay close to has been the hardest adjustment to this vampiric experience. "I was right to hide it, wasn't I? You walked out on me. Didn't bother to say good-bye, and yet here you are. When did you decide to become a donor? Was it when you realized how great the s.e.x is? Not so easy to get off with mere mortals when you've experienced the ultimate, is it?"

"You should know." There is a resentful edge to his voice. "You hadn't gotten off with me until that last time. It's what made it so great, wasn't it? You fed from me. It was the only time I'd satisfied you since you turned into . . ." His voice breaks off. "This."

He reaches behind him and grabs the arm of the vamp. She is not expecting it, caught up in the exchange between Max and me.

She recovers in an instant. She puts her head down, snarls and bites down on his hand hard enough to draw blood.

I don't come to his defense. I would have reacted the same way to being manhandled.

He s.n.a.t.c.hes his hand away and looks down at the ragged wound. "This is what you are, Anna. An animal. I come here to remind myself why I can't love you anymore."

Culebra interposes himself between us. "Take this outside," he says. "You're making the natives restless."

For the first time, I'm aware that, except for the pulse of the music, it has grown quiet in the bar. A half dozen women have separated from the others and are creeping toward us. They seem to be sniffing the air, mouths open, eyes narrowed.

I raise a questioning eyebrow to Culebra.

It's the blood. Take Max outside and heal the wound. Quickly.

But the redhead steps forward. He's with me. I'll do it. She looks up at Max and says quietly. "You need to come with me. Now.

You've made the pack nervous."

He has his eyes on me, but he follows her outside without arguing. He's seen what a vampire can do when provoked. When the doors swing closed behind them, the six who were creeping up on us turn as one toward someone behind them. Though I don't detect movement of any kind, they must get some kind of signal. They slink back to their places at the bar.

I skewer Culebra with a look. The pack? What are they?

He doesn't answer right away. He's watching the crowd at the bar, waiting for the tension to drain from the room. When the decibel level rises to its former ear-splitting pitch, anxiety still clouds his eyes, and I can tell he's far from relieved.

Culebra, I ask again. What are they?

His eyes flick back to me. Werewolves.

Werewolves? I repeat stupidly. I look around. There are at least forty of the creatures in the bar. A shudder of revulsion runs down my spine. The fact that they look and act human is not a comfort. I look and act human, too. Most of the time. All of them?

Culebra follows my gaze as it sweeps the room. Yes.

Explains the emblem on the jackets. I know how strong I am and how powerful Culebra is, but still, these are not good odds. Are we safe?

He takes my arm and steers me toward the door at the back of the bar. If that's his answer, it's not rea.s.suring. But neither is going through the same door Max and his new girlfriend exited earlier. I smell Max. His s.e.x, his blood. It's distracting enough to make me ask, When did Max start coming here?

Six weeks ago.

Not long after we escaped from Mexico. Where Max found out my secret.

Culebra is watching my face. He's not prying into my thoughts. Maybe he doesn't want to feel the emptiness. He says, "You asked me if we were safe from them." He gestures toward the bar.

Perhaps he does feel it. "Nice change of subject."

He nods and waves me into a chair. "We are safe. In theory. Weres are only dangerous in their animal form. Still, they are a pack.

Bloodl.u.s.t can bring the animal to the surface. There have been doc.u.mented cases of a pack in human form tearing apart a large animal for sport. Especially when drugs or alcohol are involved."

I glare at him. "So you let them into your bar to drink and smoke pot? Doesn't sound so smart to me."

"I know the leader of this pack. She promised me there would be no trouble. They are on their way across the border. She asked to stay the night. I agreed. They are paying well for the privilege."

This still does not sound like something Culebra would agree to. He shrugs, divining my thought.

I had no idea you would show up tonight. You fed only a week ago. The weres are moving on in the morning. The camp is otherwise empty. I saw no harm in granting the request. As for Max . . .

He pauses, eyes on me while he lets himself into my head. I don't try to stop him. It's easier than trying to explain what I'm feeling.

Anger toward Gloria and her ridiculous situation, and now hurt and disappointment because of Max.

The problem with Gloria can be easily fixed. You may be able to settle it tonight when you see this business partner. I am sorry seeing Max upset you. I didn't realize you had come in until it was too late.

Is that supposed to make me feel better? I come to this place as much for refuge from the irritations of the mortal world as for sustenance. Should I call ahead from now on to make a reservation?

Culebra lifts an eyebrow.

I know I'm overreacting. Max has as much right to come here as I do. Maybe more, since he and Culebra were friends long before I came into the picture. Still, the thought that I might run into him again on the arm of another vamp sends a stab of resentment through my gut.

Culebra's expression softens from irritation to sympathetic acknowledgment, but he says nothing. What can he say? This is my problem.

I turn away abruptly. I can't think of any reason to stay here. I can't think of any clever parting remarks. Maybe I'll go back to Glory's and wait for O'Sullivan to show up. Then, after I take care of him, I'll pick up one of those eager yuppies and bring him home with me. f.u.c.k his brains out and send him on his way.

I feel Culebra's disapproval. It hums through the air like radio waves, but he can't help and he can't stop me.

He doesn't try.

Just as I don't bother to say good-bye.

CHAPTER 7.

I'M ALMOST AT THE DOOR WHEN ONE OF THE FEMALE weres steps in front of me. It's not an accident. She looks at me and rumbles a growl, challenging, threatening. A growl rises in my own throat, and a rush of adrenaline burns through my veins.

The vampire springs into defensive mode.

The bar is suddenly quiet.

"What do you want?" My voice is harsh, my muscles tense.

The woman stares at me. "Are you Anna Strong?"

She knows my name?

Startled, I take a step back to get a better look. Do I know her? She's as tall as I am. Brown, close-cropped hair. Dark eyes in a face that would be pleasant if not for the hatred in her expression. She's wearing a pair of skin-tight jeans and a worn leather jacket zipped to her neck. She makes an elaborate show of stripping off her jacket and letting it fall to the floor. She's wearing a tank top that reveals a right arm decorated with an elaborate multicolored tattoo, something with an eagle and a waving flag. It also reveals well-muscled shoulders and rock-hard biceps that she flexes like a prize-fighter.

I'm d.a.m.ned sure now that I don't know her, but I can't help it, the posturing makes me smile. I feel like I'm back in junior high facing a school-yard bully. Swallowing back the urge to laugh, I ask, "Are you calling me out, sunshine?"

It's not the reaction she's expecting. A frown tightens the thin lips. "You think this is funny?"

Culebra is suddenly between us. "Stop it."

Two words, but his tone cuts like a whip. He faces the were. "You are a guest here. Have you forgotten?" He turns toward the crowd at the bar. "Sandra, you gave your word there would be no trouble. Are you abusing my hospitality?"

The were takes a step back and turns toward the bar. I turn, too, though at first I can't tell who he's addressing. Then there's movement as the crowd parts to let someone through. A woman. She separates from the rest. She doesn't say anything; she looks.

At me.

My pulse starts racing. I can't move. I can't look away. I don't want to.

She is stunning. More than beautiful. Tall, lean, dressed in black form-fitting leather. Her dark hair is cut to frame her face, a showcase for eyes that flash blue green in the light of the bar and generously curved, slightly parted lips. Her smooth skin glows with pale undertones, as if even inside, she's bathed in moonlight.

The effect is at once devastating and unnerving. Every eye in the room is riveted on that perfect face. I've never felt anything like it-a s.e.xual vibe so strong it transcends gender and species. I can't believe I didn't notice her before.

Only Culebra seems immune. He puts a hand on my arm, tightening his grip to keep me at his side.

"Well?" he barks. "Do I need to ask you to leave, Sandra? Or will you honor your word?"

A smile touches the perfect mouth, lifts the corners of her eyes. "Tamara," she says in a soft, throaty whisper. "Apologize to the lady."

The muscle-bound creature in front of me wilts in disappointment, but she doesn't argue. "Sorry," she says in a tone that implies she clearly isn't. She picks up her jacket and moves to stand by the woman at the bar.

Sandra places an arm across Tamara's shoulders in a gesture as much possessive as defensive. Her eyes are not on Tamara or Culebra, however. They are focused on me.