Ultimate Line

"Hmmm, what? What did you say?" Rauff asked, confused.

Baron, still going over the information in his mind, waved him off. "Nothing, what do you mean not really? Either you can read her or you can't." Aggravation clung as he tried to dissect Rauff's vague remarks.

"What did you mean she didn't pay me any attention?" Interest renewed. It never failed. Rauff was about Rauff.

Baron smiled. "Usually when you walk into a room, a park or a baseball field, women, and some men, stop to check you out. It's been that way for centuries. I have watched." He nodded in the direction of the human. "She didn't look up or in your direction. I found that odd."

Baron and Rauff stared at each other and then back at the human in the shop. Her head was bent over a few books as she highlighted and made notes on a pad.

Predictably, Rauff's arrogance peaked. Baron knew he wasn't interested in the female personally. It was the chase, the challenge, which drew his partner's interest.

"Hmmm, you may have a point. I didn't think about how dangerous this could become." Without looking at Baron, he made a suggestion. "I think I'll walk back in for a biscuit or something, and this time I'll monitor her scent and heart rate. That way we'll know if she's playing a game, or if she's unique." The indifferent tone he'd used to unique made it clear he didn't believe it possible.

Baron understood, and nodded his head in agreement. Although he found himself a little uncomfortable with Rauff testing the human, his curiosity won the debate. Having lived as long as they both had, things that were different and upset the status quo were always worth pursuing and studying.

He watched both Rauff and the human. She stretched, rubbed her eyes, and drank some more from her cup. Not once did she glance at anyone else in the shop, including Rauff. His partner walked out the shop with a perplexed look on his face.

"Her heartbeat and breathing remained steady and strong the entire time. But you were right; she did not pay me the least attention." He admitted with a slight shrug, and started moving down the sidewalk. "Although the blond and brunette sitting near the door passed me their business cards as I left."

"No surprise there," Baron muttered. After a last look at the human, he turned and caught up with Rauff. They walked around the corner in companionable silence. They'd been associates for centuries, had traveled across the globe together, and watched out for one another. If he had any of what humans claimed as friends, then Rauff would fall under that category.

"Do you think I should talk to Waliff about this?" Baron asked, referring to the head Elder of the vampires. Things were already tense in the vampire community. Hunters now used electronic devices, there was talk of an uprising, a council member had been beheaded, and Waliff was in the midst of it.

Rauff shrugged. His leather coat barely moved. "I don't know. We've been here so long there's bound to be anomalies. Rules have been broken and matings are happening between species today that were taboo centuries ago. Does it make a difference you can't read a human? I don't know."

Surprisingly, what he'd said actually made sense, and Baron nodded as they continued to their cars. The night air felt good and smelled fresh. Horns honked at pedestrians, neon lights flashed welcome and establishments beckoned the night patrons.

Baron spoke quietly, after a group of teens brushed by. "The big question, 'what if' comes to mind."

Rauff hissed at him as he rolled his eyes. "Whatever Baron, you've held me up long enough. I have to get back to the club. You are always making more of—"

"I know, I know," Baron agreed in an attempt to stall a lecture. "I'm always looking for more, when they may not be more." Exhaling, he continued. "Well, this could have some repercussions, you never know. It may be just the tip of the iceberg."

Rauff snorted, pulled up his collar and stepped into his car. "You've traveled across the world, discovered more and done more to help our kind than you'll ever receive credit for. Yet you rarely take time for just fun and relaxation. We've discussed this many times in the past, so I don't expect tonight to be much different. You really need to relax." Smiling wickedly in the face of Baron's frown, he said, "maybe you should find out more about your human, talk to her and, ask her on a date. Then you can ask all the questions you'd like."

Rauff started his engine, missing the dark scowl and finger sent his way.

Leaning against his car, Baron's mind returned to the black female. He'd been attracted to her from that first night at the bar. Her voice teased him with a siren's promise. He'd stood behind her car listening to the seductive cadence while watching her long shapely limb, until she drove off.

Tempted to turn back to the coffee house and wait for her, he realized Rauff might be right. Perhaps he was making too much of this. He left for home, a part of him screaming for him to turn around. The battle that raged inside him had never happened before. It concerned him. That night was the first time in centuries he failed to answer a summons from Lukian. Instead, he drove around for hours to clear his nose.

Chapter 3

Could it be more humid? Simone blew a strand of curly hair from her sweat-drenched face as she and her trainee, Carrie, stepped out of the small compact car. Although the general area was familiar to her, she looked in both directions for a quick neighborhood assessment. Newer model cars graced the driveways. Freshly painted homes with manicured lawns lined the street. Satisfied the area remained stable, she made her notes, then touched the pepper spray in her pouch.

Firsthand experience had taught her looks could be deceiving. She always prepared for the unexpected. Pulling out her folder with the assignment information, she retrieved the necessary forms and placed them on the clipboard. Glancing downward, she verified the address on the house and walked toward the front door. They had a full day of inspections scheduled, and she wanted to finish early so she could spend some time with her niece, Marissa. Her thinned lips softened as a smile curved her lips as the thought of Marissa returning home later today.

Walking around the car, she looked at her assistant. "Go ahead and get the pictures of the street, and the front and rear of the property, Carrie. I'll let the—" She glanced down at the name on the order. "— Browns know we're here. Make sure you grab the tape measure."

Carrie nodded, holding up the measuring device, and headed to the middle of the street to snap photos.

Reaching the porch, Simone looked around for the doorbell. She walked the length of the concrete porch, searching. After a moment without success, she knocked on the dark mahogany stained door.

No answer.

She looked again to verify the house number attached to the wall matched her documents. It was missing. Her gaze scanned the front of the house. Somehow, it looked different from what she'd seen from the street or in her Googled photos.

"What the hell?" she murmured, glancing back at her car. Positive she'd verified the address prior to approaching the house, she knocked again, harder. Inching backward, a sharp prick dug into the back of her arm. Yanking it forward, she cupped the bruised member, and watched beads of blood well up on her arm. As she glared at the offending thorny plant, intense pain radiated from the injury on her arm throughout her body.

"Where did that bush come from?" Striding from the porch, she cradled her bruised arm. Once she reached her car, she pulled out a tissue, folded it, and applied pressure on the wound as she searched the area for Carrie.

"I hope she hasn't started measuring. No one's home to allow us entry," she muttered, trying to ignore her throbbing arm. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped because she'd never been good at handling the sight of blood.

"Simone, are you ready?" Carrie yelled, walking from the side of the house.

Simone's mouth dropped open, then snapped shut at the sight of the opened front door and smiling elderly man striding toward her assistant. Shaking her head, she focused on the house again. The front now looked just like the house she'd seen when they had initially arrived. Her eyes narrowed on the prominent address affixed to the front wall.

Walking forward, she searched for the thorny plant that had attacked her, and the mahogany door with no door bell. "I am not going crazy," she murmured.

If it weren't for her still-painful arm, she'd swear she'd hallucinated the entire incident. Setting her confusion aside for the moment, she pasted her professional lets-do-this smile across her face. She thrust her right hand toward the elderly man.

"Good afternoon, Sir, my name is Simone Locklear. This is Carrie, and she's assisting me today. We're here to do the appraisal inspection on your home."

The man studied her for two, maybe three seconds max, then looked at Carrie and smiled wide. His dentures clicked together in his haste to greet the petite blonde.

Inwardly, Simone groaned. Yep, today would be long, hot, and humid. Forging ahead she explained the procedure. "We'll be starting on the outside, taking pictures and measuring the building."

She waited for his response, only to have him nod without taking his eyes off Carrie's bust line. "After we complete the exterior inspection, we'll come inside and inspect the interior. Do you have any dogs?" Simone continued, her tone crisp.

"No, just a couple of cats." He looked at Carrie. "You're not allergic to cats are you?"

Carrie smiled. "No sir."

Simone rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. Carrie needed to complete a certain amount of appraisals to become a Certified Appraiser. Simone didn't care how men acted around Carrie as long as it didn't interfere with their work. Being a Certified General Appraiser, Simone specialized in commercial appraisals, but could handle a residence in a pinch. Today, her lead residential appraiser had called in sick, and she had to cover for him.

Completing the outside work, they knocked on the front door. "We're ready to inspect the inside now." Waiting, Simone searched the area again for the mahogany door and the demon plant. Her arm still throbbed, reassuring her she'd actually had a mishap.

The door opened wide and he swept his arm forward. "Sure, come on in." Glancing over at Carrie, he grinned. Inside, a big tabby cat purred around Simone's ankle and then moved toward Carrie in greeting.

Out the corner of her eye, she noticed Carrie clicking photos. With a sigh, Simone wrote beside the sketch. "We'll be taking pictures of each room and filling in the sketch to complete a floor plan for the mortgage company. This way, coupled with the photos, they'll have an opportunity to get a better idea of your home."

Eventually they approached a closed door.

"Mr. Brown can we inspect this room?" Simone asked, looking back at him.

He tugged his ear sheepishly. "Um, I'd rather you didn't. Could you just say you did?" His face turned cherry red.

A dull throb rose in the base of her head. Two fingertips bracketed her nose as she stared at the door. "No, and if I can't access every room of this house, this inspection is over and the appraisal will not be completed. The refinance of your property may not continue, but I will be compensated for my time. Do you understand?" Frustration laced her voice. This asshole wanted her to lie, possibly lose her license, her livelihood, for his secrets. Hell no. Sharp pain shot from her shoulder to the fingertips of her abused arm. The well of patience she normally drank from, dried up. She motioned to Carrie and walked off.

He huffed behind them. "Wait, wait just a dang moment."

Neither she nor Carrie spoke, they just continued to the front door.

"Please 'cuse my language. It's just that, dang it, I didn't know women'd be a coming today. Never had a woman before." He sputtered a quick correction. "Uh, I mean, uh, woman appraiser, not that I've had one, well, let me just shut up while I'm ahead." His face and neck flamed red.

Simone stopped and turned, worrying he might have an attack of some kind. "Are you opening the door, Mr. Brown? Otherwise, we need to leave. We have other appointments today." She pushed, not wanting to stay another minute longer than necessary.

The moment the last word left her mouth, nausea churned in her gut. Her mouth and throat dried up as though the plug had been ripped from her saliva bin. To secure her balance, she stood with legs apart, positive she'd hit the floor otherwise. Closing her eyes, briefly, to regain her composure, her breath hitched as beautiful, colorful images flew past her lids so quickly she couldn't grasp their meaning.

"You coming? Simone?"

Simone opened her eyes at the sound of Carrie's voice. Breathing deeply, she coughed as the smell of cat and stale tobacco assaulted her senses. Her eyes watered at the pungent mix of odors.

"I'm sorry, excuse me," she said, covering her nose. Why hadn't she smelled the stench when she first walked in? Thinking hurt. Pain traveled up her arm, past her shoulder, and now lashed out across her chest. Her fingertips went numb. Throwing her head back, she shuddered in agony as her back tightened and pulled.

Her eyes widened. Scared shitless, afraid to move, she took deep breaths to contain the pain. Carrie turned and reached toward her. Shaking her head, she whispered, " No."

Carried backed off, a concerned frown on her face.

"Sure, sure," he grumbled, unaware of her troubles. He fiddled with a ring of keys, eying each one. "Ah, here it is." Walking back to the door, he unlocked it. Pushing it open, he stepped back so they could walk in. Carrie entered first, leaving her to follow.

***

Unbelievable. It took all kinds.

As Carrie pulled away from Mr. Brown's, they burst out laughing.

Simone popped four Tylenol's into her mouth and guzzled down a bottle of water. She held her pounding head and chuckled. Mr. Brown had his own private porno lounge in his third bedroom.

No wonder he didn't want them to see. Large posters of naked women in various poses, women with women, toys, and even a blow-up doll lounged in that room. As professionals, they'd tried to hide their surprise as they looked around, and then up at the reddened face of Mr. Brown.

"He had to be about what—sixty or seventy? Carrie gasped around fits of laughter. "He looked older than that. Goodness, you think that's his masturbation room?"

The pain had returned with her outburst of laughter. She lowered her voice in respect to the agony racing up and down her side. "Could be, he had two other bedrooms. I can't imagine a woman feeling comfortable in there. He had that big chair in there, remember?" Simone's lips rose at the corner. "I've been at this for six years and I've seen some weird stuff, but that goes to the top five categories."

"I wonder what he has locked in those storage rooms outside" Carrie said, glancing at her. They looked at each other and laughed again. When she was able to talk, Carrie continued. "He told me to feel free to visit him anytime, said he'd make it worth my while." She managed straight-faced.

"No shit, stop girl. You're joking right?" Simone shuddered at the image of Carrie with a man old enough to be her grandfather.

Carrie laid on the horn at an encroaching driver.

The loud blaring noise in Simone's ear flipped her lips from a smile to a grimace. A stab of pain shot through her head as her vision blurred. The discomfort vibrated throughout her body. Grabbing her phone, she placed a call to her doctor and prayed this hell was only a twenty-four hour virus.