Tainted by Julie Kenner

Author:Julie Kenner [Tainted]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Contemporary, General
ISBN: 9780441017843
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2009-10-27T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

I’d parked the bike in the alley behind the pub without giving a lot of thought to what would happen if someone asked me about it. Or, rather, I’d given it some thought, but because I’d still discovered no evidence that Alice owned a car, my need to remain understated and in line with Alice’s overall personality had given way to my need not to have to walk to work.

I was heading for the bike when someone touched me on the shoulder, and I whipped around, knife in hand, only to discover it was Gracie.

She yelped, and I did, too, then leaped back and shoved my knife behind my back.

Too late—she’d already seen it. “Whoa,” she said. “My mom keeps telling me to carry a stun gun, especially with all those girls that disappeared over the summer,” she added, referring to a series of disappearances a few months prior, mostly of young college dropouts. Girls with few resources and no family nearby. The case had made the news, and I don’t think any of the girls were ever found. Maybe now, being super über-chick, I was fighting back at evil for them.

Gracie eyed the knife. “That’s even freakier than that switchblade you used to carry.” I blinked, surprised that Alice had gone anywhere armed. “And I still say that it’s a stupid weapon. I mean, I took a self-defense class once, and we had to stick a knife in the dummy. And I couldn’t do it. I mean, really couldn’t do it. That skin was tough! And on top of that, the dummy just looked so real . . .” She trailed off with a shrug. “Stun gun. Moms always know best.”

“It’s silly,” I said, tucking the knife back into my coat. “There were some guys on the street last night, and I thought about it as I was leaving this morning, and just grabbed the knife.”

“So you figured that since you’re enough of an idiot to walk home in the dark, you ought to be idiot enough to carry a knife, too? Don’t you know those guys’ll just take it from you? If they’re looking to attack you, one blade isn’t going to do anything, ’cept maybe help them.”

“Is that your mom talking?”

She shook her head. “My uncle Tito. He’s a cop. You know what he’d say to you?”

“What?”

“Pepper spray.”

“Gosh,” I said. “I never even thought of that.”

She gave me a queer look, but I just smiled. I’d already realized that Alice had the most innocent smile on the planet, and I was putting it to great use. Then I grabbed the handlebars and swung myself up and onto the bike. “So what are you doing here?” I asked.

But she didn’t answer. Just stood there gaping.

“Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” she finally asked.

My entire body turned to ice. Holy shit. I stared, my mouth hanging open like a fish, then finally managed a mousy, “What?”

“The bike, dude,” she said. “I totally take back what I said about walking home.

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