Broken Heart 09 Only Lycans Need Apply by Michele Bardsley Page A

without being obvious, and I knew he didn’t want to draw attention to us. It occurred to me, sadly, that I didn’t really have any allies here. I couldn’t think of a single person who would know me well enough to assess the situation and see that something was wrong.
    No one could help me. And several people here probably wouldn’t help me even if given the opportunity.
    “I sent a
memo
,” said Doriana, pursing her lips. She glanced at Karn. “Who are you?”
    Oh, my God. I so loved Doriana right now. She had no patience for propriety, and tended to be blunt to the point of rudeness. That was actually one of the few things I liked about her.
    “I am Dr. Jameson’s escort this evening,” he said. He tugged me closer and kept a death grip on my elbow. “I hope you will excuse us.”
    “No,” said Doriana. She turned her attention away from Karn, dismissing him as unimportant. Wow. I bet that pissed him off. World-dominating assholes liked to be taken seriously. At least, that’s what I’d gleaned from marathon sessions of the
Harry Potter
movies.
    Karn squeezed my arm even harder, and I bit my lower lip to keep from yelping. I swallowed hard. “Perhaps we could discuss the sea urchin question later.” I tried to convey
Help me
with my gaze and the panicked edge of my smile, but she rolled her eyes.
    “You don’t return phone calls or e-mails. I have to hunt you down like a . . . a seal hunter,” she said. Her expression grew sterner. “And that is another area of concern we need to discuss. Seals are—”
    “Fascinating,” interrupted Karn. “Excuse us.”
    He attempted to guide me around Doriana, but she stepped into his path. “Escort, my ass,” she said in a loud voice. “You’re a . . . a gigolo!” She pointed an accusing finger at me. “She doesn’t date. She doesn’t even know how to date. She bought you. And if she can buy man meat, she can fund sea urchin research!”
    Doriana’s voice had risen several octaves by now, drawing the attention of the people around us. Karn was so stunned by her accusation that his mouth dropped open and his grip loosened. I had to resist the urge to dissolve into hysterical giggles.
    And I am not a giggler.
    People sidled closer, pretending to be interested in their champagne and canapés, but really they were waiting for the drama to unfold.
    Doriana did not disappoint.
    She slapped at Karn’s arm, the one that still held my elbow, and my arm popped free. “Man meat!” she cried. “That’s all you are!”
    “Madam,” said Karn, “you are mistaken.”
    In a quicksilver moment, I saw Doriana’s eyes go black . . . and I mean completely black . . . and she hissed in a low, snarly voice, “Vampire.”
    Karn’s face twisted in hatred, and he hissed back, “Mermaid.”
    What. The. Hell?
    Doriana’s hand curled into a fist. Then she hauled back her arm and punched the man in the jaw. He sailed backward, into a knot of partygoers who fell down like a rack of bowling pins. Doriana looked at me and yelled, “Run, you idiot!”
    I hitched up my dress, toed off the heels, and ran. I stopped at the door, my heart pounding, sweat beading my neck, and took a last look over my shoulder. Doriana marched forward, fists clenched, while my wannabe kidnapper extracted himself from the groaning group of people who’d broken his fall.
    I didn’t wait to see what happened next.
    When I got outside, I wasn’t sure what to do. I went down the steps, the feet of my hosiery snagging on the stone. The well-lit courtyard in front of the building was empty, which made me wary. I didn’t want to go past the circle of lights and into the evening darkness. It was just past nine p.m., hardly the witching hour, but everything seemed creepy to me now. I had the terrible feeling that Karn would burst through the doors any second to chase me. And he’d probably catch me.
    I thought about earlier, about the strange feeling of being stalked in the parking