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questions,” Nick said.
    “She wasn’t afraid to ask about the funeral home.”
    “What possible connection could she have to that place?” Nick demanded.
    “To what place?” Daniella asked as she joined them.
    “Your family’s funeral home,” Damon said. “What did you tell Zoe about it?”
    “I only mentioned it in passing when I talked about growing up in this neighborhood without knowing I was surrounded by vampires.”
    “What exactly did you say?” Damon’s voice reflected his impatience.
    Daniella shrugged. “I don’t remember exactly. I mentioned that my father and brother didn’t have any druid blood. I didn’t say I was adopted. I certainly didn’t say anything about what’s going on there.”
    “Did she ask you?”
    “She may have. But not in a nosy kind of way,” Daniella hurriedly added.
    Damon rolled his eyes.
    “I didn’t tell her anything confidential. I don’t even know all the details of how you process blood from the funeral home, and I really don’t want to. It’s not something I care to dwell on.”
    Daniella might not care to dwell on it, but Damon was well aware of Vamptown’s special blood source. Doc Boomer, the vampire dentist/doctor/chemist, had developed a formula to revitalize the human blood they received from the human-run funeral home. When he’d first arrived in Vamptown, Damon hadn’t believed their claims that it was better than fresh, with additional calcium for healthy bones, teeth, and fangs. Doc had filtered out all the impurities. No germs, diseases, or viruses. Not that it mattered, since vamps were immortal. But no one went looking for sickness. Even vamps.
    Daniella’s family was unaware of the side business being run by the vamps, thanks to compelling when required.
    But Daniella knew. Not the details, as she’d said. She knew enough, which was fine by Damon. Any additional info was on a need-to-know basis only.
    Daniella eyed the empty plate in front of Nick. “Weren’t you supposed to save me some?”
    “Let me make it up to you.” Nick reached up and pulled Daniella closer to kiss her with unabashed passion. She tumbled onto his lap with a laugh.
    Damon had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at their public display of affection. He refused to imagine tugging Zoe onto his lap and kissing her. Instead he kept his mind on business.
    “I know Zoe’s grandmother is a friend of yours,” Damon told Nick. “But there are red flags showing up on their very first day. First they use magic to block the video camera feed, and then Zoe brings up the funeral home. Did she ask you why we could tolerate daylight?” he asked Daniella.
    “No. I think your hostility toward her threw her a bit,” Daniella admitted.
    “Good.” Damon wanted her thrown. He wanted her thrown right out of Vamptown.
    “I liked her,” Daniella stated. “It was nice having someone a little unusual to talk to.”
    “You mean not human?” Damon said.
    “The fact that she’s a witch doesn’t mean she’s not human,” Daniella said. “Does it?” She turned to Nick for confirmation.
    Nick shrugged. “It’s a bit of a gray area. I’m no expert on it.”
    “My point exactly,” Damon said.
    “And you are an expert on witches?” Daniella asked him.
    “I’m an expert on how devious they can be.” A century and a half ago, shortly after he was turned, Damon had ended up in New Orleans after the war. Eve Delacroix had been a dark-eyed beauty with a reputation for driving men beyond the edge of reason. But Damon wasn’t a man any longer. He was an immortal vampire and a Demon Hunter, turned by powerful vampire Demon Hunter Simon Howell himself.
    Simon had told Damon that he’d chosen him from the bloodied battlefield in rural Pennsylvania because of his courage in battle. Despite having been shot several times in the arm and shoulders, Damon had kept moving forward until his leg was nearly blown off and he’d collapsed. He was stubborn that way. He wasn’t one