Page 37 of White Hot Kiss

He rolled the cigar between his fingers. “How are your grades? I assume your teacher is allowing you to make up your test tomorrow?”

I dropped the ring, clutching the arms of my chair in frustration. “My grades are fine. And I have the make—”

“What are you two doing in here?”

I twisted around. Zayne stood in the doorway, his hair falling around his face like sheets of sand. “I’m trying to tell Abbot what happened today at school.”

His lazy look turned to surprise. He glanced at his father as a slow grin twisted his lips. “How’s that going?”

Abbot sighed heavily, placing the cigar back in the box. “Layla, I have to leave shortly to meet with the police commissioner and the mayor.”

“There was a zombie at my school today,” I blurted out.

“Huh?” Zayne stopped behind my chair, flicking the back of my ear. I swatted his hand away. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

I met Abbot’s suddenly alert gaze. “He was in the boiler room and—”

“How did you know he was there?” Abbot demanded, uncrossing his legs as he leaned forward.

I couldn’t tell them about Roth. No way was I opening that door. “I...I smelled him.”

Zayne dropped in the seat beside me. “Did anyone see him?”

I cringed. “Trust me, if they did, it would have been on the evening news. He was that bad off.”

“Is he still there?” Abbot stood, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt.

“Uh...yes, but I don’t think he’s going to be a problem. He’s nothing but a pile of clothes and goo.”

“Wait a minute,” Zayne said, frowning as he watched me. “You smelled a zombie, and knowing how dangerous they can be, you decided to go down to a boiler room and check it out?”

I looked at him. Where was he going with this? “Well, yeah, I did.”

“And you engaged the zombie? Killing it?”

Well... “Yes.”

He shot his father a meaningful look. “Father.”

“What?” My eyes bounced between the two.

Abbot walked around the desk, letting out another long sigh. “What are the rules, Layla?”

Unease cramped my stomach muscles. “I don’t mess with the dangerous stuff, but—”

“Zayne told me you followed a Poser into the alley the other night,” Abbot interrupted, in total father mode. Disappointed-father mode. “And it turned out to be a Seeker.”

“I...” I closed my mouth, glancing at Zayne. He avoided my eyes, watching his father. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Following a Poser or any demon into an alley is a big deal, Layla.” Abbot folded his arms, pinning me with a displeased stare. “You know better. No one can see your tags besides us. There is no reason you should be following one into an isolated area. And instead of seeking out the zombie today, you should have called Morris and he would have woken us up.”

Jeez. I sank down in my seat. “But—”

“There are no buts, Layla. What would have happened if the zombie was seen by anyone? We are charged with keeping the truth secret. Mankind must have faith that Heaven and Hell exist without proof.”

“Maybe we should cut back on her time tagging,” Zayne suggested. “We don’t need her doing it. Honestly, it’s all very lazy of us to rely on her tagging instead of actively searching them out.”

I stared at him, seeing my freedom shrivel up in front of me instead of his godly looks. “No one found out about the zombie today!”