Page 17 of The Donor’s Dilemma

“Yeah, you should have,” she said.

“You really lost your job over it?”

“Yup.”

“And you had evidence?” he asked, stepping a little closer as if he didn’t want to spook her.

“Of course, I had evidence,” she snapped. “People were dead.”

He held his hands up in surrender.

“I lost everything. Everything! The whistleblower lost her job, but her family’s loaded. They managed to spin it to make her sound like some fucking saint. But me? No job, no car, no home. Nothing.” Her voice began to shake, adding to her frustration.

Theo closed his eyes. “Verity, I am so sorry.”

“Me too,” she murmured, “everyone told me not to, but I thought I knew better.”

“It would seem that knowing right from wrong is a rare gift these days,” Theo said.

“You can say that again.”

Running hands through his hair, he slumped back into his seat. “I feel terrible. I should never have assumed that… If there’s anything I can do to help…”

As insulted as she felt, this could actually be useful.

“You could clear a couple of things up for me,” she said, taking her seat opposite him.

“Of course; anything.”

“Why did you get a new donor?”

Theo frowned. “The Exchange just told me I had a new donor. My old one left.”

Verity shook her head. “Nope, he didn’t leave. And he hates me.”

Theo pulled a face, creased brow and pouty lips. The kind that made her forget he was some fancy Lord Mayor. “Maybe we’re a better match.”

“Like blood type?” Verity asked.

“Kind of.” He held a hand out and Verity gave him hers without thinking. She could pull it back, she was still mad at him after all, but his touch soothed her more than she’d care to admit. “There’s actually more to it than that. Years ago, we called it being blood-bonded; now we know it’s just science. When we… feed,” he began massaging her palm. “We need a lot of blood to satisfy our hunger, but having blood that suits you means you don’t need as much.”

“And my blood suits you?” Verity asked, watching his fingers run over the lines of her palm.

“Very much.” His eyes met hers and she could see the hunger in them. He watched her with predatory stillness, until Verity spoke again, pulling him back to the moment.

“Next question.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “There are more?”

“Vivienne Green?” she asked.

Theo grimaced. “Ugh, what does she want?”

“She was at the donor meeting. You know her?”

“Yeah,” Theo sighed. “We applied for the same job once and she got it.”

“So, she’s a bitch?”