by Jenna Black
The door swung open, and Carolyn entered. Her body language screamed of tension and resolve, and if he’d ever entertained a thought that he might put her off, it died.
“Start talking,” she said, fire flashing in her eyes. He sat on the edge of his rumpled bed and gestured for her to sit on the chair. She did so, her back stiff, her movements cautious. Was she afraid of him?
The thought struck him hard, but when he looked into her eyes he saw no sign of fear. Wariness, yes, and she was entitled to it. He swallowed hard. If she hated him for what he was about to tell her, then so be it. No doubt he deserved it.
“On the night of my bachelor party, the guys hired a stripper, as you know.”
She nodded, a brisk, jerky movement of her head.
“When her performance was over, she couldn’t get her car to start. It was getting pretty late, and the streets weren’t exactly flooded with cabs. I offered to give her a ride home.”
Even now, he remembered the hint of triumph that had flickered in her eyes when he’d made the offer. At the time, he’d thought it was relief.
“You couldn’t have let one of your buddies give her a ride?” Carolyn asked acidly. “They’re the ones who hired her, after all.”
“We were a bunch of guys at a bachelor party, Carolyn. They were egging me on, and I never would have lived it down if I hadn’t agreed to drive her. They already thought I was hopelessly old-fashioned and conservative. If I hadn’t—”
“Yes, and it would have killed you if for a moment your macho buddies had had a negative thought about you.”
He winced, but as usual she’d seen straight to the heart of things. “You knew this about me when you agreed to marry me. I was a conformist at heart.” It seemed so foreign to him now, the way he had let others’ opinions direct his life to such an extent. It had been his co-workers’ underhanded little comments about how Carolyn would wear the pants in the family—her being a cop while he was nothing but a meek desk-jockey—that had spawned the round of arguments about her job. It had always amazed him that Carolyn put up with him.
A little of the tension eased out of her shoulders at his candid admission. “You’re right, I knew that. Sorry. Keep going.”
Damn, he hated strolling down this particular memory lane! “So I drove her home, and when I got there, she invited me in for a drink.” He remembered the bolt of heat that had shot through his body when she’d made the invitation. Kate was stunningly beautiful, and his mind had filled with visions of her stripping off her clothes, her hips grinding as her breasts jiggled enticingly. He’d hardened painfully, and suddenly he’d known he had to have her. Glamour, he knew now.
He hung his head, unable to bear the reproach in Carolyn’s gaze. “She was a vampire, Carolyn. She had the power to entice me against my will.”
Carolyn grunted in disbelief. “From what I heard when I investigated your disappearance, this little stripper of yours was a knock-out.”
He raised his head and forced himself to meet her eyes. “You’re a knock-out. I couldn’t have cared less what she looked like, and if she hadn’t screwed with my mind I never would have set foot into her house. But she drew me in and …” A shudder choked off his voice for a moment. “She bit me. There was no sex involved. As soon as she had me through the door, she went for my throat.” He closed his eyes against the memory.
The glamour had held him still, but he’d felt the sharp pain of her fangs piercing his throat. She’d drunk and drunk while he stood paralyzed, unable to defend himself, until his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor. She’d collapsed on top of him, her mouth still fastened to his throat as she sucked the life out of him.
In the end, she hadn’t needed the glamour anymore, for he had become too weak to fight her. The world had faded to black, and he accepted the reality that he was about to die.
He wished he had.
“She drained me dry,” he continued, his voice harsh and hoarse as he tried to beat back the memory. “She brought me to the brink of death. Then … This is hard to explain, and unless you’d actually experienced it I doubt you can understand, but … I felt like someone was holding out a lifeline to me. It wasn’t a physical thing, but a kind of … psychic line. On some instinctual level, I think I knew what it was, but I wasn’t ready to die. So I reached for it, and I became … what I am.”
“A vampire.” Despite everything she had seen, Carolyn’s voice said she didn’t quite believe it.
“Yes. Shall I prove it to you?”
Her eyes widened and he heard her hasty intake of breath. “How?”
“It’s easier than you think.” He flexed his jaw, causing his fangs to descend, then pulled his lips away from his teeth.
Carolyn stared blankly. She was shaking. Quickly, he withdrew the fangs, wishing he could have spared her this.
“I left you because I had to,” he said softly. “There was nothing I could tell you to soften the blow. I believed that then, and I still believe it now. You’re better off without me, and you would have been better off if you didn’t know any of this. Whether you allow yourself to believe me or not.”
“I don’t know what I believe,” she answered. Her face was pale, but she didn’t seem to be shaking anymore. “I’ll figure that out later. For now, you still have a lot of explaining to do.”
He was silent for a long moment, considering how much to tell her. Very likely when she’d had time to process everything, she would hate him, or fear him, or at least be disgusted by him. But there was no reason to make it any worse than it had to be. There were some ugly truths she didn’t need to know. At least, that’s how he justified it to himself.
“Vampires don’t have to kill to live,” he told her. “But many of them, like Kate, do it anyway. Once they start killing, it becomes an addiction, worse than any drug a mortal can get hooked on. They lose every touch of their humanity. But there’s an organization of vampires in Philly who aren’t Killers. They call themselves the Guardians of the Night.” He allowed himself a slight, sardonic smile. He always thought the name sounded absurdly pompous. “They hunt the Killers and destroy them. If the Guardians can get to the fledgling vampires before they become addicted, they can be rescued.
“The Guardians tracked Kate down and killed her, and they rescued me. This was her house,” he said, waving a hand at the antique furniture that surrounded him. “I’ve lived here ever since.”
Carolyn looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. “That’s why the house looks like some kind of time capsule.”
“Yes. It’s the house Kate grew up in. Many of the older vampires prefer to live where they did as mortals. There’s some kind of comfort to it, I suppose, though I’m not old enough to feel that homing instinct myself.”
“And tell me about the blood in your fridge.”
“The Guardians provide it. I have to drink it combined with milk to stay alive. It’s disgusting, but it keeps me from having to hurt anyone.”
“And the people who’ve been watching your house …”
“Are Guardians. They’ve never quite trusted me. You see, even if you’re not addicted to the kill, there’s always some level of … temptation.” His hands were now sweating and he rubbed his palms on his pants legs. “Becoming vampire changes you.” He forced himself to look at Carolyn, wondering what she was making of all this. All he could tell was that she was deeply troubled. “I’ve become … more aggressive, as you’ve no doubt seen. I know I’ll never give in to the temptation to kill.” He said this in a voice of absolute conviction, despite the doubt that hovered always just under the surface. “But they don’t know that.
“I started watching you a couple months ago. I was just torturing myself, wishing I could turn back time and make everything right. But Jules thought it might be the start of predatory behavior and he sicced the rest of the Guardians on me. Now I can’t take a step without being watched.”
Carolyn looked like she was about to ask a question,
but she was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Gray couldn’t help feeling a touch relieved by the interruption, though he doubted the reprieve would last long.
He crossed the room to the window, pushing aside the drapes and looking down at the sidewalk. When he saw Jules standing on his doorstep, he groaned. “Speak of the devil,” Gray said. Just what he wanted to deal with right now!
“Who is it?” Carolyn asked.
“Jules.” He groaned again as Jules leaned on the doorbell. “I’d better go see what he wants. He’s not about to go away.” He stood up, and Carolyn rose from her chair to follow him.
“Stay here,” he commanded, then internally castigated himself for his tone of voice. Carolyn did not take well to men who barked orders. As her glare told him. “Please,” he said, softening his tone. “You don’t want to get between me and Jules. As you might have noticed, we don’t get along very well. I’d really rather he not know you’re here. I don’t want him using you to spite me.”
Rebellion sparked in her eyes, but to his surprise she nodded. “All right. I’ll stay out of sight.”
“Thanks.” He didn’t know what else to say, so he ducked out the door. At this point, he thought he might almost prefer to face Jules than to face Carolyn. At least he knew where he stood with Jules! But that didn’t mean this would be any fun.
CAROLYN FELT LIKE SHE’D gone through the looking glass. Her mind balked at all she’d heard this evening. Surely someone was going to pop out of the shadows shouting “surprise” and admitting she was the victim of a sick prank. Because, of course, there was no such thing as vampires. Hell, if she allowed herself to believe in vampires, then what other myths and fairy tales might she have to reconsider? Werewolves? Witches? Gremlins? The Tooth Fairy?
She heard the front door opening, heard the murmur of Gray’s voice, though she couldn’t make out the words. She eased through the bedroom door, slinking down the hall under the cover of darkness until she stood at the head of the stairs.
Gray was holding the door just barely open, his posture screaming a message of inhospitality. “Now is not a good time!” he said, his voice sharp, as though this weren’t the first time he’d said it.
The door flew open, and Gray stumbled backward, practically falling. Carolyn had to fight an instinct to run to Gray’s aid. Ridiculous! The man was a … Well, he didn’t need her help, anyway.
Jules stepped into the foyer, closing the door behind him. He was wearing the cashmere coat again, the black hat perching on his auburn-haired head at a rakish angle. He was almost as hot as Gray.
Carolyn rolled her eyes at herself. How could she be ogling either of them, under the circumstances?
Jules removed his hat, tossing it onto a side table and brushing at his hair with one hand. Carolyn couldn’t help a little smile of amusement. The guy was so vain he had to fix his hair in the midst of a confrontation?
“Well, now that you’ve invited yourself in,” Gray said with poor grace, “what the hell do you want?”
“Where were you last night?”
Gray grunted. “If I’d wanted you to know, I wouldn’t have slipped away.”
“Don’t test me!”
Even from this distance, Carolyn could see the danger that sparked in Jules’s eyes. He’d dropped the urbane manner, and his stance screamed of aggression. He looked like a man about ready to snap, and Carolyn hoped Gray could read those signs as well as she. She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she could make it to the bedroom to retrieve her gun without being noticed.
Gray sighed. “Take it easy, Jules. You didn’t miss anything crucial.”
“So where were you?”
Gray shook his head. “I’m not telling you that, so forget it. It had nothing to do with you or any of the Guardians so it’s none of your business.”
“Enculeur de mouche! Jules snarled, baring his teeth. Carolyn shivered when she saw the fangs he revealed. Okay, if this was a sick joke, then Jules was in on it too. What were the chances?
Carolyn shook her head, not wanting to accept the impossible, but not having much choice.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Jules said, “and you’d better answer me or I’m going to make you regret it! Where were you last night?”
He looked so dangerous Carolyn decided she’d have to risk the noise of going back to the bedroom for her gun after all. She started to ease her weight backward, then came to an abrupt stop. These were vampires! Would a gun do any good? Or did she need a wooden stake?
“There was another murder last night, wasn’t there?” Gray asked, his voice devoid of inflection while his shoulders subtly slumped.
Murder? Carolyn thought. What murder? And what did Gray mean another murder? Obviously he still hadn’t told her everything.
Jules moved so quickly Carolyn felt like she was watching a movie in fast forward. One moment, he was standing at a respectable distance, glaring like a thundercloud about to burst into lightning. The next, he’d crossed the short distance between them, grabbed a double handful of Gray’s shirt, lifted him off his feet, and slammed him hard against the wall.
Gray grunted in pain, and Jules slammed him against the wall again. Gray struggled weakly, but it was obvious he was overpowered and struggling for breath.
“Yes, there was another murder!” Jules shouted. “You killed Courtney, you son of a bitch!” He punctuated the accusation with another slam into the wall, and Gray looked like he was near to losing consciousness with the force of those blows.
Carolyn abandoned caution and sprinted down the hall to the bedroom, snatching her Glock off the dresser and hurrying back to the head of the stairs, her heart racing. When she reached the head of the stairs, Jules was still holding Gray off his feet and baring his fangs. Carolyn wondered again if her gun would have any effect and if she was about to incur the same treatment Gray was receiving. She took aim, but couldn’t find her voice to announce her presence.
Jules lowered Gray until his feet hit the ground, but retained his grip on his shirt, crowding into his space. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now!”
Gray was gasping for breath, and though Jules was clearly trying to make eye contact, Gray was just as clearly trying to avoid it. “Because I’m not guilty,” Gray managed between gulps of air.
“Marde!” Jules said, shaking his head. He let go of Gray’s shirt, and Gray slid down the wall until his butt hit the floor, his head bowed as he sucked in noisy breaths.
Carolyn lowered her gun, although she wasn’t at all sure the danger was past. Jules looked like a man on the edge. But she’d promised Gray she’d keep quiet, and she wouldn’t break that promise unless she was absolutely sure it was necessary.
“Why should I believe you?” Jules asked.
Gray took a deep breath and rested the back of his head against the wall, his eyes closed. “I didn’t even know Courtney, Jules. Why would I want to kill her?”
“To get to me!”
Gray opened his eyes. “Your paranoia is showing.”
Jules snarled again. “I promised Eli I wouldn’t kill you without proof. But I didn’t promise not to beat the shit out of you.”
Gray rose to his feet, using the wall as support. “Shit? Gee, Jules, I didn’t think you knew any cuss words in English.”
Jules looked stunned. “You’re making jokes? You’re one hell of a cold fish, you know.”
Gray sighed. “Sorry, Jules.” His voice sounded sincere, but his face said he really hated apologizing. “But I swear to you, I didn’t kill her. And don’t tell me with that massive chip on your shoulder you haven’t made any other enemies.”
Jules looked like he was about to give Gray hell again, but suddenly Carolyn’s cell phone rang. Damn it!
She reached frantically for the Off button, but it was too late. Two sets of eyes turned to stare into the darkness at the top of the stairwell, and she was caught.
10
GRAY CURSED HIMSELF FOR
an idiot. He’d known something was fishy when Carolyn agreed to stay out of sight so easily, but he hadn’t followed that thought to its logical conclusion. Why did he keep allowing himself to forget she was a detective? For God’s sake, the woman had broken into his house!
“Well, well,” Jules said with a charming smile completely at odds with his recent rabid-dog impersonation. “What have we here?”
Carolyn, looking sheepish, came halfway down the stairs. “Gray came to see me last night,” she told Jules. “I don’t know why you would ever think he’d kill your friend, but he has an alibi.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Jules asked Gray with a look of pure disgust.
“I was trying to keep Carolyn out of this.” Gray shot her a reproachful look, which she ignored.
“What time did he get to your house?” Jules asked Carolyn.
“It was about ten, I think. Now, since my cover is blown, would you gentlemen care to tell me why accusations of murder are flying about?”
Gray had a momentary reprieve from the upcoming scene when his phone rang. Probably he should ignore it, but he wouldn’t mind a couple of moments to gather his thoughts. His head still felt a little fuzzy from its repeated encounters with the wall. Before Jules could stop him, he darted into the living room and picked up the receiver. When he heard Hannah’s frantic voice on the other end of the line, he was glad he’d decided to answer. The last thing he needed was another woman breaking into his house tonight!
“It’s all right, Hannah,” he said, looking at Carolyn, who, along with Jules, had followed him. She unclipped her phone from her belt and turned it on, grimacing guiltily when she reviewed the calls. “She’s here and she’s fine,” Gray reassured Carolyn’s partner.
“Then why the hell didn’t she answer her phone?”
“Because she was busy,” he snapped, hating the accusatory tone in her voice. Why did everybody think he was some kind of axe-wielding murderer these days? “Carolyn, please come to reassure your mom—er, that is, Hannah—that you’re alive and kicking.”