Even though Jess understood that, right now she was more concerned about Britt’s situation. “Do you honestly believe Lieutenant John Brittain murdered that woman?” she asked, making sure Veronique remembered his rank.
Veronique rubbed her eyebrow and stared at the file on her desk. “I’m sorry, but until I have more evidence, I must hold him.”
Jess inhaled and gripped the sides of her chair. “Then we’re not going to get along,” she said. She started to rise.
Veronique held out a hand to stop her. “But what about sharing information?”
“Sorry, Vee, but as long as my lieutenant is wrongfully accused, there’ll be no sharing of anything. And if you don’t release him soon, there’ll never be an arrangement between our units. I would have thought my credibility and the fact that I just told you the truth about my unit, might create an understanding between us. But the fact that you still insist on holding a cop, the most honest person I know, is cause for reassessment. I’m not sure I can trust you.”
Pierre shifted in his seat and his anxious expression turned on Veronique.
Obviously, Jess had information they badly needed.
“Let’s not be too hasty. We are comrades in arms. We fight the beasts. We should really work together,” he said.
Jess shook her head vehemently. “Nope. I’m done here.”
She lurched to her feet and strode to the door. Before she’d yanked it fully open, Veronique had cleared her throat and jumped up to meet Jess near the door. “Jess, you’re putting me in a very bad situation.”
“No, I’m not. If you don’t show some faith and trust, all thoughts of our working together are over.”
“Merde! Take him, then. But I want to see him here tomorrow. Maybe he saw someone else interacting with the woman during the evening.”
The muscles in Jess’s shoulders released a little tension. “You’ve made the right call, Vee. Pierre. Please release Britt right away.”
Veronique walked to the door. “Follow me. We’ll go together.”
Pierre’s expression had transitioned from worry to relief. They obviously had something big going on and needed help—she’d bet her fangs on it. But since they weren’t ready to tell her about it yet, she’d use it to her advantage to spring Britt from jail.
“Everything okay, Jess?” Regent asked, as they walked out into the hall.
“Yes, we’re going to get Britt now. Why don’t you come with us?”
He looked tentatively at Veronique for a second, then nodded.
Jess touched Regent’s shoulder. He stood up and, together, they followed Veronique. There was no sense trying to hide himself and his youth. Vee had already seen him and her curiosity had subsided. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have more pressing matters on her mind.
In the holding area, Britt sat inside a nine-by-nine cell. Jess and Regent waited impatiently for Veronique to open the door, but she seemed to take forever to find the right key. Britt’s head was tipped back against the cement wall and his eyes were closed, his mouth an angry thin line when the door creaked open.
Jess’s tight shoulders relaxed just a little when he took the shoes she’d brought, at his request. His feet were bare and his socks were balled up on the bench beside him.
“What about the charges?” Jess asked Veronique, as Britt stepped into his footwear without putting his socks on again. That was odd.
“I haven’t actually filled out any paperwork,” Veronique admitted.
That meant Britt had never been formally charged. She could let him go without a shitload of paperwork. Had they been planning to release him for lack of evidence anyway? Could she have just been manipulated into giving them information when hadn’t had to?
Her jaw tensed.
She had to face it. She’d likely been played. And that meant they were desperate. But what was behind that desperation? The shadows? Or something worse?
Chapter Nine
AS THEY LEFT THE precinct, Jess bit her lip against saying something she probably shouldn’t. Britt looked somewhat frayed around the edges. It had to be hard on him, being accused again of a murder he had nothing to do with.
Even though he didn’t seem affected by his incarceration, she knew better. He was a good cop, who could keep his emotions in check when he needed to. And almost as if he wanted to prove that he was okay, Britt dominated the conversation as the cab drove them back to Regent’s apartment.
After the driver screeched his vehicle over to the curb, Jess tossed the right amount of euros at him and they disembarked. Jess silently vowed to buy or rent a vehicle soon.
On their way up the stairs to Regent’s apartment, she glanced at her watch. “We can’t stay long.”
“Just long enough for a cup of tea,” Regent said.
Again, odd behavior; first from Britt and now from her brother. Usually, he’d insist she go home right away to avoid getting caught by the rising sun. And he’d been too quiet this evening. Had he been rattled by Britt’s arrest? He’d mentioned that something had happened at his secret meeting, but with the night’s events, he’d never had the chance to tell her about it.
Whatever it was, she could tell it weighed heavily on him. So yes, she’d definitely stay long enough for a cup of tea.
Britt sat at the tiny kitchenette while Regent poured him a steaming cup. Jess spotted a few packets of blood in the fridge when he opened it. “How’d you manage to get that?” she asked.
He grinned at her. “I’ll always have what you need, dear sister.”
She squeezed the bridge of her nose between two fingers. “I hate that I’m such a burden for you. You shouldn’t be worrying about me. You should be living your life, doing what you want to.”
“I do live the way I want to. And I haven’t regretted one moment of our lives.” His face flushed. “You know what I mean, of course. I’d have preferred that you’d never been turned into a vampire, but you were, and we went on from there.”
Too worked up to sit at the table, she dropped into a lotus position on the floor near the door. She leaned against the wall and watched her two favorite men going through the motions of drinking tea and trying to come to terms with what had happened that night. Both of them seemed traumatized in their own unique way. And even then, Regent was doing his best to help Britt and she adored him for it.
The minute they put their cups down, she said, “Okay, spill it, Reej.”
“What’s really going on?” Britt asked, the dull expression leaving his eyes.
Regent clasped his hands on the table. “I had a meeting tonight. Something very important happened,” he said, staring into his empty teacup. “I’m not supposed to tell a soul about what was discussed. But . . .”
Jess stifled a grin. She knew Regent was serious, but honestly? He’d been a priest who hunted vampires for decades, and he’d kept that from the church. “We won’t tell anyone. You know that.”
“I know.”
“Okay, then. What the hell is it?” Jess asked.
Regent frowned. “You’re not going to believe what the meeting was about, or the real reason I was brought here,” he said.
Was it Jess’s imagination, or had Regent’s shoulders straightened just a little? Had he finally been recognized for his obvious abilities?
“So . . . spill it!” she said.
“It’s starting to look as if they brought me here . . . because of my experience with vampires. Somehow, they’ve learned about what we’ve been doing with vampires for years! That’s why they need me. They think I might be able help, especially since a couple of priests have been attacked and seriously injured.”
Jess lurched upright. “Really?”
“It’s worse than that. Ever since the incident, the two priests haven’t been themselves, so to speak,” Regent said.
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“What does that mean?” Britt demanded.
“They’ve been mentally and physically taken over. And, they’re our very best exorcists.”
“You’re saying that vampires targeted the exorcists?” Jess’s blood stalled in her veins.
“No. Shadows,” Regent said.
“So, what you’re saying is that they took out the only people who could do them harm?” Britt said.
Regent nodded. “Those men are part of a contingent of specialized priests. They have an innate talent, and are very successful at their jobs. Which means . . . they won’t be easily replaced. Few priests have that kind of gift.”
“It looks like you were lucky, Britt. Maybe your DNA protected you from being possessed,” Jess said, looking at the man she couldn’t live without. “Otherwise, more than your feet could have been damaged.” There’d been no sign of residual damage, but Sampson hadn’t arrived to check his physiology yet. She stared into Britt’s eyes clinically. The news about the shadows possessing humans was huge. This wasn’t good at all. “You are yourself, aren’t you?”
Britt gritted his teeth. “Honestly? Until my feet healed, I was having some weird thoughts that I didn’t tell you about. I was able to ignore them, though. And luckily, after my flesh healed, I was free of those ideas, too. If they’d tried to possess me, they failed.”
Jess exhaled. “Good.”
“What about the priests? Will they be okay?” Britt asked, a touch of survivor’s guilt evident in his tone.
“I certainly hope so, son,” Regent said very seriously.
“Whatever is going on—we’ll help you get through this,” Britt said.
Jess loved the fact that whenever he spoke to Regent, it was with friendship and respect. Britt’s voice held a gentleness that he reserved for her brother alone.
She loved Britt more than she was able to properly verbalize. “Your specialized group would probably like to know Britt can fight off the shadows,” she said. “But that would mean divulging secrets to an organization we can’t totally trust.”
Regent exhaled. “Sad, but true. But of course I’m not going to tell them anything about either of you.” He winked at Britt. “But what happened to you after you were attacked by the shadows does give me a little bit of knowledge they don’t have.”
Regent loved being a priest, but lately, he’d learned things about the fringe sects of the church that might have soured his ideals a little. Not that he’d ever admit it out loud. But he wasn’t the same trusting priest he used to be, and Jess was relieved to hear it. At the same time, she didn’t want him to lose his faith.
“The church is made up of people, humans who are fallible. You know better than anyone that a few weak men don’t represent the whole church. It is still as strong as the faithful beneath its roof,” she said.
Britt shared a glance with Regent before both men looked at her. “Do you realize how intuitive that statement was?” Britt said. “Do you know how much soul you need in order to have those kinds of thoughts?”
Jess bit her lip and didn’t speak for a couple of minutes. The last thing she wanted was for Britt and Regent to think she was more than a vampire. She wished Britt had spoken the truth. But she’d merely conditioned herself to say those types of things for the sake of her brother, so he wouldn’t know how dark and unfeeling she was. Finally, she said, “Don’t go all mushy on me. And don’t forget what I really am.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I know exactly who you are, Jess. Not what you are.”
She’d expected that from Britt. It was one of the first things that had made her fall for him. Most people didn’t see past the teeth and the cold flesh. But he did.
Enough of the syrupy, uncomfortable stuff. She let her arms drop and shifted her gaze back to Regent. “So, what do the priests think is happening? Do they have any ideas?”
“A few,” he said, rubbing his hands together, more animated than usual for this time of night.
“If the shadows are the reason the church brought me here, it’s a good thing they’ve got me researching in the archives. I’ve found information I’d have never known otherwise. As I mentioned to you before, these shadows seem to have made an appearance during the time of the French Revolution. And maybe even before that. There might have been a very good reason for the church to have seated a pope in both France and Rome at different times in our history.”
Jess’s knees suddenly weakened. It would’ve sucked the life out of her, if she’d had any life to give. “That sounds worse than bad, Regent. From what I remember from my history, we’re talking about pretty dark times in France’s history.”
Regent’s expression turned sober. “I know. But if we can figure out how they were stopped before, we might be able to do it again.”
“Surely, it can’t be that easy,” Britt said.
Regent shook his head. “It won’t be easy at all. No one is exactly sure what type of evil apparitions these shadows are, but if they’re the same entities that existed in the seventeenth century, we’re going to have a battle on our hands. They nearly won the last time. But they didn’t. Unfortunately, right now, we have no idea why not.”
Britt turned in his seat, and Jess came over and sat on his lap, her arm resting lightly around his shoulder. It didn’t escape her that Regent fairly beamed at the sight.
“I’d bet my eyeteeth it has something to do with the bones under the city,” Britt said, shuddering. “I get an overwhelming feeling of dread down there.”
“Hey, if anyone’s betting eyeteeth, it should be me,” she quipped. Then she grew more serious. “But I do think you’re onto something. And I think the vampire unit of the French police know about it, too. My guess is that they’re worried enough to consider bringing us in on it, but they have to decide if they can trust us, first.”
“Great way to earn our trust, by arresting me,” Britt said, frowning.
“I know. Worse, they might have actually played me.” It was embarrassing, to say the least, but at the same time, she had to admire their skills. “They got me to tell them about our vampire-hunting unit in New York City. I have the feeling they’ll be asking for our help soon.”
“Do they think the murders in the catacombs are connected to the shadows?” Regent asked.
Jess shrugged. “I’m not sure. All they seem to know is that the victim was just plain murdered and brutalized.”
“I hope she was murdered first,” Britt said, lines of fatigue and sorrow evident on his face.
“That poor thing,” Regent said, crossing himself then lifting his cross to kiss it. “I’ll pray for her everlasting soul so that she may reach the protection of heaven.” His eyes closed in a quick prayer.
“I intend to find out who murdered her,” Britt said. “Having met her, I know she was naïve and looking for attention. She should have stayed with her circle of friends. So why didn’t she?”
Jess bit her lip. “There will always be people like her who need protection from people like us. We’ll see that her murderer gets what’s coming to him, Britt. ”
Knowing Britt, he blamed himself for not being able to save the blonde. The fact that he’d known her for a short time made it personal for him. She wasn’t just another victim.
Jess got up and strode to the window. Lighter hues were appearing on the horizon. “I think it’s time we go. Even though my watch hasn’t warned me yet, the sun is about to come up.”
Britt met her at the door without another word. Regent, too. She allowed her brother to hug her. “Keep us apprised of what you learn, little brother. Britt and I will do nighttime surveillance to see what we can come up with, in regard to the shadows. We’ll let you know if we find anything. But be careful, Regent! If they’re attacking priests, you’re at risk too.”
“I promise.” Regent sa
id. “Now get going, you two. I don’t want you to be caught outside at dawn.”
Jess hated to leave him, but her brother was a grown man and he had skills she didn’t always give him credit for. She didn’t like being overprotected, and neither did he.
Outside, with a knowing glance, she and Britt separated. It was a game they played—to see who could get back to the apartment first. Jess jumped up the side of a building and took to the rooftops, thoroughly enjoying the race. She always beat Britt home, and she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
BRITT WAS EDGY. He’d arrived back at the apartment, but Jess wasn’t there yet. What the hell had happened to her? She always won. Images of the shadows proliferated in his mind and he went to the window, just in time to see spears of light beginning to shoot into the heavens. Solar rays that could burn Jess alive.
In a panic to find her, he strode back to the door and wrenched it open. Holy hell, he should have stayed with her. He’d just stepped into the hall when she opened the stairwell door and headed toward him. “Jess! You scared the crap out of me,” he said. “Where were you?”
“I ran into Morana. I let her know that Regent and I were actually born in Rome. Hopefully, that will be enough to prove we’re not related. She swears she was born in France. She hates the idea of us being twins as much as I do. And I have the feeling she’ll do some digging to find proof of her birth, just to verify that there’s nothing between us but a slight resemblance.”
“Bet that was a fun conversation. How does she plan to prove you’re not related?”
Jess shrugged. “She said she’d asked her adoptive father.”
“I’d sure like to meet that guy,” Britt said, unable to hide the dislike in his voice.
“Why?”
“To see if he really exists, for one thing.”
“You really don’t trust her, do you?”
“Doll, think about it. If Morana’s really your twin, wouldn’t that make her parent a centenarian?”
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