by Jenna Barwin
“I drove Cerissa here—her car is at the hotel. I’ll take her back there first.” He had to take her blood now, before he appeared in front of the council, and he preferred the privacy of her hotel room to the front seat of his car.
Tig reached for her handcuffs. “I should put you under arrest and take you back in the van.”
“We can’t leave Cerissa in the parking lot. She doesn’t know how to drive the Viper,” he insisted, hoping Cerissa wouldn’t disagree. He placed his hand over his heart. “I give you my word of honor: I’ll return to the Hill.”
Tig frowned. “All right, you can drive your car back to town hall. Bring her with you—she witnessed what happened. Gaea can take her to get her stuff later.” Tig climbed into the van. “And keep your fangs off her. The council’s been called into session—no tampering with the witness. They may want to question her about tonight’s events, and they’ll want her mind clear of your influence.”
Henry led the way back to his car. No telling what the council would do, but he could guess. He glanced at his watch. Leopold hadn’t received the money yet. And I can’t take her blood now even if he had the money.
The money. Guilt settled onto on his shoulders. Why hadn’t he told her the truth when he had the chance? He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to her now.
* * *
Cerissa’s hands shook when she handed Henry the Glock—the aftermath of adrenaline. She rubbed her nose again, trying to remove the acrid smell lodged there. Her stomach woke up the minute she got into Henry’s car, grumbling over the acid bath washing through it. She took an energy bar out of her purse and gobbled it down, expecting Henry to start the car.
Instead, he sat in the driver’s seat, his face unreadable.
“Cerissa, there is something I should tell you,” he said.
What now? Her stomach rolled in spite of the food.
“I was—I was not fully honest with you. I held off making you my mate until I was sure you were ready, but there was another reason I waited.” He bowed his head, speaking toward the car’s stick shift. “I had to get Leopold’s consent first, since you are his envoy. I now have it.”
She reached for his hands, entwining his fingers in hers. “You didn’t need Leopold’s consent. My contract has a twenty-four-hour notice clause before letting someone take my blood.” Now it was her turn to look away. “I, ah, I gave him notice the night I received the warning letter. You could have taken my blood when we were in bed together…if you had asked.”
He raised his head. A range of emotions played across his face, until his eyes narrowed.
“Are you mad at me for giving Leopold notice?” she asked.
“I’m…” He stopped.
Why was he upset? She hadn’t mentioned it before because she didn’t want him to feel pressured. “Henry?” she asked, squeezing his hands between hers.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Then who are you mad at?”
Her lenses detected the microscopic changes. The slight glance of his eyes up and to his right, the tensing of the muscles around his mouth—he was about to lie.
“Tell me the truth,” she demanded. “The whole truth.”
Henry turned away, chagrin written all over his face. “I contacted Leopold to get his permission to take your blood. Just before we left tonight, I paid him for it.”
“How much?”
“The amount is unimportant. What is important is the principle. He misled me.”
“Leopold is my business partner. How much?”
“One-point-two million.”
“That son of a bitch!” she exclaimed. She sat there, staring at him. Unbelievable. She raked her fingers through her hair. “I’m going to throttle Leopold.”
“Please don’t—”
“I’ll make him give the money back.”
He turned to face her again. “I can fight my own battles.”
“Your battle? Your battle?” Now it was Henry she wanted to throttle. “Why didn’t you discuss it with me first?”
“It’s not our way. You are his envoy. Under the treaty—”
“I’m nothing but property to be bought and bartered—”
“Never. But envoys have special status under the treaty, the penalties severe for any vampire who feeds on an envoy. It cannot be otherwise if they are to travel safely among us.”
“All right, I get it. You were playing by your rules. But in the future—”
“In the future we will play by our rules. I’ll discuss a decision with you first. I promise.” His eyes once again communicated his embarrassment. “This has been an expensive lesson to learn.”
She tried not to smirk. Really. She tried. “All right, I’ll wait for you to work it out with Leopold. But if he doesn’t return the money, I want to talk to him.”
“Agreed.”
Then it hit her. This whole misunderstanding could have been avoided if she’d just pulled up her big-girl panties and told him he could have her blood last night. Damn. She’d used the rules to get Zeke to back off when he threatened to bite her. How could she now fault Henry for following them?
“Ah,” she began, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you last night. When you didn’t bite, I was—I was too afraid to say anything.”
He smiled and brushed her cheek with his hand. “No te preocupes, no es nada, mi amor.”
“Thanks. But what do we do now?” Tig had been clear. Cerissa couldn’t let him take her blood now, not until after she testified.
“We throw ourselves on the mercy of the council,” he said.
“Are they known for being merciful?”
His eyes took on a faraway look. He put the car in gear and backed out of the parking space. “Not really.”
Chapter 52
Cerissa worried for the entire ride. Just a fine, right? Nothing more, he said. Tig had arrived at the town hall complex ahead of them and was waiting for Henry, opening his car door before Cerissa could even unbuckle her seatbelt. She hurried to follow them.
“Wait a minute, little lady,” Zeke said, grabbing her arm. Her momentum spun them around.
“Cut the ‘little lady’ crap,” she said in mid-spin.
When they stopped, Zeke stood there looking surprised. “Okay, I reckon I can do that.” He let go of her. “But you can’t go in there.”
“Why not?”
“Vampires only.” He was dressed more formally than she’d seen him before—white shirt, gray sports jacket, and a double-string tie made of brilliant blue silk.
“But it’s a town council meeting. They can’t exclude the public.”
Zeke laughed at her. “The last district attorney who tried to investigate us for breaking that law didn’t get too far. Dude couldn’t remember his own name by the time he left.”
She was getting real tired of this whole vampire superiority complex. “But Tig wanted me as a witness.”
“That’s another reason to stay out here.” He took a cigar out of his coat pocket, clipped one end, and lit it. “They’ll call you when they’re ready for you.”
“I just want to know what’s happening to Henry.”
He laughed again. “You don’t need to go in, I can tell you that. The council doesn’t cotton much to having the rules ignored. So they’ll probably make an example of him,” he said, gesturing with his cigar to emphasize his point. “But we’re not savages—all very civilized around here. My guess is they’ll fine him. But to a vampire with as much money as he has, a fine won’t mean much. I don’t know what else they might throw in.”
Not good. When she had skimmed the Covenant, she hadn’t focused on the penalties. Her throat tightened. How could she protect Henry out here? She needed to be in the council chambers, to tell his side of things.
“You’re sure I can’t go in?”
“Absolutely sure.”
She slumped down onto a nearby bench and let out a weak sigh.
He placed a foot on the bench and leaned near
her, his cigar wedged in the corner of his mouth, one fang keeping it in place. “I’m sorry ’bout what happened last night at the dance.”
“Zeke, you need to understand, I’m Henry’s mate now.”
He sniffed the air. “That’s just a mite strange.”
“Strange?”
“You fibbed to me the other night. He hasn’t bitten you yet, has he?”
She crossed her arms. “It’s none of your business.”
“Well, it’s like this, missy. Until he does, you’re like an unbranded filly in the corral. Any cowboy could still claim you.”
“No—they—can’t,” she said, biting out each word.
“Whatever you say, missy, but a cowboy can’t help wonder why Henry hasn’t put his mark on you.”
“It’s none of your business.” If Zeke didn’t shut his mouth, she was going to put her mark on him. And it wasn’t a mark he’d enjoy. “Please just leave me—”
The doors to the council chamber flew open, slamming against the stucco wall. Henry strode out, his eyes cold with anger, and they flashed in her direction. He ran to her, his fangs extended, and pushed Zeke away from the bench where she sat.
“Stay away from her,” Henry yelled.
She stood up, grabbing his arm. “Henry, no!”
Tig wedged herself between the two men, her stun gun drawn. “Henry, back up,” the chief ordered.
Henry didn’t move. Another vampire was soon at Henry’s side. Cerissa’s lenses identified him as Yacov. “My friend,” he said, pulling at Henry’s arm, “this is not helping your case. Come, I will drive home with you.”
“Cerissa, stay back.” Henry swept his other arm behind him, his fingers finding her, pulling her behind him.
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. This whole possessive thing was getting old, fast. “Henry, I—”
Before she could finish, Zeke flicked his cigar stub at Henry’s feet, the umber-colored cylinder barely missing his shoe. Henry exploded into motion, lunging at Zeke.
“No you don’t,” Tig said, shoving a stun gun against Henry’s side. With a flash of blue light, Henry dropped to his knees.
“No,” Cerissa shouted, reaching out to Henry.
Yacov blocked her path as he scooped Henry up off the sidewalk. “I’ll get him home,” Yacov said in her direction. “Gaea will give you a lift to her place.”
She stood rigid with anger, watching Yacov lead an unsteady Henry to the Viper. She didn’t want to wait for Gaea, but she didn’t want to make things worse by following them.
Tig grabbed Zeke. “You’re coming with me.”
“What did I do?” Zeke asked. “It was Henry. You saw it. He came after me.”
“Yeah, you’re as pure as the driven snow.” Tig frog-marched him in direction of the police station.
“Cerissa,” Henry called out as Yacov shoved him into the passenger seat. Yacov closed the passenger door, waving her off.
She’d taken a step toward the Viper in spite of Yacov’s instructions when she heard Gaea say from behind her, “My word, child, why are you here?”
Cerissa turned. “Tig’s orders. She thought I might be needed as a witness. Zeke wouldn’t let me go in.”
“We’ll talk when we get back to my house.” Gaea reached out to take Cerissa’s hand. When she didn’t move, Gaea’s eyes flicked toward the onlookers. “Don’t draw attention to yourself. Come with me. Now.”
Cerissa ignored the other vampires who had gathered around. Gaea didn’t look happy. Well, Cerissa wasn’t either. But standing here wasn’t getting her questions answered. She glanced over as the Viper pulled out of the parking lot.
“Let’s go,” she said, and sighed in resignation.
* * *
Tig called out for Jayden as she pushed Zeke inside the police station ahead of her. Jayden met her at the conference room, where she parked Zeke. “Wait here for me. I have to talk with the mayor first.”
“But chief—” Zeke began, starting to stand up.
“Stay there. Jayden, keep an eye on him, okay?”
Jayden’s hand traveled to his belt, where his stun gun was strapped. “Will do.”
Tig found the mayor in his office. She closed the door behind her—they needed to talk in private.
He started ranting as soon as she was inside. “I had a promising date with a local beauty in Mordida tonight. Had to it cut short because one of our founders thought he was above the law.” He slammed his briefcase down on the credenza behind his desk. “Whatever you want can wait until tomorrow night.”
She knew better than to rush him when he was in this kind of mood. She avoided the uncomfortable guest chair and sat back on his leather couch, waiting for him to wind down. She needed to discuss the next step now that Henry was under house arrest. From the look on the mayor’s face, the knock at his office door didn’t make him any happier.
“Who is it?” he yelled.
The door banged open. Rolf entered without so much as an “excuse me” and slammed the door shut behind him. “It’s your fault this happened.”
“You think this was something more than Henry thinking with his dick?” The mayor turned his back on Rolf and started shoving papers into his briefcase. Tig continued to watch the exchange from the couch, suspecting Rolf hadn’t noticed her presence.
“Going to the game was probably Cerissa’s idea,” Rolf yelled. “To put him in a vulnerable position. Henry could have been killed—what if that was her goal all along?”
The mayor turned his back to Rolf and rolled his eyes in Tig’s direction. “If that were true, Cerissa could have killed him and blamed someone else long before now. She didn’t.” The mayor snapped his briefcase shut and swung back around to face Rolf. “I don’t see tonight as her doing. This was all Henry.”
“He would never have gone alone but for her.”
The mayor harrumphed. “It was your idea to ban Cerissa from the Hill. How’d you think he’d react? He’s probably as sick of all the restrictions we live under as I am. If you had your way, any mortal kept on the Hill would be in chains. I’ve had enough.” He stood up. “I’m going home.”
Rolf placed his hands on the mayor’s desk and leaned toward him. “The council should have taken a stronger stand, mayor. We didn’t do enough to stop Henry’s foolishness.”
“Your problem is you listen too closely to the gadflies during public comment. Idiots. Bring back the whipping post, they say. Make an example of him, they say. They just want free entertainment at Henry’s expense. Because they’re bored. Frankly, Rolf,” the mayor said, pointing his finger in Rolf’s face, “if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s yours.”
“Bah. Cerissa is the problem.”
“You’re supposed to be Henry’s friend. You should be watching his back better—helping him, not working against him.”
“Don’t make this about me. As soon as I found out, I phoned Tig.”
“My point exactly. If you were really his friend, you would have invited him up to the skybox instead of tattling to Tig. He would have been safe with you long before those goons showed up.”
Tig had to agree. Now that she’d pieced all the parts together, Rolf didn’t need to call her. Had that been Rolf’s plan? Have her arrive, just a little too late to do anything about the attack?
Rolf straightened up, pushing out his chest like a self-righteous prig. “I did what the Covenant required.”
“Take that stick out of your ass, Rolf.” The mayor shook his head. “Henry took you under his wing when he first brought you here. This is a fine way to repay him.”
“Be careful, Winston,” Rolf said, his lip curled in a sneer. “Be very careful.”
“Don’t be an idiot. If you want to help Henry, be his friend. He’s apparently enamored of the girl.” The mayor grabbed his briefcase. “Be more supportive and he might confide in you.”
He walked past Rolf and dodged out the back door of his office, slamming it behind him.
Tig stood
up. The sound of her movement caused Rolf to spin in her direction. He glared at her before striding out the same door Winston had. Wonderful. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’d probably find some way to get back at her for witnessing his tantrum. She shrugged to herself. Nothing to be done about it now. She stretched and walked the short distance back to the police station.
Chapter 53
Cerissa trod heavily along the stone path through Gaea’s garden. The scent of night-blooming jasmine turned sour in her nose, the smell cloying. She tore a daisy from its stem as she walked by. Its white petals were folded in for the night, and she began plucking them, ripping each fragile petal one by one from its green receptacle.
Gaea clucked her way over to take a seat on the white garden bench. A look of sympathy in her eyes, Gaea patted the spot on the bench next to her. “Quit pacing. He won’t be by tonight.”
Still holding the petal-less daisy, Cerissa sat down next to Gaea. “How do you know?”
“Because the council has ordered him to stay away from you.”
“They what?”
“He’s under house arrest. He can’t leave his house and you can’t visit him—no direct contact, no phone calls, no emails, no text messages. You’re a witness to what happened. They don’t want you two conspiring to change your stories about it. Understand? The council was furious with the chief for letting him drive you back alone.”
Cerissa threw the dismembered flower onto the ground. “I’m Leopold’s envoy,” she said, starting to stand up. “The council can’t stop me from seeing him on Leopold’s behalf.”
Gaea pulled her back down. “Now, dear, it’s only temporary. It’s just for two weeks until they hold the real hearing.”
“Oh.”
“But they could make it a permanent order if he defies them.”
Cerissa focused on the dark vineyard beyond Gaea’s flower garden. “It doesn’t matter what they do. They can’t keep us apart.”
“He could have ensured that last night. He didn’t.”