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Or maybe not.
Because apparently even Tony wasn’t buying it. The captain snorted and said, “If you really don’t know, ma’am, then you’re gonna have one hell of a time surviving inthistown.”
* * *
She was living a nightmare. An absolute somebody-please-wake-me-up screaming nightmare.
Antonio knew about theOther.
Yes, that was a problem, but thebigdeal was that she had a shifter gone bad who was slicing up killersright under the noses of the PD.The news headlines would be brutal.
“I hate to break this to you, Ms. Jerome?—”
“Erin,” she choked out because the captain drawled her surname out in a way that was like nails grating on her nerves.
“But in the world around you, only half of what you see is real.” Antonio paced the small confines of his office, looking very much like a caged cat.
He wasn’t. The captain didn’t so much as give off one whiff of shifter scent.
But then, her scent was pretty damn hard to detect, too.
“Really?” She kept her voice mild with an effort. After the captain’s big revelation, he’d herded her and Jude into his office. She was playing the innocent human, for now. And for as long as necessary.
“Two years ago, I was out in the swamps. A vampire tried to drain me and leave my body for gator bait.”
Nice visual. “A vampire?” Erin shook her head. “Sorry, captain, but vampires aren’t real.” Yeah, right. Those bastards were as real as she was.
Jude rolled his shoulders beside her. He’d been doing that every few moments. What was up with that?
“They’re real.” Antonio stopped his pacing. “Get used to the idea.”
She had, about twenty-five years ago, when she’d watched her mother go claw to teeth with a vamp. “Um...tell me, captain, have you been in for an evaluation recently? Perhaps a trip to the police shrink is in order.” Erin braced her hands on the armrests of her chair and pushed to her feet. “Now, unless you want to tell me a few fairy tales about some trolls running loose in the city, I’ve got a murder to solve. I don’t have time for this crap.” A good exit line. She headed for the door with her chin up and shoulders back.
And Erin heard clapping behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Jude smiling at her.
“Nice.” He pointed one long finger at her. “But why don’tyoucut the crap, ADA? We both know you understand all about the monsters in the dark and playing the innocent isn’t gonna work with me.”
We both know you understand all about the monsters in the dark.Her lips parted.
He rose slowly and stalked toward her. Yes,stalked. His movements were slow and steady, strangely graceful. His bright gaze dropped to her mouth. Seemed to heat.
Trouble.Oh, but the man was going to be dangerous to her. She’d known it from that first glance. Erin licked her lips. “I, uh...” No, that wouldn’t work at all. She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jude.” One fast glance toward Antonio. “I’m not going to jump on this insanity parade?—”
“Gloves are off, lady. You know what I am.”
Shifter.
He leaned in close, and she watched the flare of his nostrils. “And I know what you’renot.”
Human.
“So let’s cut to the chase, here, okay? No pretending is necessary when the door’s closed.” And the door was closed. Closed and locked. She’d heard the softsnickafter Antonio shut the door. “You saw the body. You said yourself—those were claw marks, right?”
Her gaze darted once more to the left. Antonio stared at her with his wide eyes. Denial was still an option. She didn’t have to blow her cover, the cover she’d worked so hard to get. Four months. It had taken her four months to find this job and to escape from her past.
A past that had come calling today—memories stirred up by the cloying scent of blood and death.
Running from monsters was hard work, because they were everywhere.
