“No,” I said firmly. “Time of death for the first two victims rules them out. They were at Black Ruby—your earlier statement corroborates that.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look entirely convinced. Pulling out her phone, she said, “I still think I should talk to Darius. I can ask him to meet me as soon as the sun goes down.”
Ronan and I exchanged a loaded glance. When had she and Darius become cell phone buddies? As far as I knew, the vampire didn’t even know how tousehis phone—a source of frustration for the rest of us for years.
“Gray, listen to me,” I said. “This case is getting more complicated by the hour, and solving it is going to take a lot more digging, and a lot more time. I can’t do my job with you conducting your own vigilante investigation in the background.”
“But I can help.”
“I know.” I gave her a small smile. “You’re highly motivated, incredibly smart, and great at thinking on your feet. But you’re not a detective, Gray.”
Gray bristled, her defenses going up, closing her off. “Sophie was my best friend. I knew her better than anyone. Iwantto help.”
“Help by staying out the way.”
She flinched like I’d wounded her, and I took my seat again and reached for her hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I can’t put you and the other witches in this city at risk by drawing too much attention to the supernatural aspects of this case. I have to color in the lines on this one.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry. I can’t cross that line.”
She pulled out of my grasp, shoving her hands in jacket pockets, glaring at me with fire in her eyes. “Can’t, or won’t?”
“Both.” I looked to Ronan, imploring him to step in.
He shook his head, clearly frustrated with me, but I suspected he understood where I was coming from.
After a beat, he blew out a breath. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, he said, “Alvarez is right, Gray. Your priority right now is keeping yourself safe and out of harms way.”
Gray huffed. “Sounds an awful lot like sitting back and doing nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I said, and Ronan nodded. “Your safety—your getting out of this alive and unscathed—is the absolute most important thing.”
“If you say so, Detective Alvarez.”
“I say so. And since you’re here, I’m going to need one more thing from you.” I took a chance and reached for her hand again, and this time she rewarded me with a genuine smile, the tension slowly leaking from her shoulders. “Call me Emilio.”
Twenty-Two
Gray
Ronan was infuriatingly silent on the walk home.
Me? I was crawling out of my skin, my body pulling me in a dozen different directions. My brain wanted to rehash our conversation with Emilio. My fingers itched to call Darius, to see if he had any insight about the vampire blood.
But the rest of me? The rest of my body belonged to the surly demon walking by my side.
My mouth was stuck on that kiss, replaying the soft feel of his lips, the hot slide of his tongue, the clove-and-coffee taste of him that lingered deliciously, even now.
My skin still burned where he’d touched me, my face and my back and my stomach, every nerve ending longing for the exquisite pleasure of his caress.
And every time my heart beat, I heard the echo of his whispered promise.
To be continued…
To be continued…
To be continued…
