Page 155 of Dancing for the Minotaur

“You know, it’s a real shame about the Monstrum.”

Terra looked up sharply.

“What does that mean?”

The detective shook her head.

“Just that I’d hate to see him go to prison.”

Terra’s heart jumped into her throat.

“But Taurex didn’t do anything wrong! I mean, he did but he had a good reason to do it. Orlov kidnapped my kids and Taurex saved them—he doesn’t deserve to be punished for that!”

Detective Ramirez glanced toward the closed door and lowered her voice slightly.

“Viktor Orlov was scum,” she said. “We’ve had his name connected to several deaths over the years. Young women—mostly dancers. We could never prove anything well enough to make charges stick, but we knew.”

Terra felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cubes into her stomach.

“Deaths? He killed them? How…how many?”

The detective frowned.

“Five at least. Probably more we don’t know about.”

“Oh my God!” Terra felt sick.

“It’s not like the world is a worse place because Mr. Taurex took him out,” Detective Ramirez went on, musingly. “And we’ve been trying to nail him for years. I would almost say that your boss did us a favor.”

“He’s not my boss,” Terra said automatically. “Not anymore.”

Detective Ramirez’s eyebrows rose.

“He isn’t?”

Terra hesitated and the other woman leaned back in her chair, studying her.

“Did you quit because you were planning to have a more intimate relationship with him?” she asked.

Terra nibbled her lower lip. How much should she say? Would it help or hurt Taurex if she admitted they had been intimate?

“Well…” she began uncertainly.

“Because, you know, there is a law on the books concerning Kindred and Monstrum and murder.”

Terra sat straighter.

“What? What kind of law?” she demanded.

“The Kindred Rage-Killing Act,” Detective Ramirez said. “It prohibits prosecution of a Kindred or Monstrum who kills or seriously injures a human while acting to defend his mate or immediate family from a credible threat.”

Terra stared at her in surprise.

“There’s a law that says that?”

The detective nodded.

“There is. You’d be surprised how often it comes into play when some asshole messes with a Kindred’s girlfriend or wife or kids.” She shook her head. “You’d think if a human man knew a woman was married to a seven or eight-foot-tall alien warrior, he’d leave her the hell alone.” She shrugged. “But you know—men are stupid.”