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“Okay,” I acquiesced. “I spoke to a council elder named Rebecca. ”
He sucked in a breath through his teeth.
“I take it you know her. ”
“Yes. ”
“Pretty well?”
“You could say that. ”
“I did. ” I was trying to get him to give me more to go on. I wanted whatever story was lurking behind his comment, but Holden was too savvy for my attempt.
“What did Rebecca have to say?”
“She doesn’t seem to think you’re guilty. ”
“Well that’s something, I suppose. ”
We were passing West 48th Street on 8th Avenue, so we were almost back to my block. Night had moved past its apex and was cooling with each passing moment. The sky had lost all the yellow tones of its former self and was now a deep, rich blue.
I was so tired of this night.
“Holden, Sig told me something about you last night. ” I waited a beat, but he didn’t reply so I continued. “He told me about your journals?”
By phrasing it as a question, I left it open for him to decide how much of the blanks to fill in. To be honest, what Sig had told me about Holden’s journals left me with more questions than answers, so anything Holden himself could clarify might offer me some help.
“My journals. ”
“Yeah. He said you were meticulous. And then he said something about certain dates. One of them was December sixth. ”
“Your birthday?”
My cheeks flushed with a warm glow. Sure, my birthday had meaning to me, but dates rarely meant anything to vampires. That Holden remembered the day was my birthday flattered me more than I cared to admit.
“I don’t know what he—” I was thinking out loud as I started to walk ahead, but Holden stopped me.
“Secret. ” He grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. We were pressed face-to-face, he had one hand looped around my waist and the other held my arm. Breath whooshed out from my lips as my lungs compressed against his chest. My eyes were reflected in his, and for a brief, sweet second all we did was look at each other. My heart thrummed.
When I thought about the kiss we’d shared in my apartment, my stupid knees buckled a little. His hold on my waist was firm, and I righted myself before I fell. I wished I was still wearing heels so I could have blamed them.
“What did Rebecca tell you?” His lips were caressing my ear, but the intimacy of our embrace didn’t match the words coming out of his mouth.
“Wuh?” At the best of times I am ineloquent. I am especially challenged when in the arms of a beautiful man. Maybe I was human after all.
His voice was a low whisper, so low I understood now the meaning of our unusual position. He was holding me in a lover’s embrace, his lips brushing my neck, his fingers trailing a dangerous path down my spine. To anyone passing by, we were a couple in love. But that wasn’t his motivation.
No. Holden was masking our conversation from any potential eavesdroppers. By holding me this close he could speak lower than any human ears could hear. So low even paranormal hearing wouldn’t pick up on it. He was barely uttering the words. It was as if the movement of his lips alone told me what he was saying.
If anyone was following us, they would have no idea what we were talking about.
“She told me what you’ve been accused of. ”
His hand spasmed on my back, and all pretense of breathing left his body. “What?”
“There are claims you’re responsible for the death of several protected council elders. ”
“Well. ” He pulled his head back from my ear and looked at my face. “We knew it had to be something serious. I didn’t think it would be something so…impressive. ”
