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And yet he’d taken her father from her.
Under orders.
And yet he’d murdered a judge.
But why?
With a sharp snap of fury,she hurled the book at the far wall. Was she really fighting herself now? Her brain telling her heart the reasons she should hate Luke? The justifications for never again being in his arms?
Was it truly Luke she hated, or was it Tiberius? After all, Luke had shown the courage to tell her the truth even knowing that she would condemn him. He laid the facts at her feet, leaving her to decide if she loved him.
She closed her eyes.
Damn her, she did.
She didn’t want to, but she did.
It wasn’t Luke she hated, but Tiberius. She only hoped that someday she’d have the chance to get her revenge.
She closed her eyes, then jumped at the sharp rap on her office door, which then flew open without waiting for her invitation.
“You banging him?” Doyle demanded, bursting into the room with Tucker at his side. “Oh, wait,” Doyle continued, putting his hands on her desk and leaning in close. “You’re a human. Not really his type. So maybe you just like his pretty face. Or maybe you’re just stupid enough to do the bastard favors.”
Because his insult skirted very near the truth, she took the time to consider her response. “I’m tired, Agent. I’ve barely slept. And in case you didn’t get the memo, Dragos’s bail hearing’s been moved to tonight. So I’d appreciate it very much if you’d back the fuck off.”
She still couldn’t believe that bit of news. Apparently Luke really did have connections, because the word had come down all the way from Nostramo Bosch, the Director of all of the North American Divisions, that the hearing was being bumped up.Lovely. Maybe she’d sleep next month. Right now, she had work to do if she wanted to keep him incarcerated until the Braddock trial. And she did. No matter what she might feel for him, the evidence was clear that he murdered Braddock. No way should he get out on bail. Lucius Dragos was a dangerous man, though she couldn’t help but wonder if he was anywhere near as dangerous to the public as he was to her heart.
Doyle took a step forward, clearly upping the intimidation factor. She stood her ground.
“Why don’t you tell us what you were doing sprinting to Division in the middle of the night?” he demanded. “Especially after what he did to that girl at your pool?”
“I didn’t know he’d fed when I arrived,” she admitted. “How did you find out?”
Doyle moved away, then leaned casually against the wall, giving off the appearance of a benign man having a simple conversation with a colleague. But there was nothing benign about Ryan Doyle. She could see the danger bubbling beneath the surface. She imagined that edge made him an exceptional investigator—not to mention a tireless opponent.
“Human police band. The address popped as yours.”
“All right,” she said, because so far he was making perfect sense. “But there’s still no straight line that connects me and Annie and Lucius Dragos.”
“The hell there isn’t.” He reached out his hand, and Tucker passed Sara his phone. She peered at the small screen, then let out a small gasp at the image of Luke, battered on the steps of the pool, and Annie moving in close to him.
“Smile,” Doyle said. “That fuckwad’s on candid camera.”
“Got him dead to rights on this,” Tucker said, retrieving his phone. “Drawing from a human. Feeding a human. Big no-nos for vamps. Brings the darkness too close to the surface.”
“And don’t be so naive as to think a vamp’s ever really got that snake under control,” Doyle said, his color rising. “That may be the politically correct party line, but it’s a bunch of bullshit, and everyone in the Shadow world damn well knows it. The darkness can’t be controlled—won’t be controlled. And when it comes out, it’s like a visitation straight from hell.”
Sara shivered, then realized she’d been hugging herself. Tucker, she saw, had moved closer to his partner, who shook his head violently, then turned away. Personal, she thought. The darkness in vampires was real, but it was also damn personal to Doyle.
“So how did you get this? There aren’t security cameras on the pool deck.”
Tucker snorted. “Two vamps live in your building. You think the PEC doesn’t have some surveillance of its own?”
She frowned, her gaze dipping back down to that image. An image of Luke, with his mouth on Annie’s neck.
She tore her eyes away, ignoring the fresh burst of absurd jealousy, the same that she’d felt when he’d told her the story. Dear God, he was feeding on the girl. Sara didn’t want that. How could she want that?
“So you’ll use this, right?” Tucker asked. “At the hearing?”
