AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It could be Prosper, but why challenge me then? And why throw you into the dungeon in the first place? He could’ve let you go free and hope you’d stake me, too.” Brien shook his head. “It doesn’t fit. He’s a cold sonuvabitch, but it’s not his style. He challenged me because his honor demands he beat me in a fair fight. But yeah, I’m more and more convinced that Kuro’s a member of the syndicate.”
“What about the main video feed? Maybe you can catch Clarisse—or whoever it was—meeting up with Kerry earlier.”
“I’ll have someone take a look, but so far, the feed has been worthless. Whoever’s behind this, they’re smart with tech. And if it’s one of us, they know where the cameras are—it’s not hard to avoid them if you know where they’re located. Can you describe the tat?”
“I didn’t get that good of a look. All I can tell you is that it was one shark, not two. And the body was curved like a C.” Which described most of the tats I’d seen. “I think it was dark blue,” I added, “but it could’ve been dark gray.”
Brien put his wine glass on the table. “So, here’s what we have so far. Someone, probably Clarisse Dumas, tried to compel you to poison me and set it up so that when the bottle was discovered, the blame would fall on you.” His face hardened. “With me sick, you would’ve been dead by morning. Talon and Cain would’ve taken you out the moment the bottle turned up in my trash. There’d be no evidence you’d been compelled.”
I blew out a breath. “Good thing it didn’t work.”
“Yeah.” His gaze sharpened. “And why is that, Twilight? You said someone tried to compel you. I assume they included an order not to tell anyone, and yet the first thing you did was inform me. None of the intel I have on you says you can’t be compelled.”
“Oh.” I grimaced uneasily. “That.”
“Yeah, that.” A low growl. “I thought we were done with all the fucking secrets.”
I paused in the act of bringing a forkful of potato to my mouth. “We are.” I gave a hard swallow and put the fork down without eating anything. “But everything’s happened so fast, you know? And it doesn’t come naturally for me to be so open. Plus, this is a family secret, one I buried so deep, it honestly didn’t even occur to me to tell you until now. Even my alpha didn’t know I can’t be compelled.”
“It runs in the family, doesn’t it?” His eyes narrowed. “That’s why so many of you are slayers. Even back in Korea, your family was prominent in SI. In fact, you guys are famous among other slayers. Some of the best slayers in the world have come from your lineage.”
“Jesus. That detective you hired was good.”
“I kept digging,” he said between his teeth. “I was determined to find you. And when I did, you wouldn’t have liked what I did with you.”
“Brien.” I scooted closer and touched his thigh. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You and me—it was like a hand grenade to the heart. It just…blew up. I didn’t expect it. It’s never been like that before for me. And when Prima Victorine ordered me to leave with her, I had to go. I was on an assignment. If I’d refused to go, SI would’ve considered me AWOL, and they’d have hunted me down.”
He stared at my hand on his thigh. “I wanted to forget you—Lilith knows I tried. But I couldn’t. There’s something about you.” His eyes lifted to my face. “I…need you. And I’ve never said that to any other woman.”
I straddled him and caught his face between my palms. “I’m here,” I vowed, “and I’m not leaving. But—” I sighed and pulled up my pant leg to show him the switchblade tucked into my sock.
His gaze went from the blade to my face. “Where did you get that?”
“Your cabinet.”
“That’s one of mine?” His head fell back against the couch. “Fuck. What am I going to do with you?”
“You’re still thinking of me as a thrall.” I forced his head up again so I could look into his face. “But I’m a slayer, Brien. I spent my teenage years living and breathing every fighting technique ever invented so I could hunt and kill vampires. Maybe the blood bond makes me yours, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re mine, too. And that means I’d to die to protect you—understand?”
I snagged his gaze with mine, willing him to believe me.
To believe in us.
A beat passed, then his arms came around me in a bone-crushing hug.
“I can’t lose you.” He swallowed. “It would…break me.”
“I know.” A rock-sized lump filled my throat. “Because it’s the same for me. This thing between us goes both ways.”
He nodded without speaking.
I touched my lips to his. He angled his head, his mouth taking mine in a hard kiss. He didn’t stop until I was breathless.
I laid my forehead against his. “So you have to win this challenge, understand?”
“Oh, I understand all right,” he told me.
I nodded and sat back. “But I’ve been thinking—as far as Clarisse knows, the compulsion worked. So she thinks I poisoned you, and she also believes I won’t remember doing it—which gives us the upper hand. My guess is that Kuro is working with Clarisse. Watch her, and chances are we find him, too.”
