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I swallowed. Beneath that supermodel exterior, the man was smart. What’s more, he was close to the truth. Too close.
The tattoo had been to punish me for staking my alpha, but now that I’d ended up with Brien, I had to wonder if Kuro had had another, hidden reason. Maybe he’d wanted to allay suspicions that I was an undercover slayer.
I wasn’t. At least, I wasn’t with Slayers, Inc. any longer. My strings were being pulled by one man, Kuro. But if Kuro really was a member of the BOD, then maybe, just maybe, he was my way back into the organization.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m on the run from SI. The first place they’d look for me is LA or San Francisco. I’ve stayed away from the West Coast. This is the first time I’ve even been back to North America in over a year. I mean, who’d look for me in northern Quebec?”
Every word was true, and I knew Brien would sense that.
What I’d left off was the part about Kuro finding me in Costa Rica and sending me to Quebec City and Le Dahlia Noir.
“I see.” Brien rubbed a hand over his face. His eyelids dropped, reminding me of how young he was for a vampire. The approaching dawn was tugging him into the day sleep.
“You don’t believe me?” I asked. “Then send me away.”
That made his eyes open wide. The rim around his irises flashed a dangerous blue. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe.” Instead of moving back like a sane person would when faced with an irate vampire, I stalked closer, trailed a finger down his chest. “Maybe not. There are some…benefits, I guess.”
His breath caught. He caught my hand and brought my wrist to his lips. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said against the tender skin. “I suggest you get some sleep. I’ll be keeping you busy.”
“Yes, sir.” I said it to irritate him, but he simply grinned, a wicked curve of his mouth, and then scraped his teeth over my inner wrist.
The tremor that went over me was purely sexual. I jerked my hand from his, hating how easily he could turn me on.
His mouth flattened. “Inside.” He indicated his bedroom.
“You want me to sleep with you?”
“I’d have to trust you to allow that. No, I’m going to lock you in there.”
He indicated the door in hidden in the wallpaper. The one hiding the small, windowless bedroom.
Panic smacked me in the chest. My lungs constricted, and for a frightening few seconds, I couldn’t get enough oxygen.
“No.” I took a step back, shaking my head. “Please. I swear I won’t try anything.”
“Too bad I don’t believe you.” He grabbed my arm, and I broke, twisting out of his grip and running for the door, desperately trying to figure out the code to unlock it.
When I couldn’t, I pounded the wood with my fists. “Let me out!” My breath sobbed in. “Let me out! Please, somebody,let me out.”
“Twilight.” Brien took me by the shoulders, and I exploded, twisting and fighting to get away. “Hey, hey,” he said, but I didn’t really hear him.
I slammed my heel down on the metatarsals of his right foot, and although he swore under his breath, he didn’t release me, so I went for his balls with my right hand. He was too fast for me, though, knocking my clawed fingers aside with his knee. The next thing I knew, I was enveloped in a bear hug, my arms against my sides.
“Sweet Lilith.” Lifting me off my feet, he gave me a hard squeeze. “Calm the fuck down.Now.”
I thrashed wildly, kicking back at him until he wrapped a powerful leg around both of my legs, restraining me.
I kept struggling, face hot, chest jerking, even though I knew it was hopeless. “No. Don’t do this.Please.”
“Twilight.” He pitched his voice low, soothing. “Chill out. I didn’t understand, all right? Settle down, and we’ll talk about it.”
I shuddered and stopped fighting, hanging in his arms, tears streaming down my face. He waited until I drew a ragged breath.
“You okay?”
I sniffed and nodded. “You can put me down now,” I mumbled, ashamed and humiliated at my loss of control.
