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“Stop what?”
“Trying to seduce me. It won’t work.”
“Who says I’m trying to seduce you? You’ve got a high opinion of yourself, my dear doctor.”
This time her red cheeks were purely due to embarrassment. Of course he wasn’t seducing her. She was wearing second-day clothes. Though she’d showered before their flight, she hadn’t done even her usual minimum amount of makeup. Her lips were chapped, and after the last few days, she doubtlessly had raccoon eyes.
Someone like Marek wouldn’t be attracted to her, the kiss on the plane notwithstanding. And she didn’t want him to seduce her or find her attractive. Did she? Nope, definitely not.
She’d gone too long without sex. Six months and counting. That was it.
To save her dignity, she lied through gritted teeth, “It happens more often than you think, people seducing me, I mean.”
His expression unreadable, he said, “Hmm, sure. Does that mean there’s a knight in shining armor coming to save you from my evil clutches?”
“No. No, there isn’t.” She looked out into the distance, at the Ferris wheel, where she imagined couples spending a romantic evening. If she’d had someone to go home to, she wouldn’t have worked late last night.
“Good.” Marek grinned when she shot him a surprised look. “One less problem for me.”
Olivia jumped out of Marek’s hold as soon as his feet touched the hospital’s rooftop. Sam, the detective, waited for them. About her height with short brown hair, he was in his mid-forties with an athletic build. He had called her three days after she’d filed the missing person’s report on Betsy. Her sister had been labeled a Jane Doe until then.
On the phone, he’d been polite, professional, and had displayed the perfect amount of empathy to ensure her calmness.
“Dr. Rodriguez, nice to meet you in person,” Sam said with a friendly smile. “I hope your trip was uneventful?” His gaze flicked to Marek, who was buttoning up his shirt after retracting his wings.
“It was fine. I want to see Betsy.” She realized she sounded curt, but her capacity for small talk and social niceties had long evaporated.
“Sure. Follow me.”
They entered a hallway like any other hospital: squeaky linoleum floors, white fluorescent lights, cabinets and beds and equipment lining the walls. Perhaps because it was the top floor, it was quiet by hospital standards, and they only passed three nurses before reaching the elevator.
“Has Marek explained everything?” Sam asked as the elevator doors closed.
Olivia focused on the facts she’d gathered instead of Marek’s presence. “He said Betsy cast a spell that destroyed the LA Ruins. But I don’t believe it. Betsy never said anything about being a witch.”
“Does your sister usually tell you everything?” Sam asked.
“Yes, or she used to,” Olivia mumbled. It was her fault. She had been the one who’d reduced their twice-a-week calls to once a week.
“So, you don’t know who hired your sister or her coven for the spell?”
“No. She didn’t even tell me she joined a coven. How much trouble is she in?”
In her head, she was already calculating how much money she had to hire a good lawyer. Different countries treated their Ruins differently. Some revered them while others neglected them. Most in the US were tourist attractions. Was the LA one a popular destination?
“It depends,” Sam answered. “All the witches are in a coma, so we haven’t been able to determine if they willingly participated or if they had been coerced.”
Olivia’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean?” She looked at Marek. “Is this why you’re interested in this?”
Marek looked up from his phone. He’d been texting ever since they walked indoors. “Yes, vampires were guarding the witches when we tried to stop the spell.”
Her brows furrowed. “You don’t sound like you approve.”
The elevator doors opened and they stepped out. “No,” Marek bit out. “We did not approve anyone to destroy the LA Ruins.”
Hmm, so she’d been right. He was either part of or worked for someone high up in the vampire hierarchy. The vampires had a King, but as far as she knew, the King did little governance, leaving the mysterious Vampire Council to enact and enforce laws. In the US, the vampires were ruled by Julian Blackmore, the mayor of Las Vegas, with a political delegation that collaborated with human lawmakers in DC.
By “we,” did Marek mean Blackmore hadn’t sanctioned the Ruins’ destruction? Was there a rogue group of vampires? And somehow Betsy had gotten herself involved?
