Immortal Distraction (17 page)

When he stood and met her halfway it was to lean to her mouth. He kissed her gently—sweetly. It wasn’t overt. It was quick, and as he pulled from her, he ran the palm of his hand gently down the side of her head, smoothing her hair and sending a tingle through her body. “Please join us. Are you hungry? I can send out for food if you’d like.” She shook her head. In truth, she was starving, but she didn’t want to eat in front of these men. He walked with her, and she sat next to Truman on the couch.

“Can we assume you’ll keep the information we discuss private?” Truman spoke to her as he studied her face. He was an exceptionally handsome man with incredible hazel eyes, but he was hard to read. But she’d also witnessed his interaction with his wife, and there was no denying that he was capable of compassion and care.

“Can I assume you’ll give me no reason to arrest any one of you for the information we discuss?” she retorted. She wasn’t trying to be cheeky.

“You wouldn’t make it out of the building with any one of us, love.” Angus glanced from her quickly as he spoke. He was no happier to test her position of authority than she was. He couldn’t make this guarantee at all, and she knew it. She didn’t want to be in this position. Not with him. But this was her investigation, and she needed to be a part of this conversation whether she wanted to have it or not.

“I’m sorry, Brit, but there’s no hiding who we are in jail. The drapes are closed for a reason right now. The sun won’t kill us, but we are allergic to it, and given enough time, if forced to endure it over time, it would become obvious. Never mind what would happen when we needed to feed. I promise you, you don’t want us imprisoned anymore than we do.” Angus was watching her steadily, studying her reaction to his words. She gave him nothing.

“Why are you suddenly helping me? I want to know the truth. It certainly wasn’t your intention to begin with.” He focused on her as he contemplated.

After a deep sigh and nod from Truman, he spoke. “We can’t be exposed, Brit. It’s one thing to run into a random polygrapher or be brought in for questioning. We can … bury certain memories when we need to, but imprisoning one of our kind would be disastrous—to us as a species and anyone who comes into contact with us.”

“You ‘buried’ memories with Michael, didn’t you?” He nodded but said nothing. “Tell me about that. I want to know what you mean when you say bury.”

She could tell he was uncomfortable. She was guessing it wasn’t every day the man … vampire was expected to explain the inner workings of their kind to a human. But after studying her, he looked at Truman. “Care to do the honors? You most definitely have the most experience in such things.” He chuckled slightly as Truman smirked.

“Before Ember was turned, I used my ability to bury her memories to come in and out of her life. It was to protect her, but it was also completely selfish on my part. I couldn’t stay away from her, and so I used it as a way to be known to her and then disappear from her life. But it backfired… A vampire can only bury memories of themselves, and they are the only one who can unbury those memories. And it’s all or nothing. You can’t selectively remove certain memories. Our ability to bury memories does no good in a situation like this because it’s too … deep.” She looked at him puzzled.

“Take us for instance.” She shifted her attention to Angus. “I could remove every last shred of myself from your mind, but we’ve spent too much time together for you not to miss those memories. There would be too many holes. There are reports with my name on it, statements that I’ve signed, hours of time that we’ve been together. I’ve met people at your precinct. There’s simply too much to remove outside of your mind. It’s the same with Driscoll. Trust me.” He smirked. “I’d love to simply wipe him out of your records and handle this problem myself. But I can’t do that.”

“You know, Brit, I nearly lost Ember forever because I removed memories that I lost the ability to give back to her. It left holes of time in her memory that I was responsible for. We’re not considering it for any reason at this point. We don’t want to do that to you or anyone else with any real involvement.” Truman’s eyes were serious as he spoke.

When she turned to Angus again, she tried to keep the worry from her expression. “Have you ever buried my memories?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s the last thing I want to do. And I wouldn’t consider it unless it was to protect you and I had no other alternative. You have to understand, it was necessary for Truman because his family as well as our council were led by different men than now. Tyrants for all intents and purposes. Ember’s life would have been ended for her relationship with Truman then. It’s also simply not wise for us to allow ourselves to be known by humans. In your case, though, too much has happened with your case and between us, and it’s just not possible at this point without messing up the situation even more.”

“And since you’re bedding the new chairman of our council, I’m guessing Angus has his own reasons for wanting to keep your mind intact.” It was Dr. Bremmer, and he smirked when she met his gaze. Brit blushed. Angus glared, and Dr. Bremmer shrugged his shoulders tauntingly when he caught Angus’ glare.

“So where does that leave us with Driscoll? You’re not helping me for no reason, and you’ve made it clear you don’t want him being arrested, so I find it hard to understand the connection.” And as she spoke, she put it together as the three men watched her. “I see. You don’t have any idea where he is, and you want me to find him for you.” She was nodding, accusing them with her eyes. “And when I find him … what then?”

“We’ll handle him.” Angus’ voice was flat, quiet. She shook her head. She couldn’t be a part of this. Catching the bad guys was her job, not finding them and turning them over to men that would kill him. “He’s not human, Brit. He’s not your problem to handle. He’s ours.” She was still shaking her head, trying to reconcile what he was asking her to do … or not do.

“He’s a murderer. The families of his victims deserve better than that.”

“Yes, he’s a murderer. And the world deserves safety from him. You can’t provide that with him alive.” Angus’ voice was harsh, and he was glaring at her. She glared back.

“Well in that case, what makes you any better?” Her voice was as harsh as his when she bit back.

Truman answered to diffuse the tension between them. “Brit, we are only allowed to kill certain … types of people. And I assure you, we’re protecting humans by ending the lives we end.”

“But you bring up a good point, Brit, and a question we need answered in order to understand why Driscoll is doing this.” It was Dr. Bremmer. “What can you tell us about the victims? What do they have in common?”

She was still glaring at Angus who was consequently still glaring right back at her. When she finally pulled her attention from him and looked at Dr. Bremmer, he was watching her patiently. “I’m not sure I’m inclined to give you that information.”

“Let it go, Bremmer. They were drug dealers, and frankly, they got what they deserved.” Angus had spoken, and his words had Brit’s blood boiling.

Her mouth opened before she could stop it. “Drug addicts! Not dealers! These people are sick, not criminals!” God knew she was sensitive about the issue given exactly who her parents were, but she was yelling at him.

“Thank you, Brit. That’s what we needed to know.” His expression was flat. He’d tricked her into answering, and though she was shaking in fury, she didn’t miss the expressionless and flat look on his face. He wasn’t happy he’d had to manipulate her. But that understanding didn’t quiet her fury one bit. She’d played right into his game, and she wanted to slap him for it. She wanted to yell, but her anger had already tripped her up once, and she wasn’t going to give it a chance to happen again.

Then her phone rang.

She stalked away from them as she answered. “What!” The men watched her curiously.

“We’ve got the ME’s report back on the last two victims. Get your ass to the precinct.” Humphreys disconnected without another word.

She turned to the men. “I have to go.”

Angus stood. “Please excuse us. I’ll catch up to you shortly.” He tossed the words over his shoulder as he walked toward her. Bremmer and Truman stood to leave. And once the door was closed behind them, he spoke. “I don’t want this to be a fight.”

“I don’t see how it can’t be.” It was a depressing fact. They weren’t on the same team. She couldn’t accept what he wanted to do, and he couldn’t accept what she was required to do.

She turned from him to find her purse. “I’ll drive you to the precinct.”

“Thought you couldn’t be out in sunlight.” She was almost taunting him.

“It’s not long enough to do any real damage.”

The drive was silent until they were close. “He won’t be very active during the day, so you’re safest during daylight hours, but once the sun’s down, you’ll be vulnerable.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She was upset, and she wasn’t handling it well.

“I want you to stay in my building until this is resolved.”

“No! I have no intention…”

“Yes! I won’t have you out there risking your ass with a man you have no chance against.”

“Fuck you. I can take care…”

“If you want space, I’ll give it to you, but you’re not going back to your home…”

“Watch me!”

“I’ll drag you kicking and screaming back to my building if I have…”

“And I’ll arrest your ass for kidnapping.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

They were yelling at one another when he pulled up to the front of the building, but the people passing by didn’t stop her from firing back one more time. “Fuck you!”

Or stop him from responding. “Damn it, woman! All I want is you safe. Can’t you give me at least that much?”

Their eyes were furiously locked to one another. She had bigger battles to wage than where she was going to sleep, and she was being petulant and stupid, but she was so damn angry. After huffing deep, calming breaths, she finally relented. “Fine.” And as she opened the door and hopped out, she tossed back over her shoulder. “But I’m not fucking you anymore!”

As she slammed the door, he managed to get his words out before the door shut. “We’ll see about that.”

Chapter 16

She wasn’t kidding. Damn painful going from unexpectedly incredible sex to nothing in a matter of minutes. She was setting the pace, and glad as he was that she’d given up the fight on staying with him, she was as cold as the first day he’d met her. He understood it. Who the hell reacted well to finding out vampires existed, they’re fucking one, and oh yeah, his life principle happened to conflict with theirs on a core level that was impossible to get around.

She’d pulled up in her police-issue car that evening. It was dark, and Jonathan the valet had called as soon as she’d arrived. It was dark early in Boston during the middle of winter, and he was glad to see her only minutes after the last of the sun disappeared from the horizon. He had to hunt with Truman, and he needed all the time he could get, but he knew he wouldn’t leave until she was there safe. He was petrified for her safety.

Petrified. Since when did Angus get petrified? He wasn’t himself with her. Another pathetic byproduct of caring. Too damn bad she hated him now. But she didn’t really. He could see the pain in her eyes when she entered his residence. It was obvious in the awkward way she glanced at him, looked away, and blew a steadying breath of air from her pursed lips that held a load of heavy emotion.

“I’m sorry about this morning.” She was quiet when she spoke, looking at his chest, and in one moment, relief flooded his soul … but then she spoke again and destroyed that relief. “But I can’t … I can’t deal with … this.” Her expression held none of her harsh attitude. And he could see what a struggle it was for her to look at him.

“You mean me?” He was watching her closely. He wasn’t upset with her. He knew what he was. He knew what she was. And she was right. But it hurt. And that was not something Angus was used to.

She nodded, refusing to look at him. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. She was not at all the Brit he’d met weeks before, and he loved her soft vulnerability, but he hated her words right now.

“It’s okay, Brit. I understand.” His hands were itching to reach for her, pull her into his arms, but he clenched his jaw instead. “There’s nowhere for this to go. You’re too mortal for me, and I’m entirely too immortal for you.” He hated his own words even as he uttered them. “But I need you to understand your safety is my main concern now. And until I know you’re safe, you’re just going to have to deal with me.”

“I can’t agree with what you want to do, or help you in any way. I don’t kill murder suspects. I arrest them.”

“I know. And I won’t ask you to tell me anything more about your investigation.”

“But you’re not going to stop trying to find him … kill him.”

“It won’t be your problem.”

“If you kill him and become a murder suspect yourself, it’ll be my problem.”

“Don’t do this, Brit. I know it’s hard for you, but I need you here. I need to know you’re safe. And there’s no point fighting when it’s your safety that’s at the heart of it.” Jesus, he sounded like Truman. He envied Truman’s heart. Always had. But fuck, the emotion behind it was painful. He wanted the woman standing in front of him so much more than he knew he could want.

She studied him for a moment before responding. “I’ll stay tonight.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he was willing to accept it for the time being. “I have to go out tonight. Do you need dinner before I leave?”

She shook her head and then froze in her place. “Wait. Go out where?”

He stared at her without a shred of expression on his face. “We’re not fucking anymore, remember? You don’t get to ask me those questions.” He wasn’t taunting her. His voice was calm, depressed even. He hated this, and it showed in his voice.

But her eyes widened as she watched him. “You’re hunting.”

“Let it go.” He cocked his head, warning her, not that she’d listen unless she had a mind to.

She turned from him and stalked away to his bedroom, closing the door. He heard the shower running within minutes and smelled the subtle scent of his soap as it made its way to him. He took that as his cue to leave and met Truman in the lobby. When they pulled from the curb, it was toward New York. It was a four-hour drive, and they wouldn’t return until early morning.