To Love and Serve (8 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Diana placed a coffee mug in front of Jesus as they sat together on the condo’s terrace shielded on one side by the row of oleanders in full bloom. Across from them, the sun had risen high as noon approached and bathed the area with light and warmth. She closed her eyes and raised her face to the sun, loving the way its heat slipped into her core and chased away the chill in her body.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Jesus sat beside her in his shirtsleeves, fingers laced together and resting on his lean stomach. “It’s not often we have the luxury of just sitting around.”

No, they didn’t, but he wasn’t here to sunbathe. They had a killer to catch. She opened her eyes, picked up her mug, and took a sip of the coffee. “I think he’ll strike again and soon,” she said. “He’s in love with what he’s doing. He sees himself as an artist of death.”

Jesus braced his elbows on the edge of the wrought iron table and cradled his coffee cup in hands that showed a few nicks and scars from his military years before he joined the FBI. “We miss having you and Harris around. I think the two of you working together would have had more on this already.”

Her hands shook on her cup at the mention of her old partner. The partner whose life she’d screwed up so badly thanks to the injuries he’d sustained on the night of the raid. Another thing she had to do on her way to becoming a better person. “How is David?”

“Medical finally cleared him for desk duty. Maggie and he broke up, by the way.”

Her heart sank. “I didn’t know.” FBI doctor Maggie Gonzalez was her best friend. She hadn’t seen Maggie in a few weeks, although they had spoken just a couple of days ago. She wondered if Maggie had held back from telling her because she knew Diana felt responsible for David’s condition. Although if it hadn’t been for Ryder’s vampire friends, David might be dead. They’d pulled her partner, semi-conscious and badly injured, from a burning building that had been blown up by the terrorists they were tracking that night. Afterward, David had asked her to explain how he’d survived, but she didn’t think he’d be able to handle the truth. Hell, she still couldn’t believe the hidden otherworld into which she’d been reborn.

“You’re not to blame for what happened,” Jesus said, as if reading her mind.

“The Office of Professional Responsibility said otherwise after their investigation.” Since this was old and painful ground she didn’t want to revisit, she steered the conversation back to the present.

“What else do you need me to do on the case?”

“Nothing,” he surprised her by saying.

“Nothing?” She’d hoped that his request for her to review the case files meant that he’d find a way to bring her back into the office.

A quick smile confirmed it. “I’ve got two new agents transferring to our department in a day or so. I think I’m going to assign them to the case. Your insight will help them get a jump on their investigation.”

She should have expected the answer. Jesus hadn’t risen to the rank of ADIC at such a young age without making the difficult decisions and ruthlessly going by the book.

“You’ll let me know if you need me, right?” She’d hoped he would bring her in on the case, especially now that she’d possibly found something useful.

“The other day you told me you were ready to come back. Any second thoughts on that?”

She thought about how tired she’d been just from reviewing the files, but then also recalled what she’d said to him during their meeting at Luigi’s—that it would kill her to not go back to work. Not to mete out justice and keep her promise to her father, but just as important, to restore order to her life.

“No second thoughts. When you want me, I’ll be there.”

Jesus rose. “Give me a little time to get a feel for the new agents. In the interim, I’ll try to get the powers that be to rescind their order and bring you back.”

His words filled her with joy and she jumped up, hugged him hard, and he returned the embrace. After he’d gone, she sat back down to finish her coffee, savoring the happiness of the moment. And felt the shadows inside her recede as one of the missing pieces of her life fell into place.

With those thoughts in her mind, she sat there, enjoying the late morning sun. Now to find the other pieces she was missing and heal the darkness within her. Maybe then she would have the strength to embrace the one thing she wanted more than anything—a life with Ryder.

After her dream, she knew the next piece that she had to fit into place.

Sebastian.

She jumped on the elevator to the floor below where Melissa and her brother had their apartment, the proximity a leftover from Melissa’s responsibilities as Ryder’s keeper.

She knocked on the door and her mother answered. Her keen maternal eye quickly picked up on the fact that something was amiss with her daughter.

“Can I help you,
mi’ja
?” she asked, and skimmed her hand down Diana’s cheek. The gentle touch roused memories of her childhood days.

She suddenly realized her hero worship for her father had blinded her to her mother’s sturdy, unwavering presence.

Reaching out, she embraced her mother and tucked close, whispering, “I love you,
Mami
.”

An emotion-filled sigh escaped her mother and she stroked Diana’s hair, the gesture comforting and unguarded. “I know,
mi’ja
. I’m glad I could finally be here to spend some time with you.”

Guilt slammed into Diana at how often she’d pushed her mother away, both as a child and then as an adult when she’d fled Miami in search of peace. She’d fucked up so many things in her life. “I’m glad we could spend time together as well. Is Sebastian home? I wanted to talk with him.”

Her mother tilted her head in the direction of the bedrooms. “He’s putting Mariel down for a nap. She was getting a little cranky. I was going to make lunch for us. Can you stay?”

“I’d like that,
Mami
.” She had planned to leave right after her talk, but she’d been running away from her mother for too long. “I’m going to give Mariel a kiss.” She left her mom to go find her brother and niece.

He was scrunched down in a small chair with gaily painted blossoms that matched the girly feel of the room. He looked incongruous pretzeled in order to sit, all six very masculine feet of him surrounded by pink, a rainbow of flowers, and enough stuffed animals to start a zoo.

His deep voice was singsong as he read the story to his daughter and the little girl struggled to keep her eyes open.

Diana hung back, not wanting to intrude or excite her niece back to wakefulness. She listened to the tale of a group of lost animals, a story their own dad had read to them on the nights he made it home early enough. So precious and sweet. With each tick of Diana’s biological clock, she wondered if she could ignore her newfound yearning for a baby. If she committed fully to Ryder, would regret over that loss grow unbearable as the years stretched into eternity? Until hate joined with the worst of her emotions and drove them apart?

Once Mariel was fast asleep, Sebastian stood and grimaced, unwinding his long, lanky body. He bent and brushed a kiss across his daughter’s hair and walked toward the door. He stopped short when he noticed Diana standing there.

“I didn’t know you were here,” he whispered, joined her, and softly closed the door after them.

Her heart melting in her chest, she said, “You’re a good father, Sebastian.”

His smile was guarded as he wrapped his arms around her. “Thanks,
hermanita
.”

She finally said the words that should have been said long ago. “I’m sorry Dad never saw the kind of man you are. Strong. Loving.”

The tears came then, and she regretted the weepiness that seemed to be such a part of her lately, a byproduct of having to face so many difficult decisions.

He cradled the back of her head so she could weep in private against his chest. “It’s okay,
hermana.
I always knew I had you in my corner.”

She sniffled and dabbed the remnants of tears from her face. “I’m here for you. For Melissa and Mariel.” She shot a wistful look at her niece’s door.

“You’re a good aunt. You’d have made one hell of a mother.”

She shook off the compliment and walked back toward the living room. “Yeah, right. I can picture it now. Gun in one hand, baby bottle in the other. No, I’m too much like Dad.”

“You only think you are.”

She denied it with a harsh laugh. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“Have faith,
hermanita.
Melissa has been hard at work looking for a cure, and even if she doesn’t find a way—”

“There’s always Ryder, right? Only I’ve barely done this life right.”

“Bullshit, Di. I know we’ve both been knocked down hard, but here we are. Alive. Happy. Or you could be, if you let go of the past.”

She glanced at him dubiously as they walked to the living room. “Is that what you really think?”

“You’re stronger than you were before. You can handle anything. Plus you’re not alone. You’ve got all of us to lean on. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

He headed to the kitchen with her in tow. As soon as the smells of the Cuban sandwiches hit her, her stomach did a quick somersault. She pressed her hand to it to quiet the rumba that had started, and her mother’s keen-eyed gaze noticed it quickly.

“Are you not feeling well,
mi’ja
?” she asked.

Diana didn’t want to upset her, especially since the nausea appeared to be a new symptom. “Just a little stomach virus. Nothing to worry about.”

“Whatever you say.” Her mother rolled her eyes. “Now eat up. You could stand to gain a little weight.” She pulled her to the table.

Diana had barely taken a breath when her mother plopped a plate in front of her that held a large triangular wedge of Cuban sandwich. Her stomach flip-flopped and a line of cold sweat erupted along her neck.

“Is there anything you need to tell us,
mi’ja
?” her mother asked guardedly, but Diana raised the sandwich with a flourish and took a bite.

“
Delicioso, Mami
,” she mumbled around the mouthful of ham, roast pork, cheese, pickles, and toasted bread.

“Yes, thank you,
Mami
. We’re going to miss you when you leave tomorrow,” Sebastian said, but sent Diana an inquiring look too much like their mother’s.

She ignored them both and managed to eat the entire piece without her stomach revolting. If anything, it seemed to calm the roiling. As she finished, her cell phone chirped. Ryder’s text message asked,
Where are you?

“I have to go,” she said.

“He keeps you on a short lease,” Sebastian rebuked her mildly.

Her smile dimmed. “You should know by now that nobody controls what I do,
hermanito
.” Turning to her mother, she hugged her, and said, “I’ll be down tomorrow to say good-bye,
Mami.
”

“I’d like that,
mi’ja.
Somehow it doesn’t seem as if we spent much time together these last few weeks.”

She
had
avoided her, partly out of guilt, but also from fear her mother would see that all was not well with her. “Maybe you can visit again soon.”

“Maybe,” was all her mother said. Diana took that opportunity to hurry out the door.

As she stepped onto the elevator, she texted Ryder that she was on her way up. He was waiting for her by the front door, sleepily tousled, his dark hair finger-combed in disarray. Loose pajama pants she knew he’d slipped on in deference to her, hung low on his lean hips.

At his questioning glance, she said, “You were still asleep after Jesus left, so I decided to pop in downstairs.”

He danced his fingers along her arm, then took hold of her hand. “You look…relaxed.”

In truth, she was. Much more than she had been after her ADIC’s earlier visit. “I am. It was nice to visit with my family. Get some things off my chest. See my mother before she goes home.”

“When you weren’t here when I woke, I thought maybe Jesus had asked you back.”

“I’d hoped he would,” she said with a heavy sigh of frustration. “God damn it. He knows how much I want to go back to work. How much it means to me.”

“Did he explain why, at least?”

“He liked my profile, but he has two new agents transferring in. He wants to give them the case.”

Beneath her hand, Ryder’s muscles tensed. “Fuck him. Especially after you practically killed yourself helping him.”

“I know he’s just doing his job as a boss, trying to get the case solved quickly. But…”

“I know, darlin’.” Ryder eased his arm around her and drew her close, enveloping her in a tight hug. She resisted at first, but finally accepted his comfort and returned the embrace. She sniffled against his chest as her tears dampened his skin.

“I know you don’t want me to interfere, but…” he murmured softly. “If he doesn’t stick up for you soon, I’m giving the prick another piece of my mind.”

Chapter Fourteen

Instead of a quiet night at The Lair, a few hours later Ryder found himself back in the basement of the Blood Bank.

He stood by Diego as the slayers, Michaela and Benjamin, walked around the bodies of the two dead vampires, examining the wounds. Michaela leaned in for a closer view of the male’s ruined throat and wrinkled her nose. Benjamin stood beside the table, arms banded across his chest. His blue-eyed gaze was nearly glacial, his face set in harsh lines that hardened its boyishness.

“He’s starting to get a little ripe.” Michaela’s skin had paled to a greenish color, but she pressed on. She turned her attention to the waitress and gestured to the throat wound. “It’s not as deep. Not as violent. It’s like he had some hesitation about what he was doing with her.”

Diego looked unimpressed. “But he went through with it anyway. Angie was popular at the Blood Bank.”

Benjamin’s laugh was flat and unsympathetic. “No surprise there. You fang boys just love your Buffys.”

Before either of them could respond, Michaela whipped out her smartphone and stepped in front of him. “Mind if I take a few photos? I have a friend who might be able to offer some insights. I’ll send you copies of them and anything else that’s important.”

Suddenly, it hit Ryder where he’d seen her before.
Holy crap
. “An FBI kind of friend?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and recognition slowly filtered into her gaze. “I thought you looked familiar. Jesus pointed you out to me one night upstairs. He told me he knew you, and that you were okay.”

Ryder held out his hand to her. “Ryder Latimer. Hernandez and I have some friends in common.”

“Diana Reyes,” Michaela supplied a second before she shook his hand. Her touch was hesitant, almost as if it pained her. “She’s your friend, right? I’m Michaela Ramirez.”

Benjamin just stood there, clearly unmoved by Ryder’s friendliness and possibly pissed at Michaela’s actions.

Not that it kept her from pressing onward. She glanced at Diego. “Are you part of the Scooby Gang as well?” Ryder cringed inwardly.

Diego didn’t offer either of the slayers his hand or camaraderie. “I don’t know what you mean by that. Ryder and I are friends and business partners. I know the ADIC. He helped out my wife.”

“An elder with a wife?” Michaela asked skeptically.

Benjamin snorted. “You expect us to believe you’re capable of real love? Of caring and honor?”

Diego’s jaw tightened to the breaking point and Ryder sensed the waves of power coming off his friend as emotion bit into his control. Thankfully, Diego pulled back and restrained himself from going full vamp. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

Fearlessly, Michaela tilted her chin insolently and jerked her shoulders back. “Because we’ve seen what your kind do firsthand.”

Diego flicked a hand in the direction of the dead vampires on the table. “And we’ve seen what
your
kind can do. That is, if you agree it was a slayer who did this,” he chided.

Michaela’s bravado faltered. “The silver nitrate and the stakes with the St. Andrew’s cross are old school slayer,” she grudgingly admitted. “May I take the stakes for additional examination?”

“Only one. We’ll want to do our own assessment on the other,” Diego said.

With a nod, she whipped out an official-looking evidence bag. Obviously, she’d discussed this situation with Hernandez, and he’d offered suggestions about what to do. Ryder wondered just how close they were. They were at least a decade apart in age, and even further apart in demeanor.

Using a bandanna she took from a pocket of her leather jacket, she carefully picked up one of the stakes from the stainless steel table and tucked it into the evidence bag. Then she slipped the bag into an inside jacket pocket. Ryder took note of the weaponry tucked into her jacket’s lining—a few wooden stakes, a trio of knives, and a small bottle. Holy water, he guessed. Not that it did much good on vampires like Diego or him.

He still believed in the God who had doomed him to this life, while Diego had been a
converso
who had kept to his Jewish faith in secret through the centuries, and now happily practiced it openly.

As Michaela let her jacket drop closed and glanced his way, understanding awoke in her gaze. “You two
are
different.”

“Unlikely, Michaela,” Benjamin said.

“If you stick around long enough, you may find that we’re not all the way you think,” Ryder said.

“Maybe.
If
I stick around,” she said.

It didn’t take much to gather she was more the rolling stone type. He pitied Hernandez for that, if he was truly involved with her.

Michaela and Benjamin strode out of the basement. He had no doubt that beneath her cockiness there was fear. But Benjamin seemed like the kind who could take care of himself without much help. Which made Ryder wonder why he’d been sent to run an errand with the junior slayer.

“I’m not sure I trust them.” Diego stared pensively at the door the slayers had exited.

“I trust Michaela. But then, I don’t have the history that you and the others have with the slayers.”

“What about Benjamin?” Diego asked.

Ryder considered. “I’m not sure what to think about him—other than I’m guessing the Council doesn’t trust Michaela, so he was sent to keep an eye on her.” He motioned to the remaining stake. “There may be prints or other evidence on that. We could ask Detective Daly to help us out.”

Diego nodded. “Good call. His wife is one of us. He’ll want to protect her. We can run by the Artemis Shelter on the way home and see what he has to say.” After they left the basement, they paused upstairs at the bar so Diego could give Foley instructions about the disposal of the bodies. Then they slipped out into the night. In front of the Blood Bank a long line of humans waited to get in, but Ryder sensed very few vampires.

“News of the killings is spreading,” he said.

Diego grimaced in agreement. “Vampires will be going to ground, or finding a different club. Hopefully being more cautious of strangers who are hanging around.”

“Hopefully.”

Diego jerked his head in the direction of a nearby alley. “Are you ready to fly?”

Ryder nodded. “I’m ready.”