Page 30 of Unhallowed Murder
“Then I shall help you.”
“I’m pulling into your neighborhood. I’ll let you go. See you in a few minutes.”
Josef lived on a different road than the coterie house, but if he went through the backyards, he was actually quite close. A female werewolf met her in the driveway and motioned her to pull into the six-car garage.
It didn’t escape Ronnie’s notice that the doors leading downstairs were open before she came into the living room. He wasn’t ready for her to know how to open those doors, which was understandable. Theold onesdidn’t get that way by taking chances with their hidey-holes.
The door was under a beautiful staircase, which made sense, as this staircase led down. They stepped onto a landing without an exit, the wolf put her hand on a palm reader, and another door opened. The next door, however, must’ve been another old-fashioned secret-mechanism door, because it was open, with a male werewolf guarding it.
Josef had chosen to utilize technology, but he didn’t completely trust it. Every other door was old-school and then modern tech. Again —interesting.
At last, they came to a solid wall, and the wolf told her, “When I’m gone, telepath him that you’re outside his chamber, and alone.”
She climbed six steps, and a wall formed four steps up, so Ronnie was alone in a room with solid black walls and zero light. Even her tiger vision was useless.
Josef? I’m here and it’s dark. I wish you’d warned me.
Her physical body was on full alert, but Ronnie was pissed instead of scared. The cat stood inside her and took note, annoyed, but not angry.
The wall opened, light spilled in, and Josef stood before her, so poised she wanted to punch him.
“I apologize,Bellula. The final room is kind of my own personal Rubicon. I hope you’ll forgive an old vampire his eccentricities.”
“You haven’t given me bullshit before, don’t start now. You can find out a lot about a person’s intent in that dark room, can’t you?”
He smiled. “You’ve reminded me once again why I’m so enraptured with you,Bellula. Straight to the point. Yes, you are absolutely correct.”
His eyes went sharp, and within a microsecond he’d closed the distance between them. She jerked her chin at his touch, but he held it steady, cupping it, his fingers firm.
“Increase light.” His voice was sharp, no nonsense, and the lights in the room brightened.
“Your face is bruised. You’re a fuckingtigerand your face is bruised.”
His voice was ice, his eyes cold. Ronnie didn’t try to step away because to do so would be to admit he’d alarmed her.
“I’m a cop. Sometimes the bad guys don’t want me to put cuffs on them. It happens.”
He didn’t say anything. He merely stood like a statue, motionless, holding her chin, his icy gaze on the bruise.
“I popped a few aspirins to make sure the bruise formed. We got lots of pictures before I left work, because we initially brought him in for assaulting an officer. We have him on murder now, but we need to make sure the first charge holds or the second could fall apart.”
He finally let go of her chin. “I can fry his brain from the inside, and no one will know what happened.”
She shook her head. “Not while he’s in our custody, Josef. You have to promise. It looks bad onmewhen people come into my custody healthy and don’t leave the same way.”
“Later, then.”
“No! You can’t fry the brain of everyone who punches me!”
“Can’t I?”
She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Josef sighed. “Yes, okay. He’syourprisoner, and the bruise will heal. Come, your meal is ready.”
They walked through a maze of rooms Ronnie was certain was also part of his security, and ended up in adining room. She didn’t ask why a vampire had a dining room table and a kitchen in his downstairs lair.
But her mouth watered and her inner tigress rose up, sniffing.
