Those signs were always dead giveaways that you were dealing with a vamp. Those indicators, and the wooden stake that was generally lodged in the chest. Hard to miss the stake.
“Oh, man, is that who I think it is?” The uniform next to Antonio pressed in a bit too close.
Antonio slapped his hand against his chest. “Don’t even think about screwing up my crime scene.” Like things weren’t screwed up enough. That tip they’d received…“Two women fighting, screaming, someone needs help at Belmont and Queens. The crazy bitch was screaming about vampires.”
Screaming about vampires—and now the victim had been staked.
“Captain, don’t you recognize her?”
He turned to stare at the uniform. Red spots blotched the kid’s face. “Should I?” Another body. Another case that would give him heartburn. Couldn’t the supernaturals ever back off?
A quick swipe of the cop’s tongue. “She’s Lisa Durant. You know, Senator Durant’s niece. I saw—I saw her on TV a few weeks back. She was…” His gaze fell to the body. “Hot.”
Not anymore.
Antonio’s back teeth locked. Senator’s niece. Oh, hell. Keeping this quiet would be a bitch.
He glanced back at the stake. His eyes narrowed. “Jon…is that what I think it is?” Not enough light to tell for sure from this angle, but that looked like—
The crime scene tech who’d crouched beside the body shot him a grin. “Bloody fingerprints. Hell, yes.”
Antonio’s hand ran over his face. “Run ’em, and give the report to me.” His eyes held Jon’s. “Only me, you got that?”
Jon gave a grim nod.
“Good.” Because he had a feeling the supernatural shit was about to hit the fan in his city.
“Dee.”
Somebody shook her. Hard.
“You’ve got to wake up. That hit you took to the head left you concussed. You can’t sleep.”
But she really wanted to, just a little longer anyway.
“Dee!” Another shake. One hard enough to rattle her teeth.
She managed to crack open one eye. “Should you really…shake a woman with a…concussion?”
A brief grin turned up his lips. “It was either shake you or maybe let you slide into a coma.”
Something wet and cold pressed against the back of her neck and Dee sucked in a fast breath. “What the hell?”
The grin flashed again. Was the guy enjoying her pain or what? “The ice will make the giant knot go away sooner.”
Both of her eyes opened. Dee realized she was on a couch, propped up against some cushions, and Simon, he was over her, around her. One hand held her shoulder, urging her close, while the other anchored the ice pack at the base of her skull. Mere inches separated their faces. His smoky eyes were so deep and intense. She noticed his lashes then. Really long, dark lashes. Weird, because his face was hard and—
“You back with me this time?” he murmured.
She blinked, realizing that though her skull still throbbed, the grogginess of before was gone. “Yeah, I…think so.” If she could stop being an idiot and gazing into his eyes like some lovesick teen with a crush. Jeez. Dee fumbled for the ice pack. Her fingers tangled with his. “I’ve—I’ve got this.”
His jaw locked.
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t being the most gracious victim.
Good southern manners had never been her strong suit.
Simon’s hand fell away and she pressed the frigid pack against her head. “Don’t worry…about me,” she managed. “I’m a fast healer.” For a human, anyway. She dragged her gaze away from him and scanned the room. Bare walls. No photos, no paintings. A TV, DVD player, game consoles. And in the corner…what was that? A p**n magazine? “Ah, your place?”
A grim nod.
The ice shifted beneath her fingers. “Look, Simon, I appreciate you trying to come to my aid—”
“I saved your ass, Dee, again.”
True, though she was a bit sketchy on the details. “I don’t…I can’t remember what happened after I left the alley.” The vamps had jumped her. She’d fired her gun. Run out of bullets. Started staking.
Too many of them.
They’d knocked her down. Her head had thudded into the ground and—
“I woke up in her blood.” She didn’t even know the woman’s name. Another vic. So many nameless faces.
Simon began to ease back. Dee’s left hand grabbed for him. “I didn’t kill her.”
His head cocked. “Thought you just said you didn’t remember.”
Dee swallowed and hoped she was telling the truth. “I wouldn’t kill a human.”
“You had the stake against her heart last night.”
“To scare her, not to kill her!” Oh, bad idea. Shouting made the throbbing much worse. “Simon, trust me, I-I wouldn’t kill a human, not after what happened to—” She broke off, clamping her lips together. So, what? A bump on the head had made her super chatty?
“You want me to trust you?” he asked.
Dee realized her fingers were digging into his wrist. With an effort, she unclamped and nodded.
“You tell me why you’re so gung-ho against the vamps, and make me believe you’d never stake an unarmed woman. Then we’ll see about talking trust.”
The ice had begun to melt. A trickle of water slid down the back of her neck. “My story’s not so different from yours.”
He didn’t speak.
Fine. He wanted her soul naked—that was the way it would have to be. Because right now, she needed him. Until I can find out what the hell is happening. “When I was fifteen, I came home to find a bloodbath at my house.”
Mom? Mom? Where are you?
Dee ignored that soft voice whispering in her head. The voice of the girl she’d been a lifetime ago.
She cleared her throat and said, “My date dropped me off at the door. My first date.” He’d wrapped his sweaty palms around her shoulders and given her a kiss. Wet, sloppy, but her first kiss. Then he’d hightailed it out of there when he heard a thump from inside.
Vince had thought her dad was coming. The ex-marine, tough as nails guy who’d been cleaning his gun before they left.
“Dammit, I loved him so much,” she murmured. That stupid gun. She’d begged him to put the thing up before Vince arrived. People didn’t really do things like that, but he’d—