Ripper (24 page)

“I’m not a witch, asshole.” I pulled off the little anklet charm Liv had made for me. I held it up, pointing it Marcus’s way. “I’m a piddling human who has no idea what you mean by avoiding persuasion. If you mean I won’t let some fucker in my head tell me what to do, then I guess I’m guilty. If you don’t mind, I’ll get the fuck out of your line of fire.”

I started toward the elevator.

“
Merda
,” I heard the vampire curse. I might not know what it meant, but I knew a dirty word when I heard it.

I didn’t turn around. I kept walking. I made it to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors opened and I got inside. I stared blankly at the keypad and remembered Liv had pushed a bunch of numbers in like a code. I didn’t remember the damn code. I’d been looking up at Gray, thinking how handsome he was in his suit. I hated men so much in that moment. I was going to have to go through the indignity of getting back off the elevator, walking past the pretended-to-be-a-nice-guy vampire and back into the club. I so wasn’t doing that. I pushed a single number, thinking I’d get out of here and call Liv and maybe she could talk me through it. I pushed the buttons randomly, but the doors wouldn’t close.

“You have to know the code,” Marcus said quietly, standing in the doorway.

“I’ll figure it out.” I let the chill I felt climb into my voice. Cold. Cold was better than hot. Hot brought tears. Cold was much more dignified.

“Tell me you are what you say you are.” There was a slight pleading in his voice. “I…no longer know what to believe.
Per favore
. Please.”

There was no mask left on Marcus’s face. He looked tired and sad and I couldn’t help but respond. I felt as tired as he looked. “I’m just a girl, Vorenus. I met Devinshea Quinn a couple of hours ago. I kind of thought he was an asshole, but not nearly as big an asshole as I think you are. Please let me go home. I want to go home.”

The vampire said nothing as he stepped into the elevator and pressed the series of numbers that started it moving. I held myself as far from him as possible.

“Take the car, Kelsey.” He held his keys out.

“I’ll call a cab.”

“Please,” he begged. “I’ve made a complete ass of myself. Just take the car. I’ll send someone to retrieve it tomorrow. I would prefer if you would allow me to drive you, but I understand if you do not wish to be with me.”

“I just want to do my job, Vorenus.” I felt stupid holding my shoes, but I couldn’t force myself back into them.

“Of course,” he said evenly. “I’ll make certain everything is ready for you tomorrow. It would be best if you allowed me to go with you. By now everyone believes you’re my mistress. If I make arrangements for another vampire to escort you, it would be…confusing. I swear to you that I’ll be on my best behavior. I will not hurt you again.”

I smiled as casually as I could. Everything that came out of my mouth was a total lie. “You can’t hurt me. It’s fine. You and the faery have some sort of war going. Leave me out of it. I want to close my case and then you never have to deal with me again. I’ll be professional if you will.”

“I will be whatever you want me to be, Kelsey. I would do anything to take back the last ten minutes. We were becoming friends.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure a councilman has enough friends. He doesn’t need a two-bit PI hanging around.” The elevator stopped.

“You would be so wrong,
cara mia
,” Marcus said so achingly I turned to him.

I was about to ask him what he meant when I saw Gray’s truck sitting right in front of the elevator and it seemed like all the air in the world fled. My breath caught almost painfully in my chest at the sight of him. I wondered if I would ever get used to how beautiful he was.

“Kelsey?” Gray said as his head came up. He was sitting in the cab with the door open.

“You came back for me?” I got out of the elevator.

His previously pristine suit coat was tossed aside and his tie was gone. His shoulders were slumped as he got out of the truck. “I never left, baby. I just waited. I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I was a bastard. Please, please forgive me.” He came to stand right in front of me and lowered his forehead to mine. “Please, baby. Please forgive me.”

My shoes fell to the concrete floor as my arms wound around his waist and I leaned into his warmth. I knew I should tell both men to go to hell and sink back into the shell I’d spent years perfecting, but I wanted what Gray had to offer so much. He’d lost his temper. It wasn’t like I hadn’t done that before. I got pissed off and said things I didn’t mean all the time. I let my head rest against his chest and felt the strong beat of his heart as his arms tightened around me.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” I heard Gray saying. At least he was trying to be polite.

“It was an honor, Mr. Sloane. Her work is important. I will help her and you in any way I can. Feel free to call upon me.” When I looked around to say good-bye to the vampire he was already gone.

“Let’s go home, sweetheart,” Gray said, weariness plain in his tone. “Did he behave himself?”

“He was fine.” He had been for the most part and there was a part of me that mourned the fact that he wasn’t still here. “The two of you have a lot in common. You both can’t stand Dev Quinn.”

His handsome face fell and he sighed. “I’m sorry, Kelsey. I let him get the best of me again. I should have called him and explained the situation and asked to be allowed in to investigate. I shouldn’t have tried to sneak in.” He noticed my bare feet and swung me up into his arms. I felt so small and delicate when he carried me. I suppose I was small and delicate compared to Gray. It was nice to feel feminine.

Gray carried me around the truck and settled me into the cab before going back for my shoes. He handed them to me and then got into the driver’s seat. As he drove I filled him in on everything I discovered. I told him about the trouble the Council was having with the wolves and the fact that one of the murders occurred during the day. I discussed the fact that apparently the actual Jack the Ripper was alive and well and living in Dallas. I didn’t mention that Marcus had been sweet and kind and up until he thought I was working with his nemesis, we’d had a real, undeniable chemistry. That was done and probably had been more a figment of my imagination than anything else.

“Are you sure Vorenus didn’t try anything on you, sweetheart?” Gray asked and I could tell he was being careful not to show his temper. He hadn’t liked the fact that I’d shown up with the vampire, but he was smart enough to know that a big display of masculine jealousy wasn’t going to help his cause. “It’s hard for me to believe he could spend time with you and not try something. He’s a powerful persuasive. He can make you do things you don’t want to do.”

“I know.” I didn’t really want to talk about that portion of the evening. For some reason, I wanted to keep my time with Marcus private. “He explained it to me. I told you, Gray, he didn’t try anything and he got angry with the one vampire who did try.”

“What?” The question was a curt slap of the tongue.

I sighed and leaned my head against the window of the truck. I must be tired or I would have known better than to mention that incident.

“Kelsey?” He wasn’t going to let me off the hook.

“Some vamp was looking for a date and he tried to persuade me to go with him. Marcus took exception, but he didn’t have to since I’d already handled it.”

Gray got on the freeway, which was blissfully clear at this time of night. “How did you handle it?”

“I don’t know.” I wondered if we were going to get into another fight over this. If we were, I’d rather go to my place. I was antsy. I’d been through the emotional wringer and all I wanted to do was sleep. I didn’t think I could take another big scene. I had to hope Gray’s patience wasn’t wearing thin on the sexual front. “I tossed him out of my head and that was that.”

Gray was thoughtful as he exited the freeway and started down the road to his house. I enjoyed the silence for a moment and let the evening’s events wash over me. All in all it had been pretty crappy when I really thought about it. I’d been used by men all night. Gray tried to force me to choose between him and work. Quinn tried to use me as a pawn in his war with Marcus. The local alpha treated me like a piece of ass. Marcus…that had almost hurt even more than Gray. I expected that Gray would realize I wasn’t the girl for him. I just hoped for a little more time before he figured it out. Marcus wasn’t a lover. He was a friend who I thought I might not have to pretend around.

“Kelsey, we’re home,” Gray said softly and I realized the truck had stopped. His hand came out to run the length of my arm. “Let’s go to bed, sweetheart. We’ll go over everything in the morning and figure out what to do.”

He got out of the truck and was around to my side before I could open the door myself. He helped me down and hustled me into the house, locking doors and setting alarms. He nodded toward the rear of the house where his bedroom was. “Go on, sweetheart, I’ll be with you in a minute. I want to check on a few things first.”

When I got to the kitchen, I noticed a small tray had been left for us. Syl, no doubt. I passed on the wine, preferring a bottle of water, but I took two of the cookies. And yes, I then turned and took another two. I munched on the pepperminty chocolate chip cookies as I made my way to the back of the house.

I turned on the shower in the bathroom and let my clothes fall to the floor. A steaming hot shower sometimes helped. I was still alone when I got out. I noticed the clothes I’d worn yesterday were clean and neatly folded on the long marble counter. Syl must have been busy while we’d been gone. When we’d left earlier in the evening, the bathroom looked like a girl bomb had gone off. There had been makeup, curling irons, and clothes everywhere. Though it had hurt Liv’s heart to leave behind a mess, Gray had insisted we be on time. Now the bathroom was pristine.

I dried off and quickly got into my panties and one of Gray’s T-shirts. It was comfortable. I could lie in bed staring at the ceiling for hours in it.

I heard Gray before I saw him. He was standing in the doorway, his shirt gone, his feet bare and a look in his eyes that told me what he wanted. I caught my breath at the sight of him. He was so freaking gorgeous, with perfectly tanned skin that bespoke of hours spent working in the sun and that thick dark hair I wanted to run my fingers through. If I had the chance, I would convince him to grow it out so it waved and curled and went wild in the mornings. His eyes were rich and hot as he looked over me, but he didn’t make a move yet and I just knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sleep with him when I knew it wouldn’t work between us. It would hurt too fucking much when he was gone.

There must have been something in my eyes because his whole body seemed to deflate. “I’m gonna take a shower, Kelsey. Go to bed, okay?”

I hated that I’d disappointed him, but it was better this way. “Where’s my bedroom?”

He checked the flare of anger that I watched wash over him. His reply was even and controlled. “I didn’t attack you last night and I won’t tonight. Get in bed. If you can’t trust me enough to even sleep beside you then I’ll take the couch, but I’m not leaving you alone. Now let me take the coldest shower in the history of time so we can get some sleep.”

I fled the bathroom and crawled into the big bed where we’d slept the night before. The sheets were smooth and cool against my skin and I stared up at the darkened ceiling. I listened to the sounds of the shower and wondered why I couldn’t take what little happiness I was offered. Why was I so afraid of the pain that would come? Didn’t I want to feel even the tiniest bit alive?

I fought back tears and eventually the sounds of the water running and the fan overhead lulled me to sleep.

I hurry to keep up with my dad, but the boots he’s given me to wear are Nate’s and they’re too big.

“Keep up, girl,” my father says gruffly.

The leaves beneath my feet crunch and the air is cool all around me. It’s winter in the Ozarks. We drove all night from Dallas to get here and then camped during the day. Dad grew up here. I want him to take me to his old house. He took Nate and Jamie to meet his cousins, but he told me we don’t have the time. He never lets me meet the people he knows. When his friends come by the house he tells me to stay in my room, that there will be hell to pay if I come out. I don’t think my dad wishes he’d ever had a girl because, as far as I know, none of his friends are even aware of my existence.

He is ashamed of me.

I wish he’d given me Nate’s gloves. My hands are cold, but I don’t complain. He almost never takes me anywhere with him so I don’t mention my discomforts. If I do a good job, maybe he won’t hate me so much. Maybe I can prove I can hunt like the boys. Dad hunts werewolves who eat people and make humans miserable. He’s a hero so it makes sense he doesn’t have time for me. I have to prove my worth and then he’ll train me like he did Jamie and Nathan. I know that my brothers don’t want Dad to train me, but I can do it. I know I can.

My heart races as my father looks around the woods and decides this is the spot. I can see the Little Red River from here. It’s low in this part of the woods but cold, so cold. The woods here are isolated and filled with game. I let the cold air wash over me and I know that my father is right. Wolves are in the woods.

“They’re here, Dad,” I say with a glimmer of excitement. I can tell they were here. That has to mean I’m a hunter.

My father frowns down at me. “Don’t talk too much, girl.”

“But I can sense them.”

Now my father looks downright mad and I wonder what I said to make him that way. I try to be so good around my dad. He’s only hit me once or twice, but it really hurt when he did it, so I try to avoid making him mad. When he hit me in the face, it left bruises and then I had to skip school so I didn’t have to explain.

“Little freak.” My father turns away from me. He sets his pack down and starts to pull out the things he will need.

Despite the cold Arkansas mountain air, I flush. I should never, never talk about those weird flashes I get. I thought it would make him see that I was a hunter like him, but anytime I mention how I can sense things or feel them he gets mad and calls me a freak.