"Look, I appreciate your effort in coming down here, Sarah,” the cop said, as they came closer. “But like I said, we have our own experts on these things."
"Of course. I just thought, well, since I do have contacts with the local vampire lord—"
She did? That was news to Raj. And it didn't make him happy. He didn't want Sarah Stratton within a hundred yards of Krystof or any other vampire. Except, of course, himself.
"Tony,” Detective Felder said.
The other detective looked up impatiently. “Yeah, just a minute, Dan. Look,” he said quietly, taking Sarah's arm. “Why don't you leave me your number and I'll—"
"No,” she said instantly. She glanced up nervously and froze, her eyes growing wider when she saw Raj watching her.
His lips curled into a pleased smile, although what he wanted to do was knock Tony's f**king hand off her arm.
"Tony,” Felder insisted. “This is Raymond Gregor."
Tony, presumably the Tony Scavetti Raj was supposed to meet, paid attention at last. He forgot the woman at his side to focus on Raj. “You're the vampire?"
Raj nodded. “And you must be the detective,” he responded. He took a cynical pleasure in Scavetti's automatic bristle of reaction as the human drew himself up to his full height—which was no more than five, eight—and flexed gym-built muscles beneath a too-tight jacket. Raj regarded him evenly. He'd met too many Scavettis in his long life, the ones who picked fights for no better reason than to prove no one was tougher than they were.
"Good to get those details out of the way,” Felder said, playing peacemaker. Something he probably had to do often if Scavetti was his partner. “Uh, Professor Stratton?” he reminded Scavetti.
Scavetti frowned, but switched his attention back to Sarah. “Yeah. Sarah, I'm sure Gregor here can answer any questions. In fact, you two probably know each other, right?"
A bright pink blush spread along her cheek bones as she looked up at Raj, staining her otherwise porcelain-pale skin. Her hazel eyes darkened almost gray with emotion and lingered a heartbeat too long before dropping to hide behind thick eyelashes.
"Mr. Gregor,” she said softly.
"Professor Stratton,” Raj purred. He took her hand and tugged, smoothly extricating her from Tony's grasp and drawing her close enough that he could breathe in her scent, shutting out the smells of sweaty cops and burned coffee. His action startled her into looking up and meeting his eyes again.
"I hate to interrupt,” Scavetti said snidely. Raj just barely held back a furious snarl at the interruption, and he felt Sarah's jolt of surprise, as if she'd forgotten Scavetti was even standing there. “Could we get on with this please?” the detective asked.
Raj glanced at Scavetti and permitted a cloud of disdain to cross his expression before he shut it down completely. “Of course, Detective,” he said. “I'll just walk Professor Stratton out to her car first."
Sarah flashed him a startled look, but Raj only bowed slightly and gestured down the hallway. She gave him a weak smile and shivered slightly when she walked past him. Raj swallowed his grin and followed, watching the muted sway of her h*ps beneath that bulky winter coat and wishing she was wearing something light and silky like before. Maybe a soft skirt, something to play around her slender legs above those sexy high heels she seemed to favor. He glanced back to find the two cops staring at him and shrugged gracefully. “This will only take a moment,” he assured them.
"What the f**k?” he heard Scavetti swear before he'd gone ten steps. “What's he going to do to her?"
"Looks like they know each other, Tony,” Felder responded in a bored tone. “What do you think he's gonna do? Drain her in the parking lot? Besides what do you care?"
"Fuck you, Dan. I might not want her on this case, but that doesn't mean I want some f**king vampire sucking on her neck either."
Raj chuckled and stopped listening. He caught up with Sarah just as she pushed open the outside door, letting in a rush of much fresher air.
Chapter Thirteen
Sarah put her shoulder into the heavy door, sucking in a cold breath and telling herself she'd done everything she could to help Trish. Scavetti had been—well, not polite, but probably as polite as he ever got. Every other word out of the man's mouth was an expletive, although he had tried to censor himself for her benefit. And she was sure he'd only agreed to give her the five minutes he had because, according to Linda, he was hoping to hook up with her.
And then, of course, there was Raj. She'd looked pretty stupid once he'd shown up. If she'd known he would be here, she'd never have come down in the first place. And not just because he made her look foolish with the cops, either. That man, that vampire, was nothing but trouble. Every time she got within two feet of his gorgeous self, her IQ seemed to drop about forty points. And he knew it, too. The arrogance just oozed out of him, he was so damned sure of . . . The weight of the thick glass door suddenly disappeared as a long arm reached over her shoulder. The light from the lobby disappeared, casting her into shadow, and she looked up, not surprised to see Raj right behind her, his easy grin not fooling her for a second.
She murmured her thanks and stepped out onto the landing, pulling her coat closed and hunching deeper into its warmth. “I'm fine, Raj,” she said quickly. “You don't have to—” She jerked her gaze sideways as the solid thunk of a car door punctuated the night. Across the parking lot, a chauffeur had just stepped out of a long, black limo to grab some fresh air. She couldn't be positive, but she didn't think the vehicle had been there when she'd arrived at the station. It could be anyone, of course. Limos weren't common—except on prom nights—but they weren't completely rare in the city either. But for some reason—maybe it was the phone call Tony had received while she sat in his office—she was convinced this one belonged to William Cowens, and that meant Edward Blackwood was nearby. She immediately turned her back on the lobby and stepped away from the lights, just in case. Raj caught her reaction, naturally, and slipped an arm over her shoulders, his great bulk effectively hiding her from both the limo and the lobby. She could feel him studying the limo and its driver over her head.
"Come on, Sarah,” he said. “I'll walk you to your car.” He started down the stairs with her firmly in the curve of his arm. “And you can tell me why you don't want Williams Cowens to know you're here.” Sarah nearly missed the next step, but his solid strength kept her upright. He tucked her against his body with a low chuckle. “I love the boots, sweetheart,” he murmured. But they're not the best choice for the icy streets around here."
Sarah felt a rush of pleasure that he'd noticed her admittedly sexy high-heeled boots, but cursed her own clumsiness. “I didn't expect to be walking much,” she muttered. “And I'm not worried about William Cowens."
"No? Then maybe it's the limo driver. A former lover, perhaps?” He said it lightly, but there was a definite growl on his last words.
Sarah laughed. “Right, it's the limo driver. I was just startled, that's all. I'm not used to hanging around police stations."