Raj couldn't believe his ears. It was a struggle to keep the amazement off his face, and he could only hope Emelie was doing the same. Krystof, a f**king vampire lord, had effectively ceded his territory. He'd not only admitted to knowing about Raj's private army, but had complained, complained, like a child that they were infiltrating his home city.
"What would you like to know?” Raj asked.
"I would like to know,” Krystof said, mimicking Raj, “what you've discovered. Is there a vampire connection to these crimes or not?"
Raj thought about what to say, about how much to admit of what he knew. He hadn't missed the fact that Jozef was nowhere to be found and wondered what that meant. Was the security chief getting ready to attack the warehouse while Raj stood here answering these ridiculous questions? Or had he absented himself as a passive show of support for Raj? Too many unknowns, he thought.
"There does appear to be some vampire involvement,” he said carefully. “I am investigating further and expect to have a resolution within the next forty-eight hours. I'm sure you agree that whoever it is, he must be destroyed immediately."
Krystof looked up quickly at that, and Raj felt him pressing on his awareness, trying to force him to reveal more than he'd said. Raj stared back at him giving away nothing, but that alone spoke volumes. His Sire shrugged and looked away first. “Very well. You will inform me before taking any final action."
"Of course. Emelie,” he said, and waited while she escorted Simon to the door and opened it. He watched in his peripheral vision as Cervantes and Abel grabbed the much smaller human and placed him between them, and he could feel the attention of his people, both vampire and human, focused solely on him, waiting for his command. He felt a surge of pride at their utter discipline and devotion. They would have stood with him at the Gates of Hell if he'd asked it. “We're leaving,” he said.
He gave Krystof a short nod of acknowledgment and started from the room. “I wanted to grab your woman,” Krystof taunted from behind him, “but I couldn't seem to find her."
Raj froze. He looked up and saw Emelie watching him, clearly worried at what he might do. He felt a moment's disappointment that she would doubt him and let it show in his eyes. Em flushed and lowered her gaze.
As for Krystof, Raj spun where he stood in the doorway and said in the coldest voice he could muster, “Don't ever touch anyone of mine again, Krystof. Not anyone."
He pushed through his vampires, hustling Simon ahead of him, feeling the others close in on his back. Emelie led the way up the stairs and through the kitchen, not stopping until they were out of the house and on the street.
"I'm sorry, my lord,” Simon was saying miserably. “I was stupid and got distracted. I didn't see them coming until they were on top of me and—"
"Don't worry about it, Simon,” Raj said. “If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else.” He checked his watch and saw he still had plenty of time to stop and tap a willing donor before the sun forced him back to his lair. He'd use one of the bars; they were always more crowded than the clubs midweek like this, and it was time he got over this fixation with Sarah. “Emelie,” he said, “give Yossi a heads-up and take Simon back to the warehouse. I'm going to—"
Em's phone went off. He frowned but jerked his head, telling her to get it. Damnit, he needed to get going or it was going to get too late to—
He saw Em's face fall, saw her turn to him, her eyes wide with dread.
Chapter Thirty-nine
"Goddamn it,” Raj snarled. “What the hell was she thinking?"
Em was on the phone talking rapidly, as Raj drove like a demon, skimming through red lights and screaming around corners. Sarah was at Kent's blood house. Sarah who was so susceptible to vampire suggestion that she'd almost had an orgasm after dancing with him for five f**king minutes at that Manhattan club. Damn her. He'd warned her about the dangers, but had that stopped her? No. Of course, the fault was at least partly his. He should have known better than to give her even the tiniest bit of information, should have known she'd go charging in and—
Em hung up and punched in another number. Raj looked over at her. “You're sure it's her,” Em was saying. “If it looks like he's going to sink fang, you stop him. I don't care what it takes. We'll be there in fifteen minutes.” She hung up and gave him a worried look. “That was Yossi. He and Gino are at the blood house already. Yossi's inside."
Fucking Kent. He'd kill that motherfucker dead if Sarah had so much as a scratch on her. He took a turn on two wheels and hit the gas pedal, feeling his anger growing hotter with every mile that passed. “What the f**k was she thinking?” he repeated.
"Probably that if you wouldn't tell her anything, she'd find out for herself."
Raj growled low in his chest, sparing her a cold glance. “Don't push your luck, Em."
She shrugged. “I don't know why you're playing this game with her or yourself. You want her, so take her."
"Fuck you.” He pounded his fist on the steering wheel and would have snapped it in two had he not pulled back at the last second. “I'm a goddamn vampire. You think that's what she wants? To wake up every night to a dead man who drinks blood to stay alive? Besides, she accused me of mind-fucking Jennifer Stewart, for God's sake."
It galled him to admit that the woman he was obsessed with—the first woman since his turning who'd meant more to him than a quick meal—thought he was capable of the most heinous act a man could commit.
Em's gaze was burning a hole in the side of his face, but he ignored her. “Sarah made a mistake,” Em said patiently. “She admitted it. But she didn't understand how we do stuff, not then anyway. And as for the rest . . . Raj, my friend, you're one of the best men I know. One of the best people I've ever met. So you're a vampire, so what? So am I. And Sarah's old enough to make her own decision. She's a damn university professor, for God's sake. You have no right to take that choice away from her."
"If she's been touched, I'll destroy everyone in that f**king house,” he snarled.
"I know."
Gino was waiting for them outside, standing in the shadows near the door. He came down off the shallow porch in a bound, meeting them halfway to the street, his gaze resting warily on Raj. Gino was a strong vampire, physically powerful and fearless. But he took one look at the fury on his master's face and dropped to his knees, speaking to the ground. “She's still in there, my lord. Yossi is with her."
Raj grabbed Gino by the front of his jacket and dragged him to his feet. “With her how?"