Wicked Love - Michelle Dare Page 0,58

now? Lure him out, see if he bites? No pun intended.”

Judson grinned at me. “Precisely. And sorry, babe, but you’re gonna be the bait.”

“I knew you were gonna say that,” I replied.

He leaned over and kissed me. “I’ll be right there as backup.”

“I’m not scared.” I laughed.

Deciding not to waste any time, we left and drove to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office. Judson’s PI friend had gotten the make, model, and tag number of Deputy Vanhoose’s car, and sure enough, it was just pulling out of the parking lot, so we followed. It had just passed midnight and I smiled when I realized he was heading downtown. Once he reached the busy nightlife area, he parked in a dark parking lot with signs reading “Private Property, no parking” (guessed he figured he wouldn’t be there long enough to get towed or could get rid of a ticket). Judson parked his bike in a side alley, and we followed Deputy Vanhoose, who wore dark jeans and a gray hoodie, into a very dank and seedy-looking bar. We went in separately. I went in first and made sure to flash him some fang when I pretended to hit on him. Judson sat in a corner and watched.

It was way too easy to get him to leave with me, and when he suggested we use the back door, I knew we had our guy.

13

Judson

Admittedly, I could see why this Ringo character thought I was the vamp killer. The deputy and I were about the same height and build, and we both stupidly wore hoodies into clubs and stalked vampires. He very well could have been me, and I, him.

My adrenaline kicked in when I saw Dani look at me before following the guy around the bar and toward the back exit. I quickly left out the front door and quietly stalked around to the back.

I knew Dani could hold her own, but there was still this fiery ferocity of protection I felt for her. Was this what love was?

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted some company, that’s all,” I heard her say, perfectly reciting the impromptu script we’d planned for her guise as a working girl.

“I wouldn’t fuck a vampire, bitch.”

Shit.

I raced around the corner with the gun in my hand, ready to kill this guy if he hurt my woman, but I found him already dropped onto the ground, a wooden stake a foot away from his hand. Dani stood over the body as I skidded to a stop. “Is he dead?”

She looked at me. “Nah, just sleeping.”

I looked at her quizzingly. “Sleeping? How? You use a sleeper hold on him or something?”

“No, I just told him to go to sleep, and he did.” She laughed. “What’s a sleeper hold?”

“Never mind,” I replied, licking my lips. “Just glad you aren’t hurt.”

She reached down and picked up his wooden stake, then broke it in half over her knee. “Shove the note into his hoodie pocket.”

I’d almost forgotten. We had penned this guy a note to hopefully save his life:

Stop hunting vampires. Killing them will not bring Marci back. The Vampires That Be are on to you, and you have a bounty on your head. Lay low, stop killing, and you will live. Murderous vamps are being dealt with. Stick to being a deputy. Protect and serve, man.

“That last comment was unnecessary,” Dani remarked, biting back a smile.

“I know.” I shrugged and shoved the note into his hoodie pocket. Daniela and I quickly ran off, her depositing the broken stake into a nearby dumpster on our way to my bike.

As we lay in bed, wrapped up in each other’s arms, I looked down at the beautiful brunette and said, “Well, we know who the vigilante is. What do we do now to get this Ringo guy off my back?”

Daniela sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that. If we tell Ringo it’s Vanhoose, then he’ll put a hit out on him and I’m fairly sure the Deputy’s experience tonight will get him to stop. But if we don’t tell Ringo, I’m still expected to bring him your body.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “So, basically, it’s him or me?”

She nodded. “Pretty much.”

“What if you tell him you took care of Vanhoose yourself?”

“He’ll want proof. Plus, he’ll know he’s still alive, the guy’s a public servant for God’s sake.” She looked up at me. “I can try to explain what we did, but Ringo’s a thug and a bully. He’ll want him dead, period. There’s