Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,43

I could see the shop front of Perkins, the camera angled down to cover most of the shelves and the till.

“Around 2.30am, this happened,” said Nick in a slightly bored voice.

A huge shadow loomed over the shop floor. It seemed to twist one way, then another. All of a sudden, the picture flicked to white snow.

“What? Bring it back!”

“That’s all there is,” he said with smug look on the face.

“You tricked me!” I thumped him on his arm.

“I did nothing of the sort. You asked to see the CCTV footage and I showed you the CCTV footage.” He grinned at me.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.

He looked down at his watch. “And would you look at that? It appears my shift is over, and you owe me a drink.”

I rolled my eyes at him, irritated. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Ever the gracious lady, Mack.” He took me by the arm. I grimaced, but let him lead me back down the corridor. He shrugged on a coat, said goodbye to the duty sergeant and we left.

The only other person in the Hanging Bull when we arrived was the barman. I ordered a beer as I was definitely going to need something alcoholic to avoid strangling Nick for making me do this. He pulled me over to a small table along the wall. “We can go into Penzance for our meal next week, if you like,” he murmured.

“I’m sure that Trevathorn will do. We can go to the local café.” I retorted.

“Trevathorn works for me,” he said with a smile. “But the café food makes me ill so we’ll have to go to my place. I’ll cook.” He winked at me. Oh good God.

I was about to answer him when a shadow fell across the table. I looked up and my heart suddenly sank into the pit of my stomach. It was Corrigan. He’d changed since earlier and was now wearing a dark turtleneck and a pair of jeans that stretched snugly over his thighs. I swallowed.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “You’re just breaking hearts everywhere you go, aren’t you?”

Nick scowled at him and looked at me. “Who’s this, Mack?”

“I’m her employer,” said Corrigan, pulling up a stool and sitting down. The stool was too small for his body and he looked faintly ridiculous. I was still scared though.

“Where’s John?” asked Nick.

“He’s gone away on business,” Corrigan said, keeping his eyes trained on me with a terrifying focus. “So, Mackenzie, does Tom know that you are out here meeting another man?”

Nick jerked. “Tom? Mack, you said that you and he had nothing going on.”

I looked between the two of them. Hiding the truth from the Brethren alpha was definitely the preferable option. I sighed, hating myself a lot - and Corrigan more. “I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

He jumped back. “And dinner next week? Were you going to come along and continue to lie to me?”

“Nick, I’m sorry, I…”

“Fuck off.” He stood up, kicking his chair behind him, and walked out. The barman, polishing a glass a few feet away, raised an eyebrow at me. Corrigan stared stonily at him and he immediately coughed and muttered something about fetching a fresh keg from the back room, before darting away faster than I would have thought possible for a man of his size.

I looked at Corrigan, annoyed. He looked amused. “Playing around with a human behind a shifter’s back, eh kitten? You’re dangerous to know.”

The fire inside me rose. “You idiot - he’s the local policeman. I was trying to find out what he knew about John.”

“And why would he know anything about John? He’s just a human.”

My reply died in my throat. Just a human. I looked at Corrigan, mute.

He laughed, oblivious. “I’ll have to think of something that you would want from me so that I can get you to come round to my place for dinner too.” There was a suggestive gleam in his eyes.

My mind went suddenly and abruptly - and completely - blank. I continued to stare at him.

His tanned hand covered mine. I tried to jerk back but he clamped it to the table. “You need to come with me,” Corrigan said, with more than a hint of steel.

“I don’t need to do anything,” I replied, although this time without any fire. I was still confused by his last words. Between his proposition – had it even been a proposition? – and his dismissal of anyone human, my emotions were churning. I tugged at my