And as a Cazador, he was one of the most dangerous men I'd ever met.
I stopped abruptly. "Why are you here?"
"I am under orders, as you no doubt suspect." His voice held neither warmth nor inflection and yet somehow managed to be pleasant.
"So who's following me about on the gray fields right now?"
"Nick Krogan is currently on duty. Janice Myer shares the task at other times." He shrugged, the movement elegant. "It is my night off."
So they had female Cazadors? I guess there was no reason why they shouldn't, but it surprised me, for some reason. "And yet here you are."
"Because the wise in this world do not ignore the wishes of Madeline Hunter."
And yet I baited the bitch. What did that say about me? "Are you here to poke me into action or what?"
Amusement flickered through the darkness of his eyes and briefly warmed the coolness of his expression. "I am not here to poke. I merely deliver."
"Considering you're here under orders from Hunter, I'm rather hesitant to ask what, exactly, you're delivering."
The amusement was more pronounced, but he merely reached inside his rather classy-looking black trench coat and withdrew a small leather folder. With some trepidation, I took it and opened it up.
It was a badge. According to it, I was now an official investigator for the high vampire council. Talk about the shit-hole getting deeper.
I blew out a breath that did little to ease the tide of tension and shoved my shiny new credentials into the back pocket of my jeans. "Is that it?"
"For now, yes." He hesitated, his dark gaze flicking past me briefly. Then, more softly, he added, "Tread warily with Hunter on this one, Risa. She is ready to tear someone's throat out over this loss, and you are already close to pushing her past the limit."
I stared at him for a moment, then swallowed heavily. "Thanks for the warning."