Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) - Laurell K. Hamilton Page 0,22

and Olaf had never committed that particular crime on American soil to our knowledge. I’d never even caught him in the act. Edward had once. If Edward caught him at it again, he would kill Olaf. They both knew the rules of the game. So far Olaf hadn’t done anything illegal that Edward could use as an excuse, but he kept tabs on him, waiting. Olaf had fallen off the radar when he first contracted lycanthropy, even from Edward’s resources. When Olaf reappeared, he had a level of control of his inner beast that most shapeshifters would have envied. Olaf was a scary, sociopathic suspected serial killer, but no one had ever accused him of slacking when it came to training.

“So, if I put out a general call for aid, he’s the nearest help,” I said.

“I’m afraid so,” Edward said.

“Fuck,” I said.

“Agreed,” he said.

“I don’t need backup that badly, Edward. Newman is good enough.”

“Good to know,” he said.

“Yeah,” I said, but I was mentally cursing. “I thought Olaf was out west somewhere at his home base. What the fuck is he doing in the upper Midwest?”

“He’s hunting a rogue shapeshifter.”

“How close to me is he?” I asked.

“Close.”

“How close?”

“Very close.”

“Just tell me, Edward.”

“If he dropped his hunt, he could be there in an hour, maybe less.”

“Flying or driving?” I asked.

“Driving.”

“Well, fuck.”

“You said that.”

“I’ll probably be saying it a lot more if I have to deal with tall, dark, and psycho.”

“You won’t have to deal with him, Anita. You and Newman can hold the fort, and I’ll be there in six hours or sooner.”

“I think having you come in as backup for this may be overkill,” I said.

“If you really believed that, you wouldn’t have called me.”

“I don’t think Leduc is dangerous enough to need you here.”

“Then why did you call?”

I thought about that for a few heartbeats and finally said, “If Newman hadn’t had a gun to his head, I think Leduc would have shot into the cell. I’d given up all my guns before I stepped inside.”

“Giving up your weapons is standard procedure,” Edward said.

“I know. That’s why I did it. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again for a different case, but usually the danger is the prisoner, not the other officers.”

“Leduc spooked you,” he said softly.

“He would have done it, Edward.”

“I’ll be there in six hours or less,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.

“It is, but if things go south while I’m in the air trying to get to you and your choice is dead before I land or calling for more backup, promise me you’ll call for the backup.”

“No, Edward.”

“Anita, if you’re in the hospital or dead before I can get to you, I will be pissed.”

“I’ve never worked with Olaf without you there to help keep the distance or the peace between us.”

“I know, and it’s not my favorite idea either, but he’s a good man in a fight.”

“He’s evil.”

“Sometimes evil will keep you alive.”

“Being alive isn’t always enough, Edward. You’ve got to live with yourself afterward.”

“Promise me, Anita.”

“Damn it, Edward.”

“If the situations were reversed and you knew Olaf was close enough to save me, what would you want me to do?”

“That’s not fair. He doesn’t want you to be his serial killer girlfriend.”

“Just answer my question, Anita.”

“You told me once if I saw him to just shoot him dead and not to wait for him to hurt me, that you’d rather I be on trial than dead at his hands.”

“I remember what I said.”

“Then how can you want me to promise this?”

“Because I think you can negotiate the emotional baggage that Olaf has with you for six hours, but you can’t outrun a bullet. He acquitted himself well last time both professionally and with you.”

“I won’t give up my guns again, not to Leduc or his people. I’ll just wait for you.”

“Anita, just promise me you’ll do it. I don’t want to have to explain to Jean-Claude, or Micah, or Nathaniel, or any of your people that you died because you were too stubborn to take the closest help.”

“It’s not stubbornness, Edward, and you know it.”

“If we let our fear master us, Anita, then we’re already dead.”

“You’re afraid of the big guy, too.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t, and the thought of him being near you when I’m not there scares the shit out of me.”

That stopped me. He almost never admitted out loud that he was personally afraid of anything. “Okay, okay, I promise that if things get so dangerous that Newman and