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“Detective Forge?” The voice shot out again, “What’s your 20?”

I collected myself, my insides screaming, but my face settling into a neutral smile. “Luca,” I said seriously, as the radio on his chest kept screaming for him. We both ignored them, “be on your toes. Narcissa alone is dangerous, but Narcissa with the vampire that runs the entire Pacific Northwest?” he couldn’t know what it was I was telling him, but he nodded at me anyway. As if my information was critical, even if he couldn’t understand it.

“Forge!”

“Thank you, Detective. And please,” as I pushed myself off the wall and grabbed for the door handle, I looked back at the little black box, then back to Lucas’ face, “get your men to stop investigatingAmbrosia. Nothing good will come out of it, that I can assure you.”

I broke free of the interrogation room. The sun was still high in the sky, but still I hurried away from the precinct and from Luca Forge, despite the inevitable burn that was awaiting me. I got what I asked for, even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted.

Laura Anderson. I knew that name. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard it, whispered in my bed, from the human beside me. It wasn’t possible that Cecelia was the friend the officer had talked about. It wasn’t possible when she had walked into my office as Tusker’s girl. It wasn’t possible because Cecelia had not even spoken to me about her. AboutLaura Anderson.

Fuck.

I opened the doors and screamed as the sun found my skin, reopening the wounds from the blisters that threatened before. I felt like I needed to pass out.

I needed to get home to Cecelia. I needed to tell her everything.

37

CECELIA

Warren truly wasthe torture master. His training was grueling and tiring, leaving me with sore limbs and bruises immediately forming. I was laying across the plush sofa with my legs propped up with cushions, an ice pack resting on my shoulder as Warren perched on the coffee table beside me, a satisfied smirk crossing his handsome face.

“You look a bit worse for wear, Cecelia darling.”

I flipped him off, earning a hearty laugh from my friend. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”

Warren leaned forward, cupping his hands around his mouth for dramatic effect as he stage-whispered, “I am a vampire. That’s kind of my whole personality.”

My laugh turned into a groan as my body twinged, a sharp pain shooting to my shoulder blades. Warren’s brows furrowed in concern but I waved him off, adjusting myself until I was sitting up.

“Humans are so fragile,” Warren muttered under his breath, earning a death glare as I heard him. “Well, youare!”

I looked at him curiously, examining his expression. While he was trying to joke, I could see the genuine worry he was harboring for me. I reached out, taking his hand in mine and squeezing softly.

“I am okay, you know. You really don’t have to worry.”

Warren sighed, playing with the cuff on his patterned shirt. “I’ll always worry. I’m scared that you’re gonna get hurt and it’ll leave me and Mercy heartbroken.”

How was he so sensitive after everything he had been through and done? Warren was the sweetest soul of anyone I had ever met. I should have been terrified after learning about him, the pain he had inflicted on other people, but the truth was, Warren showed me a different side of him and there was nothing about him that I would ever fear.

I moved my hand to pat his cheek lightly. “Well, it’s a good thing my current living conditions come with a whole coven of big, scary vampires to protect me, huh?”

Puffing up his chest, Warren winked and flashed his fangs. I opened my mouth to make fun of him, but Mercy stormed into the room, throwing her jacket onto the table beside Warren.

“What’s wrong?” Warren jumped up, suddenly on high alert. I wondered if he could sense whatever she was feeling. Either way, he was looking at her like she was a bomb ready to blow.

Mercy growled, pacing in front of us. “I need blood.”

The command in her voice was clear, sending Warren into a blur as he went to get a bottle from the fridge and brought it to her. She twisted the cap off and gulped the liquid down, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, leaving a bloody smear across her pale skin.

“Mercy?” My voice was quiet and unsure as I said her name, wanting her attention but unwilling to disturb her if she still needed a moment.

She turned to me and I almost convinced myself that there were tears in her eyes. She blinked and took a breath before sitting beside me, toying with her lip with her incisors.

“Warren, can you leave us a minute?”

“Mercy… You haven’t fed enough and–”