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He was quiet a moment. “Seems like I should be able to answer that, but I don’t know.”

“She made a video!”

“But she sicced humans on me; my life was never in danger. Plus it’s Jacqueline. She’ll tell them it was a prank, and if they’re human they’ll believe her.”

“Tell them that, Ryker. Tell them to get a vampire officer to do her interview.”

“I don’t know if it matters. She won’t do this to anyone else, you know? She’s not a danger to society at large.”

“This sucks. I want justice for you.”

“I don’t need it, Leslie. I don’t need revenge either, for the record.”

She hissed. “I didn’t say revenge. Although right now…I might not be the best person to decide the difference, where she’s concerned.”

“If you need to talk out the finer points of justice versus revenge, feel free to ask Mama. She’s got a really clear eye for those things. Because of her work, I think, but also that’s just who she is.”

“I like your mom a lot. And your dad.”

“I could take you over there, if you want some space. From all this.” He made a wide gesture encompassing his house…and him.

“Absolutely not. I’m here.”

Instead of the usual crinkle between his eyes, this time sudden emotion crumpled his whole face. Leslie wrapped him tightly in her arms.

“I’ll keep telling you, Ryker. I’m here.”

“I know.”

“And you don’t have to be okay right now.”

“I want todosomething.”

“Like what?”

“I feel…itchy, like I need to crawl out of my skin. It’s still sinking in, I guess. That she’d do something this drastic. And how did she know I was working on the Angstrom case anyway?” He shook his head. “I want a puzzle to work on, but maybe not that one. Not today.”

Could she do one more stressful thing today? For him, she could. And with him, it would be okay. “There’s another puzzle, you know. Instead of you looking into my parents after I fly home…let’s do it now instead. Together. Just to see what we can find on our own.”

“Are you sure?”

“If you tell me over a phone or video call, I think it’ll be harder. And if it’ll help you too, then I’m game.”

“We have morning and afternoon before your flight. If you’re really sure.”

“I’m sure.” She drew a long breath, let it fill her chest with calm and strength. “And I’m ready.”

Twenty-Seven

The week had been strange, passing both fast and slowly. Ryker now had two trials in his future: as an expert against Frederick Angstrom, and as the victim of Billy Ellis and his fellow henchmen. Angstrom was denying he even knew their names, much less that he’d sent them to get rid of an inconvenient vampire accountant. In the second trial, Leslie would testify too. She had expected this to happen within a few weeks, and Ryker was reminded that not everyone was familiar with the slow grind of the court system.

Now another weekend had come. In three hours, he could start driving toward the airport. He was departing at two a.m., and Leslie was picking him up at the airport at three thanks to the hour he gained when visiting. The red-eye was a vampire’s favorite flight—less likely to be booked, and the humans he did have to share a plane with tended to sleep or keep their voices down, which in turn kept everyone’s nerves down, which in turn kept odors down as well as noise.

Killing three hours felt like a monumental task. All he wanted was to see his girlfriend, kiss her, talk to her face to face, enjoyher presence, taste some new foods with her. Ryker bounced off his apartment walls for half an hour before texting his faithful friend, who would surely help him out.

Let’s hit the gym.

Tai:LOL