Page 13 of Big Enough to Bite (Harmony Glen #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Sam

I ’ve been at the police station’s lockup for a day and a half.

Mari brought me a change of clothes, and I showered here while Mari and Tilda kept an eye on Pierre.

His recovery is progressing very slowly, but he’s sitting up and speaking nonstop since the chief insisted we remove the tape from his mouth.

It’s the whining that’s getting to me. Who knew a six-hundred-year-old man could whine so much like a four-year-old child? He wants blood. He wants to see a doctor, probably because he thinks he can bite the doctor and therefore get blood.

Not liking the idea of Mari being so close to the vampire who abused her all those years ago, I rush through my shower and pull on the fresh clothes. At least with a Bigfoot officer, the showers here have been adjusted for my height.

I rub the towel over my hair and look in the foggy mirror before wiping a space to see clearly. I could use a shave, but it will have to wait. I use the comb in my care package and put the towels in the laundry basket before heading back to lockup.

The door is made of wired glass, and Max stands on this side, looking in. His gaze is focused on the women. “I don’t know how they can sit there and look so calm. His blabbering drove me crazy after five minutes. I had to come out here and get away from it.”

I slap his back. “Yeah, maybe I should have done us all a favor and ended him.”

“Why didn’t you?” No reproach, just the straightforward question.

“Because I’m more than my ancestors, my friend.

I don’t want to be like the giants in those old fairy tales.

You don’t think that description comes without some events to back it up, do you?

Giants were a vicious race. There aren’t many of us left because humans hunted us down to save themselves.

Killing is not something I take lightly. ”

Nodding, Max points to Pierre. “Still, that one is all bad. What he did to those women.” His gaze softens. “What is it about that one?” He points to Tilda. “She’s different.”

I saw the way Tilda looked at Max back at Mari’s house. Now I see the interest is reciprocated. I’m not a matchmaker, but I can see how those two might be a good fit. “I think she might have been a shifter of some kind before Pierre got his hooks in her.”

“I didn’t know vampires could turn other monsters.” The hair on the back of Max’s neck stands up.

“Me neither.” I shrug and point to the locked door. “Let’s give the ladies a break.”

Jumping up as soon as she sees me, Mari rushes over and throws herself into my arms. “He’s intolerable.”

More subdued, Tilda rises. “He really is.” She walks out and down the hall.

Pierre kicks the bars of his cell. “I need blood. If you don’t give me what I need to heal, what does that say about you? You’re no better than what you’ve accused me of.”

I spin to face him. “Shut that mouth before I tape it up again and have your feet manacled just for a bit of fun.”

Eyes wide, Pierre closes his mouth and slumps against his cot.

With a long breath, Mari sighs. “You are my hero.”

“It sounds like my dearest friend is a hero to this entire town.” Ion’s familiar voice is a welcome relief. “My new friend, Chief Martinez, has been filling me in on the events of the last two days.”

Without releasing Mari, I reach my hand out to shake his. “It’s good to see you, Ion.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to arrive.

The world has gotten smaller, but Nepal still required several flights and car rides to get here.

” With just a touch of gray at his temples, Ion might look like a man in his early forties at first glance, but anyone who spends any time with him would see he is much more.

Tall and lean, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw, Ion Radu is among the six who were originally cursed to be vampires.

A whimper echoes from the jail cell.

Mari faces Ion. “I’m honored to meet you, Mr. Radu.”

He cups her cheek in a fatherly gesture.

“It’s Ion, remember. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Mari.

I’m sorry you were put through so much. Perhaps I should have dealt with Pierre long ago, but he has a way of staying out of the spotlight and moving on at the right time.

I could have chased harder.” He turns to Tilda, who returned with him and the chief.

“I should have for your sake, my dear Tilda. The beauty of what you were should not have been stilted. It need not be permanent.”

Tears fill her eyes. “He made me an abomination. My feathers will not come.”

With a sigh, he says, “I will help you see that you can be both what you were born to be and what was forced upon you without disgrace and with self-love.” He looks around and makes a face. “Perhaps we can move this meeting to more pleasant surroundings. There is much to discuss.”

After so many years of living our lives separately, I’d love the time to catch up. “I’m sorry, Ion. I can’t leave Pierre here without someone who can control him when he recovers.”

“Open the cell, please.” Ion looks at Max.

The chief clears his throat. “You won’t kill him, Mr. Radu.”

“Of course not.” When the lock clicks, Ion steps inside.

Pierre scuttles back on the cot, eyes wide and voice high and whinny. “Forgive me, Ion. I am only doing what I was made to do when those you sired turned me into a vampire. It’s not my fault.”

“This is not so, though I’m sure you believe it.” Leaning down, Ion takes Pierre’s manacled hands and nicks the skin with his fang. “Sleep now and do not move from this cell when you wake.”

Pierre’s eyes close, and his expression relaxes.

“He’ll be out for a few hours and won’t leave that cell even if you leave the door open.” Ion steps out.

Max locks the cell. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, sir. It’s policy to keep prisoners’ cells locked.”

With a smile, Ion nods. We all walk back to the chief’s office, though Max stands just outside the open door in case he has to take action.

It’s as if a great anvil of weight has been taken from me now that Ion has Pierre in thrall. Ion has always brought order to my life when I needed it most.

Tilda frowns. “I thought vampires can’t put other vampires in thrall.”

In his very sage way, Ion nods. “That is true of all vampires except the original six, of which there are only two left, including myself. I can put any creature in thrall, though I am generally a big proponent of free will.”

It’s a fairly large office with a chair next to the desk and two more in front. The glass walls look out into the main room, where desks and a bulletproof glass wall shield the department from the front door.

Mari and Tilda sit in front of the desk. I stand next to Mari with my hand on her shoulder. Ion eases into the other chair.

The chief sits behind his desk. “Mr. Radu, are you proposing that you take this prisoner off my hands?”

“Are you opposed to that, Chief?” There’s no censure or judgment in Ion’s voice.

“It’s very irregular, sir. However, I doubt the county or state has a facility that can hold him, and having him here puts people at risk.

Our judicial system would be at a loss for how to deal with him.

He came to kidnap one of our residents.” Jorge’s gaze shifts to Mari.

“He’d been keeping Miss Schwan against her will for seven years.

He’s dangerous, and he needs to pay for his crimes.

I’m just curious, if I give him to you, what will you do with him? ”

“I’ll try to make him see reason.”

Mari stiffens next to me. “How can you do that? Pierre has no sense of right and wrong, no conscience. He feels justified in what he did to me and all the others in his lifetime. He thinks it’s his vampiric birthright.”

A fatherly pride blossoms in Ion’s smile. “You’ve hit on it, Mari. I’m going to give him those things that he lacks.”

“You’ll give a six-hundred-year-old murderous vampire a conscience? Is that even possible, Ion?” I’ve never heard of such a thing. Granted, there are many things I don’t know, but the idea of Pierre feeling regret and guilt sounds unattainable.

Leaning back, Ion frowns. “It’s a terrible thing to witness, to be honest. He may want to repent, or he may still support his behavior.”

Jorge leans his elbows on the desk. “What do you do with him if it’s the latter?”

“I won’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking. I can keep him safe, and I can keep the world safe from him. He’ll also get the choice to remove himself from society.” A sorrow shadows Ion’s dark eyes.

“Suicide?” My tone is more incredulous than I want, but it seems unlikely.

Ion nods. “Only if that’s what he wishes, rather than living within a moral code which aligns with modern society.”

“He doesn’t seem the type to take his own life.” The chief is right.

“At the moment, Pierre has no conscience. He regrets nothing he’s done in the past or present, as he believes it is his right to control others and murder for blood.

I am going to give him the ability to regret his choices.

Some of the vampires born like Pierre choose death rather than living with what they’ve done.

In human terms, it would be like curing a sociopath and showing them the wrong they did.

If they could feel empathy, those deeds might be too much to live with. ”

Chief Martinez stares at the top of his desk for a long time.

I’m sure he’s torn between his human regulations and laws and what’s best for his community.

It’s a tough spot to be put in. The Great Revelation put a lot of pressure on the human world and its beliefs.

“You can take him. I’ll file the forms, sighting you with European jurisdiction.

The longer he’s in my town, the better the chances are that someone gets hurt.

If Sam wasn’t here on Wednesday night, I don’t want to imagine what might have happened. ”