Page 257 of Duty and Desire

Raine began to stand.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Noah said, grabbing the vampire’s arm and yanking him toward Ivar’s vacant seat. He’d give his friends a head start, if nothing else. “Why don’t you tell the doc here if you’re doing better with anger?”

Raine jerked away. “I’m out of here.”

“No, you can’t go,” Mariana said, reaching for another file. “You’re supposed to be here.”

The vampire paused, looking at the brown-eyed woman.

Yeah, Noah had felt something between them. Oh, Raine could just leave and disappear, and the humans wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing.

Tabitha cleared her throat. “I, ah, really need to keep this group going.” In other words, she needed her cover protected. “I’d owe you one if you stay, Raine.”

A favor from a demoness, and one of her lineage, wasn’t something easily passed up.

Raine growled and looked at the empty doorway. Then he glanced at the ancient clock on the wall. They only had thirty minutes left. “Fine.” He took Ivar’s vacated seat.

“So, Raine,” Mariana started, “Why don’t you tell us what makes you angry? If we can identify your triggers, that might help you in the future.”

The vampire lifted one jet-black eyebrow. “My triggers? What the hell is a trigger?”

Abby turned toward him. “It’s something that makes you mad. That triggers you into anger or any emotion, really.”

Raine’s expression softened a fraction. “All right. Let’s see. A trigger for me would be somebody being a selfish bastard who’s going to hurt other people. Like a lot of other people.”

Okay. Not unfair, considering Noah had the same concern regarding Ivar, the Seven, and their plans.

Mariana frowned. “So your fight with a landlord and with a former client? They were going to hurt people?”

Raine blinked, obviously trying to remember his cover story. “Yeah. The landlord was trying to evict an elderly woman who couldn’t pay but had paid faithfully for years, and my former client was his lawyer, who is no longer mine. Not a nice guy.” The vampire then smiled, almost angelically.

Noah nodded out of acknowledgment. Very nice cover. The guy was quick.

“That’s awful,” Abby whispered, looking around Noah. “I’m so sorry.”

Noah stiffened.

Raine patted his heart. “I know, right? What was I supposed to do? Somebody had to help the elderly woman. I mean, her husband, God rest his soul, was a veteran, and she sews scarves for the local children when it gets cold.”

Scarves? Seriously? Okay, now he was pouring it on way too thick. Noah shifted his weight in case he needed to punch the guy. Were the humans really falling for this?

Abby’s eyes had softened, and she nodded. A quick look at the shrink showed a different story somehow. Her brown eyes had narrowed, and she studied Raine as if he were a case subject. Good. At least somebody was seeing through the nonsense.

Mariana cleared her throat. “I see, but none of that excuses violence. Maybe we should play-act a better way to work through problems.”

Was she joking? Or teaching Raine a lesson? Noah bit down a grin and sat back in his chair. “You know, doc, I think you’re onto something. It’d help the rest of us if you play-acted with Raine and showed us what he should’ve done.”

Raine coughed. “You’re going to pay for that, hybrid,” he muttered, only loud enough for Noah to hear.

“Looking forward to it,” Noah returned, just as quietly.

CHAPTER 6

Abby finished helping Mariana put the room to rights after the meeting. Tabitha and the two remaining men had left immediately with a sense of urgency, and frankly, Abby didn’t feel like going home yet. She had no idea where Monte was. While she’d flirted with buying one of those trackers from a store on the Internet, if she placed it on his car, she’d probably get caught. But she’d give almost anything to know where he was at all times—so she could avoid him.

“Thank you,” Mariana said, tucking her manila files into her case. “I’m sorry we didn’t get much time to talk about your life today.”

Abby tried to force a smile, wishing once again she could confide in the sweet woman. “Since this is a group, confidentiality doesn’t apply, right?”