Archangel’s Shadows (Guild Hunter #7)(52)
Author: Nalini Singh

“Stop that,” she said, lips firmly set as she fought valiantly not to laugh.

He wanted her to laugh with him during sex, wanted her to play with him. “Do you think you’ve been seduced enough?”

“Did you discover her name?”

“Felicity Johnson.”

“Then, I’ve been seduced enough.”

The snow had begun to fall in earnest when they hit the street again, but there was no wind, the world a serene sheet of white. Before doing anything else, he made a call—while Ash pretended to check out the well-lit window display of the sex shop next door. His purpose was to touch base with a combat-trained Tower vampire he knew patronized a nearby dance club. Emaya didn’t miss a beat when he asked her to keep an eye on Khalil.

Janvier would’ve preferred to do it himself, but Khalil had already spotted him in the club, would be immediately suspicious if he glimpsed Janvier or Ash again. Khalil also knew Janvier as an individual, whereas he was unlikely to have run into Emaya—or to notice her if he did. The statuesque Emaya was more akin to Ash than she was to the prettily plump and submissive creatures Khalil preferred.

“Are you alone?” he asked her.

“No. Mateo is with me.”

“Good.” If Khalil was behind the murder, he’d obviously become even more sadistic as the years passed, but Emaya and Mateo had the strength to take him down should he become violent. “Stay together, keep him in your sights without alerting him, and contact me with a full report once he returns to his home.”

If Khalil was the killer, he was too smart to choose a victim who could be easily linked to him, so any woman he took home tonight was safe—from death, at least. Torture remained on the cards, but Khalil had a way of finding willing victims for that, though those volunteers didn’t always know the extent of what awaited. That grim truth at the forefront of his mind, Janvier said, “I want to know who he speaks to, what he does, anything that strikes you as unusual about his behavior.”

“Got it.”

“Even a hint of trouble, call me or the Tower.”

“Will do, but my entire combat team is out blowing off steam tonight, so we have plenty of backup nearby if we need it.”

Relaxing, Janvier waited until the other couple arrived in case Khalil slipped out in the interim. He covered the delay by teasing Ash about her apparent interest in the erotic toys on display. She laughed and, with her phone, snapped photos of the various items, before sending a couple of messages.

Not acknowledging Mateo or Emaya when they arrived, he sent a message through to the Tower alerting Dmitri to the ongoing situation. He also made a note that bloodlust appeared to be rising, but that it didn’t appear critical at this point. It may be a residue of the battle trauma. I think the vampire leaders should be contacted tomorrow so they can tamp things down. The bloodlust wasn’t hazardous yet, but give it a few more days and it could turn into carnage.

Janvier had once come into a town that was meant to be a rest stop for couriers only to find every part of the small settlement sticky with rust red, and the two resident vampires feeding like gluttons on the warm, nude corpse of the woman who’d been the lover to one. He’d executed both on the spot. It was the only way to contain the slaughter.

Dmitri’s response lit up his phone. I’ve had the same report from two other senior people in the area—we have Tower vampires scattered through the clubs keeping an eye on the temperature until I can talk to the leaders.

Satisfied that the issue was being handled, Janvier said, “We can leave now, sugar.”

“Thank God.” Ash slid away her phone with a groan. “There are only so many glow-in-the-dark dildos I can look at with wide-eyed interest.”

Chuckling, he ran her braid through his fingers. “I don’t think we should go to more clubs tonight—we have Felicity’s name, and any further questions may arouse suspicion and concern.” They had to balance the needs of the investigation with making sure it stayed under the radar.

“Agreed.”

“Don’t bite my head off, cher, but are you hurting?” He touched his hand to his chest to indicate her scar, unable to forget how much she’d bled in his arms, how close he’d come to losing her. It was a nightmare that had woken him, soaked in sweat and gasping for breath, more than once.

“I’m good. Today was all about asking questions, no real physical strain.”

Janvier had watched her carefully tonight, seen no indications of pain from her injury, so he accepted her words, and they moved off into the delicate flakes falling from the sky.

“I love snow,” Ash said with a sigh. “Bad for tracking when it falls, but it’s so forgiving on the world, so peaceful.”

He watched small flecks collect on her eyelashes, knew she’d grow ever more beautiful to him as the years passed. Reaching for the gloves he’d slipped into his coat pockets before leaving to pick her up for dinner, he said, “Put these on.” They were her size, ones he’d bought because she was so often without gloves.

Tilting her head, she pinned him with the dark eyes that saw too much. “I’ve realized something about you, Janvier.”

He waited to hear what she’d say.

“You like to take care of people.”

“Is that a bad thing?” He couldn’t change his elemental nature, couldn’t unmake that part of him.

“No.” A spreading warmth deep within, Ashwini accepted the gloves, tugged them on over chilled fingers. It was odd to be taken care of, to be valued in such a way, but now that she’d conquered her initial confusion and fear at his tenderness, it felt like a gift. “Most hunters can take care of themselves.”

“So can most vampires of my strength,” he said with the confidence that made him so attractive. “That doesn’t mean I would not be delighted if you showed a care for this Cajun’s hide.”

Ashwini thought of the way he’d looked at her after the kiss in the bar, took in the faint half smile that didn’t match the shadows in his eyes, and knew it was all going wrong. In trying to protect him, she’d rejected him. “Janvier?”

“Yes?”

“I’m keeping a secret from you, a huge, terrible, bad thing.” There, it was out.

He stopped in the shadow of a private club, his expression grim. “You won’t tell me this secret?”

“I can’t.” It made her too angry, too afraid of how it would change everything between them, the cowardice closing up her throat. “But you have a right to know, and once you find out, you’ll hate me for allowing this relationship to go so far.”