I sat on the squeaky chair and laid it all out. “I had three cups of coffee and two chocolate croissants.”
“You’re wasting everyone’s time. Just tell me what you took,” she admonished. Her red eyes flashed.
I crossed my arms and lifted my chin. “I am telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you take a lick of my blood and tell yourself?” I snapped back.
Mel rolled her eyes. “They always say that. And then I give them the paperwork to sign and suddenly,” she says with mock surprise, “they feel too pressured.”
I looked away from her but held my hand out. “Pen.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I said.
Mel sighed. “Okay, Miss Waste My Time. I’ll get you the paperwork.”
She returned a minute later with a stack of consent forms. I fully enjoyed Mel’s appreciative nodding as I scribbled my name on all twenty-three pages of the paperwork agreeing that I consent to have my blood vamp-tested. I didn’t read it. Obviously. I just wanted my name cleared, my body scoured with bleach and lavender soap, and my mouth stuffed with sugar. The room’s chill had already sunk into my bones, making me shiver and wish for the hot September sun.
I felt very smug as Tony left, and then returned with a medical supply box.
I sighed languidly and held out a lazy arm. “Let’s get this over with. You think I’m on drugs. I’m not. I’d like to get this over with and start clearing my name.”
The officers looked at each other with obvious disbelief.
They still thought I was high? Fine. But I only take drugs on club night. And today wasn’t club night. I would never take Mr. Creed to the club.
Mel cleaned my filthy forearm with steady hands while Tony glared daggers at me. I spotted brown stains where my sewer shirt dripped on him.
I smirked. Served him right.
My smirk was ripped off my face as a burning pain seared down my arm. Mel’s teeth sunk into my flesh.
I knew it would hurt, but holy hells did it feel like getting stabbed.
Tony — fucking Tony — held me down before I could jump away from the sadistic officer Mel. Technically, I knew she was doing only what vampires are supposed to do. But that didn’t matter quite that much.
“Let me go!” I yelled. Her mouth was clamped onto my arm, though. Impossible to move. I screamed in pain and bucked against Tony’s hold, but he was too strong.
Panicked, I grabbed the pen on the table with my free hand and stabbed it into Mel’s neck.
The vampire unlatched her teeth from the gaping wound and screeched. Her lips and chin were smeared and dripping with my blood.
I trembled so hard my teeth chattered. I also peed myself. Only a little, but it was the principle that counted. I was losing my touch.
Through clenched and bared teeth, Mel snarled, “You aren’t allowed to inhibit me, Miss King. You should have read the contract.” Already, her pen wound was mostly sealed up.
I choked back a whimper. “Then don’t make it so long. Who reads shit like that?”
“Everyone!” Tony roared from behind me.
I shuddered and crossed my arms over myself, trying to keep my body from falling apart from fear.
Mel made a show of licking her lips. “She’s clean, Tony. That just means she broke in and ruined a wyvern’s hoard stone-cold sober. Won’t do her much good in the ruling at all.”
The blood rushed out of my face. They were going to give me a… ruling?
That’s not good.
Tony came around the chair to glare at me with more force.
I clutched my bleeding arm and went Unnoticeable.
I leapt out of the chair just as the two officers lunged for me. “Get away from me!”
Tony’s face turned purple with rage. His meaty hands were clenched to the size of an overgrown grapefruit. But his eyes quickly locked onto me against the plain white backdrop. “There you are,” he snarled.
I covered my head as Mel tackled me into the wall. My temple smashed against the concrete, making my vision flicker in and out.
I slumped, Mel’s full-grown weight riding me like a magic carpet until I was flat on my back.
The vampire was breathing heavily. “Listen, you little fucking tornado! I am going to leave you in here for a very, very long time. Because I don’t like you at all. And when I come back, it will be to put your useless Cut ass in a holding cell, you understand? Now —”
“That will be enough,” a deep voice said, cutting off the officer’s next threat.
My head was so fuzzy that I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined the voice or not.
But Mel stiffened at the sound, and I let out a groan. How many pounds of solid muscle did this lady carry on her? It was awful.
He added, more forcefully, “Officer. I do believe you are sitting on a young lady. Is that intentional?”
Finally, the crazy vampire got off. I could breathe again, which was amazing. My mind whirled. Someone from the Union came for me? I though all the Union cars were spoken for…
The strongest, most handsome hand appeared above me. Even in my state of half-unconsciousness, I could tell this was a rich hand. I bet he could get all the donuts he wanted, when he wanted.
I blinked the black spots out of my vision and put my palm in his. But whoever was connected to it seemed to reconsider.
He probably smelled the sewer. At least I put on deodorant today.
“Officer Legrath, get this woman a bandage for her bleeding head. And bring your supervisor to me. Now.”
My eyes fluttered closed. This dude was Scary. Capital S. I hope he didn’t try to bite me, too.
To my surprise, someone lifted my pounding head and placed something soft beneath it. And it smelled…
Delicious. Like smoke and spice and —
Like a man.
My sloggy brain pieced the jigsaw puzzle together.
What a gentleman. He could feed me grapes off the vine, too. If he really wanted to butter me up.
Someone else came through the door, but I didn’t bother opening my eyes to look.
A nice, sweet female voice said, “Oh, isn’t this a mess. Sweetie, I brought a healing potion. It’ll make you feel — oh! What is that smell?”
“My deodorant…” Can’t hide the smell of a sewer bath, I tried to say, but the words couldn’t quite make it past my tongue.
“I still think she’s on drugs. Magical drugs, maybe,” Asshole Tony commented. “Mel couldn’t taste anything on her, so there must be new shit on the streets.”
I hated Tony. He practically threw me in the ocean today. I wouldn’t forget it.
“Here. Drink this. It’ll help,” Rich Guy said softly.
A glass bottle was pressed to my lips. Liquid poured into my mouth. I could hardly recognize the taste of the healing potion as it trickled down my throat.
Sluggishly, I cracked my eyes open. I got a glimpse of the most beautiful amber gaze, and then I promptly passed out.
5
When I woke up, I knew something was horribly, horribly wrong.
A siren screamed in my ears, high-pitched and insistent.
I jolted upright and clamped my palms over my ears.
The siren stopped.
I let out a breath and relaxed back into the bed. The suspiciously comfortable bed. I didn’t know if someone padded this bed with the downy goodness of every Himalayan sheep, but it sure felt like it.