"So what's the problem?"
Donovan Caine eyed me. "You really are cold, aren't you? With nothing but ice in your veins and a slab of stone for a heart."
Cliche alert. But the detective's well-worn words described me-more than he'd ever realize.
"Don't you understand what I've done?" Caine asked. "I've gone against everything I believe in. And for what? You?"
He was pulling away from me. I'd known it was coming, but it still pricked me like a needle. I willed the softness in my chest to harden, and my cold mask settled over my face once more.
"You don't believe in f**king women?" I kept my tone light, trying to salvage something from this. A little bit of happiness I could remember later.
He ran his hand through his short, black hair, rumpling it even further. "That's not the point. I should be arresting you, turning you in for your crimes, not wondering if I have enough juice left in me for round three."
I shrugged. "We both had a good time. Why are you bringing morals into it? Because there was nothing very saintly and upstanding about the way you were moaning my name five minutes ago."
Caine stiffened, but he couldn't argue with the truth. Still, the aching need, the hot pleasure, the sweet release, was wearing off, and the old doubts were filling his eyes, along with one emotion he just couldn't quite shake-guilt about f**king his partner's killer. The detective wasn't going to get over it. Not today, maybe not ever.
I suppose I could have told him about Cliff Ingles and how dirty the other cop had been. But I didn't know that it would change things between us. Donovan's partner would still be dead, and I would still be the one who'd killed him.
All of which meant that the honeymoon was over already. A shame, really. I swung my leg off his and got to my feet.
"What are you doing?" Donovan asked, his eyes fixed on my bare legs.
"Getting dressed," I said in a cold voice. "It's almost time for the sisters to call. I suggest you do the same."
I shoved my ripped panties into my purse and pulled my dress back down into the appropriate position. Beside me, Donovan Caine zipped up his pants. We didn't speak to each other. I grabbed my cell phone and slid it back into my purse. Then I cautiously opened the door to the supply closet. Nobody lingered in the hall. Mab must have called her giant back to her side. Good.
We left the cramped closet, walked around the second-floor balcony, and took a different set of stairs down to the ballroom floor. The crowd had grown during the better part of the hour we'd been gone, and now the people and conversation buzzed like horseflies. It took me a moment, but I spotted Finn still sitting at the bar. His companion had changed, though. Instead of the old dwarf, a young, attractive Asian woman smiled and let him ply her with drinks. I jerked my head at Finn. Donovan nodded, and we headed that way.
"Do you see the sisters?" Donovan Caine murmured.
I glanced at him. A hard mask had settled over the detective's face, pushing the guilt from his eyes. The detective was putting aside his conflicting feelings long enough to get the job done. What a professional.
I started to say no, when a flash of gold caught my eye. Haley James. The petite woman's eyes were fixed on the ballroom exit. Her mouth hung open as though she was gasping for breath as she power-walked in that direction. She was moving so fast I didn't see how she was keeping her feet in her strappy sandals. Her actions made it seem almost like someone was chasing her. One moment she was there, the next, she had disappeared. I scanned the crowd looking for Alexis.
There the bitch was, about a hundred feet behind her sister and closing fast. Tight mouth. Narrowed eyes. Hard features. Alexis was storming after her sister. I wouldn't want to be Haley when she caught up. Captain Wayne Stephenson was right behind Alexis. So were the two goons. The four of them approached the ballroom exit-
"Finn! Finnegan Lane!" a sultry voice called out. Damn and double damn.
I was a couple hundred feet and several dozen people away from the bar, but I still heard her yell his name. So did Alexis James. The Air elemental stopped right where she was, as if she'd been struck by lightning. Stephenson had to pull up to keep from slamming into her. The goons hit his broad back and bounced off like Ping-Pong balls. They managed to stay upright.
Roslyn Phillips smiled, murmured an apology, and stepped around Alexis James.
The vampire's eyes focused on Finn, and she was oblivious to the Air elemental's sudden interest in her. Alexis followed Roslyn's gaze. Her mouth curved up into a grim smile as she spotted Finn, who'd half-raised his hand in greeting to Roslyn.
Grabbing Roslyn's arm, Alexis yanked her back, then barked a command at Stephenson. He grabbed Roslyn around the waist and started carrying her out of the ballroom. The two goons flanked him. A few people gave the group curious stares, but nobody moved to intervene. The folks might be richer in Northtown, but they didn't like to get involved in other people's problems any more than those in Southtown did.
Roslyn didn't know what the hell was going on, but she started struggling. A giant dragging you anywhere was never a good thing. The vampire sank her fangs into Stephenson's forearm before he got her out of the room. Finn bolted out of his seat after them.
Oh, f**k.
I'd started moving as soon as I'd heard Roslyn call Finn's name. So had Donovan Caine. Our footsteps pounded into the carpet as we ran for the exit. But there were too many people for us to move in a straight line. Zigzag, zigzag, zigzag. That was all we were able to do.
I'd just spotted some daylight, a hole through the crowd, when someone stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I glanced up. The giant Mab had sent after me before.
"There you are," he rumbled. "Ms. Monroe wants a word with you."
No time to be subtle. I drove my knee into his groin. He yelped and bent over. I'd already palmed one of my silverstone knives, so I popped him in the windpipe with the hilt of it. Choking, he stumbled back. The giant's ass hit a table, and it flipped over. Drinks and food spilled everywhere. Shouts and curses rose up, but I was already on my way out the door.
It was a straight shot from the ballroom to the front entrance of the country club, but I didn't see Alexis James, Stephenson, or Finn in the hallway. They had to be outside already. Getting past the giant had cost me precious seconds.
I ran down the hall toward the front door. Donovan Caine's footsteps scuffed the carpet behind me. The outside door was open, letting the afternoon sun stream in through the entrance. But it didn't warm me. Not one damn bit.
I raced outside. My head swiveled left, then right. There. A limo sat at the curb halfway down the steep hill that led up to the front of the club. Wayne Stephenson smashed his fist into Finn's chest. His body immediately sagged. Unconscious.