He shook his head. “No, about what you saw in the van. When I was . . . hungry.”

“Oh.”

“I know I scared you. It won’t happen again. I’ll make sure I feed more often, so you won’t have to see that again.” When she didn’t answer and dropped her lids instead, he wondered whether his words were making it worse. After all, he was still feeding off humans, even if he promised her not to bite her. “I am what I am, Ursula. I’m trying hard to change, but it’s . . . difficult.”

She laid her hand on his forearm. “I understand.”

His heartbeat accelerated. “So we’re okay? I mean, you and I, are we good?”

“We’re good.” She smiled up at him. “You said you had news.”

“I found the vampire whose wallet you stole.”

Oliver sensed the excitement that went through her.

“Please tell me what he said.” Her eyes hung on his lips.

“He confirmed that he went there for the blood. He knows it has a drugging effect.”

“Did he tell you where they went?”

“He says he doesn’t know.”

Disappointment spread over her face. He used his hand to tilt her face up. “Don’t worry. It’s early yet. If they moved the blood brothel somewhere else, then it might take them a few days to notify all their customers. We have to be patient.”

She nodded, even though he could see that she wasn’t fully convinced. “I hope you’re right.”

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “In the meantime, I’ll be checking out another lead.”

“What other lead?”

“Leave it up to me. When I have something more concrete, I’ll tell you about it. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up in case it doesn’t pan out. Please trust me, we’ll find them.”

“I hate waiting.”

“It won’t be long.” Then he stood. “I’d better go.”

She put a hand on his arm, holding him back. “Please stay for a little while, just until I’ve fallen asleep again.”

“I shouldn’t.” But her eyes pleaded with him, and there was no way he could resist. “Just for a few minutes.”

He pulled the blanket aside and slid underneath it, pulling Ursula against his fully clothed body. “Is that okay?”

“Yes,” she whispered and snuggled up to him.

His arms went around her back, one sliding down to her backside. As he palmed it softly, she purred like a kitten and draped her leg over his thighs.

“Sleep now,” he murmured and stroked his hand over her silken hair.

24

Cain sat in a small office behind a glass window that looked down into an interrogation room below. Next to him, Thomas gulped down the rest of his bottle of blood.

“About time that jerk is coming ‘round. I need some shuteye.”

Cain couldn’t agree more. After they’d brought the rogue vampire to Scanguards’ headquarters, the punk had passed out as if in a drunken stupor. At least that meant he’d stopped screaming for real blood, whatever he meant by that. For hours Thomas, Zane, and Cain himself had waited around in the V Lounge for the captive to gain consciousness. Amaury had long gone home after his mate had called him.

Even Cain had been able to hear Nina’s seductive voice on the phone, describing to Amaury what she was wearing. He’d never seen his fellow vampire move faster. Not that they needed Amaury to question the rogue. Zane had volunteered for that particular job, and he was already tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for the rogue in the room below.

Cain snapped his head to the door of the interrogation room as it opened and two vampires dragged in the struggling captive. His hands were cuffed in front of him. In order not to cause him any unnecessary pain, the vampire’s wrists had been bandaged so that the silver handcuffs wouldn’t touch his exposed skin. Whether the bandages remained on his wrists during the interrogation depended on his cooperation. And by the look on Zane’s face, Cain’s superior clearly hoped that the prisoner didn’t cooperate immediately so he could inflict some pain.

Thomas flipped a switch so the sounds from the interrogation room now came through the loudspeakers in the observation area.

“Leave him!” Zane ordered the two guards. They released the captive from their hold and left the room, shutting the door behind them.

Thomas pressed a button, locking the room remotely so it couldn’t be opened from the inside. “You’re locked in,” he announced through the microphone by holding the speaker button down, then releasing it again.