“But you know we would never do that!”

“I know that! But she doesn’t! Do you know what she’s been through? What those animals did to her for three years?” He clenched his fists. “I’m going to kill them for it!”

“You’re not going to do anything right now! From now on you’ll follow orders.”

“If I’d followed Zane’s stupid order, Ursula would be back in Washington and we wouldn’t be any further. Instead—”

Samson held up his hand, stopping him. “Granted, in hindsight Zane’s order was wrong, but given the information he had then, it was the only logical solution.” He leaned over the desk. “I’m not upset that Ursula is still here. In fact, I think she might turn out to be useful in trying to find the nest of those vampires. But what does piss me off is that you didn’t have enough trust in me to come and tell me what’s going on. And that you continued to expose yourself to the temptation of her blood. It’s irresponsible. You of all people should know that an alcoholic can’t be in charge of a liquor store.”

Oliver felt his blood boil. “It’s not like that! I can handle it.”

“For how long? Until you overestimate how long you can go without blood? Until your hunger for it gets too strong? Until you can’t think straight anymore and can only think of sinking your fangs into her neck?”

Oliver felt his gums itch at the very thought of drinking from Ursula, while she was panting beneath him. “She needs me.”

“She’s a danger to you. Have you slept with her?”

Oliver avoided Samson’s gaze. “That’s none of your business!”

“So you have,” Samson concluded. “And you’ll do it again, and what if your control snaps next time? What if you feed from her? You have no idea what her blood will do to you. Zane and the others saw it at the club. Those vampires were crazy. Violent. Uncontrollable. We can’t allow that to happen to you. I’m sorry.”

An icy shiver crept up his spine. Narrowing his eyes, Oliver glared at his boss. “What are you saying?”

“You know what I’m saying. You can’t be allowed near her. She’s off limits for you.”

“You can’t do that!”

Samson gave him a serious look. “Please try to see my side. I didn’t rescue you from a life as a drug addict and criminal to let you slide down into the same kind of cesspit I found you in. You have a promising life ahead of you. Wasn’t that what you always wanted? Be one of us? Become a great bodyguard? Have exciting assignments?” Samson shook his head. “You would be throwing all this away if you bit her and became an addict again. As a vampire, your desires and needs are much stronger. You won’t be able to shake the addiction this time. You won’t be strong enough. That’s why I can’t allow you to see her again.”

Oliver thrust his chin up, ready for a counterattack. “What if somebody had told you the same thing about Delilah?”

Samson pounded his fist on the desk. “That’s uncalled for and you know it! You can hardly compare Delilah with a girl you met two nights ago!”

Oliver jumped up. He knew he was treading on thin ice, but he had nothing to lose. “If I recall correctly, you didn’t know Delilah much longer than I’ve known Ursula before you went all possessive on her!”

Slowly, like a stalking tiger, Samson rose from behind his desk. “I advise you to be very careful about what you say. Another word of insubordination, and I will strip you of your position within Scanguards, and you’ll be back to chauffeuring people around.”

Fuming, Oliver went nose to nose with Samson. “Go ahead! But you can’t keep me from Ursula!”

“I already have. By the time you get home, she’ll be gone.”

Oliver jolted backwards. Samson had tricked him. He’d asked him to his home so the others could grab Ursula behind his back. “Fuck you!”

“You’ll thank me for it later.”

Oliver glared at him, then turned on his heels and ran out of the house, ignoring Delilah and the baby playing in the front room.

He had to make it back to stop them from taking Ursula.

26

Ursula heard the doorbell as she finished dressing after a quick shower. She hadn’t wanted to linger in the bathtub, feeling uneasy because she was alone in the house with Quinn, Rose, and Blake. While she wasn’t worried about Blake or Rose, Quinn barging into the room had rattled her. He’d looked angry, and for whatever reason, she didn’t think it was because he’d found them in bed together. From everything she knew about vampires, she didn’t think that they had such high moral standards and cared who slept with whom.