Ripper (Hunter #1)(95)

I was supposed to play the dutiful fiancée and start moving into my new home, call the restaurant Gray wanted to have the reception at, and most of all contact Devinshea Quinn and give him back his check. That didn’t seem particularly fair to me. I’d caught the killer? I deserved the money, but Gray had been extremely insistent that I have nothing further to do with the faery.

“We’re getting married in three days,” Gray was saying to John something or other.

But I was thinking about strength.

I’d felt Peter Hamilton’s strength last night. It seemed to be an intrinsic part of whatever was happening to me. When that other part of me took over, I could judge my opponent’s strengths. One thing had been certain. Peter Hamilton’s body was breaking down. He’d found it difficult to properly aim the gun due to his advanced brain tumor. If he had trouble holding a gun, how had he managed to handle five werewolves and a shapeshifter?

That wasn’t the only question running through my head.

“How did he know to send the letters to you?” I asked Gray as he walked me to my car. He held my hand in his and squeezed it lightly.

“Kelsey, it’s not a secret that I’m a Texas Ranger.” He was dressed in proper Ranger gear today. He had on a suit and tie, with expensive cowboy boots on his feet and a Stetson on his head. He looked delicious and masculine, and I had no idea how he brimmed with energy after the night we’d had when I could really use a nap. It was his fault. He was the one who woke me up at the god-awful hour of six a.m. because he needed sex before he went to work.

“I don’t know.” Nothing about the night before added up in my head, including the fact that I was just getting around to thinking about it. I’m suspicious by nature, but it hadn’t really hit me until that moment.

“All he had to do was look on the website to find out what area I work for,” Gray continued. “It’s also no secret I’ve worked serial murders before.”

“So have several of your colleagues. And I seriously doubt that it mentions your supernatural affiliations on the website.” That was my issue. Unless Alexander Sharpe had actually been working with the professor, he had zero ties to our world.

Come to think of it, how had he figured out Alexander’s secret? There were too many questions and not enough logical answers.

Gray took both of my hands in his as we reached the Jeep. “Kelsey, let it go. Hamilton’s in jail. I’m going before the Council this evening to wrap it all up and then we can put all of this behind us. I’m going to work some normal cases for a while and we’re going to concentrate on our honeymoon. I took two weeks off. We’ll spend our wedding night here in Dallas and then we’re going to Hawaii where we won’t even discuss serial killers. So stop worrying about it.”

“But why would Hamilton want to cause the Council trouble? He doesn’t even really understand how vampires work. How would he know about the Council?”

Gray’s hands tightened around mine. “I don’t know, Kelsey. Does it matter? We were wrong about him wanting to cause trouble between wolves and vamps. It was merely an unfortunate side effect. As for how he knew about vamps at all, I have to figure one of the students in his class told him. Joanne probably wasn’t the only supe he taught.”

My heart sped up. I knew there was a reason I wanted those class rolls. “You’re right. If Joanne wasn’t the one who told him, then maybe I could question the other students in his class. Quinn would probably know which ones were supes, or I could ask Marcus to take a look.”

“No.” Gray frowned as he regarded me. “You’re out of this. If you absolutely have to work then go open your office, but this case is over. We caught him with the sixth girl’s heart, Kelsey. He’s guilty. Let it go.”

Some part of my stubbornness must have shown through because he softened his stance.

“Sweetheart, is it so surprising I want my future wife to concentrate on our wedding instead of a closed case?” he asked, his voice cajoling me. He lowered his lips to mine and touched them sweetly. “Please, Kelsey mine, I want to be happy for a little while.”

Put like that I couldn’t refuse him. I sighed and kissed him back. “I’ll call the restaurant.”

“Thank you.” He rewarded me with a brilliant smile. “Go on then, future Mrs. Sloane.”

And I meant to. I really did. I meant to call the restaurant, but I got another call first.

“So, I had to hear from Marcus that you caught the killer last night?” Dev Quinn’s smooth voice accused me over my cell phone as I drove west on I-30 toward Hurst. I needed to pack some things. I could figure out what to do with my furniture later, but my clothes needed to come with me now.

“He’s in custody,” I replied with as much professionalism as I could muster. I toyed with the travel mug of coffee Syl had handed me as I left the house earlier today. It was already empty. I needed a bigger mug. “I believe Lieutenant Sloane will be meeting with the councilman tonight to go over everything.”

“But I didn’t hire Lieutenant Sloane, Kelsey.” Quinn’s reply made me feel guilty. “I hired you. Marcus was surprised that a college professor managed this on his own.”

Loyalty told me to keep my mouth shut. Honesty had me turning the car around. If I didn’t at least look at those rolls, I would hate myself. I owed Helen Taylor to follow through, to make sure that the end was really the end.