Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter #7)(115)

“There’s a twist at the end,” she said, curling her fingers surreptitiously around Janvier’s. He curled back in turn, warm and strong.

And it became easier to breathe. “That’s what you have to be careful about,” she told Ellie. “Otherwise, you scramble the brains too badly for the vamp to recover.”

The other hunter’s eyes gleamed. “We’ll talk.” She looked up at her consort. “So, what did that slimy coward have to say for himself?”

“That he was no traitor.” Cold disgust in Raphael’s words. “In truth, he had no true loyalties, did only what was good for Giorgio. Cornelius had known him in the past, and when he saw Giorgio in the Quarter, he tracked him to his home and asked for sanctuary, convincing Giorgio that he’d be rewarded when Lijuan arose anew.”

“Sire,” Janvier said, “Giorgio wasn’t always thus. He was a great physician. Is it the madness of age?”

Raphael’s answer was absolute. “No. He simply became bored with eternity and this was his entertainment.” The pure male beauty of the archangel’s features did nothing to hide the ruthlessness that made him one of the Cadre. “I believe he accepted Cornelius not because of any belief in Lijuan’s resurrection, but because he wished for a partner in his perversions.”

“Giorgio shouldn’t have been able to get away with his misuse of women for as long as he did,” Dmitri said, his voice stripped of all traces of civility.

Thinking of Carys’s surprise at Ashwini’s response to the report of the two missing pros, she said, “You need a better way to stay in touch with the vulnerable.”

“Ash is right,” Janvier said. “There’s a gray world beneath the surface of the city, and it’s from this pool that predators like Giorgio pick their prey. I’m also concerned about how many submissive mortals I saw in the Quarter clubs.”

Dmitri frowned. “We have a network in place, but its focus is on keeping an eye on the immortals, rather than on mortals who might become prey. It’s a gap we need to work out a way to plug.”

What the Tower needed, Ashwini thought, was someone like Ransom, someone trusted on the streets and protective of its denizens, but who wasn’t mortal. It had to be a vampire, a man or woman who’d already made the choice to live in the immortal world.

“We can discuss this further tomorrow,” Raphael said. “For now, the predators are locked up, and you both”—those eyes full of power noticing Ashwini and Janvier again—“have earned the night off. Enjoy the peace while it lasts.”

There was no doubting it was an order.

“Sire,” Janvier said, and the two of them left to head out. He’d already grabbed a black and red motorcycle jacket to replace the jacket he’d given to the woman he’d rescued, so there was only one other thing to remember.

“Grab a few bottles of blood,” she said to him once they were in the main corridor. “You need more than I can give you.”

His smile was wicked. “You give me plenty, sugar. And it’s all good.”

Rolling her eyes, she leaned in and kissed him on that pretty mouth. “Thank you.” For figuring out she’d needed a smile and giving it to her.

“No thanks necessary,” he said and took her hand again. “Just always be mine.”

I want to grow old with you, she thought on a heartbreaking surge of love, to see the world with you, to fight with you, to kiss your sinful, laughing mouth a million times.

Giorgio had become bored with eternity, when Ashwini would give her soul to experience a single mortal lifetime with the vampire by her side without the specter of a psychological breakdown that would eventually fragment her into myriad tiny pieces.

Bitterness threatened, but she’d made her decision a long time ago, and she wasn’t about to permit a monster to shake the foundations of her world. No, she’d think of her sister, of Felicity, of Lilli. None had had a chance to experience love in this way, to walk hand in hand with a man who would lay down his life for her. A day, a week, a month, a year—no matter how long she lived as a whole person, she would do it with an open heart and an unfettered spirit.

“I love you,” she said as they walked to his Tower apartment, pressing her lips to his jaw.

“Cher.” He turned to cup her cheek, his eyes startlingly vulnerable.

Heart raw, she stroked her fingers through his hair. “You know I do. You have to.”

“Yes.” A gorgeous, wild smile. “But it is nice to hear you admit it.”

Kissing her laughing mouth, he murmured his own words of love, told her she owned his heart and always would. “Let’s stay here,” he said, sliding his hand under her jacket and sweater. “We can go to your place in the morning.”

“Deal,” she said just as her phone buzzed.

Holding the moss and sunlight of his gaze, one hand on his nape, she reached into her pocket with the other. “I have to check the caller ID.” It could be Banli House.

“I know,” said the man who understood her, accepted her.

Eyes burning, she leaned into him as she looked at the name on the screen. It wasn’t Banli House, but it was a call she had to answer.

“Tanu is Tanu tonight,” Arvi said, his voice holding a smile. “She’d like to see you.”