Lover Arisen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #20)(20)

The detective he should not be getting anywhere near—in person or mentally—was sitting at her desk and staring at her computer screen like it held the answers to every question she had ever had—or at the very least this month’s Powerball numbers. God, he would have given his eyeteeth to know what was holding her attention like that. Given her job, he had a feeling it was nothing good.

Saunders was her last name, Erika, her first. He’d learned both when he’d had to scrub her memories.

He’d learned a few other things about her, not that he’d been prying. She was unmated, or unmarried, as her people called it, and she lived alone. She also had no family, and he knew the terrible reason why, the horror… the tragedy.

God, he didn’t want her involved in all his shit with that demon.

“How can I protect you,” he said into the wind, “when you can’t even know me.”

As if she could hear him, Erika sat back in her chair and let her head fall free on her neck. With his keen eyesight, he could tell she was murmuring something to herself. Then she re-leveled things… and reached forward to her computer monitor. Brushing the screen, her fingertips lingered on whatever was on there.

Even though he could only see her profile, the yearning on her face was clear. Then she jerked as if she were snapping out of a trance.

Fuck, she had a lover.

Although Balz had never considered himself a ladies’ male, he’d been with enough females and women over the centuries to recognize that particular kind of distraction.

Well, he was just going to have to kill the guy. It was really that simple—

“You are not going to murder anybody,” he snapped. Except then he had to do some editing. “You’re not going to murder her man.”

Fine. Just a little castration. Snip, snip, over the shoulder—

“You’re not doing that either, idiot.”

With a wince, he realized that he was arguing with himself. Thank God no one was around to—

“Here, I made these for you.”

Balz shifted so quick, he nearly fell off the side of the kiosk—and talk about a hi-how’re-ya. Standing over him, tall as a tree, broad as a mountain, dressed in black leather, was the only male on the planet he had any interest in seeing.

Vishous.

“Thank fuck,” Balz muttered as he kept himself from broken-egging his butt chips on the pavement below. “Even though you snuck up on me like a ghost.”

“You want me to announce myself with a bullhorn while you’re camping out in front of the police?” The Brother lowered himself onto his haunches and extended his palm. “I heard you need more of these. And you mind telling me what you aren’t doing? I’m not going to comment on the idiot part.”

The orderly little stack of hand-rolleds being offered was exactly what he needed.

“You’re going for sainthood, you know that?” Balz said as he took the largesse.

“Not hardly. You still have that lighter I gave you?”

By way of answer, Balz outed the Bic that the Brother had lent him and flicked his thumb at the same time he put one of the cigs between his lips. Then he offered the Brother his own creations.

“And you’re a gentlemale,” V murmured as he accepted it.

Balz lit his own. Lit the Brother’s. Put what remained of the stash away inside his leather jacket.

“So I’m guessing you ran into my cousin.”

V nodded. “We crossed paths.”

When the Brother didn’t move on to another subject, Balz felt his exhaustion get heavier by about seven hundred thousand tons.

Shaking his head, he said, “No, I’m not going back—”

“Good. I’m glad that’s what you’re not doing.”

Balz blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t want you at the mansion, not right now. And I know where you’ve been staying during the day. I’ve asked Fritz to kit your flop out a little more properly so when you’re there, you’re more comfortable.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need anything.”

“I didn’t ask whether you did. Besides, you want to tell Fritz he can’t make up a bed?”

Balz conceded that one. Then he frowned. “How did you know where to find me—”

V waved his Samsung cell phone. “Like you have to ask, true?”

“Oh. Right.” Balz took another drag and looked over his shoulder casually, making it like he wasn’t checking on the human woman in that window. “I’m not too bright right now.”

“You’re smarter than you think. And you’re doing the right thing.”

“I’m curious, why do you believe me?” He picked a loose flake of tobacco off his lower lip. “No one else does.”

“A hunch—that happens to have a pair of wings and a sun fetish. Also really bad taste in pretty much everything. But you don’t know anything about that. I just want you to have confidence that it’s all going to be handled.”

How, he wondered.

“Will the others believe you?”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

Balz stared down at the hand-rolled in between his fore-and middle fingers. “Thanks.”

“So why are you sitting here?” V indicated the lot with his gloved hand. “You think that demon doesn’t want to get arrested or some shit? Important tip, human police don’t mean anything to her.”