Page 43 of Bloodhunter

Rhys and Angus strode toward us, anger in every line oftheir bodies, and it didn’t matter that some of the cops rushed toward them,stopping them before they got halfway to me. It didn’t matter that theycouldn’t speak to me, or see me, or take me home.

They’d come for me.

A little warmth spread through my frozen body, thawing thehorror. I rested my head against the glass, and kept my stare on them untilfinally, a cop got into the front seat and drove me away.

Part Two

Chapter Fifteen

“I need the restroom,” I said.

“Soon,” the detective promised. “Tell me again what happenedout there.”

“I was walking,” I repeated, for the hundredth time. Ipaused to take another sip of the third cold soda I’d had since they’d parkedme in an interrogation room at the Red Valley Police Department. I didn’t wantto keep drinking, but I was so thirsty. Every few minutes I had to take a sip sothe words could slip past the dryness in my throat.

I’d been there about two hours, but it felt like ten. Icould have asked for an attorney, but I wanted to cooperate. They could seethat I hadn’t killed those men. That I hadn’t somehow called thevampires—though that was sort of untrue. They’d come out of hiding because ofme. Because of my new status. Because every vampire in the vicinity knew a babyhunter was on the prowl, and they wanted to kill me before I got too mean forthem.

I squirmed on the chair as the fullness of my bladder becamea little more urgent. “I need the restroom,” I said again.

“Soon,” the detective promised. Again. “We just really needto understand everything that happened out there tonight, Ms. Sinclair. Thecity needs answers. The families of the four young men slaughtered out theretonight need answers.” He leaned forward, his face earnest, his voice gentle. “Weneed answers.”

“I’m giving them to you,” I murmured. “I’ve been giving youanswers since you brought me in.”

“Vampires wouldn’t dare attack in the city.” He sat back anddrummed his fingers on the table. “Vampires haven’t attacked since…”

I looked at him. “Since the Thanksgiving Day Massacre,Detective Dunne? I know about vampire attacks. I know all about them. And whathappened tonight was just another vampire slaughter. They killed those men. Youknowthat. You saw.”

“We saw something.” He ran his hand over his face. “Mostlywe just saw you and your friend—who ran—and we saw four brutally murdered younghuman men scattered across the street. Why were youthere,Ms.Sinclair?”

I wished he’d stop sayingMs. Sinclairlike the wordswere some sort of nasty thing caught in his throat. “You saw the vampires,” Iinsisted. “They were lying dead on the ground. You examined them. Didn’t you?”

He blew out a hard breath. “We saw some of the fight,” headmitted. “But by the time we were able to examine the scene, there were novampires on the ground. Only empty clothing.”

I gaped. “What?”

Silverlight.

Silverlight did more than dry and shrivel the vampires as ahunter with a stake would do. Silverlight wiped them out. Erased them.

And that wassonot good for me.

But I couldn’t tell him that. I wanted my sword back. Myfingers shook with the need to grip her. They would never give her back if Itold them what she could do.

They would hand her over to scientists who would study her,try to duplicate her, and destroy her.

She was mine. She was my responsibility and I had to protecther, just as she’d protected me.

Detective Dunne nodded. “There were no vampires.” He met myhorrified stare. “The families—the city, actually—will think that you and yourfriend murdered those men.”

I leaned forward, deep breathing, trying not to pass out. Iwas injured, bloody, and exhausted. But I was strong, and growing stronger bythe day. How else was I physically coping with the devastation I’d put my bodythrough in the last few days?

But then I remembered Shane killing vampires beside me, andI knew the detective was bending the truth a little. Not all the vampires haddisappeared. Those Shane had killed would have dried and shriveled up, but theywouldn’t have disappeared.

“So you see,” the other detective said, speaking for thefirst time, “We’re in a mess here. And honestly, we have no idea how to get outof it. There is no proof vampires attacked. If we tell the city vampires didkill those four young men, imagine the panic, Ms. Sinclair. You see ourpredicament.”

I glared at her.“Yourpredicament, Detective Locke?”I didn’t mention that I knew they were lying. I didn’t want to explainhowI knew that.

She shrugged. “They’ll want someone to blame.”