“No. That was my cop voice. And the statement stands. No killing Ryder.”
“Did I say I was going to kill him? Delaney, I am a peaceful man. My soul is in balance. My Karma and conscience are clear. All chakras go.”
None of that was actually a promise not to kill him.
“So why don’t we make this easy.” Rossi turned that molten gaze of his back on Ryder. “Who killed one of mine?”
That came with a flash of fang and that glowy-eye thing.
Ryder didn’t move, but even I could tell his heart rate kicked up a notch. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m here to figure out. I only know one of those men, those vampire hunters. When I saw him in the bar, I knew they had to be in town looking for your kind. My job, Mr. Rossi, whether you believe it or not, is to make sure that your kind can live safely among the mortals of this world. I am not a vampire hunter. Not a vampire killer.”
“Tell me why they had your blood, Ryder Bailey. Tell me why I should ignore that it was your blood that killed Sven.”
“I wasn’t a part of it. I donated to the Red Cross outside the hotel where I was staying. That’s the only way I know someone could have gotten their hands on my blood.”
“Who?”
“You tell me. I didn’t even know my blood was a part of Sven’s death until Delaney told me. While you’re at it, maybe you can tell me who would have wanted Sven dead. If there are other vampires in Ordinary, and I’m assuming there are, why him? Was he just the most vulnerable? Was it bad luck? Did he do something that brought attention to himself?”
“He was new here.”
“And? Was he new to being a vampire?”
“Time is such a relative thing.”
“Was he relatively new?”
“Yes, from my perspective. But there are those who are younger than he is.”
“So why did the hunters zero in on him now? Is there something else that brought attention to your town? That brought attention to the vampires here? You know why my agency came here—the capsized boat incident. But that was over a year ago. Why are the hunters here now? Did you do something?”
I was watching Rossi when Ryder asked that question and I saw the slight tic of his jaw. No one who hadn’t been staring right at him would have noticed it. It was such a tiny tell, even if someone noticed it, they probably wouldn’t know what it meant.
But I knew what it meant. Rossi was hiding something. Therewassomething that had brought the vampire hunters to town. I didn’t know what it was, but I was keenly curious.
“No,” Rossi lied smoothly.
“Is there something you did to bring attention to this place?”
“No.” The lie was quicker this time.
“All right. Do you know enough about Sven’s past for us to assume it could have been an old vendetta against him? Did he have any outstanding debts or alliances that would have caused this?”
Ryder was starting to sound an awful lot like a cop instead of a freelance monster negotiator or whatever his job description was. A bloom of pride warmed my chest. He really was trying to approach the murder with sympathy and problem solving.
He had good cop instincts, which in this case were also good survival instincts. For the first time since he’d been suspected in this killing, I got the feeling that he might actually be innocent and might get out of this alive.
I didn’t know what I’d expected out of this confrontation. Well, yes, I knew. I expected a fight between Rossi and Ryder. But maybe Ryder had a chance of getting Rossi to listen to his side of the story.
Of course, Rossi had been known to “accidentally” drop people off cliffs after hearing them out. If he wanted Ryder dead, it would take a hell of a lot of interference on our part to keep that from happening.
Rossi did want Ryder dead, but Ryder was still here, breathing. This meeting was going a lot better than I’d expected.
“I am going to taste you, Ryder Bailey,” Rossi’s voice sent shivers down my neck. “And,
when I do, I will know the truth of you.”
Ryder was stock still. Finally his gaze drifted to mine. “Is that something that happens here?”
