Takoma bared his fangs and leaned in close, the ends of his two braids swaying through the witchlights. “No.”
“Too late. I already put in the paperwork.” Takoma’s eyes narrowed, annoyance writ clear over his face, but Spencer didn’t think he saw any anger. “Leave the hunters with me. This place isn’t even in Seattle. It’s not your territory.”
“What would your government know about territory?”
Spencer crossed his arms over his chest, fighting back a shiver. Fatima still hadn’t returned, and the wind blowing through the clear-cut area made the night feel colder with no trees to block it. “I’m not in the mood to argue with you about this. Tell your people to bring me the hunters. I need to call this shitshow in, and I want a damn suspect to interrogate.”
Takoma straightened, turning his head to look out at the darkness. He said nothing, but a vampire appeared a moment later, blurring to a stop beside them. She was paler than Spencer, shorter too, but she had an unconscious hunter slung over her shoulders as if he weighed nothing. The man’s face was bloody, but Spencer didn’t think it was from a torn-out throat.
Spencer eyed her warily. “She’s one of yours, right?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Takoma asked.
“Because the poltergeist showed up with a vampire who wanted to kill me.”
Takoma crowded into his space, hands reaching out to grip Spencer by his upper arms, voice coming out in a furious growl. “What?”
Spencer tried to step back, but Takoma only tightened his grip. “Right, so he definitely wasn’t one of yours.”
“Mine know not to touch you.”
Spencer really wanted to believe him, but he hadn’t stayed alive in his line of work this long by taking what a person said as gospel. “Well, maybe one of yours went rogue, or there’s some other Night Court who wants to piss you off. I didn’t think there was another one in Seattle.”
“There isn’t. I claim most of Washington State.”
“Most isn’t all.” Spencer poked Takoma in the chest with a finger. “Who else have you been pissing off lately?”
Takoma ignored him, turning his head to look at the other vampire. “Leave the hunter by the crash site for the mage. Send someone to scout the woods for a trespasser.”
“I wantallthe hunters for my case.”
The vampire nodded at Takoma before blurring away, taking the unconscious but alive hunter with her and completely ignoring Spencer’s request. Takoma returned his attention to Spencer. “You get one.”
Spencer scowled, realizing he wasn’t going to win this argument. “I’ll make it work.”
Takoma shrugged out of his heavy wool coat and slung it over Spencer’s shoulders. Despite Takoma not having any body heat, the wool coat offered up warmth Spencer was only too happy to accept. He shoved his arms through the sleeves, the fit a size larger than what he’d typically wear, but he wasn’t going to complain.
He had no problem complaining when Takoma hauled him close before he could protest and practically carried him out of the forest and back to the road. The wind was icy cold during their speedy passage, and Spencer was stupidly grateful for the coat.
“Would you stopdoingthat?” Spencer hissed once Takoma had dropped him back on his feet in the tree line within view of the road and the police car that had arrived sometime during his mad dash through the forest. Next to them, lying on the ground, was the unconscious hunter the other vampire had dropped off.
“I’m leaving one of mine to watch over you.”
“I don’t need a minder.”
“I don’t care. They have their orders. I’ll see you when you’re back in Seattle.”
Spencer opened his mouth to argue and got a kiss for his trouble, all sharp fangs and demanding tongue. He kissed back without thinking, brain slow on the uptake of what a bad idea it was to be found kissing a master vampire at a crime scene. Before he could even convince himself he should stop, Takoma broke the kiss and blurred away right as a flashlight cut through the trees, passing over Spencer.
“Come out with your hands up,” an officer barked.
Spencer sighed, reaching to dig out his badge from his back pocket. His fingers still felt numb, and he ended up dropping it. Before it hit the ground, Fatima caught it in her teeth, manifesting herself beside him. “Where have you been?”
Hell.
“Oh, don’t tell me that,” Spencer groaned, gently taking the badge from her before turning to face the officers on the road. “Coming out! Don’t shoot. I’m an SOA special agent.”
Then he reached down to grab the unconscious hunter by the collar of their leather jacket and proceeded to drag the asshole out of the forest.
