Jasmine growls, frustrated. “Oh, for fuck’s… Yes! That’s the human who was here with us! His mother is back at our house, along with our pack leader. I’ve already told you all of this!”
The officer looks around, his dark brows pulled together. “And where is Evan?”
“On his way to the hospital fighting for his life,” Sage says. “One of these vampires attempted to drain him, so Jericho killed him.”
Jasmine’s eyes widen, as if only now realizing how bad the situation is for him.
The officer turns to me. “You killed him?”
“Evan is my life mate, so yes. I burned that fucker. Look, my sire is the one who has been running the club. He’s been turning humansinto vampires for months, nearly all of them against their will. Including myself. I can tell you every detail of it, if you need, but I was here tonight to fight back and reclaim some of my freedom. They’ve been hunting me ever since I was turned. And, as Jasmine pointed out, they were hunting Evan, too. You should know this, as there have been several reports against this club already. They attacked and killed some friends of ours tonight, which is why we are here. Weallhave legal right to defend ourselves.”
Something flashes across the officer’s face before a tiny smile appears. “Oh, I agree with you about the club being a problem, but I disagree that nothing has been done about it.”
“Excuse me!” Jasmine snarls.
He holds up a hand. “What I mean is, we have over a dozen reports on our desks of interviews conducted at this club over the last year—”
“Then why hasn’t anything been done!” Jasmine shouts.
“—yet no one at our department can remember doing the interview,” he says patiently. “It’s been a confusing mess for months.”
Sage straightens. “That’s because Orem Gravestone is working for the coven. I think you’ll find he is behind all of your altered memories.”
The officer turns wide eyes toward Sage. “Orem Gravestone? The mage recently released from prison?”
Sage nods. “He’s been seen with the coven.”
My patience is growing thin. Ineedto get to Evan. “Orem cast a spell on you, and he cast a spell on the building, preventing people from leaving. When they attacked a neighboring pack, we all came running.”
“Neighboring pack? Do you mean Merebeth Height? From the Hollow Cliff pack?”
Jasmine nods.
“I spoke to her just a little bit ago. Terrible what happened to her pack.” He looks between us. “If that’s true about Orem, how did you get out?”
“The fire broke his spell,” I say simply.
He seems interested in this, adding it to a note on his phone. “You say you have video proof this coven has been going after your family?”
The warm feeling returns.Family. Yes, it’s what Evan and Evelyn have always been. Family. “I do.”
“All right. Would you be willing to submit that, along with a formal statement in regard to your turning? We have two other vampires saying they were forced into the change too, which is a criminal offense.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Here’s my card. Let’s talk soon. I promise you, this coven will be a top priority from now on.”
As he walks away, I draw in a shaky breath. Fuck, this whole thing is a mess.
“Where is everyone?” Sage asks.
“I don’t know,” Jasmine says, pulling her shawl tighter. “I was the first pulled in for questioning since I’m the representing alpha of the pack.”
My stomach churns. “We need to get to the hospital.”
Sage fills her in as we walk around looking for the others. There must be two dozen humans with confused, blank expressions on their faces, walking around with no idea what they’re doing here. They must be the humans from upstairs.
Six or seven vampires pass us, a few recognizing us from the fight but steering clear. Whatever. The only ones I’m truly worried about are Rip and Foxx, and of course, those assholes are nowhere to be seen. They could be anywhere by now.
