“Yeah, Lieutenant, why is he here? I don’t have anymore questions for the father right now.” She finally fixed her shirt, giving her boss a withering glare as she did. The priest’s gaze hadn’t perturbed her, but Martin had always made her feel dirty when she caught him checking her out.
It was like he thought since she’d bedded her last supervisor, he was next, and as such, he took liberties with her that he might not have with other subordinates. She hated him, but she let the matter go. The last thing she needed was to make a big fuss and bring more shit down on herself, so she kept her mouth shut.
If Martin noticed her discomfort around him, he kept it to himself. Chances were he simply didn’t care.
“The father is gonna ride along with you, Boone,” the sack of crap was saying. He indicated Anatoly with a jab of his thumb. “He makes a convincing argument. If someone is targeting preachers and such, there’s no one better to consult than a priest.” That shit-eating grin was back, flashing a crooked row of nicotine-stained teeth.
Maggie clenched her jaw and glared at Martin. There was no way he really thought a priest was going to be of any use. He was doing this to fuck with her, and for once, she wasn’t going to take it laying down. “With respect, Lieutenant, I’ll manage just fine on my own. I always have?—”
Martin let out a snort, his eyes gleaming with cruelty. “Sure ya have, Boone. I wonder if your last CO would agree?”
Anger burned through Maggie like a raging wildfire, but instead of punching him in the throat like he deserved, she just stood there, knowing she had no choice but to take it. The blow was low, but it worked exactly as Martin had meant for it to; the fight had gone out of her.
“Fine, the father rides along tonight—” she started to agree, but then Martin laughed, cutting her off.
“The father rides along until you solve the damn case, Boone. That’s the deal.” The lieutenant was enjoying this far too much and it showed.
Beside him, Anatoly was frowning. He seemed to be picking up that his presence was being used against her and to his credit he appeared uncomfortable. “Perhaps?—”
Martin slapped him on the back roughly. “Have a good time, Padre. But don’t get your hopes up, this one’s soul is already damned.” With that he turned away, chortling at his own dark joke.
Meanwhile, Maggie stood there fuming. She knew it wasn’t really Anatoly’s fault, but she couldn’t help but blame him a little. Hadn’t she told him to let the police do their jobs? Why had he gone around her back? One glance at him and she knew it hadn’t been for any nefarious purpose. He certainly couldn’t have known that her boss was going to bully her into it either.
No, like everything else in her life right now, the blame rested squarely on Maggie’s shoulders. Her decisions alone had landed her here and now she got to suffer the consequences.
She stopped glaring at Martin’s office door, which he’d promptly closed when he entered, and shifted her brown eyes to the priest. He was gazing back at her, his expression gentle, curious. As much as she wanted to be angry at him, too, she found it difficult to hold onto. She blew out a disgruntled sigh and shook her head at him.
“If you’re riding along, you better mind what I tell you and stay out of my way.” Her words were harsher than she intended, but she felt like she needed to build a fortress around herself where Anatoly was concerned. It would have been easy to trust him and that terrified her. “I’m not a babysitter, so don’t expect me to wipe your nose if you get a sniffle. This isn’t a game. It’s life and death, got it?”
His pale eyes twinkled. If he was offended by her curtness, he did an excellent job of hiding it. “I am no stranger to either, Detective,” he answered, his tone mild.
The way he had said it sent a shiver down her spine and she realized how true that statement was.
She cleared her throat, glancing away from him awkwardly. “Okay, great,” she replied, unsure what else to say. “Give me a minute to change my shirt and we’ll get started.”
Not waiting for a reply, Maggie brushed past Anatoly and headed to the locker room where her set of gym clothes were kept. She’d throw on her department t-shirt and then go on a stake out with a priest. What could possibly go wrong?
Chapter Five
Anatoly realized too late that he had once again blundered as far as Maggie Boone was concerned. He had thought to take the decision from her hands would be best for both of them, but it became clear witnessing the interaction between Martin and Maggie that his offer was being used to torment her. He had gone from being indifferent to the lieutenant, to being rather disgruntled with the man in just a few short minutes.
Had this been an ordinary case, a crime of passion or a burglary gone wrong, Anatoly wouldn’t have pressed. He’d have allowed Maggie to do her job and just made himself available should she have need of him, but he knew something she didn’t and he was compelled to keep an eye on this woman.
Despite their rocky start, he was hoping they would come to at least be cordial allies. It became clear as they sat in the nondescript, black sedan that cracking through her armor was going to take a lot more work than he’d originally thought.
She hadn’t given him specifics about why they were sitting here or said more than a few grunted commands since returning with a fresh shirt. This time, he didn’t allow himself to glance down at her voluminous chest, though the mortal side of him had certainly been tempted by the pretty pink bra. His traitorous mind wondered if she was still wearing it or if it had been changed as well.
The second the thought came to him, he blushed, ashamed of himself. He didn’t have a lot of experience with women and in fact had never taken any to his bed, even before he was ordained. There had always been other concerns weighing on him, and by the time he found peace within himself, he had been called to the priesthood. Even though he was now technically dead and his vows nullified, he clung to them out of habit and respect.
Attraction to anyone was a new emotion and while it wasn’t wholly unpleasant, he found its timing to be not only inappropriate, but inconvenient as well. Being in such close proximity to Detective Boone made him suddenly uncomfortable. He could smell the scent of her coconut shampoo and wanted to blame it for his errant thoughts, but he knew better than that. This was merely a temptation to be overcome, and when he put it in that perspective, some of his discomfort faded.
Anatoly always strove to be a good man. Even as a vampire, he wanted to maintain his kindness and sense of duty and honor. It was too easy to stray from the path of Christ and so he remained ever devout even in death. Or perhaps in spite of it. All he knew for certain was that he didn’t want to fall any further from grace and become as foul a man as the likes of Lieutenant Martin.
His skin still crawled at the mere thought and he couldn’t help but wonder how it must make Maggie feel. He risked a glance over at her and found her watching the bar entrance in front of them with keen vigilance. She’d barely moved except to tap out a message or two on her mobile phone and he recognized a part of himself in her; she too was dedicated to a path.
“I do not mean to pry, but does Lieutenant Martin always treat you that way?” The question was out of his mouth before he could think better of it.
She gave a one-shoulder shrug at first and he thought that would be the end of it, but then she whispered, almost to herself, “I deserve it.”
