“Oooh,” Juggernaut dragged the vowel out. “Sarge only uses those names when heads need to be busted. That means it’s a partner night.”
“Don’t worry, Orrin. You can be on my team tonight,” Tetiana offered.
Considine, much slower to join us at the front of the room, stretched out his arms as he sauntered past our teammates. “Be good while we’re gone, children. Mind your manners and be aware that I will be very cross if you radio us for help as I consider partner missions to be date nights.”
“That’s because you’re a borderline psychopath,” Grove said.
Considine laughed. “Nonsense, it’s because fighting with my partner is positively consuming, isn’t that right, Jade?” Considine slung his arm over my shoulders.
“No,” I said. “It can’t be consuming, because you have to be aware of the mission at all times.”
“Shut down,” Brody declared. “And without mercy.”
“He should have known better,” April said.
“Quiet you lot,” Considine made a show of snarling at them, but when he turned to face Sarge, his expression was professional.
He’s grown a lot. Everyone in the task force is becoming important to him, too—even if he doesn’t realize it quite yet.
I savored the warmth in my chest, then turned to Sarge, gathering up my professionalism. “What’s the assignment, Sarge?”
“You two are needed downtown, now, to put out a fae fight,” Sarge said. “Sunshine will give you the specifics.”
“Come on.” Sunshine bustled out of the room, a bounce in her step. “I’ll read you in on the walk to the garage.”
I saluted Sarge, then hurried after Sunshine, Considine easily keeping pace.
As I watched the back of Sunshine’s head, it occurred to me that with the passing of winter, I’d officially been a task force member for over a year.
I took the job because I wanted to prove slayers could be more than killers…and it’s come to mean so much more to me than I could have imagined. Using my skills to protect, laughing with my teammates, it’s like a dream come true. And Considine…
I risked glancing up at Considine.
I love him so much, and for a million different reasons. He’s patient with me in my faults, a perfect partner and excellentbackup, but most of all I love him for being him. I’d be willing to become a vampire, for his sake. But it’s not something we should rush, so for now, we can just be.
“Okay,” Sunshine cackled. “How do you two feel about facing a chimera?”
“We faced a giant snake together,” I said. “I don’t imagine a chimera would be much worse than that.”
“I don’t know,” Considine said. “Chimera can be messy.”
“It’s rampaging close to your apartment building,” Sunshine said.
“Consider it dead,” Considine said.
“I thought that might motivate you,” Sunshine wryly said.
I laughed, and Considine grinned at me.
Yes, I’m no longer alone. There’s Blood…and Ruin.
EPILOGUE- CONSIDINE
Considine
Istrode through Drake Hall, intent on finding Jade—she’d been swept off by Killian’s First Knight when we arrived. Killian had managed to corner me for almost an hour to discuss vampire politics—something I hated but kept apprised of in case any Families got ideas about Jade.
“I never thought I’d see the day that Considine Maledictus would be tamed,” Killian said—he’d chosen to tag along with me in my search for my partner for unknown reasons. “But I suppose, the last few years have been very surprising to me, despite my many years of life.”
