Immortal Redeemed. Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

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СКАЧАТЬ continued to study Kellan, as if deep down she was wondering if he had something to do with the attack. Did she believe he had been here to case the place so his accomplice could finish the job once he’d gone?

      “No,” he said to her, in case he was right about her thoughts. “Don’t entertain ideas that I could harm you like that.”

      Of course, his statement was a half-truth at best, since there was also a chance the vampire had come here for him and had got distracted after sensing McKenna’s tired state. Vampires were too often hard to predict.

      Also, since he was pretty certain McKenna was the special being he sought, he had no idea what might happen to her when he opened her up to the hidden soul inside her. Would she survive that opening? If she did, would she wake in a state vulnerable to every kind of predator on the planet?

      He had to consider all the options, all the directions of his next moves.

      “I can go back to the hospital,” she said to Miller. “There’s no need to put you out.”

      Kellan felt Miller’s attention swerve back to McKenna. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” Miller said. “But you know you’re always welcome at my place. In fact, I’d feel a lot better if you would take me up on that.”

      Kellan stood up. “I guess I’ll take my leave.”

      “I’d like a word,” Miller said to him pointedly.

      “It might not be a good idea to leave McKenna alone.”

      “We can talk in the hallway with the door open. Mac, are you good with that? Just for a minute? Then I’ll get you that ice pack.”

      After looking back and forth between Miller and Kellan, McKenna nodded.

      Miller gestured for Kellan to precede him out. Kellan withheld a sigh, not liking the part he had to play in order to get along with these mortals. He was anxious to go after that vampire on his own. He needed to lose the biker’s mortal semblance and get down to business with a fledgling vampire too willing to cross the line with someone else’s treasure.

      His anger was on the rise. That anger would soon become dangerous enough to burn away his calm exterior.

      In the hallway, Miller lowered his voice. “I suppose thanks are in order for helping McKenna again. You ran up those steps like you were superhuman. But thanking you would mean I don’t believe in the possibility of you having something to do with this incident. You do get that?”

      “I’m not the bad guy here,” Kellan said.

      “I suppose that’s a matter of opinion. So I have to ask some questions. The first one is, who are you?”

      “I’m just a guy passing through.”

      “And you just happened to meet my...meet McKenna?”

      “Yes. Near the hospital. She couldn’t drive and asked me to take her to you.”

      That stumped Miller for a minute because he knew this was quite possibly true.

      “Why didn’t you leave her with me?” Miller asked.

      “The lady changed her mind.”

      “So you brought her here.”

      “I followed her directions, yes.”

      “Maybe you can see how odd it is that this attack happened at the same time?”

      “Our return could have interrupted the bastard’s plans. McKenna probably would have been safe as long as I was there with her.”

      “It’s entirely possible we have differing definitions of the word safe. You’ve known her for, what? Five minutes?”

      “I’ve known her long enough to know I wouldn’t want any harm to come to her.”

      “Maybe so, but I don’t like this. I’m going to ask you to stay in the area until we figure things out.”

      Staying in the area went right along with Kellan’s plans, though being part of a police investigation was never good. He didn’t need the attention, or anyone scrutinizing his ID. He certainly didn’t intend to play along with this detective for much longer. He had a vampire to catch and the timing was tricky.

      He had to use more of his power of persuasion.

      “I’ll be going now,” he said, sending the thought straight into the detective’s mind, where it encircled everything else with the force of a command, urging Miller to let this biker go without a fuss.

      “Okay.” Miller raised his hands and stepped back. “I’ll be in touch.”

      Fat chance of that, Kellan thought, since the cop didn’t even know his name.

      Catching a whiff of fetid air, Kellan turned his head for a quick look, able to detect the vamp’s escape route from where he stood as easily as if the bloodsucker had left a trail of bread crumbs.

      With one more glance over his shoulder to McKenna’s open doorway, he headed for the street.

Chapter 7

      McKenna stood in front of the bathroom sink, staring at her image in the mirror. She looked peaked, she thought, and gray. She was sporting an angry red ring of finger marks around her throat that would soon be a circle of bruises. Swallowing was difficult.

      What she really didn’t need was another miserable reminder of some asshole’s evil intent.

      Her gaze flicked to the scar on her temple. She touched the line of raised white flesh with her fingers before turning on the tap. Hot water felt good, soothing. She closed her eyes and let the water run as exhaustion again threatened to overtake her. Exhaustion aided by another close encounter with death.

      She was finding it hard to breathe. The room was starting to spin, sending her stomach into free fall. Placing her hands on the sink, McKenna fought for enough breath to fill her lungs while attempting to get a handle on her wits. As a cop, she’d seen break-ins go bad on a daily basis. This one just happened to be hers.

      “Mac? Are you ready?”

      Her eyes found the image in the mirror of the man standing behind her. She wasn’t sure why she’d expected someone else, but her heart lurched in anticipation of a face that didn’t show up.

      Derek had gathered ice cubes in a kitchen towel for her throat.

      “I’ll stay here,” she said. “Unless you think I can’t remember how to keep out of the way when everyone shows up.”

      Derek knew better than to argue. He said, “You won’t get any rest if you stay, and you look like you could use a little first aid and a lot of sleep.”

      “I can take a day off tomorrow and sleep then.”

      He nodded solemnly. “How about the ice pack?”

      She СКАЧАТЬ