Jimmy nodded and they both rose up to full height. They tackled the crowd together, Renee working as if it were a case needing to be solved instead of one she already knew most of the answers to. Jimmy wanted to know why and she already knew the answer to that. All she wanted to know was the who and how she was going to handle it once she found out who the perpetrator was. She supposed she would have to go to Rafe with it. She didn’t know anyone else other than the members of the committee and most of them had made it clear they weren’t interested in having much contact with her. Except the one who had wanted her help.

The coroner came and took away the body. The crowd dwindled now that there was nothing to gawk at. Renee was thoroughly chilled by the time she met up with Jimmy again.

“Anything?” she asked, even though she could tell just by looking at him that he had nothing to be encouraged by.

“Zip. But maybe something will shake loose once we leave. We get calls into the tip lines all of the time.”

“Yeah…when we can sort through them all and weed out the crackpots.”

“Hey, aren’t you the one who is supposed to think positively and I’m supposed to be the cynic?” Jimmy asked.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just cold.”

“Well, head on home. I’ll notify the family. We’ll tackle this when we get the ME’s report on Monday.”

“Are you sure? I can come with you on the notify.”

“I’m a big boy. I can handle it. I’ll be very sensitive.”

She looked at him dubiously a moment, but she knew he was fully capable of doing it on his own. Hell, he had taught her how to do it.

“All right. I need to get somewhere warm.” She gave Jimmy a fist bump, then turned and walked toward Rafe.

He was staring steadily into her eyes as she approached him, his look intense. She couldn’t read if he was angry or worried or both. He just seemed somehow…darker…than before.

“Come on. Let’s go warm you up,” he said, making her wonder if he had heard her tell Jimmy she was cold. Was his hearing somehow as supernatural as the rest of him, or was he just empathetic to her situation?

“Our friend has struck again,” she murmured.

“It may not be the same guy.”

“Same hunting ground. Same MO. We’ll compare bite marks to know for sure.” She rubbed the back of her neck where she knew she had similar bite marks. She’d had to wear her hair down because of them.

She thought then of what would have happened to her had someone other than Rafe found her. Maybe they had. Would she even know if another vampire had fed from her?

“How do I know you’re the first and only friend to…to use me for energy.”

“Because we can tell when a friend has been there before us. It’s sort of like marking territory.”

“So there’s been no one but you?”

“No one. Probably because of your job. We tend to steer clear of those in investigative professions. Just in case.”

“In case?”

“It’s not as though we leave zero trace. Hypno is very strong, almost unbreakable except by the friend who instituted it in the first place. However, it wouldn’t be the first time someone noticed something was out of place. For instance, if a friend feeds too often from the same place. The source becomes depleted, open to any number of diseases and conditions it normally would fight off. Have you ever heard of someone incredibly healthy suddenly turning ill for no reason? Like I said, we leave traces. No one has figured it out as yet, but we take no chances.”

“You took a chance and look what happened.”

“I did. And had we not been attacked you would never have known the difference. I would have just been an acquaintance or friend.”

“It felt more like dating,” she corrected him.

He smiled at that, a smooth secretive smile.

“I suppose it was. I was too fascinated by you to treat you any other way. Believe me, I was not trying to deceive or mislead you.”

“If I felt that you were I wouldn’t be here. I understand why you did all that you did. You were protecting yourself and your nation.”

“I’m very glad you see it that way. I would never hurt you.”

“I know that,” she said softly, looking up into his eyes. He stopped their progress, turning her to face him. He cupped her face in his gloved hands and tipped her head back. He bent his head and touched his lips to hers. It started out as a gentle kiss, but it quickly grew more intense. More heated. But before they could get carried away, he pulled himself away from her. He reached down and took her hand. Then he chuckled and held up their joined hands.

“Are you going to take these off?”

Renee looked at their hands and saw she was still wearing the blue latex gloves from the crime scene. She laughed sheepishly and stripped them off, stuffing them into her coat pocket. She pulled out her winter gloves and tugged them onto her stone-cold fingers.

“Better,” she said.

“No doubt.”

Rafe led her to the car and before she knew it she was inside and the heat was on, warming her cold bones.

Chapter 19

“Do you have a nice dress?” he asked her as they were driving back toward his building.

“Define ‘nice.’ ”

“A gown.”

“Yikes. I haven’t worn a gown like…ever.”

“There’s a diplomatic dinner tonight and the attire is formal. I was hoping you would come with me.”

“Oh no. I don’t think so,” she said adamantly. “A human in a roomful of va—friends who want nothing to do with her? No, thanks. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Those human colloquialisms always amuse me. One would think someone would protect a sore thumb by covering it, not sticking it out. Now, as for that, you will not be the only human there. And no one will make you feel unwelcome. You are accepted now.”

“Accepted as what? A canapé?” She rolled her eyes. “There’s still a chance someone will want to eat me.”

“There’s a chance of that if you go undercover as you are planning. A far greater chance. A far riskier proposition. You will be protected by me at this party.”

Which was more than he could say if she were to go undercover. The very thought of it made him ill. He had been trying not to think about it and since she had not brought it up he had put it out of his mind. But now he had brought it up and he knew he was going to regret it.