“I’m not a monster! Six months ago, I was as human as you! I’m not—”
“Vampires lie. They trick. Deceive. One promised my sister she’d live forever.”
Oh, crap. This wasn’t going to end well.
“You know what he did?”
She could guess.
“He ripped her throat open, and I had to find what was left of her body.” Connelly opened the cage and came inside. The gun barrel never wavered. “I know about you,” the cop said. “You play innocent now, but you attacked that sheriff just over the county line.”
That punch would’ve come back to bite her. “I didn’t kill him.” Pointing that out seemed rather useless.
“Probably because you didn’t get the chance.” Connelly’s eyes narrowed. “Tom called me and gave me a heads-up that you might be in the area. He was there when they found my sister’s body. He knew I’d understand just how to deal with someone like you.”
She could not win with this cop. “Listen, I—”
“But what about Jeff Quint?”
A fist squeezed her heart.
“Sam Bentley?”
Dammit. “I didn’t want to kill them.” They haunted her now. She’d never forget their faces. Never.
“Right.” The cop’s voice easily called bullshit. “You just got thirsty and you had to rip out their throats.” Her voice thickened with fury. “Just like that bastard did to my sister. He tore her open from one ear to the other.”
Nicole kept her hands loose at her sides. “I don’t want to hurt you.” She understood the other woman’s pain and fury.
“Really? Too bad. I can’t wait to hurt you.”
Crap. “The cop who Tased me—he knows I’m in here.” He had to. “He could come and check and—”
“No one’s checking on you. No one gives a damn if you live or die. As far as they’re concerned, you’re a cop killer—”
Connelly was just steps away. Kill or be killed.
Nicole lunged forward. Connelly didn’t have time to shoot. Nicole caught her wrist, twisted it, and heard the snap of bones. When the cop cried out, Nicole plowed back with her elbow, driving it right into the cop’s nose. Cartilage crunched, and blood spurted as the woman went down.
Nicole kicked the gun out of the way. Her breath heaved out as she stared at the unconscious woman. “Lucky for you, I’m not a cop killer.” Though that blood was tempting. Good thing Connor had taught her a few tricks out of the bedroom. Maybe she did owe that SOB a bit after all. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the cop. “And lucky for me …” She knelt next to the other woman. “I think we’re about the same size.”
That meant the uniform might be a perfect fit.
So for the big question … how did a vamp go about exiting a police station? Well, if she was really lucky, she just walked right past the cops, her head down, and her body covered in a cop’s uniform.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to get cozy in here for a while,” Nicole told the unconscious woman as she studied her. Right size. Right hair color.
She yanked off the cop’s shoes. Too small, but they’d have to do.
Two minutes later, “Officer Jennifer Connelly” walked out of the holding cell. Her steps were sure, her head was down, and her heart thundered in her chest.
Behind her, the prisoner sat hunched near the back wall. Her dark hair covered her face.
As she marched down the long corridor out of the holding cell, Nicole felt the sweat slide down her back. She tossed her hand up to a few cops when she passed the bullpen, deliberately waving in such a way that her hand blocked her face.
Then she could see the exit door just steps away. The place was packed with people up front and it was easy to blend with the crowd now. Easy to slip past and walk right out.
She kept her pace nice and easy when she headed down the stone steps outside of the station. Nicole wanted to break and run, yet she couldn’t take the chance of eyes being on her. At the same time, she couldn’t move too slowly. If someone found Jennifer Connelly in her cell …
A motorcycle’s engine roared and she glanced up. Her breath shuddered out when she saw Keenan pulling up to the curb. Escape. Nicole pivoted on her heel and headed toward him.
His head whipped to the right and his eyes locked on her. Immediately. Kinda creepy the way he could zero in on her.
“Nicole?”
She shook her head. Then jumped on the back of the motorcycle.