“You called, Oh lord and master?”
Piers smirked. “I think the sister is ready to leave now. Would you see her out?”
Graham’s gaze went straight to her throat, and she narrowly resisted the urge to reach up and touch the wound. He entered the room and handed Piers a file—presumably relating to Jessica Thomas. At least she hoped so.
“No problem. Sister?”
Yup, she was ready to go. But as she turned to leave, Piers spoke. “Sister, we will meet again.”
The words sounded almost like a threat, and she swallowed down her nerves and curled her lips into the semblance of a smile. “If God so wishes.”
“Oh I don’t think God will have anything to do with it.”
A shiver of apprehension ran through her. Did he suspect her of something? Every cell screamed at her to run, but she kept her pace slow as she followed Graham out of the office. Her nerves held until she heard the door click shut behind her, when she almost sagged with relief.
Graham reached out a hand to steady her. “Are you okay, Sister?”
She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Mr. Lamont is just a little intense.”
Graham grinned. “Yeah, intense. Though I’ve heard him called other things.”
I’ll bet. Blood-sucking spawn of Satan probably fits quite well. “I’ll be fine as soon as I get some fresh air.”
They were silent the rest of the way, Graham only speaking again as he held the glass door that led out onto the street.
“Goodbye, Sister. Perhaps we’ll meet again.”
Like never. “Perhaps. And thank you for your help.”
She knew he was still watching as she walked away. Christ, she could murder a drink, but she could hardly walk into a bar dressed in this outfit. She’d have to wait until she got home.
She was searching for a taxi when a black SUV pulled up beside her, and the passenger door was pushed open from the inside.
What the hell? Had Ryan followed her? She so didn’t need this right now. Then she spotted the bottle of scotch on the passenger seat, and she closed the space between them.
…
Piers watched as the door shut behind them. His body buzzed with her blood. Fae blood, if he wasn’t mistaken. Sweet as sin.
She must have a high proportion of fae in her background to taste so sweet. Or high fae. But the high fae didn’t consort with humans these days, so where had she come from?
Apart from the scent and the taste, there was nothing to suggest she was other than human. And she was obviously unaware of it herself. There was a mystery surrounding Sister Rosa, and one he would get to the bottom of—when he had more time. She would be safe in the convent until he was ready for her.
Would she dream of him?
She’d come apart in his arms so beautifully. Some women were incredibly sensitive to his bite; Sister Rosa was obviously one of them. Next time, he’d be buried deep inside her when he drank and she would probably spontaneously combust. His cock twitched; it liked the idea.
For a moment, he considered calling her back, asking her to stay, telling her he would protect her from the demons in exchange for…
In exchange for what? Her blood, her sex…her company? He was going soft. Except he was rock hard, straining at the fly of his pants. All hot and bothered because of one little nun.
He pushed the thought aside. First, he had to find out what the fuck that bastard Jack was after. He wasn’t expecting it to be anything good. And what had he taken from the convent?
He flicked through the file Graham had handed him. The identikit picture was on the top. He studied it for a moment—it was definitely Jack.
Had Jack been careless? Or was he sending another message?
He put the picture aside and read the notes. Jessica Thomas had vanished on her way home from school, two days ago. She was fifteen. There was a photo of a pretty, rather plump young girl. He wondered what she looked like now. Was she still pretty? Was she even alive?
It wasn’t the Order’s job to protect humans, at least not directly. But if the police had gotten close enough to get a picture of Jack, then they had to put a stop to this now, before the law got any closer.
He picked up his phone and started a search in motion. He wasn’t expecting it to be difficult—Jack had sent him the message because he wanted to be found.
The question was—why?
Chapter Five
“Get in,” Ryan said from the driver’s seat.
For a second, Roz considered ignoring him, but a quick glance behind her showed Graham still watching from just inside the glass doors. She couldn’t risk making a scene. Besides, there was that bottle of scotch. With a huge sigh, she picked it up, clambered into the passenger seat, and tossed him a filthy look.
“Are you following me?”
“Yes. Fasten your seat belt.”
She did as she was told, staring straight ahead as Ryan pulled out into traffic. She resisted the urge to put her hand up and check the wound at her throat. It was healing fast, but would still be clearly visible. At least the horrible headdress hid it from view. Ryan wasn’t stupid, and it would be difficult to persuade him that fang marks in her neck had nothing to do with his exsanguination murder case.
“Back in fancy dress, I see.” He broke the silence.
“I’m trying it out as an alternative lifestyle. I think I’d make a good nun.” She gave him her best guileless expression, added a serene nun smile, and then took a swig of scotch.
Ryan snorted.
“So why are you following me? I’ve made it clear that I’ll help you as long as you don’t bring attention to me. And this”—she waved a hand around the car—“is bringing attention to me.”
“Why? What are you hiding from? Maybe if you tell me, I can help make the problem go away.”
“Why would you do that?”
He cast her a quick sideways glance before turning his attention back to the road. “Because we’re friends. And friends look out for each other.”
Warmth stole over her as she realized that he actually cared. But she couldn’t allow that to matter, and she certainly couldn’t drag him any further into her fucked-up life.
“Thanks, but no thanks. My problems aren’t the sort you can make go away. I’ve just got to live with them.”
He shrugged but appeared resigned. “You heading home? I’ll drop you off.”
“Thank you.”
“So what’s your business with SA International?”
She’d known he wouldn’t give up that easily. “None of yours.”
“Come on, Roz. You can’t not tell me—why the outfit? Why this company? I did a search on them—they’re as clean as they come. Too clean, I’d say if I had a suspicious nature.”
With a rush of relief, she realized that he hadn’t connected her visit to SA International with his missing person case. And why should he? He’d first picked her up here before he’d even told her about the case—he wouldn’t see a connection.
“You do have a suspicious nature.”
“Yeah, so I do. But I couldn’t find anything. So tell me, what’s your interest? And where did you get a real nun from? I’m taking it that Sister Maria is actually a nun.”
“Yeah, she’s the real thing.”
“How is she this morning, by the way?”
“Fast asleep when I left. She’s had a tiring couple of days and it’s been a bit of a culture shock.”
“I’ll bet. So you’re not going to tell me?”
“No. So is that all that brought you here—just pure nosiness?”
“Mainly, but I also thought you’d like to know—we’ve put out that picture and we’re already getting some feedback. We’re narrowing it down to an area on the Isle of Dogs close to the river—which ties in with your description. I just wanted to make sure you’d be available when we get a real lead.”