Jaxon released the man’s gaze. She felt the flood of information, the story passed through her to Kitter, and she was awed by Lucian’s powers. He did it so smoothly, so efficiently, with seemingly little effort. For the first time she really allowed herself to think about that and what it meant.
There is no need to find new reasons to fear yourlifemate, honey.
His masculine amusement almost made her smile.
You already have plenty of reasons in your imagination. If I was going to turn vampire and prey upon the human race, I would have done so already. You are the light to my darkness. It is no longer possible for me to turn. You don’t need to turn to prey upon the human race. You’ve been doing it for years. Centuries. You’re always getting your way.
Jaxon immediately had the impression of a wolfish grin, a predator’s flash of white teeth. She even heard him growl very low.
Show-off.
Resolutely she turned back to the problems confronting her. Her colleagues had examined the ashes and were crowding around her again, demanding answers.
She held up a hand for silence. “I don’t know what happened. One minute he was coming at me with a knife in his hand and blood all over him, and the next we could hear you on the stairs. He said something, but I couldn’t really understand it. I think it was something like no one was going to take him alive or words to that effect, but I’m not really sure. It all happened so fast. He had some kind of liquid he doused himself with, and, just like that, he set himself on fire. It was horrible. I thought about shooting him to end his misery. I think I’ll hear him screaming for the rest of my life.”
“Did you see this, though? There’s no body—nothing left at all. Nothing but a pile of ashes. People don’t burn like that. And there’s no burn marks on the floors or anywhere else,” Tom pointed out.
“He burned fast, too,” Jaxon said. She shoved at her hair. “I want to go sit down somewhere. It’s been a hell of a night. Has anyone heard from the captain yet?”
“Dispatch just called in and reported they received a message about fifteen minutes ago that Radcliff was attacked by some maniac. Radcliff fought him off, but they took him to the hospital. Two officers in a patrol car were killed on the scene. The perp got away. Could be the same as our boy. They thought it was Drake.”
“Does anyone know how Barry’s doing?” Jaxon asked anxiously. She was so tired she stumbled on the stairs, and Tom slipped an arm around her waist to help her.
“I’ll call the hospital, Jaxx. You sit down before you fall down. You took a big chance going down there alone. And how did the door get jammed? We had to break it down. The thing’s in pieces.” Tom pointed it out to her to prove his point, then helped her to her desk. When she glanced with distaste at the notes spread out before her, he hastily gathered them up. She didn’t need to look at the reminders of her dead neighbors and friends right now. “Let me get you a glass of water.”
“Thanks, Tom. It’s been one long night.” She appreciated his thoughtfulness.
Tom handed Jaxon a glass of water and watched as she drank. He had always thought her beautiful, but now there was something more. She had a mysterious, ethereal quality to her. And her voice was so beautiful, he could listen to it forever. Her eyes were classic bedroom eyes. He had heard the description before, but he’d never really known what it meant until he looked into her eyes. She moved with a flowing grace, innocently sexy. He had a difficult time keeping his gaze from devouring her.
Jaxon flashed a smile, completely unaware of the havoc she was creating. Tom was watching her so closely, she was embarrassed. She ran her hands through her hair. “I look awful, I know. A complete mess.”
She looked so vulnerable, he had the urge to gather her up and protect her for all time. Without meaning to do it, he settled his hands on her shoulders, intending to massage the tension from her. Before he could do so, a cold wind swept through the room, an icy draft of ominous warning. When Jaxon and Tom looked up, Lucian was looming over them.
At once Jaxon could barely breathe. There was something wild and untamed in him, something dark and dangerous in the depths of his black eyes. Not rage. Icy death. When he looked at Tom, Jaxon was suddenly afraid for the man and not really certain why. “Lucian?” She said his name softly, a whisper of inquiry.
Lucian didn’t turn his head toward her, but he stepped close so that his body was firmly between hers and the police officer. He smiled, almost pleasantly, but it looked like the smile of a hunting wolf. “I do not believe we have met. I am Lucian Daratrazanoff, Jaxon’s fiancй.” He extended his hand, his black eyes fathomless, dark pools capable of mesmerizing. His voice was as soft and gentle as ever. “You must be Tom. Jaxon has spoken of you often. I appreciate your looking out for her.” He stepped forward and whispered softly. Tom nodded several times, smiling in return.
Jaxon’s heart was beating so hard, it terrified her. She couldn’t fault Lucian’s courtesy, yet his show of power, right out in the open, had rendered everyone in the squad room utterly silent. They were policeman, detectives, hardened cops used to dangerous situations, yet something about Lucian stopped them dead in their tracks. That frightened her. Had she escaped Drake, only to attach herself to someone worse? Lucian certainly had enough power to be worse. What was it in her that brought out the worst in men?
Nothing, angel. You are the perfect woman for me. I am a Carpathian male and cannot be anything other than what I am.
She was reaching up to try to comb her hair into some semblance of order, a nervous habit she couldn’t help. She felt at a great disadvantage, looking so disheveled. Lucian caught her hand and carried it to the warmth of his mouth, his gaze suddenly centering solely and completely on her.
Do not, little love. You are beautiful just the way you are.
At once the ice in his black gaze heated to a black-velvet hunger, to a blatant love he didn’t bother to hide from her. His touch was extraordinarily gentle as he drew her under the protection of his shoulder.
“Thank all of you for helping to look after Officer Montgomery and for trying to end this nightmare that refuses to leave her life. You are all very loyal to her, and I appreciate that, as I know she does. If there is ever anything we can do to repay such loyalty, please do not hesitate to tell us. Barry Radcliff will be moved to an undisclosed location as soon as they are finished with him in the emergency room. He is going to be fine. He put up quite a fight before we got there. Whoever attacked him must have heard us coming and run. He was gone before we had a chance to catch him.”
He bent his head to brush a kiss on the top of Jaxon’s head. “I am going to take Jaxon home. It is nearly dawn, and she is exhausted. She can return this evening to finish her report. The doctors have said it is imperative she rest, so I can do no other than to see that she obeys. I am sure your captain will understand.”
There were a few derisive snorts over that. “Don’t count on it,” one of the detectives said. “He’s never what you call understanding.”
Lucian smiled appropriately, but his eyes had gone flat and cold when his gaze turned away from Jaxon and rested on the speaker. “He will have to be.”
Harold Dawkins stared defiantly at Lucian. “Jaxon, I need to talk to you in private for just a minute. You understand, Mr. Daratrazanoff—police business.”
Lucian shrugged casually, a small smile curving the edge of his mouth. Instead of softening the touch of cruelty there, however, the smile only served to make him look more imperious, more dangerous than ever. A warrior of old, untamed and savage.
Jaxon reluctantly left the shelter of Lucian’s body to follow Dawkins across the room. “What is it, Harold? I’m exhausted, and if the captain doesn’t understand that, too bad.” Harold Dawkins had worked with her for several years. He was nearing retirement and always looked upon Jaxon as a daughter.