Then Kane clicked off the TV and turned to me. His gray eyes searched mine. “Vicky, about the retreat—”
“Please don’t ask me to go to the next one. I can’t.” I took a deep breath and held his gaze. “This isn’t easy for me to say, but I have to say it. I’m not a werewolf. And I can’t straitjacket myself into pretending to be one. Not for you, not for anyone. I’ve got to be what I am.”
He nodded. “I know. I was wrong to try to make you into something you’re not.” His hand brushed my cheek. “You’re pretty terrific the way you are.”
I closed my eyes and leaned forward for a kiss. But it didn’t come. Kane straightened and pulled back his arm. I opened my eyes again and blinked at him. He jumped off the sofa and started pacing.
“I’ve got to say something difficult, too. Hard as hell. But—” He stopped and nailed me with those piercing gray eyes. “I’m going away. To Washington.”
Color me stunned. The way I gasped and gaped, I’m surprised I didn’t shift into a fish out of water. After a minute, I found my voice. “When?”
“Tonight. I have to leave for the airport in about twenty minutes.” He sat again and took both my hands in his. “It won’t be forever. I’ve got a six-month PA visa. But it’s happened, Vicky. I’m preparing a civil rights case for the Supreme Court.”
He glowed when he said it, like someone had flipped on a spotlight. This was Kane’s dream—the chance to establish PA rights at the federal level. “That’s great, Kane. It’s what you’ve always wanted. I’m sure you’ll win.”
“It’ll be a long, uphill battle.” He grinned, a little wolfish. “But winning is exactly what I intend to do.” He squeezed my hand. “I know you don’t care about politics, but—”
“No, that’s changed. After what happened to Maria . . .” I pictured that poor, sweet child huddled all alone in a cell. “Believe me; I’ll be rooting for you. The norms are going to have to figure out how to live with the monsters.”
“Don’t say—” He stopped himself, smiling, and nodded. “There’s one other thing I need to say. While I’m gone . . . I’ll be working hundred-hour weeks. Work, sleep, work, sleep.”
“The usual routine.”
He smiled again. “But what I’m trying to say is . . . For me, this case will be everything. Everything. And I don’t expect you to sit around waiting for me. You should see other guys. If you want.”
“We were never exactly going steady to begin with.”
“True. I knew I was crossing a line, asking you to come with me on the werewolf retreat. I’m sorry I pushed.” He let go of my hands. “I kind of thought you and that human detective—”
I put my finger on his lips to shush him. And now the kiss came: long, warm, deep, and sexy.
When it was over, I snuggled against his chest. He sighed, stroking my hair. “But if there is anyone else, he’ll have to fight me for you when I get back.”
LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, KANE WAS GONE. I COULDN’T believe it, but he was. And I wouldn’t see him for six whole months. I sat at the bar in Creature Comforts, feeling glum and half listening to Juliet chat up a Harvard graduate student who was studying Renaissance drama. He wanted to interview her for his dissertation; she wanted to drink his blood. Same old story.
Creature Comforts was busy—not as crowded as the night of Tina’s victory party, but doing good business. More norms had been coming in, as well as zombies, who were now allowed to roam the New Combat Zone without a permit, expanding their range beyond Deadtown by several blocks. Zombies couldn’t get drunk, but they sure as hell got hungry. Axel had had to quadruple the number of bar snacks he carried. “How’s business?” I asked him as he lumbered past, pushing that seven-foot body as fast as it would go. He grinned, showing his big square teeth, and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Hi,” said a voice to my left.
I turned on my stool to see Daniel standing there, smiling. Daniel. Alive and in one piece. His hair was a little shorter, and his blue eyes sparkled.
We took the same booth we’d sat in before. “You’re okay,” I said. I couldn’t help smiling back at him.
“Good as new.”
“I tried to call you. No answer at home, and at the precinct they said you were on leave. I had to hope that meant you were all right.”
“I had a concussion. No big deal. But they kept me out of sight for a few days while they figured out how they were going to spin this thing. You wouldn’t believe who got into the act: Massachusetts cops, New Hampshire cops, the Goon Squad, politicians, FBI, even Homeland Security.”
“I haven’t seen a word about it on the news.”
“They’re going to make an announcement tomorrow. Sheila Gravett was attacked and killed by one of her werewolf experiments when a keeper inadvertently left a door unlocked.” Well, that much was true. Sort of. “There’ll be nothing in the news about me. Nothing about you or Maria.”
That was good. I didn’t want Maria being dragged through the publicity machine. I felt a pang, hoping she was okay. I hadn’t heard anything from Gwen.
Daniel was silent for a while, picking at the label on his beer bottle. When he looked up, the sparkle was gone from his eyes. “I wasn’t much help to you up there.”
“You’re kidding, right? I never even would have made it across the state border without you.”
“Yeah, and then I got knocked out with my own gun.” He paused, looking down. “I saw what happened, Vicky. Security tapes, and Gravett had a video camera going. I watched everything. You saved my life.”
So he’d watched the shift, seen me in Harpy form. The knowledge of that squeezed at my heart. It hurt. I didn’t know what to say.
“What did you . . . ? What was that thing?” he asked, his voice low.
“I shifted into a Harpy. I didn’t even know it was possible for me to change into a demon.” I suspected it had to do with the Hellion mark, but that was a question I’d have to ask Aunt Mab. And I was still in avoidance mode—part of me didn’t want to know.
“I didn’t save you, Daniel. That Harpy wasn’t me. Well, it was, but not the real me. I wasn’t in control.” How could I explain this to him? “I don’t know why I chased that wolf-creature away from you. Maybe I wanted to eat you myself.” I reached across the table and touched his hand. Just lightly, just for a moment. “I’m not human. You’ve got to understand that.”
“I do.” Now he looked at me, something fierce in his eyes. “I also understand that it was you, whatever you say. The spark that’s Victory Vaughn didn’t go out just because you changed form. So you wanted to kill Gravett. I’d have killed her myself, given the chance. But you weren’t just some demon bent on revenge. You protected me. You saved Maria. Hell, from what Roxana told me, you saved the whole city of Boston. All of that was you, Vicky. All of that was brave and loyal and . . .” His hand captured mine and held it. “And beautiful.”
I blinked, because I’m not the kind of person who gets teary-eyed. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I should be thanking you.” His smile lit up the dim bar. “And I was hoping to do it with dinner this weekend.”
I drew back my hand. “I can’t.”
The light faded from his smile. Why did it hurt to see that?
“Is it because I’m human?” he asked.
“No, Daniel. It’s because you’re married. I’m not going to get between you and your wife.”