“She bit me.” Leo’s voice thundered out suddenly and she could have sworn the ground actually shook beneath her. She glanced to the left, almost expecting to see a dragon standing there, but no, Leo was still in human form. Looking incredibly pissed, but human.
“I’ve never been bitten by a vampire, not in all of my centuries on this earth.” Fury twisted his face. “That’s a killing offense. For someone like her to bite me.” He waved toward Julian. “That’s your job, right? Assassin? To take out the paranormals who cross the line. She crossed it. She drank from me. So take care of her.”
Had he just ordered Julian to kill her?
But…
Julian didn’t come at her with his claws. Instead, he moved his body, positioning himself between her and Leo. “Bugger off,” he snapped at the Lord of the Light. “I don’t take orders from you. You aren’t the twin I work for, remember? And when Luke finds out that Rose took a bite out of you, he’s not going to order her death. He’ll probably decide to throw her a fucking party to celebrate.”
She rose onto her tip toes so that she could see over Julian’s shoulders. Leo’s face had mottled with fury. But she could tell…he knew Julian was right. Even she could imagine Luke’s perverse joy when he found out that she’d gotten to his brother. The first vamp to get close enough to damage Mr. Holier Than Thou? Luke might even give her a medal. “It’s your own fault,” she told him and his eyes turned to absolute slits of fury at her words. “I wanted to get to Julian. I kept telling you to let me go.”
“I was trying to help you! Ungrateful vamp!”
She shrugged. “You should have just let me go to him. He was hurting. He needed me.”
But Leo shook his head. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
She’d gotten her shifter back. That was what she’d done.
“The tranqs were stronger than any I’ve faced before,” Julian said. He didn’t relax his guard for a moment, and he kept his body positioned between her and Leo. “After the last hit, I had to force my panther to the surface. I knew if there was any chance of me staying conscious, the beast had to be fully in control. But even then…it was touch and go. The panther had to claw its way out of me.”
Leo was silent a moment. His face stayed tense and Rose wondered if an explosion was imminent. But then his shoulders relaxed a bit. “You are as strong as Luke always said. Now I see why he made the deal with you.” His gaze slid to Rose. “Though it’s not a deal I appreciate right at this moment.”
“Stop being a baby,” she muttered, annoyed. They had bigger problems to deal with right then.
“A what?” It sounded as if Leo were choking.
Rose barely controlled an eye roll. “It was only a few sips. Not enough to do any serious damage to you.”
“It’s not the damage to me I’m worried about.”
What was that even supposed to mean? “Your blood wasn’t that good, buddy. I get more of a rush with Julian.”
His glower got worse. “I want my angel back,” Leo announced. He pointed at Julian. “You were supposed to get your vamp, and stick to her like glue. Twenty-four, seven, remember? That was the deal. You were supposed to find out the identity of the Collector. You were supposed to find out where he is keeping his prisoners. You were not supposed to leave the vamp’s side so you could get tranqed—”
“Leo, you’re bossy as hell.” And Julian’s fingers threaded with Rose’s. “Come on, love. We’re going to the house so you can get dried off and changed.”
She felt a smile curve her lips. He did that a lot. Took care of her. Sure, he was primitive and scary and beast-like, but he had a different side—a protective side. One that seemed to come out with her.
They headed forward but Leo didn’t get out of their path. She was pretty sure that Julian would move the guy if Leo didn’t get the hint.
Leo kept glaring.
Her skin began to itch. Weird.
“Just so you know…” Julian drawled. “I found out the identity of the Collector. It’s a guy named Simon Lorne. Thought he was a human at first, then I realized he’s the one tossing out compulsions like candy to the mortals. That trigger happy human who pumped me full of tranqs? She was sent out here on his command. Probably because he thought we’d play nice and not hurt her.”
Leo’s face was a dull red. “Because you aren’t supposed to hurt humans!”