Simon knew where this was going. Knew, and didn’t like it.
“Now it’s time to hunt these bastards,” she said. “Because I really don’t like it when jerkoffs try to kill me, especially when I’m already down.”
“Can’t say I like it much, either,” Simon added.
Tony’s gaze snapped to him, then back to Dee. “You really think you’ll be able to find the vamps?”
A little shrug. “It’s what I do.” Her chin was up. The woman was cute when she was promising death. “I was weak before, I’m not now.”
Yeah, um, humans didn’t recover that fast from concussions and gunshots. Maybe she was feeling all good and vampire-pumped-for-killing, but the woman still wasn’t 100 percent.
Neither was he.
Not yet.
“Brass is leaning on me like a tree about to fall.” Tony blew out a hard breath. “It’s those witnesses who say they saw you fighting with the vic at Onyx. They’re nailing your coffin shut.”
Her gaze darted to Simon. “That part’s right, Tony. Lisa…met me behind the bar. She was working for the vamps.”
“A lure?” the cop asked.
“More a messenger,” Simon said. “You know, the cheery kind that comes and says You’re going to die. Beg for death. Blah. Blah.”
Tony blinked.
Dee gave a little shrug. “She pissed me off. I lost my temper.”
“That’s the problem.” Lines of worry tightened the cop’s face. “Too many folks know about that temper of yours. It’s not a leap to think you met up with the woman again, and got angry one more time, so angry you didn’t stop yourself when the stake came out. After all, it’s easy to kill, isn’t it? So easy.”
The guy sounded like he was speaking from experience. As if he could ever compare. “Give us time and we’ll prove Dee’s innocent.” The words snapped out. Not what he’d been planning. Simon rubbed his temples. The throbbing was getting worse. The sleep hadn’t been enough for him. To recover fully, he’d need so much more.
“The DA knows the score about this town,” Dee told them. “Pak told me, after Erin Jerome’s case…the DA knows.”
Erin Jerome. Simon knew the name. Erin was the assistant district attorney. She was also involved with one of the Night Watch hunters, Jude, the shifter.
“Figured the bastard knew more than he let on.” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “Too many cases that seemed to disappear before court date.”
“This one has to disappear, too.” Dee’s body vibrated with tension. “I’ll bring you a witness. I’ll bring proof that I’m innocent, and I want Clark to make this thing vanish.”
“And the vamps?”
“I’ll make them vanish.”
Big promise. Real tough to keep.
Tony stared at her. Too deep and way too long.
“Tony, give me this time. You know me.”
Too well it seemed.
A grim nod. “Forty-eight hours.”
“Tony—”
“It’s all I can do. I’m not the only one on this case and I won’t be able to hold the others back longer than that.” A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Forty-eight hours—and you bring me a vamp who’ll convince Clark you’re clear or else I’ll have to lock you up.”
She whistled. “Not giving me much time to work, are you?”
“I’m giving you all that I can.” He stepped toward her, cupped her cheek with his palm, and very nearly lost a hand. “The last thing I want is to have to take you in, but I might not have a choice.”
Simon gave him a long, level look. “There’s always a choice.” Always. Might not be the right choice, and that was the problem.
Tony dropped his hand. “Guess you’re gonna be her backup?”
“Guess so.”
“Then you’d better take care of her or I’ll be coming to kick your ass.”
Doubtful.
The cop headed for the door. “Better hurry out of here,” he tossed back, “the way I figure it, two squad cars will be pulling up in about thirty minutes.”
Dick.
“You sent the uniforms after me?” A whistle. “Damn, man, you really did come to toss me in jail.”
The dick in question glanced back at Dee. “No.” A hint of sadness there. Regret. “I came to give you a chance, one I knew the others wouldn’t. And that’s why the uniforms won’t be arriving until you’re gone.” A flash of white teeth. “So move that sweet ass, Dee. Get out there and find those vamps.”
“So where the hell are we headed?” Simon asked, and tightened his fingers around the leather steering wheel. They’d been staying to the back roads, trying to fly under the radar as they headed back to the city, and the silence—thick, heavy—was getting on his last nerve.