To his surprise, Ren didn’t say a word about the compromising position that he’d caught them in. Hell, Mike should be falling at Ren’s feet, thanking him for interrupting what would have most definitely been the biggest mistake of his sorry life. Instead, Mike stayed silent while Ren thoughtfully regarded him.
“Glad to see you’re alive and in one piece, Detective. What did Elle tell you?”
Mike sighed and walked back over to the couch before sitting down on the plush furniture. Fuckers had a lot of money that was for sure. His head throbbed and suddenly he had a hard time concentrating. He was simply exhausted.
“She told me that my life was in danger and that I had to stay here for the time being. Unless I had a death wish. Which much to my, and probably your dismay, I do not. At least not yet. I have some things to accomplish before I spend eternity in a different kind of hell.”
“Wow. You are the most depressing and cynical human I have ever encountered. You need therapy, my friend.”
Mike didn’t respond. The truth hurt.
“There are a couple of extra bedrooms on the third floor. I’ll show you where you can lay low until the danger passes and you can go back home. We’re getting close to finding Xavier, and hopefully recovering those missing girls, which I know is both of our priorities.”
“Wait. Girls? What girls?”
“The missing girls. You do remember the case you’re working on, right, Detective?”
“Yes, but I only know of one missing girl. Sarah Hill. Have you verified other missing girls?” He remembered Kate mentioning there were others, but no other missing young women had been reported recently. At least not in Milwaukee.
“This is really a vampire matter, human, but since you’re here indefinitely, you may as well make yourself useful. The short story is there are over two-dozen girls missing around the country that we’ve linked them to the same possible rogue vamp that took Sarah. How about you get some shut-eye first and we’ll bring you up to speed with rest of the details in the morning?”
Mike began to protest, but Ren interrupted. Jesus, were all vampires such poor listeners?
“No, Detective. Not up for further discussion now. I don’t know what happened tonight, but it looks like you were injured and you look like death warmed over. You need sleep and a good meal. Only then will we talk about the case. I assure you—we will fill you in completely and let you help with whatever you can. But in the morning.”
Mike nodded once, knowing he didn’t have the strength to argue.
“Fine.”
“Good.” Ren ushered him through the massive house to a hallway with several doors and stopped at the third door on the left.
“You can use this room. Has an en suite bathroom. For your own safety, I don’t need to tell you to not wander around without supervision. We’ll have someone bring you breakfast and fetch you in the morning when Dev is ready to meet.”
“Ah. So I am still a vampire’s prisoner. Just with a king sized bed and a walk in shower with multiple showerheads.”
Ren smirked. “Don’t forget the room service.”
“Right.”
“Hand over your guns.”
Mike glared at him. He didn’t want to be completely defenseless in a house full of vamps. “I don’t th—”
“I don’t give a shit what you think, Detective. Hand them over. All of them. Now.”
Mike retrieved both of his guns. The one strapped in his arm holster and the other on ankle. He reluctantly handed them over to him and Ren turned, walking back the way they came.
“Fucker,” he uttered under his breath.
Mike turned the knob, stepping into his posh prison cell, when Ren called to him from down the hall.
“One more thing, Detective. If you hurt Giselle, I will personally cut out your shriveled up heart, after I first suck your body dry of every single drop of blood. Sleep tight,” he said with a wink and a smile.
Mike closed his bedroom door, locking it from the inside. For all the good that would do. If the vamps wanted him dead when he slept, well, then…he would be. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop them. Especially now that he was sans weapons.
He had one thought as he fell into bed, clothes and all, before drifting off to sleep.
What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
Chapter 53
Kate
Kate awoke with a start. Instead of the hard manacles that had bound her for the past however many hours, she now had hard, muscular arms binding her to an equally hard, muscular body.
Dev.
He had finally freed her. She was instantly grateful, but anger promptly overrode that emotion. She tried to free herself, but his arms tightened around her, holding her more snugly to him.