Rafe glowered at Halo.

“I get it. She’s yours,” Halo said with a chuckle as he held up his hands to show him he wasn’t putting them anywhere near her. “I’ll mind my distance.”

“See that you do,” Rafe said darkly.

“So? Is she going to be all right?”

“I think so. They didn’t give her enough to kill her. They just wanted her dirty. Whether it was to feed on her or to keep me from feeding on her, I’m not sure. She didn’t let it get that far.”

“She fought well in spite of the poison that’s in her. I’m really damn impressed.”

“So am I,” Rafe said softly. He cradled her in one arm and brushed back her hair with his free hand. She was so beautiful, even in this drugged-up state. Her face was so relaxed, she looked like a blond angel. All she was missing was a pair of grand white wings. She had flown into his life like she had been on fast, divine wings. She had changed him…and all for the better.

To be touched by such divinity had to change a man. Even a vampire. He had her now, and he wasn’t going to let her go. Of course, keeping her was going to be tricky business. She was too independent to allow someone else into her life completely. He knew that much about her. For all her bravery, she was scared of the one thing she couldn’t control…her feelings. Oh, she could tell herself quite firmly what to make of a situation emotionally, but the more intense emotions—the ones she couldn’t control—those she wouldn’t want to deal with.

Well, he would be both patient and determined. He would find his way into her heart as slowly or as quickly as was needed, and he would make her realize it whether she wanted to or not. It would simply take some time.

And time was something he had plenty of.

Chapter 22

The treaty was signed four days later. One prince after another stepped up to the table and signed his or her name to the treaty. Renee was gifted with a front row seat as the queen was the last to step up to the document and sign her name with a flourish.

Afterward there was a grand ball and Renee found herself dressed in the most expensive dress she had ever owned and an equally posh pair of heels—both thanks to Rafe. He had also given her a teardrop diamond pendant to wear with the dress’s décolletage. She had protested all of it of course, not wanting to take advantage of his wealth. She didn’t need to be kept. But he had requested she accept the gifts and appealed, of course, to her logic. He had pointed out how much she would hate standing out like a sore thumb if she were dressed differently than those around her. At least this way she could blend in, not be noticed as much.

She had pounced on that reasoning. She didn’t want to be the center of attention anymore. Ever since Killean’s defeat she had been an object of curiosity and adulation. The vampires were fascinated by her, by the fact that a human had the power and wherewithal to bring one of the most powerful sycophants out there to heel.

But to her mind it could just as easily have gone another way. Had she not caught them by surprise—had the drugs affected her more quickly—there was no telling what would have happened. True there had been vampires waiting in the wings but she had still gotten lucky. When she had gone into the situation she had known enough to make her peace with the world; she had known she might not make it out in one piece.

But that had been a familiar sensation for her. She’d felt it dozens of times before as a street cop when facing down a perp with a gun or being a female cop outnumbered by men. She knew every time she put on her gun that something could happen. That each day could be her last. She was willing to put it all on the line for her job in order to do the right thing. And that was what she had done in the sycophants’ nest. She had done what was right, no matter the cost to her.

She had been sick from the heroin for two days. She had called in sick on Monday, something she never did, and stayed curled up in bed with Rafe the entire day. She had protested his presence, knowing there were dozens of diplomats out there that he should be taking care of, but he had hushed her and ignored his responsibilities, telling her he would not be missed. She didn’t believe him, but she hadn’t had the energy or the desire to fight him on it. She liked being snuggled up with him. She liked sitting and talking to him and sharing their dreams of the future. His dreams for the vampire nation and hers for her career. Although there was a shift in her desires for the future. There had to be if she was going to continue to go through the world with the knowledge of his species.

For instance, her two murder cases. They would have to remain unsolved in the human world. Video of the area during the crimes had shown nothing, and all other avenues of the investigation had led nowhere. It would be up to the vampires to police the sycophant doing those terrible things. She still suspected it was Roth…but she had to leave him to Halo. She trusted Rafe to know if that was what was best. Humans would have very little hope of bringing a phant in for justice. She had only done so through pure luck and with a lot of vampire backup. And with a keen insider’s knowledge of what she was dealing with. Human cops like Jimmy would never know that they couldn’t hurt a phant or a vampire unless they severed the brain stem. It was a very specific action—one not likely to be stumbled upon by chance.

Renee still couldn’t shake the feeling she wasn’t clean on the inside. Rafe said it would fade with time and she knew that it would, but for the moment she felt like it was an inescapable sensation. There were those who said all it took was one time using drugs in order to get hooked on them. But she wouldn’t fall into that way of thinking. That trap. She was stronger than that. Besides, she knew Rafe wouldn’t let her.

She caught herself in the thought and it made her laugh softly to herself. Since when had she come to depend on him for something so vital? Well, that was an easily answered question. Since she had bet her life on him coming through for her with Killean. And even though she had taken very good care of herself, she never would have pulled it off if he hadn’t been there to distract all the other sycophants in the room. He had saved her just as much as she had saved him. They had worked in concert. They had been partners.

It was a good feeling. It was like what she felt toward Jimmy. That she could depend on him no matter what. But she also knew it went beyond what her relationship was with her partner. With Jimmy there had never been this hungry attraction like she felt with Rafe. It seemed the more they made love, the stronger it grew. It was actually a little frightening. She didn’t know what to do with the strength of her feelings. She couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same way.