Captivated (Deep in Your Veins 6)

Coop pursed his lips. “I guess so.”

“I think he does care for you,” she told him. “But Derek … he has to own people. It’s his thing. And he never releases what he owns. If he believes you belong to him, you’ll have trouble shaking him off, Coop.”

“I have a question,” I cut in. “Why don’t you want to shake him off?”

She bit her lip. “I should want that, shouldn’t I? But I’ve been at his side since the day he Turned me over two hundred years ago. I don’t know how to be without him.”

“Because he’s made you feel that you can’t,” I said. “We can help you break free of him.”

She grimaced and glanced at the door. “I don’t know if I could fit into the world out there. Not after so many years of living here.”

I frowned. “No one’s saying you have to leave the island.”

The sound of dishware shattering split the air.

Beatrix softly cursed. “I have to go,” she said, giving us both apologetic looks. “I hope you both enjoy your meal. Your waitress will be here soon.” With that, she scampered.

Coop puffed out a breath. “She made a good point. If she was really the bad guy in this scenario, Derek would ask Sam and Jared to relocate her. I mean, I’d want someone out of my life if they kept trampling all over it.”

“Yes, so would I. Do you still intend to hear Derek out?”

“At least once. If nothing else, it’ll give me some closure.”

Just then, the waitress entered.

Shaking off external matters, Coop and I turned to enjoying our date.

CHAPTER SIX

(Ryder)

Hiding how weary I felt from the Grand High Pair wasn’t easy when I was chugging down NSTs like it was my job. But, whether I liked it or not, overusing my psychic hand always took its toll. The breaks helped, of course. Still, a dull throb assailed the backs of my eyes, and an ache had settled in the base of my skull—it was the same at the end of each evening.

They were necessary pains, though. The culprit needed to be caught. Members of the legion had brought back yet more infected animals. Each time, I’d been glad it wasn’t Maya’s squad who’d discovered one. Killing the creatures hit her too hard. Okay, it hit everyone hard. But I gave few fucks about ‘everyone.’ My main concern was Maya.

Leaving her last night hadn’t been anywhere near as easy as I’d wanted her to believe. But she’d needed a distraction from all that was happening, and I wasn’t the kind of distraction that brought her comfort. Not when there was so much history and tension between us. Coop was easier for her to be around, which stung like a motherfucker but was truly my own fault.

Still, I wouldn’t have been able to walk away if I hadn’t been so certain that the date wouldn’t lead to anything. There was no sexual chemistry between them at all. And I knew Maya. Knew she’d never desire someone who would need her to be in control—she just didn’t function that way. Finding someone attractive and wanting to sleep with them … the two things didn’t always go together.

Sam groaned, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Why can nothing be simple anymore?” she griped, rubbing her temples.

Standing beside her office chair, Jared settled his hand on her shoulder. “Things are rarely simple in the world of vampires.”

Sam looked up at me. “I hate how much this is exhausting you. I hate that animals are being savagely ripped apart. I hate that we don’t have our culprit yet.”

Jared stroked her hair. “That’s a lot of hate, baby.”

“Righteous hate.”

“I’m not arguing that.”

“God, why couldn’t the arsehole have decided to do a runner? I thought they would. I thought they’d flee once they heard that Ryder would be scanning minds. Either they think they can hide the truth from him, or they’re not planning to scamper just yet.”

Sitting on Jared’s desk, I said, “Maybe we should do something to tempt the fucker to give themselves up.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. We could say that they’ll get leniency if they fess up.”

Jared snorted. “They’d never believe that we’d give them any mercy. They’d definitely never believe it of you.”

She exhaled heavily. “I guess I just hoped that luck would give us a helping hand and let us find the culprit fast.”

I personally didn’t believe in luck. Some would say I should, given how close I’d come to death. If Sebastian hadn’t come along exactly when he had, I’d be gone for sure. But I didn’t consider that to be a case of luck, because I hadn’t been the only person who was attacked that night. Where was ‘luck’ when Raquel and our unborn child needed help? Nowhere.

Jared looked at me. “You should head on home. Get some rest.”