Marked By The Vampire (Purgatory 2)

“Are you quite certain?” A darker note had entered his voice.

“We haven’t.” She would have remembered him.

“Um…” The guy didn’t sound convinced. Too bad for him. The warden wasn’t exactly making a stellar impression on her. There was something about him that unnerved her. And after spending so much time with killers, her nerves were usually much stronger.

Footsteps approached her little room. She knew those steps belonged to the guards. No doubt they were bringing in her first research inmate. She’d been given the list of interview subjects right after she’d gone to her temporary quarters, and unless she was very wrong about one of the names on that list—

“Hello, again, love.”

He’s here.

Shane stood in the doorway. He was smiling, flashing his fangs.

Shane Morgan. She’d read through his file. Actually, she’d read it four times. Maybe five. Shane Morgan was a vampire who’d been found guilty of killing four men in a Chicago bar. According to the notes she’d reviewed, he’d never shown any remorse for his crime.

And the prosecutor had strongly suspected that Shane had killed many, many other times before he’d been caught that dark and deadly Chicago night.

“I was hoping to see you again,” he said as his stare seemed to stroke right over her. There was definitely a sensual edge to those words.

Olivia’s hands flattened on the table. Sunlight streamed into the room, onto Shane, but he didn’t appear at all affected. “I’m here to ask you some questions.”

The guards pushed him into the room. Shoved him into the chair across from her, and locked manacles around his wrists. The manacles were attached to the heavy stone in the floor.

“Love, you can ask me any damn thing you want.”

Case stiffened and shot away from the wall. “Watch it, vampire.”

“Ah…Warden Killian, isn’t it? What a f**king unpleasure it is to meet you.”

Case’s expression darkened. “Vamp, you need to—”

“Warden, I need you to leave the room while I talk with the subject,” Olivia said quickly. The last thing she wanted right then was a confrontation between those two. No more blood on the floor! Now she was realizing why the place had been bleached.

She didn’t want a brawl right in front of her. And if Shane felt threatened, hell, he definitely wouldn’t open up to her. She had to get him to talk. Olivia cleared her throat and told Case, “I’ve found that I can get individuals to talk more freely when—”

“You want me to leave you alone with a vampire?” Case stared at her as if Olivia were totally insane.

I’m not. “The sun’s up. He’s chained. He’s no threat.”

Shane laughed softly.

“And the cameras are on.” She didn’t like them, but there they were, watching and recording their every move. “If anything happens, I’m sure a guard could be in here in less than a minute.” Because she knew there were guards watching those video feeds.

Case’s hands had fisted. “You could be dead in less than a minute’s time. Before the guards had a chance to get in this room.”

That was not an ending she was particularly planning for right then. “I’ve been alone with killers before. I assure you, I can handle this.”

A muscle flexed in Case’s jaw, but after a moment, he gave a rough nod. “Have it your way.” But he didn’t head for the door. Instead, he stalked toward Shane and stopped when he was less than a foot away from the vampire. He glared at the vamp. “Move to hurt her in any way, and I’ll throw your ass in solitary.”

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Shane asked, voice curious.

Case moved closer to Shane. “You haven’t seen my solitary confinement…yet.” The threat hung in the air.

Olivia realized that she was barely breathing.

Then Case pulled back. He nodded once more to her and headed for the door. The guards filed out after him. When the door swung shut, the clang seemed to echo around her.

“Take a breath now,” Shane advised her.

Her breath rushed out.

Shane’s lips tightened. “You shouldn’t be in this damn place.”

She sat down in her chair. The wooden chair legs wobbled beneath her, much like her own legs had a tendency to do. “I’m only here temporarily,” Olivia told him quietly, “but unless I’m wrong, I think you’re here for the next hundred years.” Give or take a decade.

He leaned toward her. The chains stretched a bit with his movement. “We’ll see about that.”

She looked into his eyes. They were strangely beautiful eyes, compelling and deep. Flecks of gold were hidden in those green depths. He was handsome, dangerously so, and she wondered if he’d used his good looks to lure in prey over the years.

“I do wish I could read your thoughts,” he murmured as he gave a slow shake of his head.

“I’m here to find out why you kill,” Olivia blurted, then her lips clamped shut in horror. She’d meant to be more tactful. Meant to lead up to that part, but, well, her nerves must have taken over and those words had tumbled out.

“Are you now?” His fingers drummed on the edge of the table. “Then let me save you some time. I kill because I’m a vampire. That’s sort of our thing.”

Lie. “Not all vampires kill their prey. Not all vampires even drink from live sources. Some drink from blood bags and never even touch live prey at all.” How did some survive so easily that way? While others seemed to love the violence and fury of murdering a human?

His green gaze held hers. “Lions don’t let their prey just wander away after they take a little bite.”

No, lions didn’t. Their powerful teeth tore into their prey. They devoured.

“Half of the thrill is in the hunt…the other half is in the victory of the kill.” Shane pushed back his shoulders. Seemed to focus totally and completely on her.

Just as she was focused entirely on him. Olivia wouldn’t make notes on their meeting. Not yet. She’d wait until he’d left her, then she’d gather her thoughts about the vampire. “You were hunted once.” She had to point that out. “That’s how you became a vampire.” She wanted to see if he could have empathy for his victims. Because, once, he’d been a victim, too.

But his expression didn’t change.

“Do you remember being afraid?” Olivia asked him.