Page 44 of The Psychic and the Vampire

“The question has been raised and answered with my resignation from my position as police consultant. I have my own consulting company. Bridget will be thrilled to hear I can now take on more private clients.”

“You should also note, Captain,” Viktor said gravely, “that it is also against paranormal law for any company or organization to insist that any person work without access to their mate. In some species any separation can cause irreparable mental stress and even physical harm, especially among shifters and vampires. I’dbe very surprised if your concerned parties were not aware of that. You are being played, Captain, but that doesn’t mean that Ant or I have to play that game with you or your concerned parties.”

“Exactly.” Ant was pleased he and his mate were on the same page. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really have to go and pick up my dog. It’s been very difficult not having him with me. Have a good day.”

“It’s very arousing when you get all professional with someone,” Viktor murmured in his ear as they made their way back to Viktor’s new SUV.

“I thought you were as keen on picking up Able as I am.” Ant flicked a quick look at his mate’s face, but the vampire’s expression hadn’t changed.

“I am. I miss that furball, too. That’s why I verbalized my appreciation of your talents, rather than acting on those thoughts. I am showing you affection and appreciation without us changing our plans.”

“Ah.” Ant chuckled. “I see how that works now. In the same spirit then, I can say that I find your straight talk very arousing for me and know that won’t change our plans either. I like that idea.”

Viktor groaned as he reached for the passenger door handle. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut,” he muttered. “Focus on the furball. Let’s focus on the furball.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

“I wouldn't be surprised if you started to resent ever meeting me,” Viktor said as he navigated the traffic toward the veterinary clinic. “Between the abduction and Able being shot, and now you've lost your job, I think most people would feel resentful about things like that. Is that why you've been quiet since we left the office? Do you regret handing in your resignation?”

“What?” Ant said. “No, no, I wasn't quiet because of that. I could’ve been thinking about how comfortable this new vehicle is and how difficult it is to hear the engine with the windows closed. Very nice. But no, I'm not upset about the job. It was my choice to hand in my resignation and I believe that was the right thing to do. I was actually thinking about how I don’t understand how people can allow themselves to be so easily manipulated, like Captain Bains. I told him that it was happening, and he still didn’t change his mind.”

Ant sighed. “I do feel sorry for the cases I won’t be able to help with. I know my input can often reduce the time it takes for criminals to be brought before the justice system, and my testimony is often vital in cases where evidence is in short supply. But that’s not on me, or you for that matter. I’ve never been a police officer. I was just a consultant.”

“Hmm, fair enough,” Viktor said. “You would tell me if you were feeling any resentment toward me in any way, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m sure you’ve learned by now I’m bluntly honest,” Ant said simply. “My brain just refuses to work any other way. I would never resent you for things that are out of your control, and if your behavior bothered me any time in the future, I would say so. I do have one concern with us, going forward, though.”

“I’ve said before you can tell or ask me anything.” Viktor was sure his mate could probably feel how relieved he was by Ant’s honesty. They hadn’t talked much at all since being home…and yes, Viktor might have been a tiny bit obsessed in the way he kept checking that Ant was breathing. But he also understood most people needed to talk things out to overcome trauma.

“I’m worried you might have gotten the wrong idea about my life, quite frankly,” Ant admitted. “I agree things have been a little bit exciting lately. At least I think that's the word a person would use. Not that I see it that way – more hectic or chaotic - but anyway. I am a little worried that you might have gotten a misguided idea of what my life is generally like. It’s usually very boring. Just ask Bridget.”

Viktor laughed. “I don't know about you, but I could probably do with a bit of boredom. But explain to me what you mean about not understanding people's motivations. I'm curious how you see it.”

The traffic seemed really busy for the time of day, although it was around lunchtime, so Viktor assumed that was normal. He wasn't usually up before evening, back when his life revolved around Tony, so it could be that the traffic was always heavy. He wasn’t concerned.

The new SUV drove like a dream. It was just the traffic meant getting from the police station to the veterinary clinic was taking longer than he thought it would. But that meant they had a chance for a chat and Viktor was genuinely curious about how his unusual mate saw the events of the past few days and what had just gone on in Captain Bains's office.

Ant took a moment to answer. “Would you agree that Captain Bains is being manipulated?”

Viktor nodded. “Yes, I think that's more than obvious from what he said, from the way he was behaving, and then more importantly, from the things he didn't say such as the names of those concerned parties.”

“Ah, good,” Ant said. “I’m glad you picked up on that too. I was curious about that. But let's say that there are nefarious shadow figures working behind the scenes trying to manipulate prominent citizens. What do they get out of it? Like what would a person get out of forcing you to be apart from me or from me to not work at the police station anymore? I don't understand their mentality.”

“That’s because at heart you are a good person,” Viktor said slowly. “I think, and this is only from my experiences from living through various lifetimes and seeing how different people react to each other, and bearing in mind that I am a paranormal who hasn’t involved themselves in non-para activities that often, that pressure is likely coming indirectly from any one of the numerous criminal families in town.

“Tony was never the only one. But because of your known association with me now and the fact that these people believe I have inside info on how criminal activities in town are actually conducted, they could be concerned that I might steer you in one direction on a case that might have otherwise been overlooked by law enforcement. That’s just my take on the situation.”

“See, I don’t understand that line of thinking because that’s based on an assumption by these people that I can’t think for myself. Do people do that? Do people genuinely try to manipulate other people just so they can continue being criminals?”

“No criminal ever wants to get caught. We had a case like that just two days ago,” Viktor reminded him. “Thinking about thissituation with the captain, though, he clearly didn't want you to leave, but he was convinced that your relationship to me wasn't important for whatever reason.

“Somebody, and clearly I have no idea who that is at this moment, but somebody who did have more of an awareness of what a mating is like between paranormals, put that option to him citing law and order. You heard what the captain said. He had been manipulated into believing that I would mess up a crime scene or act like a...what were his words?”

“Judge, jury and executioner. I didn't like that,” Ant said. “If anything, I was the one who did that, by telling you that I had seen how dirty those two were. At the time, I really wasn't in a frame of mind where I could have suggested, hey, just tie them up and put a sock in their mouths, and we'll let the authorities deal with it later. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how close to death I was, but I was concerned for all of us.”

Ant trembled and looked out of the passenger window, perhaps hoping that Viktor wouldn't notice. Viktor laid a hand on his shoulder briefly, and then put both hands back on the steering wheel because he knew that that was what Ant preferred.

“Bullets hit you,” Ant said, his voice still shaky. “I know they didn’t hurt you, but I watched them hit you. I didn't know. I've read Dr. Pike's papers, and I know that vampires are pretty much completely immune to most weapons a person could wield. They can heal from most injuries…they can…

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