Page 126 of Blood and Buttercups

“And if I confess?” Ethan says, his voice sharp with growing fear.

“Instead of, say, two life sentences, I’ll see if the judge will give you one.”

“How long is a life sentence?” I ask Noah quietly.

“When vampires are involved, it’s usually a hundred years, but often, they’ll be charged with multiple life sentences in severe cases.”

“And capital punishment?”

“It was officially abolished in Colorado in 2020, but it’s still doled out by the heads of a bloodline.”

Ethan looks like a cornered animal, his eyes moving between Cassian, Noah, and me.

“Noah, the stake,” Cassian says, extending his hand backward.

Noah hands him the weapon, and Ethan zeroes in on it, gulping.

“You’re out of time.” Cassian steps forward. “What will it be?”

I don’t think any of us expects Ethan to lunge forward, least of all me. But he leaps past Cassian, fangs bared like a cornered predator.

I scream, throwing my hands up like that will protect me. One second, he’s inches away from me, and the next, he’s on the floor. Noah pins him in place, and Cassian leans over him.

“That was the wrong choice, Ethan,” Cassian says, adjusting his grip on the stake.

“Reid,” Ethan sputters quickly. “He’s the head of the investigations division for the region. He made a deal with the woman who changed me.”

Noah jerks his head up to Cassian.

Cassian grasps Ethan by the collar of his polo shirt and yanks him to his feet. “What woman?”

“I don’t know her name.”

Cassian smashes him against the closest bookshelf. “What was her name?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” Ethan cries. “I really don’t. Please,I don’t know. She doesn’t share her name.”

Noah touches Cassian’s shoulder. “I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Fine,” Cassian says, looking like it’s taking a great deal of willpower to resist shoving the stake into the sniveling vampire’s heart. “Tell me everything else—and don’t leave anything out.”

“I will,” Ethan vows, tears welling in his eyes. “I swear, I will.”

With a heavy sigh, Cassian yanks him back to the chair. “Get on with it then.”

27

An hour later,we leave the storage closet. Cassian locks the door, trapping Ethan inside.

I guess this is a dungeon after all.

“What are you going to do with him?” I ask, so exhausted, I feel like I have the flu.

“I’m going to send Chase the confession tape,” Cassian replies, sounding just as weary as I am. “And then I imagine they’ll send someone to pick up Ethan.”

“Chase Anthony is the director of the western region of NIHA,” Noah explains.

“What about the police?” I say. “Don’t they need to know?”

---