Page 36 of Taken By the Ripper
“I need your help again,” Claude said with a weary sigh. “With the victims. Well, with one victim, as the other was a cleaner death.”
“Oh.” She glanced down at the coffee canister she’d set aside, disappointment rolling through her stomach before she managed to stop it. “I suppose the coffee was a bribe.”
Half his mouth twitched in an almost-smile. “My superiors won’t pay a female doctor, so I’m taking it upon myself to reimburse you with your favorite drink.”
“All you had to do was bribe me with the macabre and good company.”
“Oh?” He lifted an eyebrow, and for a moment, the darkness and exhaustion disappeared from his countenance. “I had no idea you thought so highly of me.”
She playfully smacked his shoulder, which elicited a tired smile from his lips. “I was talking about the corpses. They’re delightful company, so I hear.”
By the stars, she had to stop flirting and end whatever this was. She’d made her choice.
She cleared her throat and reached for her basket to pack supplies. But too late, she realized it was the same basket she hadn’t touched since her visit to Claude’s office. The same basket where she had hidden his case files. The same basket in which they still hid.
And too late, she was unable to correct herself as the basket tipped off balance with the odd distribution of weight, and the files spilled out of the basket and fluttered to the floor.
All over Claude’s feet.
They both stared at the files, shock in each of their expressions. And then he slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes searching hers as if looking for innocence he was not going to find.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, the words inadequate on her tongue. She was sorry for so many things, but by now the list had grown too long to conceal.
“You were the one who took my files,” he accused in a disbelieving, husky tone. “I’ve spent weeks on this case. Months! And here you were buttering me up so I would never suspect you.”
She ran her hands over her hair and locked her fingers behind her neck as the stress of the entire situation came tumbling down like a pile of boulders crashing down a mountain. “It’s not what it looks like, Claude. I swear!”
“Not what it looks like?” he said, raising his voice as he gestured to the loose papers scattered over the floor. “It was you! You lied. You…you…kissedme! It all makes sense now, and it makes me sick to my stomach.”
One of her patients stuck his head out of the curtain concealing him, unabashedly watching their argument unfold.
She dropped her hands to her side and spun to face him, ignoring the several pairs of eyes watching them. She was eighty percent sure one of them was Norma hiding behind the corner. “This case is a very bad idea. I’ve been telling you this for weeks.”
“That’s not for you to decide. This is my occupation, Clara. This is mylivelihood.Besides, what gives you the right to do something like this?”
“You don’t know what you’re mixed up in!”
“And you do?”
She clamped her mouth shut, but her silence was enough to incriminate her. His jaw became slack. His eyes stared back at her in disbelief. The weight of the hurt and betrayal in his expression was enough to nearly crumple her.
“What do you know?” He grabbed her wrist and held on tight, leading her away from watchful eyes and listening ears, stopping only when they reached the middle of the hallway. When she tried to pull away, his grip only tightened. “Tell me what you know. Are you involved? Who did you steal the files for? Are you the Ripper’s accomplice?”
“At least bribe me with a night on the town before throwing all your questions at me,” she jested feebly, her stomach on the verge of heaving. This was not what she’d wanted. Surely, she was going to jail. And for what? Had Jack used her? Showered her with kisses and sweet words until she was head over heels and committed to him? She had helped him slow down the detective’s case, and she would be the one to pay for it.
Although she still didn’t want to betray the Ripper despite everything, she had to give Claude something. Anything. Even a portion of the truth.
“I had to pick up a shipment from the post office at night,” she said in a shaky tone. “I-I-I was followed by vampires. They tried to infect me with…with…”
She squeezed her eyes shut, and only then did Claude’s grip on her relax. However, he didn’t release her.
“With what?” he asked softly, the hardness in his eyes melting to something kinder and more human. “And you should have told me. You knew you could trust me with this. I’m trying to help.”
Shaking her head, she took a step back, and this time, he allowed her to take her wrist back. “This is bigger than you, Claude. You’ll get yourself killed, and I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”
A storm of emotion erupted in the blue of his eyes. Betrayal. Passion. A spark of determination. “What are you infected with? Vampirism?”
She pressed her lips together and stared at the floor rather than the tempest in his eyes. “I’m not infected with anything. I was saved from the vampires before they managed to do anything.”
