Page 13 of Touched By Darkness

“I would never hurt you,” he says, and his voice comes out at odds with his burly frame. It’s careful like he doesn’t want to hurt me with it. “You said that he was about to rape you. I-It...” He looks down at his hands. “The bastard is lucky he’s dead.”

No words ever caught me so off guard. I jerk as if he had slapped me. “What?”

“He’s lucky he’s dead.” He meets my gaze once more, and his eyes burn with intensity. “Or I would have killed him with my own hands.”

I swallow. “I thought you were the good guy?” My Good Guy Meter must be so damn off.

A smile slashes across his lips. “There are no good guys here, mate.”

A beat passes, then another. My heartbeat slows down. “What are you going to do to me?”

I meant it as inare you still going to arrest me?But the way he looks at me makes me think of all the dirty shit we could do together in this room. Unfortunately, the dead guy at the foot of my bed is a mood breaker.

Hot Cop shifts his weight between his feet, then offers a hand. “Apollo.”

His name. Oh, yeah, I’ve been wanting to climb him and rub all over his cock without even knowing his name. “Cassandra,” I say, taking his hand. A sharp jolt races up my arm, but I stop myself from pulling back. “But you already know that.”

Apollo smiles. “That I do. And on what I’m going to do...” He studies my face once more, not letting go of my hand. “If you surrender, it’ll be easier, Cassandra. I’ll be with you every step of the way. Surrendering gives you better chances with the judge.”

I arch an eyebrow. “A judge that already hates me because I killed the Chosen One?”

Apollo twists his lips. “I can’t say. Not everyone liked the boy, but he was important. We don’t know when we’ll get the chance to destroy the Cursed Realm now.” He releases a sigh. “We can tell them you didn’t know you had magic. It was an accident. They won’t be too rough.”

I nod and motion with my chin to the dead vampire on the floor. “What about that? Isn’t he one of yours? Why did you kill him?”

Apollo looks over his shoulder at the corpse, then back at me, a crease between his brows. “First, I didn’t kill him. That’s a vampire.”

“Looks pretty dead to me.”

Apollo shakes his head. “They only die if you cut off the head. A bullet between the eyes is the best way to slow them down, but it doesn’t stop them.”

My stomach roils. “So the fucker can bounce back?”

He nods. “No idea why he was after you, but I don’t work with vampires. I’ll keep you safe from them.”

I swallow hard. So the vampire was not a cop? Or was he a cop that Apollo doesn’t know? Because I can’t see why anyone but the police would be after me. Apollo’s thumb moves on the back of my hand, gentle strokes that make me all gushy and willing. I’d love to fold myself on his lap, his thick arms around me. Life is never that easy.

I meet his eyes. “You promise you would stand by me?” At least I would have someone. It would be the first time in my life someone had my back. “You promise they won’t hurt me?”

Apollo nods. “Of course.”

Lie.

CHAPTER7

CASSANDRA

Sometimes, this weird sixth sense that tells me someone is lying is a burden. Most of the time, not. Today I wish Apollo could have fooled me. It would make things easier. Just end with it.

I’m aware he’s lying, and I can’t just stand down and let him take me in. Just as I let his hand go, my other goes for the mug on the corner of my easy chair. Apollo’s eyes move, following my motion, but his guard down is down and isn’t fast enough to stop me.

I slam the mug onto his head, and it crashes with a shattering sound. He grunts, but I don’t stay to watch the fallout. A part of me hopes he doesn’t get hurt, the same part that ached when I felt his lie. For a short, stupid moment, I hoped I could trust him. Me and my idiotic hopes. I’m twenty-five, and I still haven’t learned they take me nowhere.

Apollo sways on his feet, closer to the window. I can’t escape through there, not so close to his hands, so I jump into action, running into the bedroom. My legs pump me down the hallway, but Apollo’s footfalls are right behind me, thundering so loud it feels like the house’s shaking.

Fuck fuck fuck.

My teeth clatter and fear rushes through my veins, but there’s also something else. There’s an intention so fierce, a need so bright to get out of here that I don’t stop. I make it to the vampire, the broken window my only focus, when something tugs at my shirt.

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