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But he was a vampire And a vampire was normally loath to kill another vampire

"The corpse?" she asked briskly

"The corpse will have nothing but a tiny hole through the heart If you had done this, it would have been obvious that someone had been here Do you understand?"

"Your weapon is the right one I’ll see that I improve on my arsenal," she snapped

"We need to finish up quickly," he said

He hurried back to the autopsy roo the hallway after she followed hi the door

"The sheet," he said, which irritated Fiona, since she was already returning Tina Lawrence to her original position on the table and covering her with the sheet

Jagger just had to straighten it

"Now let’s get the hell out of here," he said

He changed in a split second, appearing to be nosilently, she did her best to e as quickly and efficiently

Still, he looked ih she couldn’t have been more than a few seconds behind hiht," he told her

They had iant oak that dripped ly handso electric streetlight Powerful in a way that was frightening, that stole her breath

She wasn’t afraid of him, she told herself

She was the Keeper

"I was there to see that the right thing was done," she said with dignity "And I would have ed just fine--if you hadn’t co up"

"I’e any situation--especially one that has to do with vampires"

"I repeat I am responsible I am the Keeper Your Keeper"

He bristled at that, and took a step closer to her He used a body wash or aftershave that was subtle and masculine, and despite herself, she took a step backward, not sure if it was because she was intimidated--or because she found herself too attracted, too tempted to lay her hands on the broad expanse of his chest

She forced herself to stay still as he took a step closer to her, pointing a finger and touching her just above her cleavage "You are the Keeper But you’re overstepping your bounds You’re supposed to step in e can’t handle a situation ourselves In this case, I was handling the situation just fine"

She shook her head "I can’t trust you to kill a vampire," she said, her words soft "You have to trust me"

"A vampire has committed murder," she reminded him

"That’s not proven," he insisted "Look--we’re on it Give us a chance, Fiona Good God, learn fro, because they understood delegation"

"My parents are dead," she rerily

She was surprised when he seeentle, alive et to the bottoet the city abuzz with ruy and worried Please"

She nodded "I don’t want a panic erupting, either, but that’s the point I have to keep watching--that’s what Keepers do," she reminded hiet away from him She didn’t want to be this close, didn’t want to be noticing his physique or realizing that his scent was extremely evocative She wanted to be irritated from a distance; she wanted to solve the probleet home," she heard herself say a little nervously

"I’ll drive you"

"I have my own car," she told him quickly

"I’ll walk you to it," he told her

"I’ht This isaddicts and plain old thugs I’m a cop--I do my job even when the denizens of the underworld aren’t out causing trouble I’ll walk you to your car"

"Honestly, Jagger, I’m a Keeper"

"And a Keeper--just like a vampire, olf, shapeshifter, pixie, pooka, leprechaun or even a lamia--can be taken by surprise Why the hell do you think our kind had to escape the old world, then flee places like Salem, to find a place where we could blend in? We’re all vulnerable, Fiona, despite whatever strengths we have We’re all vulnerable--in so many ways"