Ignoring the pain radiating up her arm, Ruby continued holding Mickey down as the man sang like a bird. A little pain was all it took for the self-proclaimed tough guy to tell Harlan and her everything they needed to know.

Harlan’s little trick with Mickey’s gun probably didn’t hurt either.

“There are some rumors on the streets about a new guy in town. A real bloodthirsty dude. He was shopping around for a sponsor, but I don’t know if he found one or not,” Mickey was saying.

That has to be Grant.

It was tough for Ruby to admit it, but she and Harlan were shaping up to be quite the team. Having a vampire for a partner certainly had its advantages. He was looking down at her as she pressed a knee into the small of Mickey’s back with a glint of appreciation in his eye, and Ruby couldn’t help but smile up at him.

She had missed the action, and even though what they were doing was highly illegal, a part of her also found it insanely fun.

Now if that’s not fucked up, I don’t know what is.

She had never been anything but a by-the-book officer, except right now, she didn’t give a shit about any rules. Grant was going to pay, and she was going to use every weapon in her arsenal to see that happen.

“Ow,” Mickey complained, before letting out a stream of curses.

“I’d really appreciate all the honesty you can muster, and so will my friend,” Ruby said.

“Alright, just ease up,” Mickey grumbled, and Ruby took her knee off his back. “There were whispers Big Theo met with the dude, but I don’t know what happened after that. Those things are beyond my pay grade.”

“He got a meeting with Theodore Greene?” Ruby asked, surprised.

“That’s what I heard,” Mickey replied as Ruby finally let go of his arm and got to her feet.

Looking up at Harlan, it was clear he didn’t know why the name Greene was so significant.

“He’s one of the biggest crime bosses in the tri-state area,” she quickly explained. “He’s currently embroiled in a nasty turf war with a rival gang, but he’s still one of the most powerful men in the city.”

Carefully stretching out her stiff fingers, Ruby walked back over to Harlan as Mickey got up, complaining all the way.

“This is police brutality,” he accused, brushing dirt off his shirt.

“You were the one who pointed out that I’m not a cop anymore,” Ruby countered. “Thanks, Mickey, you’ve been very helpful,” she added, throwing him an insincere smile. “And you really should get that door taken care of. Anyone could just walk right in,” she said, before turning to leave.

Harlan followed her down the stairs as they made their way back to his car. Ruby was not eager to get back into that vehicle with Harlan behind the wheel, but she had a feeling Harlan wouldn’t have it any other way.

The way he had been little more than a blur to her when he’d snatched up Mickey’s gun did speak to his fast reflexes, though. So maybe him driving like a maniac was justified, in some way. As she turned to face him, she noticed Harlan was still holding the Colt in his hand.

“Thought we should confiscate this from Mickey,” he said, handing it to her.

“It’s not much use to me now,” she shrugged, looking down at her hand as she struggled to squeeze her fingers around the weapon.

“I bet you’re a better shot with your left hand than that excuse for a man will ever be with his right,” Harlan replied, and she couldn’t help but smile. “That was fun, huh?” he added, as he opened the passenger door for her.

“Thank god I’m not the only one who thought so,” she laughed. “It’s kind of messed up we feel like that, isn’t it?” she asked, tucking Mickey’s gun into her waistband.

“Everyone’s messed up,” Harlan shrugged, his gaze sweeping over her in a way that made her feel warm inside. “You live as long as I have, that becomes very clear. Being well-adjusted is boring anyway.”

“Someday you’re going to have to elaborate on all these little snippets of information you’re throwing out,” Ruby warned, pointing a finger at him before getting in the car.

Harlan was sitting by her side before she could even close her door. This time, she didn’t even hold on to the edge of her seat or tell him to slow down when he pulled back into traffic and gunned it.

Ridiculous as it was, she was starting to trust him more and more. That was the side effect of having to lean on someone as they did on each other. If only she knew more about the guy, maybe they could even be friends.

Friends with a vampire, Ruby laughed to herself. Sounds like a bad sitcom.

When Harlan glanced over at her, those green eyes looking like he could see right through her, she knew the feelings stirring inside her had little to do with friendship. Watching him handle everything like he did his car – with easy confidence and graceful purpose – Ruby couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

“I think I can reveal some of my secrets, as long as you promise not to sneak up on me in the middle of the night and put a stake through my heart,” he replied, taking a sharp curve while barely looking at the road.

“That would work?” Ruby asked, maybe a little too eagerly.

“You see? Planning my funeral already,” Harlan laughed, a smooth, pleasing sound.

“That’s not what I meant,” Ruby said, looking away. “You’ve helped me more than you know. Not being able to be a cop again, and having no one believe me about what Grant was capable of… I felt so useless and dismissed. But then you came along.

“Thanks to you, I at least know I’m not crazy. And I have a shot at payback. But I don’t want to be easy pickings to any pair of fangs that happens to come my way.”

It felt like her words hung in the air for far too long as she looked out the window and wondered if she should have said anything at all. Hadn’t she just yesterday found Harlan annoying and arrogant, and would have done anything to get rid of him?

Things were changing so fast, and she was having trouble keeping up with her own feelings.

“Yes, that would work,” Harlan simply said. “A stake to the heart means death. Decapitation does the trick, too, if you bury the head and body separately. Silver is poisonous to us, but that’s more of a slow death that can be avoided by removing the silver.”

He had conveniently not responded to Ruby’s sappy declaration of gratitude, and she was totally fine with that. The fact he had just told her all of his weaknesses said enough. Ruby had many more questions, but as Harlan pulled up to her home, she thought she’d wait until they got upstairs to throw them all at him.

Harlan opened the door for her, which was something she was quickly getting used to. As they walked up to the building, Ruby couldn’t help but watch Harlan move, deliberate and powerful, with his muscles bunching beneath the fabric of his well-fitted suit.

“I need to eat soon,” he remarked as they climbed up the stairs.

“Oh. What happens if you don’t eat?” she asked.

“I get hungry,” he replied, earning an eye-roll from Ruby. “Don’t worry, I don’t go mad and start seeing everyone around me as blood bags,” he assured her with a chuckle. “But going without blood does deplete me, make me weaker. As does spending time in the sunlight.”

Ruby nodded along, committing all of this information to memory. As they reached her apartment door, she noticed Harlan was suddenly on edge. He grew tense and went extremely still, before grabbing Ruby’s hand and yanking her away from the door.

Clearly, something was wrong.

“What?” she whispered, brow furrowing as she looked up at him.

“Either your friends are throwing you a surprise party or someone other than me has broken into your apartment,” he said.

“I hate surprises,” Ruby replied, already reaching for the gun she had tucked away in her waistband.

“Me, too,” Harlan replied.