With the taste of Ruby still fresh in his mind, and her warm hand in his, the last thing Harlan wanted was to get into it with Julius. But from the waves of power emanating from the house he’d rented, it was clear Julius was inside waiting. And for him to make the trip here all the way from Romania meant that something was up.

It’s never good news with him.

Harlan found himself wanting more time alone with Ruby. Just a moment of not tracking down leads or avoiding gunfire would be nice, but it seemed that was too much to ask for.

“Wait, Julius is here?” Ruby asked as they reached the door.

It was unlocked, and Harlan pushed it open.

“The one and only,” he replied, walking inside and looking around.

“Is he here about Grant, or…?” Ruby trailed off, clutching his suit jacket tighter around her.

“We’ll know soon enough,” Harlan said, just as his Maker rounded a corner, his gaze immediately fixing on Ruby.

“So it’s true,” Julius remarked, not bothering with a greeting. “I thought Lucinda was pulling my leg when she said you had picked out a bride for yourself.”

“Hello to you, too,” Harlan said with a sigh. “You here to sate your curiosity or…?”

“I haven’t gotten a progress report from you lately,” Julius replied, his eyes moving from Ruby’s bloody hands to Harlan’s bare, red-stained chest. “I take it things have been heating up?”

“You could say that,” Harlan agreed. “This is Ruby. I found Grant with his fangs in her throat, one thing led to the next, and now she’s my betrothed.”

“Not for real though,” Ruby hurriedly said, and Harlan suppressed a frown.

It wasn’t that he had suddenly decided he wanted Ruby to actually be his bride, that was ridiculous. She would never want to become a vampire, and Harlan could never get attached to a human like that.

It was just too painful.

But something about Ruby’s quick dismissal of their relationship still irked him. Vampires could be very possessive when it came to things and people they cared about, and he felt that side of him rise to the surface.

“It was the only way I could think of to get Grant off her,” Harlan added, as Julius continued to stare at them, still as a statue.

Some older vampires got that way when they weren’t around humans much. Since there was no need to blend in, they didn’t fidget or adjust themselves as people tended to do without even thinking about it.

Since they didn’t get tired, they could stand in one place without moving an inch for days. If that place was out of direct sunlight, of course.

“So you had Grant in your sights. What happened?” Julius asked, just as Harlan had predicted he would.

He knew Julius was just pure calculation. In his Maker’s mind, it would have been better to let Ruby and that other woman die in order to catch Grant before he could hurt any others.

It was logical, Harlan had to admit. But it was also a far too calculated and cold approach for him. He tended to go with what felt right, despite it getting him into trouble more than once.

“He saved my life, that’s what happened,” Ruby spoke up, her fingers tightening around his. “Hi, by the way,” she added more softly.

“Well, then,” Julius said impassively. “I seem to have missed a lot. Why don’t you two fill me in?”

Harlan couldn’t help but sigh at that. This had ‘interrogation’ written all over it.

* * *

Sitting in the living room of the house, with his and Ruby’s hair still slightly damp from the showers they’d taken, Harlan faced Julius while Ruby remained close by his side.

The place was spacious, carefully decorated in grays and beiges, with high ceilings and generic artwork on the walls. It was nice, but not nearly as fancy as Harlan knew Julius was used to.

Clad in a fresh suit with Ruby wearing one of his dress shirts, Harlan leaned back into the couch as Julius looked to be processing all that he and Ruby had just told him.

“So, you think the rumors of Grant partnering up with Theo are true, and it was Theo’s goons who ambushed you in Ruby’s apartment,” Julius finally said.

“That’s the theory,” Harlan replied. “Those guys were way too well-prepared. Someone had to have given them information about what to use and what to expect.”

“Plus, the whole snake motif is big with Theo,” Ruby nodded. “It’s like his trademark. He stamps it on the drugs he brings in and so on. And two of the men at my place had visible tattoos of snakes. It has to mean Grant and Greene are working together.”

“It’s not exactly proof but it does seem to add up,” Julius agreed. “That gives us some new leads to follow,” he said, and Harlan got the distinct feeling the man was cooking up some sort of plan in his head.

I know my Maker well enough by now to see the gears turning.

Glancing over at Ruby, looking as beautiful as ever, and managing to even make that way-too-big-for-her shirt look sexy as hell, Harlan felt more worried than ever. Grant had clearly gone insane, getting into bed with human criminals and sending a hit squad after him and Ruby in broad daylight.

He has to be stopped.

But Harlan knew Ruby would insist on being a part of any plan to catch Grant, and that terrified him. Ruby was just far too vulnerable, her skin too soft and her bones too breakable… She was too human for this mission, and Harlan was thoroughly not okay with putting her in harm’s way.

The further she is from me, the safer she’ll be.

The thought of being away from her was not a pleasant one. His little fiery Ruby, one hell of a woman, and a partner that truly had his back. How could he have such strong feelings for her already?

The more time I spend with her, the harder it will be to say goodbye… And I will have to say goodbye.

“So reasoning with Grant is now out of the question,” Julius commented. “You were the closest friend he had left, and he tried to have you killed. Safe to say you’re off the man’s Christmas card list,” he added dryly.

“Hold on a second,” Ruby interjected, turning to Harlan. “You were friends? With that monster? And how is this the first I’m hearing of it?” she rattled off, voice rising higher than usual.

Thanks for bringing that up, Julius, Harlan thought to himself, throwing a glare his Maker’s way.

But as Ruby’s expression turned from shock to anger, Harlan realized this moment was an opportunity to make a selfless choice. One that would benefit all parties in the long run. He could never have Ruby to himself, just to share a few fleeting decades together before death inevitably came between them. That would be torture.

And he couldn’t face off against Grant while worrying about her safety. Which was exactly why he had to push her away. This wasn’t the life for her. She still had a long road ahead of her, to mend from what Grant did and find her purpose again.

I would just stand in the way, he thought, even as it pained him. It’s time I let her go.