“I never said we weren’t friends,” Harlan shrugged, and Ruby was taken aback by his sudden aloofness.

“Well, that’s a pretty big thing to leave out, don’t you think?” she asked, frowning at him.

Julius was sitting eerily still opposite them, looking like he had no interest in this conversation whatsoever. Not that Ruby wanted him to intervene, but the man’s extreme stoicism did strike her as a little annoying. Like he was above it all somehow.

No wonder Harlan doesn’t like him very much.

“It’s why I was chosen for this task, because I know him,” Harlan replied, and Ruby couldn’t help but think something about him had changed all of the sudden.

Harlan always had a quip or a joke ready, but now he was like a stone wall beside her, wearing a neutral expression she couldn’t read. Almost getting whiplash from his sudden change in demeanor, Ruby continued staring at him, waiting for a resemblance of an explanation.

“And?” she prodded. “You’re still going to rip his head off if it comes to that, right?”

The question came out a little more blunt than she’d expected, but it was out there now, so there was nothing she could do about it. Did she think Grant deserved to die for how he had murdered Sarah, or how he had tried to kill her, twice now, if she were keeping count? She wasn’t sure.

As a cop, she had had to deal with catching criminals. What happened to them next wasn’t up to her. She had never wanted to play judge, jury and executioner, but things became muddy when personal feelings and the supernatural came into play.

How would you even go about imprisoning someone who is immortal?

“I’m going to hand Grant over to Julius, and Julius will transport him back to Romania, where the old families live,” was all that Harlan said.

“Wait… You’re supposed to bring him in alive? What about the head-ripping stories and the… Thing with, you know…” she trailed off, throwing looks Julius’ way.

Was Harlan really going to show Grant special treatment, like he’d condemned Julius for doing? That was just more hypocrisy than she could handle.

It occurred to her that Harlan had probably kept this information from her on purpose, knowing she might not help him if she knew Grant was just going to be shipped back to Romania like a lost, murderous puppy.

Having considered herself a good judge of character, Ruby didn’t want to believe that’s what had happened. She had thought Harlan a genuinely decent, honest man who cared about people as much as, if not more than, he did for his fellow vampires.

Now, as he just blinked at her while she grew more and more agitated, she was beginning to think she had made a terrible mistake by putting her faith in him.

“What exactly have you told this human about me?” Julius asked Harlan, choosing the absolute worst time to finally say something.

“Not now!” Ruby blurted out, whirling around to face the impeccably polished vampire in a three-piece-suit.

Julius looked as expressive as she’d seen him, raising both brows at her, as if he were incredulous anyone dared speak to him that way. Even Harlan looked taken aback, silently looking from his Maker to Ruby and back.

Oops. Maybe snapping at a very old, very powerful vampire isn’t the best call.

“Ruby,” Harlan started, folding his hands in front of him and staring right at her. “I think it’s best if Julius and I take it from here. This is vampire business, after all.”

Ruby could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“Don’t you fucking dare talk to me like that,” she said, shooting up from her seat. “You’re the one who showed up at my apartment, claiming to be my future husband and dangling revenge in front of my nose so I’d go along with your little plan. And now that we’re closer to catching Grant than ever, I’m suddenly out?”

She could see Harlan’s jaw clench as he stared up at her, those sparkling green eyes of his now looking pale and flat. Yet he didn’t look exactly angry, more like he was holding something back. But Ruby was too busy working herself up into a frenzy to analyze Harlan’s body language.

“You’ve been a great help to me, and I will always respect and… admire you,” Harlan replied, and Ruby noted the odd pause in his words. “But it’s time we go our separate ways.”

Feeling like everything she thought she knew was suddenly swept up in a tornado of insanity, Ruby could do little else but glare at him. After they had just had sex in his car, after he had told her that story about how he was turned, after he had taken bullets for her, Harlan was suddenly kicking her to the curb with all the emotion and consideration of a pet rock.

Anger, disappointment, confusion and disbelief all swirled around inside her, but most strong of all was the feeling of hurt. Despite these entirely crazy circumstances, she had allowed herself to be vulnerable with Harlan, to open herself up to him.

He had made her feel like no other man, and somewhere deep in her heart, she had even considered giving in to this connection between them, and seeing where it led after their mission was over.

What an idiot I’ve been.

As Harlan stood up to walk over to her, she instinctively took a step back. A pained expression flashed across Harlan’s face as he fished something out of his pocket and stretched out his hand, staying a decent three feet away from her.

“Here,” he said, and Ruby saw he was holding the keys for his Corvette in his palm. “Take my car back into town. Keep it. Go stay with family, or friends, or get out of New York altogether while we take care of Grant.”

“I’m not taking your car,” Ruby argued, crossing her arms in front of her.

This time, when Harlan took a step closer, she stood her ground. There was an intensity in his eyes she’d only seen when he had been kissing her, and it caught her off-guard, her hands falling slack at her sides.

Harlan reached out and took her hand, pressing the keys into her palm. His cool skin against hers brought back all the emotions she had felt when he had been touching her just a few hours earlier, calling her beautiful and making her feel like the only woman in the world.

“Please,” he said quietly, his voice filled with something she couldn’t describe.

Having him so close was unbearable after what he had just done, so she snatched her hand away, while holding back tears. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her cry.

“Fine,” she ground out, feeling bitterness swallow her up. “I hope I never see you again, partner,” she said, before turning on her heel and marching out of the house.

As the front door slammed shut behind her and she walked toward the Corvette, which now only served to remind her of what a mistake she had made by letting her lust cloud her judgment, she heard a loud crash from inside the house.

It sounded like something heavy hitting a wall and then falling into pieces, but she couldn’t be sure. Her steps halted for a moment, as silence was followed by a door slamming somewhere in the home.

Clutching the keys in the palm of her hand, she forced herself to keep walking. She knew what she had to do next.

There was no turning back now.