Ivan watched Charlie finish bagging up the evidence, and then she took it to be sent off to the lab. They would have to wait for results to come back before they knew anything more.

“So, are we going back to your place, then?” he asked.

“What?”

“Unless you’d prefer me to return to the hotel, of course, but then I guess you would need to stay with me. I think I’ve made it clear that I can’t be trusted on my own.”

Her fine blonde eyebrows lifted. “But you can be trusted with me?”

“Yes. One hundred percent. And it means you would be doing your job by keeping the public safe from me.”

“And who keeps me safe from you?”

He grew serious. “I would never do anything to hurt you, Charlie. I would die myself before that happened.” He stared into her eyes, wishing there was a way he could make her believe him. But it was a lot to ask. She was human and didn’t have any kind of magical powers to allow her to see they were destined to be. That he might be a killer she was after also didn’t help his case. If it was proven that the dead man’s blood was on his shirt and he was responsible for the death, then whatever relationship might have blossomed between them would be already dead. He was a vampire, and he wasn’t going to pretend he hadn’t killed in the past—when he’d first been turned, it had taken him some years to get in control of his urges—but that had been a long time ago now. A different lifetime.

“You can’t go back to the hotel.” She pressed her lips together as she thought. She looked cute like that. Younger, somehow. She exhaled a sigh, and her shoulders relaxed. “Okay, don’t make me regret this, but you can come back to mine. Only until tomorrow night, though, when we can get the results and know for sure.”

He ducked his head. “Thank you.” He thought of something. “Before we go, am I able to get a look at the crime scene photographs? Maybe seeing what happened will help jog my memory.”

She hesitated and then nodded. “Yes, okay. I would have shown them to you anyway during interrogation, if this was a normal situation. My colleague, Stephen, should have uploaded them by now.” She went to the computer on the desk and wiggled the mouse to bring it to life. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she entered her login details and then started to search through the hard drive’s numerous files until she reached the one they needed.

“Ah ha. Here we go.”

She pulled up the file and angled the screen in his direction. “Just warning you. They’re not pretty.”

He shrugged. “I’m a vampire. Blood and death doesn’t bother me.”

She clicked open the first of the images, gave him a moment to study it, then moved onto the next. She was right; the photographs were far from pretty. The man’s neck was all but gone, only the spine keeping the head attached to the body. Blood drenched the gorse beneath him.

Ivan frowned and ran his hand across his mouth. Nothing he was seeing made him think he was responsible for this death.

“Well?” she prompted.

“Honestly, I know it suits me to say this, but this doesn’t look like a vampire attack. Vampires don’t tear flesh like that, and we certainly don’t waste blood by leaving it all over the ground.”

“So you don’t think you were involved?” He didn’t miss the hitch of hope in her voice. Did she want him to be innocent? It would mean she still had to find the killer so she’d be back to square one. The only reason she’d want him to be innocent was if she thought there was something in his words about them being destined for one another.

“Honestly, I can’t say for sure. There’s still the blood on my shirt, and I had it all over my hands and face when I woke up. And of course there’s the blackout to consider, and that I wouldn’t have been in my right mind because of The Thirst. There’s no way to say for sure.”

Her expression dropped with disappointment. He wished he could have said something different to comfort her, but he wasn’t going to start lying now. She was his Bloodmate, and he wouldn’t start this relationship on a foundation of lies. If she could accept the very worst of him, well then, maybe they had a future, but he wasn’t going to make himself out to be something he wasn’t, only to cause her heartbreak and disappointment down the road.

She clicked out of the file and shut down the computer. “Let’s just wait until the samples come back to see if the blood is a match, and we’ll take things from there.”

“We still need to call The Directive. Even if I wasn’t the one responsible, I’m still pretty sure you have something paranormal stalking the moorland, and dealing with that will be their job.”

She nodded. “We’ll call them as soon as we get home.”

She moved to leave, but he reached out and caught her arm. She turned to him, her eyes wide. The air between them grew tense, and his body reacted at having contact with her, something in his chest swelling with emotion.

“Charlie,” he said. “I just wanted to say thanks.”

“What for?”

“For not going crazy at me. For believing what I’ve told you.”

She held his gaze. “I’m not some airhead girl. I’m a grown woman and a police officer. I think things through and I don’t act rashly.” She glanced down at where his hand was still touching her arm. “And that includes with you.”

He released her. “Of course.”

Damn. This wall she had built up between them was driving him crazy. But he couldn’t ask her to break it down, not with everything that was going on. Things were too complicated, and what if he made her see how they were destined to be together, only for him to be eradicated by The Directive? He’d be asking her to accept him, only for them to be torn apart again.

Together, they left the police station and went back to her car.

“How far away is your home?” he asked.

“Not far. About thirty minutes from here.”

He nodded. “Good.” They still had plenty of time before the sun came up and he was forced to sleep again. He watched her hide a yawn behind her hand. “It’s been a long day for you, too?”

She gave him a small smile. “Up since four this morning. Almost twenty-four hours now.”

“You should rest.”

She shrugged. “I’m used to it. Comes with the job.”

They did the drive back to Charlie’s home in companionable silence, and within half an hour had pulled up in her allocated space outside of the building.

Her flat was beautiful—small but modern, with a view out onto the canal. On the canal path, the shapes of numerous swans with their heads tucked beneath their wings could be seen. Farther downstream, a bridge curved over the still water, joining one bank to another.

“It’s beautiful here,” he mused.

London had its pretty areas, but they didn’t have this kind of peacefulness. There was always noise in London—sirens blaring, people coming back from all-night bars, music playing. It suited his nocturnal lifestyle, but there were definitely times he found himself longing for peace. He’d lived in multiple places over the last three hundred years, and London was simply the latest. It had suited him that Nikolai was there as well, but now Nikolai had Lauren, and most of their time was taken up together.

She came to stand beside him at the window. “Thank you. I love it, too. It’s not big or flashy, but it’s calming, you know? Sometimes I need that after a crazy day. I love sitting in the window, just watching the swans float by. It’s good for the soul.”

He smiled at her. “Yes, I imagine it is.”

They still had a few hours before morning. With a heavy heart, he knew the time had come to call The Directive. They were made up of ancient vampires and a powerful werewolf, and so weren’t affected like him when it came to moving around in the daytime. If they were a distance away, which was more than likely, they would have the daylight hours to travel.

He slipped his mobile phone out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and swiped the screen to call the number he needed. He placed the phone to his ear, and when a female voice answered, he spoke. “This is Ivan Sokolov. I need to speak with Magno Zara urgently about matters concerning The Thirst.”

“One moment please,” the woman on the other end chirped. “I’m putting you through now.”

The line clicked, and then Magno’s smooth Italian voice answered. “Mr Sokolov. How may I help you?”

“I’m afraid I’m not calling with good news. You may have heard recently that my progeny, Nikolai Petrov, was struck by The Thirst.”

“Yes, of course. Is he unwell again?”

“No, it’s not him. It’s me. I’m afraid I, too, have come down with the same affliction, only I seem to be affected differently.”

“In what way?”

“I suffered a blackout, and someone was killed. I’m not sure if I was the one responsible or not. The local police department are looking into it.”

“If it was a vampire killing, that is our territory.”

Ivan flicked his gaze over to where Charlie was watching him. “I’m aware of that, and so are the police. They know I’m calling you now.”

There was a pause on the end of the line before Magno spoke again. “And you think you’re responsible?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. But it does look as though the killing was done by something paranormal, so it’s still your territory.”

“And yourself? How are you feeling?”

“One of the police officers dealing with the case is also my Bloodmate.” He glanced over at Charlie again as he spoke. She stood with her fingers pressed to her lips, watching him in concern. At the mention of her being his Bloodmate, her cheeks flared with colour, and he heard her heart start to race. The idea of them being destined to be together affected her, though he was still unsure if that was because she was frightened or if she liked the idea.

He realised Magno had said something. “Sorry?”

“I asked if your Thirst is under control.”

“Yes, sir. It is. Being with her has done that. No more cravings or blackouts.”

“Good. Tell me where you are.”

“I’m in Devon, England. The murder took place in a national park called Dartmoor. I’m staying about thirty minutes away from there.”

“Good. I’ll come down with my team. It’ll take a few hours to reach you, however, possibly not until nightfall.”

“That’s okay. We’ll be safe until then. Thank you, Magno.”

He hung up the phone.

Charlie was looking at him expectantly. “Well?”

“They’re coming.”

“What are they like?” she asked, chewing on her lower lip.

“They’re made up of two ancient vampires, and a powerful female werewolf. They are ruthless and relentless, and not people you want to cross.”

Worry crossed her pretty features. “What will that mean for you?”

“I guess it depends on if I’m the killer, and whether or not they deem me dangerous.”

She took a step forward. “Surely they can lock you up if they think you are. They can’t just kill you.”

“If they lock me up, I’ll be away from you, and then The Thirst will return. I won’t be safe to anyone, and they won’t just be able to keep me chained up for the rest of my existence. I’d go crazy, lost in a blood rage and unable to do anything to sate it. I’d be a danger to anyone who came near me. Honestly, I’d rather they just killed me and got it over with.”

Her eyes widened. “You can’t mean that.”

“If I’m the killer, death will be the kindest thing for everyone.”