Truce and Lies

Grant: out at the crime scene

We were packing up to head out to the scene when someone knocked on the door. The fierce looking woman from before entered, scowling at me and then my father.

"I've spoken with most of the board," she said. "Here are our terms: Grant can stay and work with you until we catch the vampires responsible. If he bites or harms any person during that time, we will put him down and terminate you."

"Two questions," Aidan cut in before anyone else could speak. "Do I count as a person?"

Gayle turned her gaze toward him. "Do you not want to be counted?"

"Not really," he admitted. "That's basically the reason I'm here: as a nonlethal backup."

"Nonlethal?" she scoffed.

Aidan rolled up his sleeve again. "Well, I'm not dead? I'm going to assume I don't count. I have a second question."

"I clearly can't stop you. What?"

"What happens when we find this vampire and kill them, capture or whatever?" he asked. "Are you willing to offer Grant a pardon then?"

"Provided he doesn't bite or harm anyone? Maybe, we'll have to see. I doubt that it will happen."

"It's hardly fair," Aidan observed. "I'm sure you've had human casualties, made mistakes. You want to take his life if he hurts someone? Even if they survive? Being bitten wasn't his fault."

"No, but it's a risk to the job, well, the former job that Grant held," Tish pointed out. "Part of the job was to not become part of the problem."

Aidan rolled one shoulder and stood by me. "We can always go home," he suggested, though I didn't think he was serious. "These people seem rude."

I rolled my eyes, but with a smile on my face; Aidan's remark had been met with smirks around the room. My father checked his phone again.

"We should go," he said. "We have four hours until daylight; we should get going. Gayle, can you make arrangements to get a blood supply for Grant?"

She sighed dramatically. "Fine. You headed out to the crime scene?"

"We are."

"Don't lick the evidence," she told me as she headed for the door. "And Tish is going with you. I don't trust Peter to make the tough call."

She left. Tish groaned which turned into a yawn. Aidan was also yawning and I felt bad that he was staying up so late for me. He took my hand as we headed out of the

"Don't worry about me," he confided. "I napped on the plane, remember? And I'll cat nap in the car."

I waggled my eyebrows at him and he laughed aloud.

"I'm more catlike than I want to admit," he chuckled.

Tish seemed mostly annoyed with our antics, but I didn't care. If Aidan hadn't come, I would have already lost control over myself and had been killed by the hunters in the hours I had been here so far. We got into the elevator and I stopped breathing so as not to breathe in my father's and Tish's scent.

"Stop frowning," Aidan told me, nudging my arm. "You focus on the task at hand, I'll worry about you, all right?"

"That doesn't seem fair," I pointed out.

"Whatever; at least I'm not trying to solve a murder," he laughed.

I darted out when the elevator doors opened and Aidan followed closely behind. There wasn't anyone in the lobby, but of course it was quite, quite late. Aidan yawned again as Tish pointed to a car that we clambered in. Aidan leaned his head on my shoulder, his hair tickling my chin.