What’s at Stake

Alexis Morgan

“Has the accused been brought in yet?”

Josalyn Sloan prided herself on her stoic control. Her escort shook his head, but gave no indication that he thought her question was anything but professional curiosity. After all, why would he? As far as anyone knew, this was just one more case, one more judgement to confirm, one more execution to carry out.

She’d originally thought the assignment was someone’s poor idea of a joke. But, no, the request for her services had come straight from the prisoner himself. Standing at parade rest, she kept her hands firmly clasped behind her back. It was imperative that she maintain a calm façade when she walked into the interrogation room to face the most powerful vampire of his generation – Rafferty O’Day, her former friend and almost lover.

The door on the far side of the room opened as a uniformed guard stepped through and motioned her forwards. “The prisoner is ready for you, Chancellor. Please leave any weapons out here.”

Josalyn curled her lip in disdain. “You dare tell me how to do my job? Did you think I would stake him this quickly? Where’s the fun in that?”

Shoving her way past the startled guard, she held up her scanner. The dials immediately lit up and shrieked, setting off an ear-piercing alarm.

She spun back towards the guard. “Turn off whatever monitors you have running in there. If they come on again while I’m interviewing the prisoner, I will report the infraction to my superiors. I’m sure they will be only too glad to let me express my displeasure any way I choose.” Stepping closer to the guard, she used her superior height to her advantage and glared down into his frightened eyes. “The prisoner may be as guilty as hell, but he’s not without his rights unless I say so. Interfere with my investigation again and there will be a price paid in blood. Your blood. I’m sure the prisoner would like something fresher than that bagged stuff you’ve been feeding him.”

This time she included her escort in her promise. “And if he walks because of a miscarriage of justice, you two will be sitting in that cell.”

Then she smiled, showing her own fangs to emphasize her point, reminding the two human males that while she was not actually a vampire herself, she certainly wasn’t human either. Like all Chancellors, she was something between the two other species, and stronger than she looked.

The guard punched a code into the keypad by the door. Evidently he forgot that along with her superior strength, she could also hear far better than he allowed for. His mumbled, “pushy bitch!” came through loud and clear, despite the continued shrieking of her scanner.

She leaned in close again, dropping her voice to an angry whisper. “Oh, sweetie, you have no idea how pushy I can be. Better hope you never find out.” Then she walked through the door and slammed it behind her.

She took one last deep breath to ease the knot of nerves in her chest. Nothing was going to make this any easier, so she pushed the door open. She kept her eyes firmly on the door itself, not wanting to face Rafferty one second before she had to. Reminding herself that she was no coward and delaying any further wouldn’t help, she entered the holding cell.

After checking her scanner one last time, she stepped towards the table. Rafferty didn’t look up, giving her eyes a few precious seconds to drink their fill. His hair was shaggier than she remembered, and the usual shine of his unique blend of chestnut and blonde was missing. Obviously, the North American Coalition didn’t waste money on prisoner hygiene.

But she wasn’t here to judge Rafferty’s appearance, only his guilt or innocence. Once she was convinced he’d been fairly tried and convicted, then she would decide how he would die. Some of her kindred loved to draw out the process, soaking up the fear and pain to savour long after their prisoner had breathed his last. She didn’t approve of either their attitudes or their techniques.

She was paid to execute, not torture, and then only after she completed her own investigation. If she disagreed with the court’s findings, she could overturn their decision. It was the only thing that made her job bearable.

Rafferty stirred, the chains that bound him to his chair rattling slightly as he straightened up and at long last met her gaze.

“Josalyn.”

“Rafferty,” She sat down across from him and pulled out her notes on the case.

“I apologize for not standing.”

His smile looked a bit strained as he tugged on his chains with no real show of strength. His wrists were already raw and bloody from previous attempts. She considered ordering the restraints removed. The Rafferty she had worked with wouldn’t hurt her, but judging by the fury burning in those ice-blue eyes, maybe he’d changed. His face was thinner, too, as if all the charm and easy smiles had been burned away.

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs at the ankles. “I’ve reviewed your case. Anything you want to tell me?”

He shrugged. If I said I was innocent, would you believe me?”

She’d wanted to, but the evidence had been pretty damning. “I’ll listen to your version of the facts. It’s as much as I can promise.”

“Then I won’t waste my breath, Joss. Send me back to my cell. I’m missing my evening nap.”

She ignored his use of his pet name for her. “If you didn’t want to talk to me, why request my services? A hundred other Chancellors would’ve jumped at the chance to handle your case.”

Josalyn sat in stony silence while she waited fro him to respond. The truth was he’d been offered a list of Chancellors to choose from, but hers was the only name he’d considered. If he were to die the final time, ending his long life, he wanted her face to be the last thing he saw.

She’d hate knowing that, especially when it was too late for either of them to do anything about it. Rather than tell her the simple truth, he settled for the easy lie.

“I knew you’d at least try to make it painless for me.”

Josalyn slammed the file down on the table as she leaned forwards to glare at him. “This is no game, Rafferty, I may not always like my job, but I am damn good at it. Painless or not, you’ll still be dead.”

He hoped not. He really did, but it was too early to predict how this was going to play out. His gut feeling was that his chances for survival had improved dramatically when Josalyn had sauntered through the door.

“Talk to me Rafferty.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t want . . .”

When she didn’t go on, he prodded her a bit “. . . to be the one to shove a stake through my heart? Or to think me capable of murder? We both know I’m only here because the dead guy was human and not vampire.” He was baiting her and they both knew it.

“Stop it, Rafferty. You know as well as I do that I’m not paid to make moral judgements. My job as Chancellor is to review the testimony, verify the facts and then decide whether you received a fair trial.”

“All right, fine. Where do you want me to start?”

“At the beginning works for me.” She sounded as tired as he felt.

Where it really all started for him might not be what she had in mind, but it was his story.

“Remember the first time you sat down across a table from me?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “Well, I do. You were nervous. It was your first negotiation as an Arbitrator facing a room full of angry humans and vampires. I don’t even remember what we were feuding over.”

Josalyn shook her head in disgust. “The humans said your younglings were preying on theirs. The truth was that the humans ventured into vamp territory on a dare and some paid the price.”

Rafferty fought the urge to smile. The meeting had been as memorable for her as it had been for him. “As I said, the details escape me, but the image of you is sharp and clear. Despite being outnumbered, you took charge and didn’t stop until both sides conceded defeat.” She’d been so vibrant, so beautiful, but she wouldn’t want to hear that from him. Not yet.

“This stroll through the past is entertaining, but it’s not getting us anywhere.”

OK, so maybe he would tell her. “That meeting changed everything. I’d never met anyone quite like you. Before that, I hated mandatory time on the Coalition Council: being shut up for days and days with the stench of humans, arguing over the stupidest details. The day you came in as the new Arbitrator was the real beginning of this mess.”

Josalyn surged to her feet, her eyes blazing. “So the fact that you’ve been convicted of murder is now my fault? That’s your defence?”

“No, but meeting you was the catalyst.” He waited for her to sink back down into her seat. “I was the chief negotiator that first time only because they forced me. After that, I volunteered as often as I could without raising suspicions, but I wasn’t cautious enough. My interest in you must have become too obvious.”

Josalyn was always quick to understand the subtext of any conversation. “So, that’s why your mate-to-be hated me.”

“Yeah, well, Petra hated me more.” She hated him enough to arrange to have him executed, at least.

“Did she have reason to?”

He answered her real question. “I have to feed, Joss, even when she’s not around. That’s part of what we are and has no significance other than simple sustenance. Besides, Petra chose me because of my status, not out of any emotional attachment. When she grew increasingly unhappy about my prolonged absences on Coalition business, I happily offered to end our connection. After all, there are others among our kind who would meet her requirements in a mate just as well. She didn’t hesitate to accept my offer.”

Josalyn arched an eyebrow, clearly questioning the truth of that statement.

“What are you thinking, Joss?”

“I think you badly underestimated Petra’s feelings for you. If she hates you enough to destroy you, she must have loved you.”

Rafferty had considered that option and rejected it. “I doubt Petra is capable of loving anyone other than herself. No, I think she figured out that the real reason I set her free was to be with you. If I had formed an alliance with another female of our kind, she would’ve accepted my decision. After all, she’d dissolved a previous connection of her own to pursue one with me. I’m convinced she viewed my interest in you as an insult to her standing among our kind.”

He leaned back in his chair and waited for the explosion. It wasn’t long in coming.

“Rafferty, we never crossed the line, no matter what she thought. Not once. Not ever.” Josalyn lurched to her feet to pace the short distance across the room and back.

“That’s not quite true Joss.”

She froze mid-step and slowly turned to face him. “You mean the night you fed from me.”

The heat in his gaze reminded her of the truth, not that she’d really forgotten. Her hand itched to touch the twin scars he’d left, but she managed to control the urge. He knew where they were, even if no one else did. How could they? The small marks weren’t where anyone could see them except during a medical exam.

Her mind shifted back to that night. The vampires had been feuding amongst themselves, with allegiances changing from day to day, even hour to hour. As Rafferty had reminded her, feeding from each other was normal, even expected. But vampire politics were complicated, and someone in Rafferty’s position had to be careful whom he picked even as a temporary partner. Rather than risk his neutrality, he’d gone too long between feedings.

From the beginning, they had often taken long walks together, keeping to the public pathways. On much rarer occasions, Rafferty had walked her home after the night-long meetings, but always stopping at the end of the street to maintain the illusion their friendship was casual at best.

But that one night, it all changed. He’d been on the verge of collapse after the meeting. Her home was the closest, so she’d dragged him there and offered him her wrist or her neck. He’d refused because the evidence would be impossible to hide. With dawn but a short time away, she’d offered him another, much more intimate choice. She could still feel the sweet brush of his lips on her skin as he’d slowly lowered his mouth to the pulse point at the top of her thigh. One touch was all it had taken to have her craving his body on hers, in hers. They’d been strong enough to resist the overwhelming temptation, a fact she’d regretted more with each passing day.

“You were dying.”

“That was only an excuse, however true.” He started to stand up, obviously forgetting the chains. “I was out of my mind with the need to simply touch you. I’d already decided to break off my betrothal.”

“You never told me that.” Not that it would have mattered. She’d resigned her position, knowing she could no longer be neutral in any dispute that involved Rafferty.

“Damn it Joss, you didn’t give me the chance. My time on the Council was almost over. Once it ended, we could have had a future together. But if what I had planned had gotten out, it would’ve jeopardized the Council’s work for that entire session. Even if I’d been willing to risk it, you wouldn’t have.”

Regrets and memories wouldn’t change the present circumstances. It was time to deal with reality, not dreams.

She resumed her seat, doing her best to sound professional and calm. “So you suspect that your former betrothed has set you up?”

“Yes, I do. It’s the only explanation that makes any sense. The dead human and I had a history of conflict. Petra had to know I’d be charged, and that I’d ask for you. She couldn’t risk killing both of us, but . . .”

“If I execute you, it allows her to strike back at both of us from a safe distance.”

She’d only met Petra a handful of times, but there was no denying the instant dislike they had for each other. Josalyn was honest enough to admit that a healthy dose of jealousy coloured her reaction to Rafferty’s betrothed, but that wasn’t all there was to it.

The female had treated anyone other than the upper-echelon vampires with disdain. She caused so much animosity that it had jeopardized the Council’s work whenever she attended the sessions. If Petra was behind the charges against Rafferty, Josalyn wouldn’t hesitate to take the bitch down.

He must have sensed her decision. “So what do we do next?”

“We? You seem to be rather tied up at the moment.” She gave a pointed look at his chains.

“You can change that.”

It was true that Chancellors could take prisoners with them to investigate the case. However, if the prisoner escaped, the Chancellor paid an awful price. They would wear matching ankle bracelets that released a warning shock if they became separated by more than 50 feet. The power of the jolt increased greatly with distance, until the charge would immobilize the strongest vampire or Chancellor until law enforcement officers arrived to collect them. The felon was summarily executed, and the Chancellor was sent to prison to serve out the rest of the felon’s original sentence.

Considering the usual calibre of clientele Chancellors dealt with, it was no wonder the practice was rare. Did Josalyn trust Rafferty that much? Apparently she did. She was on her feet and yelling for the guard before she was even aware of having made her decision.

One thing he’d always liked about Joss was that once she made up her mind to do something, it got done and the gods help anyone who tried to stop her. Right now his body was rapidly repairing itself thanks to the donation of fresh blood singing through his veins. The guard who’d argued with Joss over taking Rafferty with her had learned the hard way not to cross her. The fool’s sore neck would reinforce that lesson.

“Thanks for the meal, Joss. Prison guard isn’t my favourite vintage, but it’s a vast improvement over my recent diet. Rat blood is too weak.”

She came to an abrupt stop. “They were feeding you rats?” The dead calm didn’t disguise her anger.

“No, they fed me the legal minimum of expired blood from the blood bank. I supplemented that with rats or they would have had to carry me into that holding cell to talk to you.”

“Bastards.” Her dark eyes promised there would be a reckoning the first chance she got.

“So where are we going? He asked as they headed for her transport. He like that he didn’t have to shorten his strides to match hers. Those long legs of hers had featured in his favourite fantasies.

“To my hotel.” She checked the clock on her scanner. “We don’t have much time left before sunrise. I was going to set up interviews with some of the witnesses this morning, but that won’t work now with you tagging along.”

Yeah, vampires and sunshine didn’t mix well. If he had to follow her on daytime interviews, she might as well stake him now, “How many are you going to talk to?”

“All four of them. Normally I wouldn’t want them all in one place – too much chance of contaminating their testimony – but the Council will only let me have you for three days. And today counts as one of those days.”

She’d have him for a lot longer than that if things worked out. If they didn’t, at least he would have spent his remaining hours with her. He looked down at his clothing and grimaced.

“I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion.”

She straightened his collar. “Yeah, this does lack your usual style, but I have to interview them alone anyway. Talking to a Chancellor is scary enough without having to face the vampire they helped condemn. We can’t risk anyone recanting their testimony and then later claiming they were coerced.”

He nodded. “OK, I’ll be a good little vampire and cower in the next room.”

Joss laughed. “Oh yeah, I can see that. I don’t think ‘cower’ is in your vocabulary. Even if I’d come ready to stake you, you wouldn’t even have flinched. Your pride wouldn’t let you.”

They climbed into her transport. Joss rarely did things by half measures. As soon as the engine engaged, she ripped off down the road.

Gods above, he was tired. Eventually the daylight would force him to sleep. When he was at full strength, he could get by with only a few hours of rest. However, the strain of the past few weeks and the substandard prison fare had taken a toll.

“You can listen to the recordings of their testimony later. Most of their evidence is circumstantial, confirming the fact that you and the victim had a past.” Joss braked for a pedestrian.

“That was no secret.”

“And if that’s all the evidence the Council had, it wouldn’t have been enough to convict you. No, the damning evidence was your knife sticking in the bastard’s heart, which will be our next point of focus.” Joss tried to sound optimistic, but they both knew it wasn’t looking good.

She mustered a half-hearted smile. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I need a shower and sleep before I can think straight. It will be dawn soon, so let’s just get to the hotel.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she drove. “All you can do is try, Joss. We both know clearing my name is a long shot.”

She didn’t argue.

Twenty minutes later he sat in the hotel room while Joss showered. He eyed the bathroom door, wondering if she was willing to share her shower with him and, if so, what were the chances she’d share her bed. A vampire could always hope.

He fought the temptation to test the effectiveness of the ankle bracelet. Maybe if it was just his life at risk, but he wouldn’t hurt Joss. So for the moment, he contented himself with enjoying the relative freedom of the hotel room. The décor might be bland, but it beat his prison cell all to hell.

The sound of a heartbeat in the hallway preceded a sharp knock at the door. Rafferty yanked the door open to see a uniformed hotel employee holding out a shopping bag.

“Uh, the clothes you ordered sir.”

The young man looked understandably nervous to be addressing a vampire, which improved Rafferty’s mood considerably. “Where do I sign?”

The bellhop held out the bill. After Rafferty scrawled his name on the paper, the boy shoved the bag at him and bolted away. Rafferty could have told him that the worst thing he could do in front of a known predator was run. But rather than give chase, Rafferty focused on the prey he was really interested in, the one who had just finished her shower. A naked and wet Joss was much more to his taste.

Only the fact that he still reeked of prison kept him from cornering her in the bathroom. No, he’d scrub himself clean before making a move. They had only a limited time to track down Petra and clear his name. There was a good chance they’d fail, and he wasn’t going to miss out on his one opportunity to bed Josalyn. She might knock him on his ass for trying, but even that had its own appeal.

The bathroom door opened in a cloud of steam. Joss stepped out, still towelling her hair dry, her skin rosy. Her pulse was racing far faster than her calm expression could account for. She smiled at him. “Your turn. I even left enough hot water for you.”

Hot, cold, he didn’t care. He stripped off his prison attire and tossed it at the trash can. Cranking the water up to full force, he scrubbed his skin clean. He could have spent hours luxuriating in the stinging spray, but he didn’t want to give Joss time to build up her defences.

As he dried off, he eyed the new clothes and decided it would be easier to crowd Joss if he wore nothing more than a towel and a hungry smile. As a vampire, he couldn’t check his appearance in the mirror without forcing his image to appear. He had a better use for his remaining energy.

Besides, Joss had already seen him at his worst and had not run screaming the other way. That didn’t mean she was going to fall into his arms. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but her overpowering sense of duty could get in the way. She might try to resist his charm, but she’d be fighting the battle on two fronts – his desire for her and her own desire for him.

She was a warrior woman and would no doubt bring all that strength and intensity to the confrontation. Should be fun to see which one of them ended up on top when he finally did get her into that bed. Not that he cared. He reached for the doorknob and prepared to do battle.

Rafferty would be coming out soon. Josalyn hadn’t missed the predatory gleam in his eyes. Staring at the door, she was torn between drawing her weapon to keep him at arms length and stripping off naked to save both of them time. As reckless as that would be, it would be worth it to see his reaction. She’d lose her job if she gave into temptation, but her career was over with anyway. It would destroy her to execute him. If she didn’t have to, she planned on never letting him out of her sight again.

If she couldn’t make the Council happy, she might as well please herself.

She peeled her shirt off over her head. Her pants quickly followed, leaving only her pragmatic, government-issue underwear, She wasn’t much for lace and satin, but still felt a momentary regret. Knowing Rafferty, though, she wouldn’t keep it on long enough to matter anyway.

Should she stretch out on the bed or wait across the room? Definitely the latter. As the door opened, her breath caught in her throat as she waited for Rafferty to spot her. It didn’t take long.

The towel around his waist did little to hide the fact that their minds had been running along the same track. He stalked towards her, his fangs peeking out. Oh, yeah, this was going to be good.

He stopped just short of where she stood waiting. “I thought I’d have to convince you.”

The slight hint of indecision in his gaze vanquished the last of her own doubts. “This might be . . .”

He shushed her by putting his fingers on her lips. “Tonight is just for us.”

It had been months since he’d last touched her, but she remembered so clearly how it had felt to have his strong body pressed against hers as he’d fed. They hadn’t gone beyond that intimacy, but she’d wanted so much more. This time she wasn’t going to settle for almost. This time they were going to have it all.

She took the last step, leaving only a breath of space between them, to slide her hands across the smooth muscles of his chest. In response, his arms locked around her waist, pulling her tight against his erection. Both of them moaned at the sensation.

“Kiss me.”

She did as he ordered, brushing her lips across his and then tracing the length of his fangs with the tip of her tongue. Finally, their mouths fused together, giving into the need for that first taste.

He growled his approval deep in his chest, the vibration making her breasts ache and her nipples harden. His fingers traced the small scars he’d left on her skin, before moving on. He murmured his pleasure as she rained a trail of kisses down his jaw to the pulse point at the base of his neck.

In a sudden move, he ripped the back of her bra apart. She giggled and shrugged it the rest of the way off, before tugging his towel loose. Then her panties went the way of her bra. The differences in their heights was negligible, but he swung her up in his arms as if she shared the petite build of his ex. Shoving the thought of Petra to the back of her mind, Josalyn basked in the strength of her vampire lover. Once they were horizontal on the bed, he kissed her until she wasn’t sure where she stopped and he started.

“I want this to be perfect, Joss, but it’s been building for too long for me to wait much longer.” He made room for himself between her legs.

“We’ve waited too long already. Make me yours, Rafferty.”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on as he thrust deep inside her. When he tried to slow down, she urged him on, chanting his name and digging into his skin with her nails.

He drove them both hard, staking his claim to her with his powerful strokes. When the first ripples of her climax began to build, he stared down at the pulsing blood vessels in her throat.

“Joss?”

That he’d ask rather than assume made her smile. “When I said make me yours, I meant it.”

“I’ll try to be gentle.” His fangs had run out far enough to make it hard to talk.

“I’m not fragile, Rafferty.” She turned her head to the side, granting him easier access.

He drew a shuddering breath and then struck. The sharp pain was lost in a flare of soothing heat. She was no innocent, but she’d never before experienced such intimacy as having Rafferty plunging into her throat and her body at the same time. The sensations burned through her from head to toe, immediately shoving her screaming over the precipice.

When the world righted itself, Rafferty lifted his head, gently withdrawing his fangs from his lover’s neck. He carefully licked the wounds closed, not wanting to leave a scar this time. The last time she’d allowed him to feed, he’d given in to the primitive urge to leave his mark on her. The small scars he’d left made sure she’d never forget that moment when he’d taught her what it meant to give herself over to a vampire lover.

She stirred restlessly beneath him. He moved to the side knowing she’d need her rest if they were going to bring Petra to bay. He’d only taken a little of Josalyn’s blood, enough to whet his appetite for more. But he couldn’t risk weakening her, not with his murderous ex out there plotting their downfall.

“Rafferty? You’re frowning pretty hard for a man who just indulged in life-altering sex.” Josalyn’s smile was tired, but extremely satisfied.

He couldn’t help but grin, delighted with his lover’s opinion of him. “Sorry, I was just trying to decide if I could survive a second helping.”

“Give me a few minutes to catch my breath and we can find out. If we don’t live through it, at least we’ll die happy.”

When she yawned loudly, he chuckled and tucked her in close as she tumbled over the edge into slumber. While she rested, he’d savour these moments of holding her in his arms.

Rafferty didn’t want to wake up, not if it was in his prison cell. Rather than open his eyes, he used his other senses to learn if he’d only been dreaming about Joss in his arms. He smiled. He could definitely here a heartbeat and the sound of breathing. His skin soaked in the warmth of a feminine leg sprawled over his and a hand carelessly flung across his chest. Breathing in slowly, he drew Joss’ sweet scent deep into his lungs.

It was no dream.

Joss stirred. “Something wrong?”

He tightened his arm around her and finally allowed his eyes to open. “No, we’re fine.”

She lifted her head up to blink at him sleepily. “What time is it?”

He didn’t need a clock to tell him. “The sun’s going down.”

“So, we need to get moving.”

“Not yet. A few minutes more.” Not enough time to do more than kiss her and hold her close, but he wasn’t going to give up even that much. But maybe, if he hurried . . .

He scooted down, intent on revisiting a few of his favourite spots on Joss’ body along the way. She had to be a bit sore from this afternoon, but there were other ways to please his woman. She grabbed his hair, stopping him just short of reaching his intended target.

“As much as I appreciate the thought, Rafferty, we have work to do. We don’t have time for this.”

The stubborn set to her chin said she meant it. “Fine, be that way. Do you want the shower first?”

Her mouth softened into a wicked smile. “Why don’t we share and save time and water?”

When she released him, he rolled out of bed and held out a hand to her. “Let’s.”

The shower lasted longer than it should have, but Rafferty had used his considerable charm to coax her into a few intense moments that had nothing to do with getting clean. It was amazing what he managed to accomplish in a shower stall never meant to hold two people, much less two people engaged in mind-numbing sex. If his lovemaking had a desperate edge to it, she pretended not to notice.

Under the circumstances, she’d be a fool to get used to having Rafferty in her life, much less her bed. But the past 24 hours had only cemented her determination to clear his name. Rafferty wasn’t perfect, not by any standard. He was cocky, egotistical and all too full of himself. The one thing he wasn’t was stupid. And killing a known enemy with his own knife and leaving it stuck in the corpse was stupid beyond belief. She didn’t doubt for a moment that Rafferty was capable of killing, but this crime made no sense – unless it was a set-up.

She pulled out his file and began flipping the pages. Up to this point she’d been focusing on the trial and the testimony of the witnesses, but hadn’t there been a mention of a lien against the estate? Running her finger down the pages, it took her a while to find the reference buried in a paragraph of legal jargon.

“Rafferty, who stands to profit if you die? The Coalition will deduct the cost of your case from your estate if you’re executed. But who gets what’s left over?”

He finished tugging on his shirt before turning to face her. “I don’t have any family left. After any outstanding bills are paid, the rest will go to my heir.” His eyes shifted away, focusing on a point on the far side of the room.

“So who’s your heir? Could he be behind this?”

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was blushing. “It’s not a he; it’s a she.”

“Your ex?”

“There’s no way I’d give that greedy bitch a dime.” He turned back to face her. “I named you as my heir. So unless you set me up . . .”

She was stunned. “You named me as your heir? Why would you do that?”

His temper, never far away, blazed hot. “Damn it, Joss, after the day we just spent in that bed, all but killing each other with the heat between us, you have to ask a stupid question like that? How many ways do I have to show you that I love you? Until this mess blew up in my face, I was on my way to claim you.”

Shock shorted out her ability to think. “You love me?”

He stared at her, the same intensity in his eyes, but his voice was gentle. “Yes, Josalyn, I love you. What’s more, you love me.”

He didn’t sound convinced of that last part, so maybe it was more a question. Well, if he could confess all, so could she. She dropped the pile of papers on the bed to step into his arms.

“Oh, yeah, I love you.” Then she kissed him for a long time.

Finally, breaking away, he rested his forehead against hers, bringing them both back to the matter at hand. “As much as I’d like to continue this particular discussion, you sounded as if you were on the trail of something important.

“What? Oh, yes, the papers.” She fumbled through them to the right page. “Someone has a lien against your estate. We need to know who and why.”

She booted up her computer and typed in a request for the information. Marking it as high priority, she sat back and waited for someone at the other end to scramble into action. The answer wasn’t long in coming.

She scanned the page. “I think they’re claiming a breach of contract.”

Rafferty crouched down to look over her shoulder. He ran his finger down the screen cursing. “The damn bitch didn’t even bother to cover her tracks. She probably figured the Coalition wouldn’t pick up on the company name ‘Part-E Inc’, but that I would. Unscramble the letters and you have her name. Petra still wants her pound of flesh. It’s not enough to kill me, she wants my money, too.”

Josalyn looked disgusted. “The court wouldn’t look any further than to make sure the claim came from a legitimate company. If her name isn’t on the paperwork, they would have no reason to suspect anything. Well, Petra doesn’t know who she’s messing with.” The female would be luvky if she didn’t end up spending the rest of her centuries locked in the cell Rafferty had vacated.

Josalyn’s fangs came out, a predator ready for the hunt. “Now I can call her in for a talk.”

Rafferty leaned in to slide his fingertips over the sharp points of her canines before kissing her. “This should be good. Can I watch?”

Common sense reared its ugly head. “No, and I’m going to call in a second Chancellor because we need to tread carefully. It’s not enough to prove that the lien is false. We need to get her on the murder charge or the two of you could end up in adjoining cells.”

His expression sobered. “Until my execution.”

She nodded. “Like I said, we need her confession. But if she’s being this reckless, it shouldn’t be hard.”

It took Josalyn more time than they could really afford to track down Ambrose, her boss, and convince him that she needed his assistance. Chancellors were supposed to be able to handle any situation. Short of telling him that she was sleeping with her prisoner, she had to rely on convincing him that Petra’s family connections merited special care.

Once she had him convinced, she issued the order under his name to have Petra brought in for questioning regarding the prisoner contesting the lien. Then there was nothing left to do but wait.

Petra swept into the meeting room an hour late for her appointment and with a handful of lackeys trailing in behind her. Ambrose gave Josalyn a brief look, arching an eyebrow at the parade. He wouldn’t have questioned Petra’s decision to bring legal representation, but this group looked more like she’d been called away from a social event and had brought the party with her.

If Ambrose had doubts about Josalyn’s assessment of the case, they were gone now. The smug look Petra gave the two Chancellors sealed her fate. Even if Ambrose thought Rafferty was guilty, he wouldn’t take the woman’s casual disregard of protocol lightly.

In chilling tones, he expressed his displeasure. “Unless one of these people is your attorney, they can wait outside. They will also pay the same fine as you for keeping us waiting. The amount will increase geometrically for each additional second they remain in my presence.”

The crowd hissed in shock and scurried for the door, leaving Petra sputtering in indignation. She shot a venomous look at Josalyn. “What is she doing here?”

“You know very well why I’m here Petra. I’m in charge of Rafferty’s case.”

“What? He hasn’t been executed yet?” Her smile turned nasty. “Do they know you two were lovers when you were on the Council?”

Ambrose slammed his hand down on the table. “Madam, you will treat this hearing with the respect it deserves. Chancellor Sloan’s prior relationship with her prisoner is none of your concern. However, this bogus lien against his estate is.”

“The lien is legitimate, There was a breach of contract.” Petra shot a nasty look in Josalyn’s direction. “The accused ended our betrothal. His action cost me a great deal of money and emotional pain.”

Ambrose clearly wasn’t buying it. “Broken betrothals are hardly a rarity among the vampires. And considering you’ve broken at least one betrothal yourself, I have a difficult time believing that this was little more than an inconvenience.”

Josalyn decided it was time to toss more fuel on the fire. “I’m sure it can’t have anything to do with the fact that you believe Rafferty ended your betrothal because of his friendship with me.”

“Friendship! We both know it was more than that.” Petra’s pretty face wasn’t quite so lovely when contorted with rage. “You Chancellors think you’re above the rest of us, but you’re half-breeds at best. With Rafferty’s lineage, he should be executed for consorting with the likes of you.”

Rafferty was supposed to wait in the next room until he heard himself summoned, but he wasn’t going to sit around and listen to Josalyn be insulted. He strolled into the conference room. Ignoring his ex-fiancée, he moved to stand between the two women.

Just as he expected. Petra immediately turned on him. “What are you doing walking around free? I thought you’d be dead by now.”

“You mean you hoped I’d be dead by now.” He nodded in Ambrose’s direction. “I apologise for barging in uninvited, Chancellors. I’d also apologise for Petra’s manners, if she had any.” He glanced in her direction. It wouldn’t take much more prodding to make her lose all control of her tongue. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”

Josalyn smiled. “Not at all. I believe we were about to deny the lien on your estate as being without merit. Any monies, after legitimate costs are deducted, will go to your heir.”

“Good. I’m relieved to hear that. I wouldn’t want the woman who framed me for murder to profit from my death. I hope you’ll think of me when you spend my money, Josalyn.” He held his breath, waiting for the explosion.

It didn’t take long. Petra screamed and charged towards him, her fangs running out. “I should have simply killed you myself, you bastard! It’s not too late!”

It took both Ambrose and Josalyn to pull the enraged vampire off of him. No matter how much he hated her, Rafferty didn’t want to be the one to kill her.

Once Petra had been subdued, Ambrose called for the guards. “You will be charged with both the murder of the human and the attempted murder of Mr O’Day. Your assets are hereby frozen to cover the cost of your trial and to compensate Mr O’Day for any inconvenience he’s suffered at your hands.”

Petra was still cursing them as the guards dragged her away. Once age was gone, Ambrose turned his attention to Josalyn and Rafferty. “You two played a very dangerous game. If she’d controlled her mouth, you would’ve been on your way back for immediate execution.”

“It was a chance we had to take.” Josalyn looked pale. Clearly the strain of the past few days had been hard on her.

“I’ll need your resignation by the end of the week, Chancellor Sloan.”

Rafferty snarled, “But she –”

“Enough!” Ambrose included both of them in his glance. “Chancellors have to be neutral. You both know that. Looking back, I realize her feelings for you are the real reason she left her position as Arbitrator. And the way you leaped to her defence only confirms my opinion. Your last duty as Chancellor will be to write up the paperwork exonerating Mr O’Day here of any wrongdoing. I would do it, but I’ll be busy with the charges against his ex-betrothed.

Rafferty tried to feel some sympathy for Petra, but couldn’t. “If you need my testimony . . .”

“I’ll let you know when I’ve had time to review the case in its entirety.”

Josalyn took Rafferty’s hand and faced her superior. “Thank you for your assistance Chancellor. For the record, I’m sorry, Petra is guilty of a lot of things, but she did have some cause to resent my feelings for Rafferty.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” Ambrose gathered up the papers. “Now I must be going. I imagine the two of you have plans to make.”

Rafferty held his hand out to the older man. “That we do, sir. Would you like an invitation to the wedding?”

Ambrose smiled for the first time as he shook Rafferty’s hand. “Most certainly.”

When he was gone, Josalyn pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Rafferty realized he’d been a bit high-handed announcing their intent to get married before discussing it with her.

“About this wedding . . .”

“I should have asked you first.”

“Yes, you should have, but for the record, I accept. But there’s one thing you should know.

The twinkle in her eyes told him it was going to be all right. “And what’s that?”

She grabbed his collar and pulled his face down close to hers. “I don’t believe in long engagements.”

Then she kissed him.