Blake felt Lilo stiffen next to him and reached for her hand, clasping it. It was icy.

“So you kill them. I understand,” she murmured, her voice shaky.

“Kill?” Samson furrowed his brow and shifted his gaze to Blake. “What the hell have you been telling her about us?”

“I’m afraid Lilo only found out about vampires a few hours ago. I’ve not been able to fully convince her yet that we don’t kill people.”

“Ahh.” Samson pulled in a breath, his nostrils flaring now, his gaze meeting Blake’s. “Very well. I see you have your work cut out for yourself.” With a smile, he addressed Lilo, “What I want to say is: we don’t kill. Not innocents anyway. But if a human can’t keep our secrets, we have to wipe his or her memory. It’s a painless process, and it will make life easier for all involved. I want you to know that this option is open to you.”

“No!” Blake protested, drawing both Samson’s and Lilo’s stunned looks onto him. “I mean, I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” He didn’t want Lilo’s memory erased. It would mean she wouldn’t remember him. And he wanted her to remember him. Hell, he wanted her to know everything about him, to trust him.

“You know the rules, Blake. Every human who accidentally learns of our secret is given a choice, should the circumstances warrant it. I think in this case, Miss Schroeder should be given a choice. If she wants her old life back once all this is over and we’ve found her friend and dealt with the guilty party, you’ll have to let her decide.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Lilo’s voice was firm and determined. “I know so much now. I don’t know whether I can go back to being ignorant. To not seeing what’s right in front of me. But no matter what I decide eventually, I’m no danger to you or your secrets.”

“I hope you’re right, Miss Schroeder,” Samson said.

“Is there anything else, Samson?” Blake asked.

“Not for now. I’ll see you both when we reconvene in two hours.” He walked to his desk and sat down.

Blake turned around and ushered Lilo to the door.

“Oh, and Blake,” Samson added. “Get your girlfriend a visitor badge so she won’t be harassed.”

“She’s not my g—”

“I’m not—”

“Course not.” Samson silenced them with his sardonic comment. “My mistake.”

Blake maneuvered Lilo out of the office and pulled the door shut behind them. “I’m sorry, Lilo. I know it must be embarrassing for you to constantly be reminded of what happened between us.”

She sighed. “It’s fine. But I guess since your colleagues don’t seem to believe that I’m not your girlfriend, maybe we should just save our breath and let them think what they want.”

He felt his lips curve upward into a smile. “I don’t have a problem with that. They’ll come to their own conclusions anyway.” Conclusions that, when it came down to it, were probably closer to the truth than his and Lilo’s protests that they weren’t dating.

“Hey, Blake!”

Blake turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw Yvette, the dark-haired beauty who was blood-bonded to Haven, Wesley’s vampire brother, coming toward him. She was dressed in tight-fitting leather pants and a pink top that accentuated her perfect boobs. Haven was one lucky son of a bitch.

“Yvette, what’s going on?”

Yvette nodded at Lilo, then addressed him, “Haven wanted me to tell you that the human we have in custody has come out of his drug-addled state. I’m going down there now if you want to interrogate him.”

“Absolutely.” He motioned to Lilo. “Lilo, this is Yvette, Wesley’s sister-in-law. She’s one of our best bodyguards. She’s been with Scanguards for decades.”

Yvette cast him a sideways glance. “You make me sound old.” She smiled at Lilo. “Nice to meet you, Lilo. I know your friend. She’s driven me a few times. I pray she’s alright.”

“Thank you.” Lilo sighed and looked at him again. “Where’s that interrogation taking place?”

Yvette and Blake exchanged a quick look, then Blake shook his head. “I’m sorry, but for security reasons I can’t allow you inside the interrogation room. Why don’t you wait in my office for me?”

A disappointed look spread on her face. “But I—”

Her protest was cut off by Yvette. “The V lounge might be a better idea. Nina and Delilah are down there right now. I’m sure they’ll be happy to entertain Lilo while we take care of this.” She arched an eyebrow at him.

“Excellent idea.” He smiled. Since both Nina and Delilah were human and blood-bonded to vampires, they were the ideal conversational partners for Lilo. They could answer whatever questions she might have and give her a different perspective. That of a human who loved a vampire. “I’ll walk you down there.” He nodded at Yvette. “I’ll meet you in the interrogation room in five minutes.”

~ ~ ~

After introducing her to two women in a lounge that looked like it belonged in a five-star hotel, Blake left.

Delilah, a very pretty dark-haired woman with curves, patted the sofa cushion next to her. “Why don’t you take a seat? It’s gonna be a while before the men are done with their work.”

“Thank you.”

Lilo sat down and glanced at the other woman, who sat opposite. So this was Nina, Amaury’s mate? The woman who had her man wrapped around her little finger. She had short blond hair and an athletic figure.

“You must be exhausted,” Delilah said and waved to one of the waitresses circulating. “What would you like to drink?”

The waitress approached. “Ma’am?”

“A glass of red wine maybe?” Lilo asked hesitantly, glancing at the glasses in front of Delilah and Nina.

“From Samson’s private collection,” Delilah instructed the waitress.

The woman nodded and left.

“Your husband drinks wine?” For some reason she’d assumed that vampires didn’t consume human food or drink.

Delilah chuckled. “No, he doesn’t, of course.” She winked at Nina. “Though Amaury, I’m sure wouldn’t mind an occasional glass.”