Free Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set by Susan Krinard

again, and they removed the manacles.
    â€œWhat did he say to them?” Daniel asked.
    Isis sighed inwardly. This would not be a pleasant conversation, and it must be done in private. “Come to my apartment,” she said, “and I will explain.”
    But he remained where he was, staring toward the doors of the depository with a fixed expression of surprise. An Opir was emerging cautiously, his head swinging back and forth as he took in the small crowd and the presence of the Lawkeepers.
    Glancing at Daniel’s face, Isis knew that something was very wrong. He knew this Opir.
    Knew him and hated him.
    â€œCome,” Isis said, carefully taking Daniel’s hand.
    He stared at her blankly. His hand trembled, and it almost seemed as if he had gone to some place deep in his mind, rejecting anything that would restore him to the real world. Unease, strange and unwelcome, coiled in Isis’s belly.
    But he moved when she tugged on his hand. He followed her as the crowd dispersed, and she took him to her building and her apartment on the top floor. He paused inside the doorway, his rigid expression finally easing into a very ordinary suspicion. He scanned the main room as if he expected a trap.
    â€œIt is all right, Daniel,” she said gently, afraid to touch him again. “We are alone here.”
    Daniel met her gaze, and the veil dropped from his eyes.
    â€œPlease, sit down,” she said. “I can offer something to drink and a little fruit, if you wish.”
    â€œNo,” Daniel said. He continued to stand by the small table in front of the couch until Isis took her seat, and then he perched on the edge of the couch, a muscle in his jaw jumping faintly.
    â€œWho was it, Daniel?” she asked. “Who did you see outside the depository?”
    Daniel blinked as if he didn’t understand her question. “Why were those people protesting?” he said, changing the subject without warning.
    â€œThere are always a few citizens who resent the necessary part they play in keeping our city strong.”
    â€œI didn’t see any violence. Why were the protesters arrested?”
    â€œIt was overzealous on the Lawkeepers’ part,” she said, equally bewildered by their actions. “It was not necessary.”
    â€œNot if you have free speech in Tanis,” he said. “Do you?”
    â€œEven your Enclaves do not have completely free speech,” she said, “but we do what we can to encourage it here.”
    â€œJust not today,” Daniel said. “What will happen to the protesters?”
    â€œSince Bes defused the situation, they will be sent home with a reminder not to disturb the peace.”
    â€œAnd if the same people do it again?”
    â€œI do not know,” she admitted. “As long as they remain peaceful—”
    â€œWhat do you do with humans who won’t give blood?”
    â€œWe encourage them to seek a place that better suits their preferences.”
    â€œYou eject them from the city.”
    â€œOnly if we have no other choice, and even then we provide them with all the resources they require. As we discussed, there are human colonies to take them in.”
    â€œAnd packs of rogues to deal with along the way.”
    â€œWould you have a society without rules?” she asked. “Would you permit citizens to flout the law at will? Unimpeded aggression among the people of Tanis?”
    â€œOpiri thrive on aggression,” he said. “How often do they flout your laws? Do they steal blood from unwilling humans?”
    â€œI have never heard of such a thing occurring here.”
    â€œIf they did, would they face similar punishment?”
    â€œThere is no favoritism, Daniel.”
    He stared down at the glass table and moved a small vase a few inches to one side, his hand clutching the fragile vessel as if it were a weapon. “But humans, of course, need more looking after,” he said.