Free Blood at Stake (Warriors of the Krieger Book 2) by Theresa Hissong Page A

I thought,” I let out a
heavy breath and leaned against his desk. “Fate has a weird way of
throwing a wrench into life, doesn’t it?”
    “You have no idea, Krieger ,” he shook
his head. “I’ll bring the man down. You go sit with your mate. Give
me about ten minutes.”
    I found her standing still as a statue next
to the privacy glass at the back of the room. I didn’t speak as I
held my hand out to her as a silent demand that I wanted her in my
arms. I smiled as she floated over to me, her feet rising off the
floor by a few inches. I’d noticed this slight ability of hers once
before. It was something she did subconsciously. I don’t think she
even knew she did it.
    “Powle will bring the man into that room in
a few minutes,” I said, pointing toward the glass that separated us
from the interrogation room. “I promise you, the human cannot see
you. I want you to tell me if that was the man who harmed you.”
    “Okay,” she shivered, remembering the events
of the night she was attacked after Dragus and Charity’s
wedding.
    “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“We can always get the human to talk.”
    “Yes,” she whispered. “I need to do
this.”
    We both looked up when Powle opened the door
to the room on the other side of the glass. The human was cuffed,
his disheveled brown hair stood in disarray around his face as if
he’d been running his filthy hands through it repeatedly since we
caught him outside of Lydia’s home. He’d been frantic to get away,
screaming threats of suing the vampires for mishandling him.
    Lydia gasped and backed up into my chest,
turning to burrow her face into my coat. Her tiny hand tangled up
into my shirt. “That…that’s him. The son. His name is J…Jerry. He’s
the one that wanted to kill me. His father is the one that wanted
my blood…told his son to ‘get the vial’.”
    “And you are sure, doll?” I asked. “This is
the man that attacked you?”
    “Y…yes, Ashby,” she growled. “I…I can’t look
at him anymore. Please take me away from here.”
    She’d been so hell bent on confronting the
human that attacked her, but once she actually laid eyes on him,
Lydia didn’t want to be this close anymore. Her body shook, and the
scent of fear rolled off her in waves, causing my protective
instincts to ignite. I had to remember that I couldn’t go into that
room and tear that man to shreds.
    I knocked on the glass twice, telling Powle
that we were done. He led the suspect out of the room as I gathered
her in my arms.
    “You did great,” I praised her. “Let’s go
get some things from your home, and we can spend the rest of the
night relaxing at my home…our home.”
    She didn’t say anything as I tucked her
protectively against my side and left the station.
     

Chapter 11

    Lydia
     
    I woke up in the bed of a warrior. It was
strange not being in my own room. Ashby had been very accommodating
after we’d returned to his home with my belongings. I didn’t take
everything, just a week’s worth of clothes, my toiletries and my
laptop. We were mated, but I asked to keep the spare bedroom to
myself. Ashby said that I could, but the tick in his rugged jaw had
me thinking he didn’t like it very much.
    I needed my privacy. The idea that we’d
mated so damn quickly caused questions to filter through my mind
about the why’s, how’s, and what the hell’s! Why did it happen
after one time making love? I shivered remembering that it was the
hottest sex I’d ever experienced. How were we going to proceed from
here? Did he use the excuse of my safety to keep me at his home?
Why was I being paranoid? How the hell did this all happen so
fast?
    After I pulled on a robe over my naked body,
I sat in the bed for a long time asking myself stupid questions and
not finding any concrete answers to my chattering mind. I kept the
pillow hugged tight to my body and just told myself to let things
roll, but I couldn’t shake the confused feeling I was