Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Collection 6-10 by Laurell K. Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

Branswell said. “Counselor, Sergeant Storr.”
    “Thanks for letting me sit in on this, Branswell,” Dolph said.
    “You said she was one of yours. Besides, I know Gross and Brady. They were the first officers on scene for the zombies. They say good things about her. I’ve talked to half a dozen officers that say Ms. Blake saved their butt or stood shoulder to shoulder with them under fire and didn’t blink. It cuts you a hell of a lot of slack, Blake, but that slack isn’t unlimited. Watch your back, and try not to shoot up any innocent bystanders.” With that, he left.
    Dolph stared down at me. “I’ll drive you back to your place.”
    “Richard’s waiting for me,” I said.
    “What’s going on, Anita?”
    “I told Branswell everything I know.”
    Catherine stood up. “Anita has answered all the questions she’s going to answer tonight.”
    “He’s a friend,” I said.
    “He’s also a cop,” Catherine said. She smiled. “Isn’t that right, Sergeant Storr?”
    Dolph stared at her for a minute. “That is certainly true, Ms. Maison-Gillette.” He pushed away from the wall. He looked at me. “I’ll talk to you later, Anita.”
    “I know,” I said.
    “Come on,” Catherine said. “Let’s get out of here before they change their minds.”
    “Don’t you believe me?” I asked.
    “I’m your lawyer. Of course I believe you.”
    I looked at her. She looked at me. I got up. We left. I wondered if Richard would believe me. Probably not.

5
----
    R ICHARD and I walked toward his car, through the police station parking lot. He hadn’t said a word to me. He’d shaken hands with Catherine and headed for the car. He got into his side. I slid into the passenger side. Richard started the engine and backed out of the parking slot.
    “You’re mad about something,” I said.
    He eased out onto the street. He always drove carefully when he was angry. “What could I possibly be mad about?” The sarcasm was thick enough to eat with a spoon.
    “You think I knew there was a hit man in my apartment?”
    He flashed me a look that was pure rage. “You knew, and you let me go inside and set that damned TV up. You got me out of harm’s way.”
    “I wasn’t sure, Richard.”
    “I bet you had your gun drawn before he fired.”
    I shrugged.
    “Dammit, Anita, you could have been killed.”
    “But I wasn’t.”
    “That’s your answer to everything. If you survive, it’s all right.”
    “It beats the alternative,” I said.
    “Don’t make jokes,” Richard said.
    “Look, Richard, I didn’t go out hunting this guy. He came to me.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “And you would have done what? Go through the door first? You’d have taken a chest full of buckshot and survived. How would you have explained that? You’d have been outed as a lycanthrope. You’d have lost your job, at the very least.”
    “We could have called the police.”
    “And told them what? That Custard sniffed at the door? If they had investigated, they’d have gotten shot. The guy was jumpy as hell. He shot through the door, remember? He didn’t know who he was firing at.”
    He turned onto Olive, shaking his head. “You should have told me.”
    “What would it have changed, Richard? Except maybe you’d have tried to play hero, and if you survived, you’d have lost your career.”
    “Dammit, dammit.” He smashed his hands into the steering wheel over and over. When he looked at me, his eyes had gone amber and alien. “I don’t need you to protect me, Anita.”
    “Ditto,” I said.
    Silence filled the car like ice water. Nobody but the bad guy had died. I’d done the right thing. But it was hard to explain.
    “It wasn’t that you risked your life,” Richard said, “it was that you got rid of me before you did it. You didn’t even give me a chance. I have never interfered with you doing your job.”
    “Would you have considered this part of my job?”
    “Closer to your job description than mine,” he