To Love and Serve by Caridad Piñeiro Read Free Book Online

a pissed-off immortal would just tear out someone’s throat and leave it at that.”
    “Is that what you feel like doing right now? Tearing out someone’s throat? Or maybe draining them dry?” Blake’s prodding earned him another sharp poke from Meghan.
    “I might,” Ryder growled. “If I got my hands on that scum who shot Diana two years ago, I’d tear him to pieces without a second thought.”
    The rogue CIA agent who had wounded her the night of the raid might not have killed her outright, but he’d set the stage for her very slow and painful death. Unless…
    Ryder drove away thoughts of the “unless” and picked up his fresh glass of blood. The first serving had driven away the need to feed that being with Diana had awoken. With any luck, the second would keep it from awakening again when he went home.
    Foley rested his elbows on the bar. “Ryder has a point. Any self-respecting vampire would settle a fight with fangs and fists.”
    Diego nodded. “I know, but for now there’s not much the Council can do, other than investigate.”
    “What happens if it was a slayer who did the kill?” Meghan asked, the deep furrow across her forehead marring her pretty features.
    The unease in Ryder’s gut increased as Diego hesitated and shot him a worried look. “We have a pact with the slayers. From what we know, this kill wasn’t sanctioned.”
    Ryder asked, “What if it was a rogue slayer?”
    Diego looked grim. “We haven’t had need of a parlay with the slayers in over a century.”
    “And you’re not eager for another, I gather?” Ryder guessed.
    “It’s an uneasy peace we have with them. Anything that upsets that balance is bound to bring trouble.”
    Blake shook his head in disgust. “Seems to me you’re scared of a fight.”
    The heat of Diego’s fury wafted over them from his elder power. “Meghan, tell your little man to mind his manners. The last war with the slayers cost us half our elders and hundreds of lesser undead like you.”
    “And nearly exposed us to the humans,” Foley jumped in.
    Diego slugged back a bit of his drink. “That’s why we reached a pact. The slayers might want to see all of us gone, but if we were wiped out…”
    “There would be no need for their existence, either.” Meghan sipped from her glass.
    Wine, not blood, Ryder realized. He doubted Meghan would ever be truly comfortable with her undead status. He pushed out a breath.
    And neither would Diana.
    …
    B.R. — Before Ryder —Diana had spent many a late night at her desk at the FBI’s New York field office on Federal Plaza. Fighting the bad guys had been her one and only goal in life. Doing the right thing, as her father had urged her as he lay dying in her arms.
    A.R. — After Ryder —she’d bring her work home to the office in their apartment, not wanting to waste a single moment that could be shared with him. Their big maple desk ran along a west-facing wall of windows, providing plenty of space and light for her to spread out her papers. She loved to sit at the desk during the evening hours, relishing the city views. Soaking up its activity, even late at night—the city where she’d chosen to serve and protect.
    Eagerness to get back to work filled her, temporarily driving away the upset caused by the incident with Ryder. She picked up the thumb drive the ADIC had given her, slipped it into a slot on the computer, and opened the files. She decided to print it all, so she could lay everything out and pin the relevant bits to her bulletin board. As the printer churned away, she wondered why Jesus had asked for her help. The agents working the case were competent and experienced.
    She’d been following the gruesome killings, which had been splashed all over the news. It reflected badly on the NYFO, but worse, it inflamed the unsub’s ego, making him seek even more attention with the killings.
    In this case, she had a feeling the serial killer was just getting started. As she examined the crime