Vampire: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella by Rebecca Zanetti (love letters to the dead .txt) 📕

You obviously are in danger, and there are questions with no answers that I really need to find.”

She frowned, turning more fully toward him. “Like why my stalker would dart you.”

“Yeah. More importantly, why were we both dumped in a barn hours from here?” It didn’t make any sense that her stalker would want Raine anywhere around. He was the biggest threat, and he should’ve been taken out while incapacitated.

She rubbed a dot of mud off her chin. “I was thinking about that. If this guy is really nuts, he might want to hurt you in front of me, thinking there was something between us.” She chewed on her bottom lip, obviously having been running through scenarios all night in her head. “If he hired somebody to kidnap us, he might’ve been on the way to the barn, reassured that we were both tied up. Maybe he was slowed down by the storm.”

The sheriff slammed his fist on his desk, causing her to jump. “That’s ridiculous. Mariana. You have to know how nutty that sounds,” he snapped.

A low growl rumbled up Raine’s chest, and he ruthlessly swallowed it down. That was the first time the sheriff had referred to her by her first name, and now he sounded concerned instead of condescending. Mariana faltered, looking between them again. Raine ground his palm in his left eye to ward off a looming headache. “I did not engineer this kidnapping.”

“I disagree,” the sheriff countered.

“Yeah. Want me to arrest him?” the first deputy said.

Mariana partially turned to see him clearly as Raine did the same. “Wait a minute. Johnny?” She whirled to face the sheriff. “You hired your son as a deputy after he failed to attend anger management sessions?”

The man was a moron. Raine shook his head. Johnny was a jerk who’d only attended one session, and he’d hit on Mariana and pissed Raine off within minutes. The kid hadn’t come back.

The sheriff stood taller and sucked in his gut. “The judge dismissed all charges, and Deputy Baker here passed all of the requirements. He’s a good deputy, but if you want somebody else to arrest Maxwell, that’s no problem.”

Mariana stood to her full and still small height. “I seriously doubt your abilities now, Sheriff. I will not file any sort of report against Mr. Maxwell, and if you arrest him, I will testify on his behalf that I said so to you. He didn’t want to file a report because of the corruption here, and I disagreed. It appears that he was correct and I was wrong.”

The sheriff’s expression softened. “Mariana. I understand your anger, but please take a moment and think just of yourself. This man is a danger to you, and I can have him off the street long enough for you to figure out what’s happening. At the very least, let me do some investigation into his background and find the trail back to Dallas. I really believe he’s your stalker. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Johnny leaned forward, his hair cut in a new buzz. “You should listen to my pop. He’s a great cop.”

Raine could thank the kid for the assist. He should’ve kept his mouth shut.

“No,” Mariana said, eyeing Johnny. “You were arrested several times for beating up your young wife, and then in our group, you were rude and suggestive. It shows poor judgment on your father’s behalf that he hired you and gave you a gun.” She stiffened. “We’re leaving now. Please keep my report on file for the next sheriff.” With that zinger, she turned and pushed her way between the deputies and out of the office.

Raine watched her as a very unwelcome heat flashed through his system. One of want and need—and intrigue. The woman was magnificent, even while muddy and still wet. “Sheriff?” He turned to the man glaring at him. “Kiss my ass.” With less class than his woman had shown, he shoved the deputies out of his way and strode after her.

Now all he had to do was convince her that he had to protect her.

Yeah. What could go wrong with that conversation? He sighed and followed her into the early morning outside the station. “Mariana? Wait up.”

“No,” she snapped, jumping into the one taxi in town. A second later, it sped off.

He watched it go. Fine. There was something she didn’t know about him, and he’d easily beat her home. Let’s see how she liked that since there was definitely something about him she could never know.

Who, or rather what, he truly was.

Vampire.

Chapter 4

Mariana dressed in yoga pants and an over-large sweatshirt before tugging thick comfy socks over her chilled feet. She’d remained in the shower until the water had turned lukewarm, and now she was clean of mud. Her hair was drying around her face, and she needed breakfast. Did she have eggs? Humming, she strode from her bedroom into the living room and stopped cold.

Raine Maxwell sat on her floor, legs extended, head back on the wall and his eyes closed. A duffel bag sat next to him. Mud covered his motorcycle boots and the bottom of his jeans, which had dried nicely to show the muscles in his thighs.

She caught her breath. “What are you doing here?”

He slowly opened his eyes but didn’t move otherwise. “I figured we should talk.”

Seriously? She looked at her locked front door. “How did you get inside?” Her gun was still in the kitchen. Why hadn’t she taken it into the bathroom with her?

“It’s a talent.” He watched her like she was something curious and slightly yummy. As if he wanted to play and then eat.

Her shiver wasn’t all about fear. Maybe not much about fear. “Tell me once and for all,” she murmured.

“I’m not your damn stalker.” He rolled his eyes. “Give me a break, Doc. You know I’m not.”

Every instinct in her body told her he wasn’t the stalker from Dallas. “You might not be the main stalker, but here you are, breaking