Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
The detective was quiet for a moment. Then she sighed.
“You know, it’s a real shame about the Monstrum.”
Terra looked up sharply.
“What does that mean?”
The detective shook her head.
“Just that I’d hate to see him go to prison.”
Terra’s heart jumped into her throat.
“But Taurex didn’t do anything wrong! I mean, he did but he had a good reason to do it. Orlov kidnapped my kids and Taurex saved them—he doesn’t deserve to be punished for that!”
Detective Ramirez glanced toward the closed door and lowered her voice slightly.
“Viktor Orlov was scum,” she said. “We’ve had his name connected to several deaths over the years. Young women—mostly dancers. We could never prove anything well enough to make charges stick, but we knew.”
Terra felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cubes into her stomach.
“Deaths? He killed them? How…how many?”
The detective frowned.
“Five at least. Probably more we don’t know about.”
“Oh my God!” Terra felt sick.
“It’s not like the world is a worse place because Mr. Taurex took him out,” Detective Ramirez went on, musingly. “And we’ve been trying to nail him for years. I would almost say that your boss did us a favor.”
“He’s not my boss,” Terra said automatically. “Not anymore.”
Detective Ramirez’s eyebrows rose.
“He isn’t?”
Terra hesitated and the other woman leaned back in her chair, studying her.
“Did you quit because you were planning to have a more intimate relationship with him?” she asked.
Terra nibbled her lower lip. How much should she say? Would it help or hurt Taurex if she admitted they had been intimate?
“Well…” she began uncertainly.
“Because, you know, there is a law on the books concerning Kindred and Monstrum and murder.”
Terra sat straighter.
“What? What kind of law?” she demanded.
“The Kindred Rage-Killing Act,” Detective Ramirez said. “It prohibits prosecution of a Kindred or Monstrum who kills or seriously injures a human while acting to defend his mate or immediate family from a credible threat.”
Terra stared at her in surprise.
“There’s a law that says that?”
The detective nodded.
“There is. You’d be surprised how often it comes into play when some asshole messes with a Kindred’s girlfriend or wife or kids.” She shook her head. “You’d think if a human man knew a woman was married to a seven or eight-foot-tall alien warrior, he’d leave her the hell alone.” She shrugged. “But you know—men are stupid.”
“Yes. Yes, they are,” Terra agreed distractedly. Her mind was racing—how could she work this to Taurex’s advantage?
The detective studied her as she thought. Then she said,
“So if Mr. Taurex happened to be involved with you in more than a professional capacity and then Viktor Orlov messed with your kids…”
“He’s my mate.”
The words came out so fast that Terra almost tripped over them.
Detective Ramirez looked at her with raised eyebrows, but Terra kept going.
“I mean, we’re fated mates. That’s a Monstrum thing,” she added.
“Fated mates, you say?” the detective asked.
Terra nodded emphatically.
“Yes. It means we’re meant to be together.”
The lie should have felt strange. Instead, it felt right—it felt true, Terra thought.
“And how do you know that the two of you are meant to be together?” Detective Ramirez asked.
“The very first time we touched, there was this mental connection,” Terra explained, truthfully. “Kind of a psychic flash, if that makes any sense. And then we just knew.”
Detective Ramirez narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
“Well, that’s a pretty story, but as far as I can find out, you and Mr. Taurex haven’t been spending much time together recently. It seems to me that ‘fated mates’ would want to be all over each other all the time.”
“We haven’t been together because Taurex had to go on a mission for the Monstrum Mother Ship,” Terra said quickly. “And after he rescued my children, he didn’t want me mixed up in what happened with Orlov. So I’ve been keeping my distance.”
It was another half-truth—another statement that somehow felt more honest than dishonest. After all, Taurex had told her she was his mate. And he had protected her children as though they were his own.
The more Terra said the words, the more another truth rose inside her. She wanted him back. Not because he saved Cody and Lisa. Not because he had money. Not because she owed him anything.
She wanted Taurex because she missed him every single day. And there was no way in hell she was going to let him spend the rest of his life in a human prison because he killed Viktor fucking Orlov!
Detective Ramirez leaned forward and looked her in the eyes.
“Terra, I need you to be very clear. Are you saying that Taurex is your recognized mate and that he was acting to protect your children when he killed Orlov and the other men?”
Terra lifted her chin.
“Yes. Because he’s my fated mate and my fiancé. We’re even planning our wedding!” she heard herself say.
Wait…what? Where had that come from? But it was too late to pull the lie back now. Detective Ramirez looked interested.