the VLO. All this time and no one noticed criminals getting through the cracks. Unbelievable.
And these were the humans Kade had contact with most.
She remembered her reaction to the pictures of his newest transformation. With a wealth
of foreboding, she checked the record, and it made her sick to her stomach. Jerry
Finch, serial pedophile, three counts. The last victim was hospitalized for months
following the assault, with burn wounds on the boy’s face. In a burst of clarity,
she saw a glimmer of the real Kade. He hadn’t mutilated innocent subjugates at all.
There was nothing innocent about any one of these humans.
He had to have known somehow that these were bad men, that they shouldn’t have been
turned. It made no sense for him to proceed with the transformations. A hundred questions
crowded her thoughts, and she needed answers only he could provide.
With a sudden burst of energy, she jumped up from her seat. A glance out the window
revealed the setting sun. She snapped up her jacket, rushed out of her office, and
caught the elevator down. He could have tried to defend his actions if he’d only told
her about this. Unless he knew no different. Those criminals were what he knew of
humans. Brutal, he’d said, and now she knew why he thought so. Maybe he believed he
was doing the right thing by punishing those men. She needed to know his reasoning,
but regardless of it, he had to stop. What he was doing was as wrong as his assignments
to transform those men.
She couldn’t get to his penthouse fast enough. When she reached his door, she pounded
on the worn, symbol-scarred wood. He opened the door himself, thankfully, but he tensed
in surprise when he saw her. His brows rose expectantly as the silence drew tight
between them.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I’m so sorry, Kade.”
“What do you have to be sorry about?”
Ignoring the question, she clutched his biceps, her gaze darting around the room.
“Where’s your newest?”
“I sent him to my home in Glacier.” He rested his hands at her waist.
Her relief felt like the aftereffect of a deep-tissue massage. “A thousand thank-yous.”
“What’s going on, Val?”
“Oh, Kade.” How was she supposed to explain what had been done to him, how he’d been
deceived? “None of your subjugates were eligible for transformation. Not one.”
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “They were all approved, all legal.”
“They were approved all right, but they weren’t supposed to be. They had criminal
records. They were felons, all violent, all evil.”
“You think I don’t know that? After I taste their blood, I see their sins.” At her
questioning look, he elaborated. “My adjuvant ability is to see past events of those
I feed from.”
She gasped. “Do you realize how valuable that is? You’re like cop, lawyer, judge,
and jury all in one.” She waved her hand. “Never mind. Kade, if you knew what these
men were, why did you transform them? You could have refused them.”
He drew away from her and pushed his hands through his hair, his biceps bunching with
tension. “No, I couldn’t have.”
“Yes, you could. You’re the third most powerful vampire in the Immortalis . You can do what you want.”
“Dammit, Val, trust me,” he snapped. She recoiled at his harsh demeanor. “Our races
may appear similar, but we’re so fucking different. You’re assuming the rules restricting
transformations are ours. They are not. These men are falling through your cracks, not ours. Criminal background has no bearing in our approvals. None.”
She felt the shock of his words down to her toes. “That’s insane.”
“Why would it matter to us what they did in their former life?”
“Why do you think?” she asked. He shrugged, driving her mood from horrified to outraged.
“Because they could commit more of the same crimes.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Yet they
And these were the humans Kade had contact with most.
She remembered her reaction to the pictures of his newest transformation. With a wealth
of foreboding, she checked the record, and it made her sick to her stomach. Jerry
Finch, serial pedophile, three counts. The last victim was hospitalized for months
following the assault, with burn wounds on the boy’s face. In a burst of clarity,
she saw a glimmer of the real Kade. He hadn’t mutilated innocent subjugates at all.
There was nothing innocent about any one of these humans.
He had to have known somehow that these were bad men, that they shouldn’t have been
turned. It made no sense for him to proceed with the transformations. A hundred questions
crowded her thoughts, and she needed answers only he could provide.
With a sudden burst of energy, she jumped up from her seat. A glance out the window
revealed the setting sun. She snapped up her jacket, rushed out of her office, and
caught the elevator down. He could have tried to defend his actions if he’d only told
her about this. Unless he knew no different. Those criminals were what he knew of
humans. Brutal, he’d said, and now she knew why he thought so. Maybe he believed he
was doing the right thing by punishing those men. She needed to know his reasoning,
but regardless of it, he had to stop. What he was doing was as wrong as his assignments
to transform those men.
She couldn’t get to his penthouse fast enough. When she reached his door, she pounded
on the worn, symbol-scarred wood. He opened the door himself, thankfully, but he tensed
in surprise when he saw her. His brows rose expectantly as the silence drew tight
between them.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I’m so sorry, Kade.”
“What do you have to be sorry about?”
Ignoring the question, she clutched his biceps, her gaze darting around the room.
“Where’s your newest?”
“I sent him to my home in Glacier.” He rested his hands at her waist.
Her relief felt like the aftereffect of a deep-tissue massage. “A thousand thank-yous.”
“What’s going on, Val?”
“Oh, Kade.” How was she supposed to explain what had been done to him, how he’d been
deceived? “None of your subjugates were eligible for transformation. Not one.”
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “They were all approved, all legal.”
“They were approved all right, but they weren’t supposed to be. They had criminal
records. They were felons, all violent, all evil.”
“You think I don’t know that? After I taste their blood, I see their sins.” At her
questioning look, he elaborated. “My adjuvant ability is to see past events of those
I feed from.”
She gasped. “Do you realize how valuable that is? You’re like cop, lawyer, judge,
and jury all in one.” She waved her hand. “Never mind. Kade, if you knew what these
men were, why did you transform them? You could have refused them.”
He drew away from her and pushed his hands through his hair, his biceps bunching with
tension. “No, I couldn’t have.”
“Yes, you could. You’re the third most powerful vampire in the Immortalis . You can do what you want.”
“Dammit, Val, trust me,” he snapped. She recoiled at his harsh demeanor. “Our races
may appear similar, but we’re so fucking different. You’re assuming the rules restricting
transformations are ours. They are not. These men are falling through your cracks, not ours. Criminal background has no bearing in our approvals. None.”
She felt the shock of his words down to her toes. “That’s insane.”
“Why would it matter to us what they did in their former life?”
“Why do you think?” she asked. He shrugged, driving her mood from horrified to outraged.
“Because they could commit more of the same crimes.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Yet they
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