should leave me alone."
He smiles briefly. "I know. You have to understand something about us. We can't resist you, Michel and I. Twins have a special relationship. We have a shared past. We have many things in common. You're one of them."
"I don't even know either of you."
He exhales. "No you don't, but we know you. I have a feeling that you will be getting to know us both very well."
I glare at him and turn away to enter the building. As I stand at the elevator, I turn back briefly to see him still standing there on the steps, watching me.
I enter the boardroom where Michel and the others have gathered for my next test and take a seat across from their table. Michel's gaze is fixed on me – I can feel it from where I sit and I avoid him, looking everywhere but in his direction. I'm determined to get through this without looking him directly in the eye because I fear I'll blush or give away the fact that I know what happened to him.
He shouldn't feel shame about it. He's innocent of everything, but he's a priest, one born in an era very different from ours, and no doubt his experience has formed the man he's become. I've taken classes in psychology and know how traumas affect people. Hell, I have my own deep dark secrets that my mind won't let me remember.
"How are you, Eve?" he says to me while Ed and Terri confer over a file in the corner of the room.
Now I have to look at him. When I do, I try to keep my face impassive but as usual I'm struck by his beauty – like Julien, he has black hair against such pale skin, his blue eyes fringed with thick black lashes under expressive brows, his soft mouth and square jaw. My heart beats a little faster, remembering our kiss. My cheeks heat under his gaze but I force myself not to look away.
"I'm fine, Michel," I say, keeping my voice light as if nothing has changed. And it's then that vivid images of him being killed on the altar in the Basilica fill my mind's eye. I try to blot the image out of my mind, but of course, my mind won't let me consciously forget any of these images. Instead, it keeps forcing me back to them.
I smile at him, purposely, trying to appear calm and cool.
He smiles back at me, pressing his index finger into his cheek and then points at me accusingly, a grin on his face. Then I get it – my dimples. He's reminding me of what he said about my dimples… It's so intimate and sweet, my breath hitches. I feel all mushy inside and my heart breaks just a little for him.
He and Julien are nothing like the monsters of my imagination. I thought taking on my mother's work would see me finding a way to kill vampires and now, what's foremost on my mind is whether I'll fuck one of them.
Terri takes her seat and Ed closes a file and comes around the table, leaning against it, his arms folded.
"You met Dr. Theresa Starr. She's the lead profiler for the SCU."
"Call me Terri," she says and smiles.
"And of course you already know Agent de Cernay," he says, pointing to Michel. "He's our advisor from the Council and operations lead on the River Man case."
I raise my eyebrows at mention of the River Man serial case. It's been the talk of the city. I make eye contact with Ed and Terri, but I've already played eye games with Michel and so I don't with him.
Finally, Ed hands me a case file and I turn my attention from them to the papers inside.
"Take a look," Ed says. "I know you're not trained in forensics or police procedure, but just look through and tell us what you make of it. We want to see your analytic skills. Your ability to encounter new information and synthesize it – make inductive leaps. You have ten minutes."
The thick file contains a series of grisly autopsy photos in vivid color. The crime scene photographs reveal fully-dressed bodies with their gloved hands shackled in front of them, their decapitated heads in their embrace. Half submerged in water, the limbs are tangled in seaweed and ropes attached to old dock pilings.
All six victims
He smiles briefly. "I know. You have to understand something about us. We can't resist you, Michel and I. Twins have a special relationship. We have a shared past. We have many things in common. You're one of them."
"I don't even know either of you."
He exhales. "No you don't, but we know you. I have a feeling that you will be getting to know us both very well."
I glare at him and turn away to enter the building. As I stand at the elevator, I turn back briefly to see him still standing there on the steps, watching me.
I enter the boardroom where Michel and the others have gathered for my next test and take a seat across from their table. Michel's gaze is fixed on me – I can feel it from where I sit and I avoid him, looking everywhere but in his direction. I'm determined to get through this without looking him directly in the eye because I fear I'll blush or give away the fact that I know what happened to him.
He shouldn't feel shame about it. He's innocent of everything, but he's a priest, one born in an era very different from ours, and no doubt his experience has formed the man he's become. I've taken classes in psychology and know how traumas affect people. Hell, I have my own deep dark secrets that my mind won't let me remember.
"How are you, Eve?" he says to me while Ed and Terri confer over a file in the corner of the room.
Now I have to look at him. When I do, I try to keep my face impassive but as usual I'm struck by his beauty – like Julien, he has black hair against such pale skin, his blue eyes fringed with thick black lashes under expressive brows, his soft mouth and square jaw. My heart beats a little faster, remembering our kiss. My cheeks heat under his gaze but I force myself not to look away.
"I'm fine, Michel," I say, keeping my voice light as if nothing has changed. And it's then that vivid images of him being killed on the altar in the Basilica fill my mind's eye. I try to blot the image out of my mind, but of course, my mind won't let me consciously forget any of these images. Instead, it keeps forcing me back to them.
I smile at him, purposely, trying to appear calm and cool.
He smiles back at me, pressing his index finger into his cheek and then points at me accusingly, a grin on his face. Then I get it – my dimples. He's reminding me of what he said about my dimples… It's so intimate and sweet, my breath hitches. I feel all mushy inside and my heart breaks just a little for him.
He and Julien are nothing like the monsters of my imagination. I thought taking on my mother's work would see me finding a way to kill vampires and now, what's foremost on my mind is whether I'll fuck one of them.
Terri takes her seat and Ed closes a file and comes around the table, leaning against it, his arms folded.
"You met Dr. Theresa Starr. She's the lead profiler for the SCU."
"Call me Terri," she says and smiles.
"And of course you already know Agent de Cernay," he says, pointing to Michel. "He's our advisor from the Council and operations lead on the River Man case."
I raise my eyebrows at mention of the River Man serial case. It's been the talk of the city. I make eye contact with Ed and Terri, but I've already played eye games with Michel and so I don't with him.
Finally, Ed hands me a case file and I turn my attention from them to the papers inside.
"Take a look," Ed says. "I know you're not trained in forensics or police procedure, but just look through and tell us what you make of it. We want to see your analytic skills. Your ability to encounter new information and synthesize it – make inductive leaps. You have ten minutes."
The thick file contains a series of grisly autopsy photos in vivid color. The crime scene photographs reveal fully-dressed bodies with their gloved hands shackled in front of them, their decapitated heads in their embrace. Half submerged in water, the limbs are tangled in seaweed and ropes attached to old dock pilings.
All six victims
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