Tempted in the Night Read Online Free PDF

to the ground, roughed me up, cuffed me, and then interrogated me?"
    John clenched his fists in an effort not to strangle her, but couldn't help his involuntary step toward her. "Back off," he muttered to Mac and Dirk when they moved to intercept him. "If I haven't killed her by now, I'm not going to."
    Mac and Dirk stopped in their tracks, but their expressions said they were clearly concerned.
    "Is this true, John?" the admiral asked sharply.
    "Technically? Yes." John shook his head in exasperation. "But do you really think I'd do something like that without having a damn good reason?"
    Charles's tone was almost frosty. "I think I'd like to hear what reason you have for treating my cousin that way."
    "How about attempted murder?"
    "What?" Now all the attention turned to Jessica, and John was glad to see her squirm beneath it.
    Taking advantage of the moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, which he tossed to Dirk. "There's something in the trunk that you'll want to see."
    Dirk moved to the trunk and opened it. Seconds later, he lifted out the ornate sword.
    "I remember seeing that in the admiral's study once," John explained.
    "Not this one," Dirk said, sounding awed as he pulled the sword from its scabbard and sliced the air a couple of times with it. In the fading outdoor light, his eyes gleamed with an unnatural reddish hue, which gave John a start. He'd only seen that trick of the lighting once before—on the man in the park.
    "My cousin in England forges these swords," Charles explained. "That's why Jessica came to the States. She's delivering the sword to me."
    "Well, I guess she took a slight detour because I found her running through Thompson Park the other night, waving that thing in the air, looking like she meant business. Since she was headed my way, I felt compelled to protect myself. When she resisted, things got a little rough and because she refused to tell me who she was, I had her placed under protective observation. It wasn't until her car was brought into the station with her purse and ID that I discovered her name."
    The admiral shifted so he could pin her under his glare. "Jessica? Am I to understand that you were running through a public place with
that
particular sword?"
    Jessica wasn't looking too happy. "There were extenuating circumstances," she said with enough emphasis that John felt certain the admiral and the others understood what she meant. After seeing their quick exchange of glances, he decided it was time to call a spade a spade.
    "Extenuating circumstances," he repeated. "That would be the vampire."
    Suddenly the focus of everyone's full attention, John pressed his point. "Yeah, I know about vampires. So, if you don't mind, I've got questions and I'd appreciate honest answers; no more bullshit about terrorists, okay?"
    ----
Chapter 3
     
    Jessica felt Charles tense beside her as she stared at the detective, feelings of shock and dread washing over her. She shouldn't have gone after a vampire while there were witnesses around, but at the time she'd thought he was one of them. When she realized he was human, she knew she had to save him. What she hadn't expected was for him to tackle her and lock her up in an institution.
    To make matters worse, as a member of the Winslow family, charged for centuries with the responsibility of hunting down and destroying vampires, she was supposed to guard the secret of their existence from others, not broadcast it. One rare moment of spontaneity had thrust her into an unending nightmare of one disaster after another.
    She quickly glanced at the other men, trying to read their thoughts, watching the play of emotions across their faces. Mac's and Dirk's expressions were guarded as they studied the detective, who looked like he'd just received confirmation of something he'd rather not have known. She almost felt sorry for him, but not quite. After all, she was in much bigger trouble than he was.
    "Why don't we all go inside," Charles