Song - Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton

I couldn't sleep. It was like every little sound echoed through the warehouse. Jasper was asleep on the bed, close when he'd drifted off, but I'd moved to the side of the mattress. The reason wasn't apparent to me, but I guess I just wanted space.

Roman would destroy that, of course. I'd known him for only a few weeks, and already, I could see that he was a snuggler. Jas would stretch out over the bed, consuming a lot of space, but Roman would be right next to me. It was not surprising that it was where he lay down when he finally came to bed. No, the surprising part was that he wanted to get into the miniscule space that I had at the edge of the mattress instead of the gaps between me and Jas or on the other side of him.

This wasn't about his favourite spot or asserting a form of dominance over me. This was about fixing everything that was broken.

"I should have told you," he whispered as his hand snaked over my waist. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you on the condition that you never lie or keep things from me. No more secrets."

"I promise."

A grumble came from the other side of the bed, and as the linen shifted, we smiled at each other. Seconds had barely passed before Jasper shifted in behind me.

"You two are so loud when you whisper. How's your old man?"

"Angry but oddly amused. I pointed out a few things that you highlighted, which I guess made him see reason. His belief that this would create a war was quickly squashed when I said that we either create a war and take them down or die by their hand. One has been happening for years, and he knows that there are many who are sick of constantly looking over their shoulders. So, that's it in that respect. Dani's off the hook and nothing more will be said. As for the future, we're still grounded."

"How old are you? Daddy still grounds you."

"You're so hilarious, Dani, but you fail to see that he does this to ensure we are safe. So, to do that, he has demanded that we remain within these walls and absolutely not go into the outside world to hunt our ex-husband. Are we clear on that?"

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. As if I was going to let a man dictate to me. Roman frowned at me, then laid down.

"I guess I'll just have to keep you occupied," he murmured.

As Roman hummed softly against the curve of my neck, I looked at Jasper. He leaned on his hand, resting on his side. A soft smile was offered, one that was almost like he understood that I was going to finish the job and no one was going to stop me. I hoped that Jasper understood.

He laid down, resting his head on the pillow next to mine with our fingers entwined. When I turned my head to look at Jasper, he smiled then closed his lips, motioning as he locked his lips and threw away the key.

It didn't take long for Jasper to fall asleep, leaving me with the void of darkness and the soft breathing that came from Roman. I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I was alone.

Wrapping myself in my dressing gown, I made my way down to the kitchen. Jasper pushed the jug of blood and a glass to me. I was not used to this way of consuming blood, and it didn't help that it was cold, either.

"So, what's new?"

"Nothing regarding Mon Crief. Noah, though, that's a whole new world of problems."

I glanced at Roman, who was pacing the floors again with the phone to his ear, arguing with someone. He seemed to spend his days and nights on that ridiculous thing.

"What's going on with Noah?"

"He has become the prime suspect."

I stared and then realised I was about to spill blood everywhere. Putting the jug down, I took stock of the situation.

"How come? What happened?"

"Somehow, it was leaked that Steve and Jack are dead. Usually, when a hunter dies, they have a particular cop deal with it, but he's on holiday. The hunters break over the Christmas period so that they don't have any issues because of this guy not being around. The meeting they held was an agreement that their bodies would be put into a cold store until the cop returned and could sign off on their deaths, essentially sweeping it under the rug. Someone didn't get that memo, apparently."

"The cops were called?"

"They were. Because of your disappearance and, of course, Marnie's death, which was in a public place and couldn't be hidden, the cops are now taking a really hard look at the place. It's only a matter of time before they connect Mon Crief to this as well. I really hope you covered your tracks."

"I did."

Except Dominic. He was a loose end, but I don't think he'd willingly drop me in it. If he was threatened, that might be different, though. It didn't matter. I wasn't going to end his life. If he exposed me, then I would accept my fate.

Roman sighed heavily and turned to us.

"Okay, so the basic tone of the meeting between Otis, Barney, and the upper management was that this tip-off came from the vampires rather than one of their own. I can understand that considering they all know the routine, and they never call the cops. They believe that the vampires have taken out the four who were with Noah the night of Dani's murder to ensure he has no valid alibi. Which as a side note, one that you might find welcoming, is that they all still think you're dead."

"Well, yay for me," I muttered.

"Yeah, yay for you, but the problem is that if the cops keep digging, they might find something. The cop they usually deal with is somewhere overseas, so he can't even come in to make things disappear. Both Otis and Barney have agreed that it is in their best interest to avoid having an overzealous cop sniffing around and linking the pieces of this bizarre puzzle. They don't want Noah in jail, which is also in your best interest if you want to kill him yourself. So, given your need to get revenge, it leaves me with one question. Did you call the cops?"

"No. I don't want them involved."

Roman seemed to accept the statement, but I couldn't be sure. It didn't matter how many times he asked. The answer would always be the same. I did not call them, and that was the honest truth.

"You know," Jas began. "With his alibi's dead, Noah has a lot of issues on his plate. He won't wander out into the world alone, not while this threat continues. You want this to go away. We need a plausible explanation."

"Is there something that can be thrown at the cops to throw them off the scent?"

"I don't know."

I looked at the box that held my macabre keepsakes. It was then that I formed a long con goal for my revenge.

"I was having an affair with Steve."

"Pardon?" Roman said, staring at me blankly.

I grinned madly. "I don't mean in reality. You want a reason for this? Fine, use the dead as a reason. We were having an affair, and I wanted to break it off, enraging Steve, so he killed me. Maybe Jack was there. Maybe he found out and killed Steve. Maybe he was a part of it and I was screwing him too. Get someone in your precious underground movement to give an anonymous tip-off. Say they saw me with someone matching Steve's description on the night of my disappearance. He can't refute it and if Noah's a bright boy, he'll keep his trap shut."

"But his alibi was Steve."

"There's no reason Steve couldn't have done both because clearly, he did. Literally, he was with me during the dinner, murdered me, dumped my body, and then went to Jack's place where Noah was. We are just giving the cops the truth. That's all we're doing."

"But lacking in so many of the details." Roman hummed with a grin on his face. "I love it."