40. Terra
TERRA
An hour later, she walked through the front doors of the downtown Tampa PD, trying not to look as nervous as she felt.
She had never been arrested in her life and had only been inside a police station once before to file a report about a stolen purse, but something about all the uniforms and security doors made her feel guilty anyway.
After she let the front desk know she was there, she waited for only a moment before a woman with short, dark hair wearing a dark blue pantsuit came through a locked door and approached her.
“Terra?” she asked.
“Yes.” Terra swallowed hard. “Um, that’s me.”
“I’m Detective Ramirez.”
The woman held out her hand and shook Terra’s in a businesslike way. She was somewhere in her forties, Terra guessed, with sharp brown eyes that missed very little.
“Come with me,” she said briskly. “We need a little more privacy so we can talk.”
Terra followed the detective through a series of corridors until they reached a small interview room. It was quieter and less intimidating than she expected, with a plain table, several chairs, and a single monitor mounted on one wall.
“Have a seat,” Detective Ramirez told her.
Terra sat on the hard wooden chair. The detective remained standing for another moment before pulling out the chair across from her. She leaned across the table and pinned Terra with her eyes.
“I’m going to be direct with you,” she said. “We have your former employer, a Monstrum by the name of ‘Taurex,’ in custody.”
Terra’s stomach tightened and her heart seemed to miss a beat.
“What?” she asked, not wanting to believe it. “Why?”
“He’s being charged for the murders of Viktor Orlov and three men who worked for him,” Detective Ramirez said.
Terra stared at her, not sure what to say.
The detective watched her carefully, obviously gauging her reaction.
“You’re not surprised,” she said flatly.
Terra swallowed.
“Well…no,” she admitted.
Detective Ramirez steepled her fingers and frowned.
“Why not?”
“Orlov was stalking me,” Terra told her.
“He had been stalking me for months.” The words came quickly now, tumbling out of her mouth in a ragged explanation.
“Then he kidnapped my children! He was holding them hostage unless I gave him what…what he wanted.” She squeezed her hands into fists until they ached.
“And how does Mr. Taurex tie into that?” the detective asked.
“He got them back for me—got my kids back from Orlov,” Terra answered. “I didn’t ask exactly how, but, well…”
Her voice trailed off. She didn’t want to say anything to incriminate the big Monstrum.
Detective Ramirez sat back, looking thoughtful.
“So you knew Orlov was obsessed with you?”
“Well, I knew he was stalking me,” Terra admitted. “I just hoped he would stop and leave me alone after I, uh, stopped stripping. I used to work at The Doll House,” she added.
“Yes, we know.” The Detective nodded shortly. “So you knew he was coming after you—did you report it?”
“I should have.” Terra looked down at her hands.
“But at first, I thought he was just a creepy customer at the club. Then he showed me a picture of my children that he’d taken outside my house.
I was going to report him, but I figured he’d leave me alone after I stopped dancing.
” She shook her head. “I had no idea he’d go so far—that he’d kidnap my kids—or I would have tried harder to get someone to listen to me. ”
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.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Mr. Taurex didn’t say anything about it,” she remarked. “In fact, he tried to tell us you had nothing to do with him anymore.”
“He was just trying to keep me from getting mixed up in all this!” Terra exclaimed. “But we’ve already chosen the venue—we’re going to get married aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship. My son is going to be the ring bearer, and my daughter is going to be the flower girl.”
As she spoke, she could almost see Cody and Lisa dressed up and walking down the aisle. It was a lovely vision—she just hoped she could sell the detective on it.
“Well, well…” Detective Ramirez nodded thoughtfully. “That puts this whole case in a different light. Have you got your dress yet?”
“Not yet—we’re going to David’s Bridal to choose one,” Terra said. “And we’re thinking of having Allessi Bakery make the cake.”
“Oh, nice choice. I love their guava pastries,” the detective said. “Have you picked a florist yet?”
“Not yet—I’m looking around,” Terra said. “We haven’t set a formal date yet, but we were about to when all this awful stuff with Orlov happened.” She shivered. “I’m just so glad my babies are safe,” she added. “Taurex saved their lives, you know?”
“I know.” Detective Ramirez nodded. “He probably saved all your lives. I have no doubt if Orlov had used your kids to lure you to him, none of you would have made it out alive.”
Terra felt sick.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about that anymore,” she said faintly. “It was very traumatic—both for me and the kids. I’m thinking of putting them in therapy to help them process it.”