The Black Dagger Brotherhood_ An Insider's Guide - J. R. Ward [114]
At Darius’s house, Wrath’s been prowling around his chamber all day long, waiting for Beth to arrive. And his temper was on a short leash before she blew him off. The night before he and his brothers had cased several places including a monastery, a prep school, a martial arts academy, and a meat packing plant. It wasn’t clear that anything suspicious was going on in any of them. They also went through the dead lesser’s apartment, learning nothing.
The moment the sun goes down, Wrath leaves the mansion and goes on the hunt for Beth through the city. He’s aware as he moves around that he feels fatigued but he shrugs off the sensation, consumed with the need to find her. He ends up waiting for her behind her apartment. When Butch pulls up to the front of the building with her, Wrath senses her presence and approaches the car. Butch leans over to kiss Beth just as Wrath looks inside. Even with his poor eyesight, he recognizes what’s happening. His first instinct is to rip the door off, drag the human male out, and bite him. But he controls himself with discipline and sticks to the shadows. Jealousy and possessiveness are two emotions he’s not real familiar with and he’s surprised at the depth of his feelings.
Beth is not attracted to Butch and tells him so. She gets out of the car and walks across the street to the front door of her building. Butch waits to make sure she gets inside safely, but just before he takes off, he sees a giant of a man heading around to the back courtyard. Butch gets out of the car and follows.
When Beth walks in her apartment, Wrath is at her back door. He’s about to enter when Butch cocks his gun and tells him to freeze. Wrath turns and confronts Butch just as Beth opens the door and runs outside. Butch demands that Wrath put his hands on the building and spread his legs. Wrath toys with the idea of killing the cop but he doesn’t want to terrify Beth. Besides, not even Wrath can survive a bullet to the head fired at point blank range. With Beth looking on, Butch pats Wrath down and starts peeling weapons off him. Daggers, blades, and throwing stars get spread out on the picnic table. Butch tries to get Beth to go inside but she won’t leave. He asks what the hell Wrath was doing casing the building. Wrath says he was just out for a walk. Butch presses Wrath into the wall, drags his arms behind him, and puts cuffs on him. Wrath asks what he’s being arrested for and Butch says concealed weapons, trespassing, stalking, and maybe murder. He tells Wrath that throwing stars like his have been found at two murder sites.
As Butch starts to lead Wrath off, Beth wonders if Wrath killed that prostitute after he left her apartment the night before. She just can’t understand how a man can have such different sides. He was so gentle with her when he held her after they’d made love. She jumps in front of the men and demands a chance to talk with Wrath. Butch tells her to go inside and lock her doors. He drags Wrath off with Beth jogging along side. She asks Wrath why he’s come to her. Wrath looks over at her and tells her that her father sent him. She stops, stunned.
Butch puts Wrath in the back of the car and drives him down to the station. Butch keeps an eye on him in the rear view mirror because something tells him that even handcuffed the man is deadly dangerous. They pull up to the back of the station. As Butch gets him out, Wrath steps back into the shadows. Butch is trying to pull him forward when Wrath breaks free of the cuffs like they’re made of twine. Wrath grabs Butch, lifts him off the ground, and holds him against the building. For the first time in his adult life, Butch is sure he’s about to be killed. And how ironic that he can see the window of his office while it’s happening.
Wrath is tempted to end the man’s life but there’s something intriguing about the guy. He’s not terrified as most human males would