Authors: Lina Gardiner
Britt's hackles rose instantly. “So Drago
is
connected to vampires?"
"Maybe. We have no way of knowing if he's aware of vampires. Theoretically, anyone in the city could be patrons of Vaslov's place. That includes gangsters and city officials, why not vampires, too?"
As Britt and Jess approached, the EMT had packed up his equipment and was patting their witness on the shoulder. “I can give you the name of a counselor,” the EMT told the man.
"We'll take it from here, thank you,” Jess said to the EMT. She held up her badge, and the EMT nodded and left.
"Good evening, sir,” Jess said. “I'm Captain Vandermire, and this is Lieutenant Brittain, we'd like to ask you a few questions."
The guy looked shaken. His Lycra jogging suit showed hints of moisture at his neck and underarms.
"Your name?” she said.
"Brandon Fedore.” The jogger's eyes looked dazed. Still in shock.
"How long had you been jogging before...” .
"I jog for an hour every night. I'd say I was about 45 minutes in.” His haunted gaze swept over the path. The body was gone now, but Jess knew that in his mind it was still there. Horrific memories like that weren't so easily dispelled.
"Did you see anyone else near the victim? Anyone at all in the area?” Britt spoke up, asserting his position as lead on the case.
Fedore dragged a shaky hand across his eyes. “I have no idea if there was anyone else around. After I fell on top of that woman and saw her face staring up at me in a frozen scream ... that was it. Everything else faded away.” He sniffed. “I'll never be able to get that image out of my mind."
"So you can't say if there was anyone else nearby?"
"No. I'm sorry. I don't remember seeing anyone else.” He looked down at his bandaged ankle. “I'm going to have a hell of a time getting my sneaker back on."
"Don't worry, we'll have an officer take you home after you give a short statement at the precinct.” Britt motioned for one of the boys in blue, who were waiting to take him to the station. Jess quickly fogged his memory of the woman's wounds. A sudden look of relief crossed Mr. Fedore's face.
"Yeah, sure. Wish I could be of more assistance.” He stood with Britt's help.
"Take care of this man, will you Officer Henry?"
"Sure thing.” The officer gave him a shoulder to lean on so he could limp to the police vehicle. Henry stopped for a moment and looked back. “It's really great to have you back, Britt. I always knew you were framed."
Britt tossed his old precinct pal a grin. “Thanks, Chris, I appreciate that."
Jess put her hands on her hips after Henry got the witness into his squad car. “Tell me, aren't people curious about what kind of team you're working on now?"
"Yeah, a few of the guys have asked. Told them it was a secret narc undercover op, so they didn't ask anything else."
"You deserve some happiness after all you've been through the last two years,” she said abruptly, surprising him.
"You say that like you've got nothing to do with my happiness.” He sounded a little cynical, so he tried to adjust his tone. “Besides, you deserve it too, Jess. And I aim to be the man who gives you that happiness.” He turned and walked away before she could reply.
Jess strode into Britt's office the next evening. “Anything on our first dead woman?"
Britt looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He liked field work much better than this stuff. He clicked his pen closed with finality and laid it down.
"No. Now that you mention it, Sampson hasn't filed a report yet."
"Think we should go talk to him?"
Britt looked at his watch. It was two a.m., but Sampson worked the same hours they did so he would be on duty. “Don't you have a meeting scheduled tonight?” Britt glanced at the calendar on his computer. Most scheduled departmental meetings were listed there.
"Damn it. I do,” she said, pursing her lips. Easy to see she didn't like office work any more than he did.
Jess looked beautiful standing before him in leather. Her dark brown hair softly curled around her face. He didn't have to see the back of her hair to know it was done up in a French twist of some sort. He didn't know the names of the hair-dos, but whatever she wore, her hair always looked professionally done.
A tantalizing hint of cleavage peaked out from the bodice of her outfit.
Suddenly, she leaned down and stared into his eyes. “My eyes are here, mister.” She feigned anger—he could see humor in her gaze.
"Sorry, I get distracted when you're in the room. He slid his chair back from the desk and stood. “On the investigation front, we found out who victim number two is. Beverley Kellerman. We had no luck finding anyone else who was in the area around the same time as our jogger."
"Seems a little unrealistic to believe there'd be no other people on that path on a warm summer evening, doesn't it?"
"It's a given there were other people around. Britt tapped his fingers on the top of the filing cabinet. Anything to keep him from getting too close to Jess at the moment. He prided himself on his professional behavior, and staring at her cleavage, though tempting, was not appropriate at work.
"If this vampire was particularly voracious in his apparent hunger for blood there might not be all that much trace,” Jess said.
"Jess what are you thinking? You've got the same look on your face that you had at the crime scene."
She sat in the chair Britt had just vacated and crossed one leg over the other. Hopefully she didn't notice how his gaze had been momentarily riveted to her long, shapely legs.
"I'm wondering why those particular women? Neither of them were down and out, and the first victim was dressed in a designer outfit. Attacking victims who are visible members of society is a highly unusual choice for a vampire."
"It's not like it's never happened before or you wouldn't be a vampire right now.” Britt reached down and thumbed through his case file in an attempt to take his mind off Jess's pleasing proportions.
"What happened to me was a very long time ago. Times have changed. Now, smart vampires keep to street people and crooks. Even Prometheus, with all his grandiose schemes, was smart enough to stay low key when it came to taking victims."
"True.” Britt surveyed her with an appraising eye. “I noticed you were interested in something at Ms. Kellerman's crime scene. Did you see someone?"
A tiny line marred her brow. That same line that let him know he'd hit a chord. Otherwise she was very good at keeping her emotions hidden.
"I thought there might've been someone there when we arrived. Still, my senses haven't been exactly on par lately, so I wasn't sure. I've been feeling a little off since I had that nightmare."
Britt straightened. A cold chill went up his spine. “I don't like the sound of that, Jess. You've got impeccable instincts. If you think you're being watched, I'd be willing to bet you are."
She let out a slow breath. “That dream affected my equilibrium somehow, I feel unsettled. I don't really trust my instincts right now."
"What did Regent say about it?"
Jess didn't make eye contact and Britt knew her well enough to know why.
"I didn't tell him much about it except that it was a nightmare. I certainly didn't tell him I dreamed I killed him and drank his blood, while nearly doing that to you for real,” she said.
"I think you should talk to him, Jess. Get his take on the situation. He's been your protector long enough to have valid ideas about what's going on. Maybe he can suggest a reason for the change in your abilities."
"I don't think he's well enough for me to worry him, Britt. That heart attack, though minor, was hard on him. He's not a young man, and he worries about me enough already. I don't want to add any more weight to the burden I've been his whole life."
Britt scraped his top teeth over his bottom lip. He didn't agree with her. Regent could handle Jess telling him about her fear. Besides, he'd earned the right to know what was going on. And he would want to know.
"Promise me if this feeling persists, you'll tell me, and that you'll talk to Regent about the rest."
She ran a hand over her hair as if to smooth it. “I'll think about it.” With that she pushed herself out of the chair and left.
He smiled. He'd expected her to lose her cool when he'd asked for her promise. She didn't have to promise him anything, and the fact that she even thought about his suggestion was a step in the right direction.
As her footsteps echoed down the hall, he kicked his door shut, grabbed the phone and began dialing.
Halfway up the back stairs, Jess realized she'd unconsciously changed her regular pattern. Normally she'd take the front staircase to go to the third floor. She was still reacting to her irrational feelings of being watched. She stopped mid-staircase and assessed those feelings. Yes. They were still there. She looked over the railing and perused the stairs below. If there was anyone on the stairs, she'd either be able to hear them, or at the very least smell them. Her senses were top notch again. She took a long breath to quell the feeling of disaster that seemed to be always looming these days, and continued on her way to her meeting with her boss.
She knocked on the door.
"Come.” The baritone voice suited Chief Vance Brown. The huge man barely fit his ultra-wide leather chair. His neatly clipped goatee flowed like waves over three chins.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
He waved pudgy fingers at a chair. “Have a seat, Vandermire."
She'd rather stand, but Vance liked his people to do what he told them to. She sat.
"The mayor called to ask how things went at the Dragon's Lair Club."
She stared at him. “Fine."
His girth expanded and he hoisted himself forward. “I think the Mayor will want a little bit more than that, Vandermire."
"Why didn't the Mayor go and find out for himself?"
"Apparently, he's a regular. But it seems Drago Vaslov is interested in you, Jess. Besides the fact that we want to keep up good relations, I'm rather curious about Vaslov's interest myself.” He held up his hands. “Not that I don't think you warrant the attention of a philanthropic millionaire, you realize, it's just that your specialization makes me a little nervous. If Vaslov knows about you, it's a concern."
"I didn't get the impression he knew about my “specialization” as you put it."
Vance sucked in heavily through his nostrils. “Nevertheless, Drago is still putting pressure on the Mayor. Apparently, you don't stick around as long as he would like. He wants to see you, again."
She frowned. “Tough."
He cleared his throat. “I know I can't ask you to do this, Jess. In fact it goes against my own ethics, but I want you to become a bit of a regular on your off-time."
She started to protest, but he held up a hand the size of a ham and she closed her mouth.
"There's more. I don't want you to hang around to give Mr. Vaslov his jollies. Quite the reverse. This is our chance to find out just what he's up to.” He looked around the room. “Just don't tell the Mayor I said that. I'm taking the initiative on this one. Something's not quite right, and I want you to find out what the hell it is."
She gave him her coldest, undead look and watched the sweat break out on his forehead. “Fine! But remember, I don't do regular police work, nor do I allow myself to be pimped out."
He actually had the gall to laugh at that. “I'm very well aware of your standards, Vandermire. That's why you're perfect for this. And who said you can't do regular police work too? You're a full-fledged cop. A fine one at that.” He moved again, and settled back into his chair. “I'm assuming you have no problems with this assignment."
She took her time and thought it out. The Chief never gave compliments. He must be desperate. Since he put it that way she had little choice. “I have no problem with it."
"I'd like you to have backup on this, though. You're not going to poke around there without someone to watch your back."
Jess listened to him. His suggestion was valid, but she had no intention of bringing someone else along. Drago Vaslov gave her the impression his interest was personal. She didn't believe it for a minute. She'd never get the whole truth out of him if she had a partner tagging along every time she saw him. No, this one had to be handled by her and her alone.
She smiled at the Chief. Somehow he didn't look assuaged.
"Pick whoever you think is best,” he said, before going back to his paperwork, thereby dismissing her.
Jess left his office and strode to the roof of the building, her favorite place to think. She scanned the city. Working with humans was necessary to combat vampires. After all, besides James, there weren't very many vamps lining up for the job. And even if they did, she'd never trust them. But she did trust her Black Ops operatives. They were good people. Brave people, who were willing to put their lives on the line to save their friends and neighbors from the evil bloodsuckers. She sighed, and pressed two fingers against each temple. Maybe she'd come to trust one of them too much? Could she ever walk away from Britt? Even if it was for his own safety.
A wave of dizziness rippled through her, then ebbed away. If she was reverting into one of the evil creatures of the night, Britt might be the least of her worries.
And if that did happen, how long could she trust herself alone with people she loved?
Drago Vaslov cursed and slammed his cell phone shut before firing it against the wall. It bounced off and landed with an unsatisfactory thud on the floor. “
Goddamnit.
” One wall was completely covered with mirrors, but the rest were padded, soundproofed, and covered with rich burgundy leather.
He glanced at the two beautiful, barely dressed women lounging on a settee in the corner. They looked sufficiently crestfallen to win an Oscar when they saw he wasn't in the mood to party tonight.
Drago pushed the button on his headset. “Mannie, get in here.” Drago raised his voice, but just barely. That's all he had to do. His people were at his beck and call. Or else.