“Have all your people been given the word to clear out?”
He nodded. “Just let us know when the coast is clear.”
I waited until the last of the old wooden carriages came out, then pressed the two-way stud that
had been inserted into my ear long ago and said, “Heading in now, Kade.”
“The employees are out,” he said, his rich tones warming my inner ear. “The place is empty of
life.”
But maybe not empty of death. I gave the ride supervisor a tight smile, then pushed through a
replica of the park’s entrance—only this time the smiley face definitely had an evil look to
it—and entered the shadowed confines of the ride.
The doors crashed closed behind me, but silence didn’t settle in. The staff might have abandoned
the building, but the effects were still running. I stood there in the darkness, listening to the
noise, trying to detect a whisper of movement. Something, anything, that might indicate the
vampire was on the move.
There was nothing.
Frowning, I followed the wooden track around to the right, blinking to alternate between infrared
and regular sight, but there was no life to be seen in either mode. A caged piano—complete with
fake chopped-off hands playing the keys—came into view. Then, as the track swung around to the
left again, there came a series of weird, supposedly ghostly portraits and murals. I smiled and
shook my head. It was a wonder that anyone got scared of any of these things, and yet I could
remember screaming at them when I was a kid and here with my brother to celebrate our
birthday.
Or maybe I’d been screaming at the thought of being trapped in the park with so many
humans.
The darkness closed in again as I continued to follow the tracks. A ghostly apparition appeared
on the top of a mural staircase, and it took me a heartbeat to realize that apparition wasn’t the
work of lights but rather the red heat of life sitting perched atop the faded artwork.
Only it wasn’t human size. It was bird size.
And either that bird had weird roosting habits, or our vampire had been a shifter before he’d
undergone the change. It would certainly explain why Kade had been unable to find anything when
he’d done the search. A roosting bird probably wouldn’t emit much in the way of emotions, and
Kade certainly wouldn’t have been looking for something that size.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my laser, flicking it on as the weapon settled into
my palm. As I did so, the bird squawked and took flight. Not flying away, but coming straight at
me. The vampire had balls, I had to give him that—especially given a pigeon wasn’t exactly as
threatening as a bird of prey.
I ducked under his swoop, then twisted around and fired. The red beam flashed out, briefly giving
the shadows an eerie glow as the shot clipped the bird’s wings. Feathers fluttered downward as it
squawked and awkwardly tried to fly down the hall. I fired again, but the bird dropped at the
wrong moment, and the laser sliced though the edges of a dancing skeleton. I swore softly and ran
after the bird.
“Kade,” I said, keeping the creature in sight but not firing, “he’s on the run. He’s also a
pigeon.”
“A pigeon? Good lord, that’s almost as bad as a seagull. No wonder he became a
vampire.”
He wasn’t getting an argument out of me. A seagull might be one of my alternate forms these days,
but I had something of a love-hate relationship with it.
“He’s going to have to shift shape to come out these doors,” Kade continued. “I’m ready and
waiting.”
“You always are,” I said, ducking under the ghostly tendrils of fake cobwebs.
Kade’s laughter rolled through my inner ear. I fired the laser again. This time the bright beam
clipped tail feathers before slicing into a bed that came complete with a white draped body hung
with cobwebs.
The vampire squawked and fluttered to the ground, landing rather ungracefully on the old wooden
track. I slid to a stop and trained the laser onto him.
“Directorate,” I said, my voice edged and low. “Whoever you are, shift shape or you’ll die in
bird form.”
He hopped around until he faced me, his beady black eyes glaring somewhat balefully.
“Your choice,” I said, pressing my finger against the trigger. The whine of the weapon powering
up cut through the surrounding noise, and the pigeon hopped backward in surprise.
After a moment, a shimmer rolled across his bloody feathers, hiding his form, reshaping it, until
what stood in front of me was cloaked in human skin.
Only it wasn’t a man but a boy. A child. A cute, cherub-cheeked child with golden hair and big
blue eyes.
A kid this size could certainly survive on a diet of pigeon and seagull blood, although why had
no one noticed the steady supply of dead birds?
Then the adorable image shattered when he snarled, revealing teeth that were long and pointed and
every inch a vampire’s. He came at me, fast and furious, and though I had my finger pressed
against the laser, I didn’t fire.
I couldn’t.
It was a
kid
, and I couldn’t shoot a kid. I didn’t
want
to shoot a kid—even one that was a feral vampire attacking other
children.
Surely there was hope for him. Surely there was a chance …
I jumped as a gunshot boomed through the darkness. The breeze of it burned past my ear,
signifying the bullet was silver, then the little vampire went down. The back of his head
disappeared, splattering a mess of blood and bone and gore across a somewhat macabre collection
of dolls with revolving heads.
For a moment, I simply stared, disbelief and horror churning my gut. Then I swung around. Kye
stood several yards behind me, his face expressionless, but cold fury in his eyes.
“Don’t ever hesitate,” he warned softly. “Bad things happen when you hesitate.”
“It was a
kid,”
I all but yelled. “Goddammit, Kye, you shot a
kid.”
“That kid was a vampire attacking other children. Remember who we’re trying to save here,
Riley.”
The laser whined as my finger twitched against it. It was tempting,
so
tempting, just to raise the weapon and shoot the coldhearted bastard. I
switched it off instead. As much as I might want to shoot Kye, a guardian who killed without
reason wasn’t long for this earth. Besides, he was my soul mate, and killing him meant I’d be
basically killing myself. And I wasn’t ready to die just yet.
“The kid hadn’t killed yet,” I spat. “He might have been saved.”
“You can’t ever chance that.” His gaze swept me, followed sharply by his hunger. I half expected
him to close the distance between us and kiss me, but he shook his head and stepped back instead.
“You’re a guardian, Riley. A protector of
humans
, not
vampires.”
“Don’t fucking tell me how to do my job.”
“Someone has to.” He glanced behind me, then gave me a sketchy salute. “Consider this payment for
the information you owe me. And you will meet me with whatever information you currently have
tonight, or I shall be forced to take other steps.”
Something went cold inside. Coming from a hired killer, those so-called steps could only mean one
thing. “You touch anyone—”
“Oh,” he said blandly, “I wouldn’t
touch
anyone. Shooting, though,
that’s another matter. And we saw here today just how well a silver bullet can work against a
vampire.”
Sick fury filled me. I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms against the urge to use
them against him instead.
“You wouldn’t
dare.”
He merely raised an eyebrow. The fury within me got stronger.
“He’s just as much my soul mate as you are, Kye. Are you willing to risk shooting him without
knowing just how that will rebound to you?”
“Are you willing to bet on the fact that I’m not?”
He knew I wasn’t. It was there in the victorious twitch of his lips. I hated him. I wanted him.
God, did things have to get this twisted? “Where and when?”
“Five Proximity Drive, Brooklyn. One o’clock.” He gave me another one of those cold half smiles.
“I’ll even provide an after-midnight snack.”
The hungry glitter in his eyes made it clear just what type of snack he was referring to. “Don’t
bother, because there’s nothing you could offer me that I’d actually want. Now get the hell out
of here.”
He stared at me for a moment longer, his gaze flat and yet so heated, sending alternating flashes
of desire and annoyance surging through me. Then he turned on his heel and disappeared into the
darkness.
“Why did you let him walk away?” Kade said from behind me. “You could have held him with a threat
like that.”
I shoved my laser into my pocket and turned around. My gaze fell on the remains of the cherub
face at my feet, and all I felt was a useless sort of anger. Kye had been right about one
thing—my hesitation had been fatal. Just not for me.
“I have no doubt that Kye has a herd of lawyers who could get him out of such charges inside a
minute flat. It isn’t worth the hassle.”
“You could just have shot him. I would have backed the shoot as justifiable.”
I smiled. It probably looked as thin and humorless as it felt. “He’s my soul mate. I might as
well take a gun and shoot myself.”
Kade frowned. “I thought that whole dying-when-your-mate-dies deal happened only when wolves
swear their love to the moon.”
“Death is certain when that happens. There have been instances of unsworn wolves surviving the
death of their mate, but right now, I’m not willing to take that chance.”
“Good call. I don’t think your brother would take your death too well.” Which was the
understatement of the century. Kade looked down at the limp little body. “And you wouldn’t have
been alone in hesitating.”
It wasn’t much, but it at least made me feel a little better. “Thanks.”
He looked up and smiled. “Guardians need to do more than just shoot first and ask questions
later. No matter what Jack or that dick you call a mate preaches, there will always be
circumstances that cause hesitation.” He hesitated himself, then added, “I guess this means we’re
going to have to track down his maker.”
“I hope like hell someone else gets that task.” If only because I didn’t think I’d be able to
control my anger if I found the vampire responsible for making—and then abandoning—the
youngster.
“There are laws in place that should prevent these things from occurring,” Kade said, voice grim.
“I don’t think his maker is going to sidestep the consequences.”
“Good.” It was vehemently said. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Though it didn’t
help the anger, I felt a little less rattled. But no less sad for the little vampire who never
got a chance.
I glanced at my watch, then said, “I’ve really got to go view those tapes. Can you call the
cleanup team in?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I was under the impression you wanted help with that.”
“I did, but it might take a while to get a cleanup team here, and Jack will not be a happy man if
I haven’t viewed the tapes by midnight.” I hesitated, then added, “When you get the chance, could
you glance through all the reports for the beheading case? It’ll get you up to speed, and you
might just catch something I’ve missed.”
He nodded. “As long as Jack doesn’t hand me another case as soon as I get back.”
Given the backlog of cases we had, that was likely, but I knew Kade well enough to know that he’d
still look through my case files.
Which would be good. I had a bad feeling I’d need the help if I was to have any hope of solving
this one.
I
t was just before eleven when I arrived at Dante’s, and the
place was crowded. I slammed the car door shut and shoved the keys into my pocket as I walked
toward the graffiti-covered building. A bass beat that was both heavy and seductive crawled
through the night, accompanied by the scent of desire and blood. Despite my distaste for what was
happening inside the building, my pulse leapt and raced. I was a wolf, and desire was a scent as
sweet to us as blood was to vampires.
If it had been the Blue Moon I was walking into rather than Dante’s, I would have been tempted to
pander to that surge of desire. But I had no intention of pursuing such a whim here—and not just
because I distrusted strange vampires.
No, in this particular case, it was more not trusting myself if Dante made a serious attempt at
seduction. The charged atmosphere, and the power of the man himself, was too dangerous a
combination.
I showed my badge to the guard, and he scowled as he opened the door. I carefully invaded his
thoughts as I brushed past him. Hatred burned into my mind—hatred and anger. This vamp was one of
the ones not overly pleased with the Directorate’s execution of several vampires charged with
killing blood whores.
Which made me wonder if he’d actually come to my aid if trouble hit inside—although I couldn’t
imagine Starke being happy if he
didn’t
. After all, given the
business he was running, he’d probably prefer to keep on the Directorate’s good side—no matter
what he might personally think about us.
Once inside, I waited until my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, then walked across to the bar.
The same gum-chewing barman ambled up to serve me—although this time the towel he was using to
dry the glass looked a whole lot cleaner.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Jenson?”
“Is your boss around tonight?”
He hesitated. “He is, but he’s in a meeting and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
Half of me wanted to use that as an excuse just to get the hell out of the place, but that would
mean coming back a third time. “I need to see the security tapes your boss reckons he doesn’t
have. Can you arrange that, Boris?”
He raised a pale eyebrow, his blue eyes holding more than a little hint of amusement. “The boss
said you’d be back for those. He left a message that you were to be directed into the security
office and given the good coffee.”
I snorted softly. “As if that’s going to let him off the hook for giving me the
runaround.”
And given the apparent history between Jack and Dante, the only legitimate reason I could think
of for him doing something like that was to piss off Jack.
Boris’s gum-chewing grin grew. “He also said that if you were still here after midnight, he would
give you a more personal apology.”
I glanced at my watch. I had fifty-eight minutes to get out of here, then. “I take it the tapes
are set up and ready to go?”
He nodded. “Security is the red door at the other end of the bar. I’ll buzz them to let them know
you’re coming. Coffee will be along in five minutes.”
“Thanks.” I headed down toward the red door. The darkness seemed to get deeper the farther into
it I moved. Many of the humans who were in the room wandered around like vapid ghosts, their
expressions either edged with anxiety or pleasure, depending on where they were within their fix
cycle. The cloying scent of blood and ecstasy mingled with undertones of hunger that were coming
from the many vampires in the room, and despite my distaste for everything that was going on
here, my pulse surged again. Desire—be it for blood or sex—was a powerful emotion, and no wolf
was immune to its effects. Several vampires who leaned up against the bar about halfway down the
room stood up abruptly, their gazes swinging in my direction and teeth protruding in excitement.
The scent of fresh, available blood did that to a vamp.
I got my badge out and held it up. It might be dark, but they’d see it well enough. “Sorry, boys,
here on official business.”
Their surge of excitement was snuffed out almost instantly. The lead vampire—a thin, brown-haired
man with a boyish face and ancient hazel eyes—looked me up and down, his lip curling in
distaste.
“So you’re one of
those
. Shame.”
“If you mean that I’m a guardian, then yes. And I totally agree with it being a shame, but hey,
sometimes you’ve got to go with the flow.”
His dour expression suggested he didn’t see any humor in my reply. Apparently, neither did the
other three, who all edged closer to their leader and flexed various muscles. I raised my
eyebrows, wondering if they were stupid enough to seriously consider attacking a
guardian.
“Lay off, boys,” the bartender said, his voice holding the whip of command. Obviously, the
laid-back attitude was a front.
The brown-haired man snarled, then turned around and stalked off into the shadows. His friends
followed. Three seconds later they all had women on their arms.
I shook my head and glanced at the bartender. “All this freely available blood must be making
them a little crazy.”
He grinned. “They meant no harm. Besides, they know the boss won’t abide any trouble inside the
building.”
And they feared Starke more than they feared a guardian. Or maybe they simply feared that Starke
would cut them off from their easy feed.
I continued on to the red door and rapped my knuckles against it loudly—although the sound was
almost lost in the thump of music coming from the speakers three feet away.
But the door opened, revealing a tall black vamp with startling green eyes. “You the
guardian?”
“I am.” I got out my badge and flashed it again.
He stepped aside and waved me in. “The tapes have been set up to run on the end computer. The
boss said you’d want to view from one o’clock onward.”
One o’clock being the time Grant Haven had finished work and was walking toward Dante’s, only to
be met by someone wielding a saw.
Why
he’d simply let that someone
hack off his head was a question I’d forgotten to ask Jack, which meant I’d actually have to read
the report later.
But Mandy Jones had reported his death at one-twenty, so at least there weren’t going to be
mountains of tape to view.
“That’s perfect.” I walked over to the desk and sat down.
The vamp shut the door then ambled over. “Press this button to play, this one for slo-mo, and
that one for pause. If you want to print any of the frames, just hit this one.”
“Thanks.”
He nodded and went back to his screens. I pressed PLAY and leaned back in the chair, watching as
the computer worked its way through the various tapes. The bartender came in with my coffee about
halfway through, the scent of cinnamon and hazelnut filling the small room.
“I’ll have one of those,” the big vamp said, not taking his eyes off the screens.
“Then you can get it yourself at shift change,” the bartender said, slamming the door as he
exited.
“He’s such a charmer,” the black guy muttered. “You do realize he only got you one because he
wants to get into your pants?”
“Actually, it’s your boss that wants to do that.” I took a sip of the hot liquid and sighed in
pleasure. “How long have you worked here?”
He shrugged. “A year and a half.”
The timer was winding up to one-twenty, so I concentrated on the screen for several minutes but
could see neither Mandy nor the stranger who’d apparently paid her to call the murder in. As the
camera view switched, I said, “And do you enjoy it?”
“Yeah. The conditions here are pretty good.”
I glanced at him. “They are? The place looks pretty run-down to me, and I imagine staff amenities
are much the same.”
He flashed me a grin, revealing rows of shiny white teeth but no fangs. He wasn’t getting turned
on by what he was watching on the screen, but then, I suppose if he was, he’d be of no use in
this job.
“Most club venues have pretty crappy amenities for staff, no matter how upmarket they claim to
be.”
“So why not work at one with a better rep?”
“Because this one pays above-average wages.”
“Why? No offense, but it doesn’t exactly look like a hard job, and this place hasn’t had much in
the way of trouble.” At least, not the sort that attracted police or Directorate intervention.
Not until the recent beheading on its back doorstep, anyway.
“Maybe there’s been no trouble because the boss pays us well to ensure there isn’t.”
Good point. I sipped my coffee for several minutes, watching the ebb and flow of blood seduction
on the screen. The timer was again nearing one-twenty. I leaned forward, watching the screen
closely.
Mandy suddenly appeared in camera view. A tall, dark-haired vampire escorted her into the corner
shadows, lifted her arm, and bared his teeth. A look of pure ecstasy crossed her face as his
teeth pierced her flesh and he began to drink.
“What’s Dante like as a boss?”
He shrugged. “Keeps to himself, mostly. We only see him if there’s trouble.”
“What about the ladies? I imagine he’s got a few of them traipsing to and from his
bedroom.”
He laughed. It was a surprisingly high sound—like his voice was on the edge of breaking. It made
me wonder just how old he’d been when he’d turned. His gangly frame did remind me somewhat of a
teenager, but not all vamps were muscle-bound. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“With his looks, and that mojo he has happening? Hell, yeah. There’s practically a parade of
women traipsing upstairs to be with him.”
“So he picks his bedmates from the women in the club?” Dante didn’t actually seem the type to go
for blood whores. But then, why would he run a club like this if he wasn’t?
“No.” He hesitated. “But some of them seem the type. They have that look, if you know what I
mean.”
I did. But if Starke wasn’t getting his bed partners from this club, did that necessarily mean
that he was getting them from others? And if that was the case, why would he bring them back
here?
Was it some weird method of gaining more customers for his club, or was something else going
on?
On a whim, I took out my phone, accessed my car’s computer, and called up the photo of Renatta
Bailey. “This wouldn’t happen to be one of the women, would it?”
I turned the screen around so he could see it. He took a quick glance, then shook his head. “Not
that I’ve seen, although I’m not on shift twenty-four hours a day. But she looks a little too
classy to be visiting a place like this.”
“And Starke’s ladies don’t?”
“No. They might not have all been whores, but they looked like the ladies do here.
Trashy.”
I wondered how Mandy Jones would react to being called trashy. Then I remembered the desperate
awareness in her eyes and realized she’d probably agree.
On the screen, Mandy’s shadow-bound tryst with her vampire ended. He bowed lightly then
disappeared offscreen, obviously intent on finding his next mark. Another man approached. He was
wearing a black trench coat that concealed the shape of his body, but his shoulders were broad
and he walked with a long-legged grace that not only reminded me of a cat on the prowl but also
seemed a little too familiar.
My gaze flicked up to the hair. It was blond, not the dark red I’d been half expecting, but that
didn’t mean anything. The face underneath the hair was dominated by a bulbous nose and sharp
cheeks. But Kye had proven to be amazingly adept at disguising himself in the past.
The stranger approached Mandy and began talking to her. He kept his back to the camera, and I
wasn’t able to see if any money changed hands. He left, and three seconds later, another blond
man approached her, this one also broad-shouldered, but walking with a heavier gait and a slight
limp. Again, the camera was at the wrong angle to fully see what was going on, but he also left
as quickly as he’d approached.
I rewound the tape, printed out snapshots of both men, then glanced at my watch. Nine minutes to
spare. Brilliant.
“I think that’s it,” I said, retrieving the printouts. “Thanks for your help.”
He nodded. “Tell that lazy bastard tending bar I’m still waiting for my coffee.”
“I believe he told you to get it yourself.”
“He always tells me that.” He flashed me a grin that was decidedly boyish. “But he’s almost as
keen on men as he is women, and he wants to get into my pants something bad, too. He always comes
up with the goods in the end.”
“Meaning you’ll probably have to reciprocate in the long run.”
“Oh, I will. But I also believe in making them wait. Keeps them keen.”
I grinned. “Waiting isn’t something we wolves worry about.”
“Well, it’s not exactly something I practice when it comes to blood, but a relationship is
different.” He gave me a sketchy wave and turned his attention back to his screens.
I closed the door and headed back to the bar. The barkeep—minus his tea towel for a change—ambled
up. “All done?”
I slid the now-empty coffee mug over to him, then folded the printouts and tucked them into my
pocket. “Yes. Thank your boss for me.”
“If you wait a few minutes, you can thank him yourself.”
I grinned. “A pleasure I shall forgo.”
His own smile grew. “You’d need to say that with a little less sarcasm if you want me to believe
you.”
“Next time I want you to believe me, I might give it a try.”
He snorted softly, then gave me a nod and walked over to serve another customer. I headed out.
The bouncer wasn’t at the door when I exited, which was unusual. Maybe there’d been some trouble
inside somewhere. I hadn’t noticed anything, but that was probably why Starke kept so many guards
on staff—to put out the flames of a fight before they got too hot.
I was about a dozen steps away from my car when I realized I was no longer alone. Two figures
appeared out of the shadows of the house ahead. The back of my neck tingled, warning that there
were two more men behind me. Four men in total—the same four men who’d confronted me inside the
club earlier.
I flared my nostrils, tasting the anger in their rancid scents.
These guys
were
as stupid as they’d seemed.
I stopped and held up my hands. The footsteps of the two men behind me were whisper soft, and
with the breeze flowing past me, it was difficult to judge how close they actually were. But I
had more than just regular senses at my call, and it was those I relied on now. They were still
out of kicking range. “Guys, you really don’t want to do this.”