by Eve Langlais
A hint of her trepidation must have shown, because Stavros grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “No worries, sweetheart. This is the easy part.”
Funny how it didn’t feel easy, not when she walked in and felt as if everyone stared at her. Perhaps they did.
A guy came to greet them, sporting a comb-over that really could have used a razor. “I should have you arrested for hindering an investigation,” snapped the fellow.
“And you should be arrested for wearing those pants. Where’s Jenkins? He was supposed to be the one meeting us.”
“He got called out on a tip. Don’t worry. I can handle questioning the woman.”
Except she didn’t want to go anywhere with the man. She didn’t like the look of him at all. She clung closer to Stavros.
He bent low enough to whisper, “No worries, sweetheart. Nothing bad will happen to you here either.” He raised his head to ask, “What interview room do you want us in?”
“Us?” Landry shook his head. “There is no us. You know the rules. Unless you’re her lawyer, I have to question her myself.”
The muscles in Stavros’s face tightened. “That wasn’t the deal I had with Jenkins.”
“I don’t know anything about a deal, but I do know protocol. Do you want to argue about this all day, or shall we get this over with?”
“Give me a second.”
Stavros pulled her aside and tilted her chin so he could meet her gaze. “A little change in plans, but don’t worry. Landry might seem like a prick, might even be a prick, but he’s straight as they come. Remember, we’re in a police station. Tons of cops around. Nothing to worry about. And I won’t be far. Just tell him the truth like we discussed.”
She nodded. His thumb rubbed the skin on her jaw. “It’s almost over, sweetheart. Just a few more hours.”
He dipped low enough to brush a kiss on her lips, meant as a light embrace, but she couldn’t stop herself from flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him close, desperate for some of his courage.
The wolf whistles and catcalls forced them apart.
“Save it for later. This is a cop station, not a bordello,” Landry snapped.
Becka pulled away from Stavros, following the ill-fitting blue jacket of the brusque officer. A peek over her shoulder showed Stavros staring after her, and then she lost sight of him as they buzzed her and Landry through a door that swung shut and clicked behind them.
A short while later she was in a room, a plain room with light gray walls, a metal table bolted to the floor, and sitting in the world’s most uncomfortable chair.
Landry dropped a folder in front of her, causing her to flinch.
“Someone is jumpy.”
“I’m sorry. I still haven’t recovered from my time in captivity.”
“I want to hear all about it. First, though, I need a coffee. Can I get you a drink? Water? Coffee? I think we have some tea too?”
The kind request took her by surprise. “Water, please.”
The detective left, leaving her alone with her thoughts and fears. She chose to focus instead on the future. What would she do if Vlad was arrested?
If she didn’t have to fear capture, she could return to her old life. A life that no longer existed with her poppa and the house she’d grown up in gone. She could probably still go back to her old job, especially once they found out she was a victim, or, with her education and experience, she could start over. Here. With Stavros.
He seemed pretty determined to keep her in his life, a concept she didn’t mind at all. She quite enjoyed his presence. His droll wit, outrageous innuendos, and the way he made her feel like the most attractive woman alive helped.
What of his bear side? Could she handle it, though? She’d fainted the first time she saw it, but more out of shock than fear if she were being honest. She didn’t think he’d ever hurt her as man or beast. And really, how bad could being mated with a shifter be? Look at how happy all the women in his family were. They too once upon a time found out their husbands were something “more.” If they could accept, why couldn’t she?
Minutes ticked as she waited for the detective to return. Inside the little room, she couldn’t hear a damned thing. Not even passing traffic in the hall.
But she sure as hell noticed when the lights went out.
CHAPTER 16
Out in the lobby, Stavros paced. Something didn’t feel right, and he didn’t mean the fact that Landry instead of Jenkins had taken the lead on the case.
His bear paced inside his head, and the hair on his body stood on end. The unease wouldn’t leave him, so he stepped outside the precinct house and placed a call to Cole.
“Why are you not inside with the girl?” His cousin wasted no time on such trivialities as “hello.”
“Landry pulled procedure on me. He’s got her in an interview room.”
“By herself?”
“It’s a police station. How much safer can she fucking get?” He no sooner said it than the doors to the station swung open and stayed open as bodies streamed out, cops, civilians, perps in cuffs. He could hear an alarm ringing.
He grabbed a rookie he knew and barked, “What the fuck is going on? Why are they evacuating the building?”
“Bomb threat.”
The words sent a chill through him and not because he believed for one minute there was a bomb. This is a distraction.
Stavros pushed past the emerging bodies into the building itself, Cole still on the line but forgotten in his hand as he looked for a sign of Becka or Landry.
The lobby emptied quickly as he moved against the flow toward the locked door to the inner sanctum.
Billy still manned the desk, his florid face even more flushed than usual as he hollered, “Move out in an orderly fashion and set up a perimeter. Please find your duty officer and report in once you’ve reached a safe zone.”
“Billy, I need to get in there.” He pointed to the door.
“No, you need to get out. In case you didn’t hear, we’ve had a bomb threat.”
“It’s bullshit, and you know it. How many of those do we get a month? Two, three? And we’ve never had a real bomb yet.”
Apparently, a god of mischief was waiting for that moment, because Stavros had no sooner said it than a slight rumble rocked the floor underneath and the lights went out.
“Everybody out now!” Billy screamed, and then his corpulent frame was vaulting over the desk and following the mad dash of those still trying to get outside.
Stavros didn’t join them. Becka was in here somewhere, and he had to find her. The good thing about a power failure was it meant the locks disengaged, a weird safety feature installed just in case the electricity failed and folks needed to exit the building. It meant he could yank on the handle for the inner sanctum and the door opened. A good thing too, because its solid bulk saved him from the spray of bullets that suddenly hit it with a rat-tat-tat.
Someone is shooting! He ducked behind the door and slammed it shut, then cursed as the lack of power meant it wouldn’t lock. More bullets peppered its surface, leaving dimples on it that showed whoever attacked meant business. Holding it one-handed, his foot braced on the wall for leverage, he slapped his phone to his ear.
“Cole? You still fucking there?”
“Yeah, but I’m moving to the rear entrance. Is it me, or did something just blow?”
“The power is out, and someone is inside shooting.”
“I’m on my way.” No surprise his cousin sounded excited.
The cavalry was coming, but Stavros was unarmed, the joys of coming to a police station. No guns allowed, not even for ex-cops and PIs.
He thought of shifting into his bear; with the power out, the cameras were down. But before he could fully commit to that idea, the backup generators kicked in, random lights illuminated, and the door clicked as the lock engaged.
One less worry for him, a pisser for the shooter who’d gone on a rampage trying to Swiss-cheese the portal.
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With no time to waste, because the generators were only a stopgap measure, he sprinted to the interview rooms.
Boom. The second explosion sputtered the lights, plunging him into darkness again, which might have been a good thing, because it made him a harder target to spot. It didn’t take a genius to realize the shooter had taken advantage of the once-again-unlocked door and come through it. Judging by the sound of gunfire behind him, the shooter was taking no chances and spraying the hall as he went.
Time to swap to fur. Not only would he heal better; he’d see and smell better too.
Good enough to hunt.
Time to catch me some varmints.
CHAPTER 17
She tried to not panic when the lights went out, but the room had no window, which meant she was in complete darkness.
I don’t like the dark. The dark was for monsters.
It also meant something wrong had happened. Oh God, he found me.
So much for being safe here. She knew, without a doubt, this was no coincidence. I have to get out. But the door was locked electronically. The question was, would it remain that way with no power?
Only one way to find out. She felt her way along the wall, fingers running over the drywall, feeling the occasional ridge indicating a plaster repair. She found the corner and turned, her fingers soon bumping over the frame for the door. Her fingers clutched the handle, and she took a deep breath, tossing up a quick prayer that it would open. Before she could turn it, a single light bloomed into existence, and as she blinked her eyes against the sudden illumination she heard a click at the door. She tugged the handle and could have cried when it wouldn’t budge.
She’d taken a moment too long. Frustrated, she whirled from it and paced, wondering if, behind the one-way mirror, someone watched.
A noise alerted her to the fact that someone had opened the door to the interview room. She spun, her elation at not being forgotten turning into icy fear. It wasn’t Landry or any police officer standing there.
Terror instantly flooded her veins, and she scrambled to the far end of the table, looking to put some distance between them. She’d thought herself cured of the fear; a few days spent with Stavros and she’d remembered a decent world, a world without pain. Seeing Vlad again brought it all back, and the cruel twist of his lips let her know it was about to get ten times worse.
“If it isn’t my wild rose. Did you really think you could escape me?”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Stupid bitch. I already have. Your human laws are no match for me. I am practically immortal. Soon, I will have enough of your blood running through my veins to truly transform.”
“No. I won’t let you.”
“Won’t?” He raised a mocking brow, which, considering he had only one giant one, gave him an odd appearance. “You don’t have a choice. I chose you for a reason. With your blood, I shall ascend to greatness. All will bow before my reign of darkness.”
“There won’t be much bowing when you’re behind bars, asshole.” Landry shoved Vlad into the room, sending him reeling. He turned with a snarl on the cop.
“You dare to touch me, human.”
“Yeah, I dare. This is my witness, and she’s gonna put your ass behind bars.” In that moment, she took back all the unkind thoughts she’d had about Landry. Until he said, “And then I’m going to collect the bounty on her head.”
A cruel smirk twisted Vlad’s lips. “Good luck collecting it when you’re dead.” Bang. The gunshot to Landry’s back, a cowardly shot, caused red to blossom on the front of his button-down white shirt. Landry opened and shut his mouth while his eyes widened in surprise. He fell to the floor. Another victim to the madness.
“Where were we?” Vlad turned to her and approached on the left of the table while Brian, gun still in hand, stepped over the body and tried to block her on the other side.
She retreated until her back hit the wall, her breath coming in short, terrified pants. No escape. What to do? She couldn’t go back. She couldn’t. Just couldn’t. And that was when the lights went out for a second time.
Dropping to her knees, she didn’t think of smashing her face in table legs, just scurried forward under the table while listening to Vlad and his minion cursing.
But so long as they cursed behind her they weren’t ahead of her, and she made it out of the room into a dark hall. She hit a wall with her hands and stood. Where should she go? Did it matter? She couldn’t stay here. With her fingers on the plaster, she half-walked, half-ran, stray windows in offices with their doors open providing a faint illumination, but if she could see, then so could—
“There she is. Get her!” The rabid scream brought forth a frightened hitch of noise.
Bang. Bang. From ahead, she could hear gunfire. No escape that way. She saw an exit sign and shoved through the door. She found herself in a stairwell. Up or down?
Bang. Bang. Up it was.
At least in here there was some light, the windows providing fading daylight. Would it be enough to stop Vlad? She now regretted the choice to arrive so late in the day. The bears had hoped to make this quick for her, a few hours at the police station, enough to have night fall, then a motel to lay the trap. They’d never expected Vlad to act so brazenly.
Not Vlad. Fucktard. She could hear Stavros’s voice so clearly and wished he were with her. She needed him right now.
However, she was currently on her own, and it would be dark soon. Soon, not yet, so when she saw the stairs ended in a door marked “Rooftop Exit” she gladly ran onto the flat top of the building, sobbing in relief.
Vlad with his affliction to sunlight wouldn’t follow. She couldn’t say the same for Brian.
Up here, there was nothing to use as a weapon. In the movies, the heroes always found a metal bar for swinging or a forgotten tool like a nail gun. All she saw was bird poop and cigarette butts. Reality sucked.
She ran to the edge and looked down, seeing people milling on the street, too far away to help her, and before she could shout to ask she heard the disdainful chuckle. She turned around to find Vlad on the roof with her. Alone. In daylight. He didn’t burst into flame. He didn’t even get a sunburn.
Pity.
He sneered at her. “Nowhere to run, bitch. Come with me now without a fight and maybe I won’t hurt you too much.”
“Or maybe,” said a figure dressed in black from head to toe, including a helmet, “you should take a leap off this building and save me the trouble of tossing you.” The new player stepped out from behind a thick air vent, hands empty and yet oozing menace.
The voice seemed somehow familiar and, yet, not. Whoever it was, she wouldn’t argue, not if he wanted to kill her tormentor.
And what about after? One problem at a time.
Vlad didn’t look pleased at being interrupted. “This is none of your business.”
“Oh, but it is. You made it my business when you took the girl. She’s a very special girl, not for the likes of you.”
“You know about her blood?” Vlad sneered. “Too late. It’s mine. And once I’ve completely replaced mine with hers, I’ll be able to ascend and become a true vampire.”
“Stupid human.” Spoken with clear disdain. “That’s not how it works. And even if it did, we’d never accept your kind. We do have standards.”
The conversation had taken an odd turn, and she still couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. But who did she know that stood so tall and spoke with such confidence? It wasn’t Stavros; he would never hide.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re too late. She belongs to me.” Vlad dove toward her, and she screamed as she dashed away, toward the man in black.
“Get behind me, little Bee.”
Little Bee? Only one person ever called her that. Before she could speak, a gunshot rang out and the guy with the helmet moved, moved so fast she didn’t see where he went.
She also didn’t see the uneven spot on the roof, and she hit it hard with h
er toes. Instant pain that sent her falling to her knees. “Ooww.” She couldn’t help but cry out, which, in turn, was answered by a grumbly roar. Rolling onto her back, she pushed herself to a sitting position and noted the giant bear on the roof. A giant bear that grappled with Brian. The gun went flying, a victim to the savage pummeling. And then there was a wolf on the roof too. A wolf where Brian used to be.
Dear God. Could no one be what they seemed? As the two animals tore at each other, Vlad approached her, hands outstretched, his eyes wide with manic glee.
“Don’t touch my little Bee.” The vehement words emerged with a deep chill, and yet she still smiled.
Smiled as her poppa, somehow, was still alive, and stronger than expected, given he held Vlad over the parapet. Poppa looked back at her, his eyes masked by the helmet, but she could still see him asking for permission.
She nodded. “Do it.” A cold, cruel justice, and yet after what Fucktard did to her? Totally deserved.
He screamed on his way down. A short scream. And then she was running at the man in black.
He caught her in a hug, and she heard him murmur, “My little Bee. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“How are you here?” she asked. “I thought you were dead.”
“I am in a sense. But I don’t have time to explain right now. We have to leave. Come.” The familiar whup whup of a chopper got louder, and for a moment she looked at the offered escape.
Rawr!
She turned her head to see Brian taking the same route as his master and a very angry bear charging at them.
When her poppa would have put her behind him, she stopped him. “No, it’s okay. He’s with me.”
And despite the fear trembling in her, she walked toward him, trusting in Stavros, even if he was kind of furry and scary.
He stopped in front of her and cocked his head. Growr.
She could almost hear the question in his voice. “It’s okay. I don’t know how, but that’s my grandfather in the suit.”
“A grandfather who’s come to take you home. Hurry now, little Bee. We have to leave.”