by L. J. Red
“Jacob,” Rune interrupted, “do you truly believe the hunters are a greater threat than Roman? A Circle Elder and leader of a Bloodline?”
Jacob stared at Rune. His eyes were hollow. “I believe these hunters are the greatest threat our race may ever face.”
Rune read the total seriousness of Jacob’s expression and grasped Jacob’s forearm in a warrior’s hold. “I hear you, Jacob. I will track them, Dana and I will work with the humans to root them out, and when we find them, I swear to you, we will crush them.”
Chapter 14
Brigit’s phone went off suddenly, making her jump. She dropped the stack of files she had carried into the room that was being set aside for the new vampire-human team and crossed over to where she’d left her bag. She dug her phone out and answered as Dana entered with the second box.
“Hey, sis,” Callum’s voice echoed down the line.
“Callum,” she said. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s all fine, no emergency. It’s just, you know how we were talking about vampires and attacks in the city last time you came to Mom and Dad’s?”
Brigit glanced at Dana uneasily. With everything happening, she hadn’t had the chance to have that conversation with her partner yet, and she imagined Dana’s enhanced vampire hearing would allow her to pick up the conversation easily. Awkward.
“Um yeah,” Brigit said hesitantly. “I’m at work right now. Callum,” she said, speaking over his next words, “so if it’s—”
He interrupted her “Yeah, I know; it’s a work thing. Remember Miller, you know, I told you I got a bit of work from his sister-in-law?”
“Yeah,” Brigit said, “the family who owns the corner store, turns out they’re vampires.”
“Exactly,” Callum said. “Well they had some trouble last night. Pretty bad actually. They live above the shop, and someone broke in and tried to set fire to the place.”
“Holy shit,” Brigit said.
“Yeah.” Callum sounded angry. “It’s okay, no one got hurt, only they don’t want to report it. You know, because of all the shit with the Monster of Chicago, they think the cops won’t care. I’ve managed to change their minds, but they only want to talk to you and Dana. Will you come down and do something about it? It’s a mess here, seriously, and it’s not right.”
“Of course,” Brigit said, “I’ll be there right away.” She hung up and looked across at Dana. “Did you catch that?”
“Yeah,” Dana said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I’m glad you heard. We should check it out.”
“You want me to come with you?” Dana asked hesitantly. Brigit felt terrible again. She had hurt her friend’s feelings by holding back, and that hadn’t been her intention at all. She could only hope it wasn’t too late to fix their friendship.
“Yes,” she said, “definitely. We’re finished here anyway.” She looked around the room. It was set up and ready for the Feds, and the vampire, to arrive tomorrow. Shit. She wasn’t thinking about that.
The drive to Brigit’s parent’s neighborhood didn’t take long, and it was easy to identify the shop. The glass window was smashed, glass scattered all over the sidewalk and even from the street Brigit saw the inside was blackened with soot.
“Shit,” Dana said, “this looks bad.”
Brigit glanced at her friend; Dana’s eyes were shadowed and dark.
Brigit waved to Callum as they got close and she recognized Mr. Miller next to him. He was a tall, thin man, a bit of a silver fox Brigit had always secretly thought, with neatly cut gray hair and a smart but faded suit. She would never have pegged him as a vampire. He turned to look at them as they approached and Brigit saw his eyes widen minutely before he caught his expression and blanked it. She frowned, he wasn’t looking at her, but over her shoulder toward… Dana. It was Dana. Mr. Miller was reacting to the fact that Dana was part of the Shadows. Brigit had forgotten that Dana’s Bloodline was practically vampire royalty. Oops. Did that made Rune kind of like a prince. Yeah, a pretty damn imposing one, more like warrior king than modern-day royalty. Not that it made any difference whatsoever to her, she insisted, dragging her mind back on track. As they approached, Mrs. Miller came out to join them. She looked a few years younger than Mr. Miller, with curly dark hair and lines of gray running through it. She walked over to her husband and linked her arm in his.
Brigit wondered if she was a vampire too. She didn’t know if humans and vampires ever lived together. She wondered if maybe Mr. Miller had turned her. Had he come out to her, or had she always known? It was weird to think of a normal couple living their lives and navigating the vampire question at the same time.
“Here she is,” Callum said when they were close enough. “This is my sister, Brigit, and her partner, Dana. She’s—”
“A Shadow,” Mr. Miller said. Brigit noticed Mrs. Miller didn’t seem to know what that meant if her frown was anything to go by. Maybe she wasn’t a vampire after all.
“Is that a problem?” Dana asked.
“No,” Mr. Miller said, quickly. “I don’t think this is something to bother the Shadows about.”
“I’m not here as a Shadow,” Dana said. “I’m here as Chicago PD.” She exchanged a glance with Brigit, and after years of working with her Brigit knew what that look meant. Dana wanted Brigit to take the lead on this interview since Dana was clearly unsettling the victim. Brigit stepped forward smoothly and pulled out her notebook. “Can you tell me anything about the attack?”
Mr. Miller shook his head. “It was during the daytime.” He sighed, “I sleep like…” He smiled ruefully. “I sleep like the dead. I’m afraid I didn’t see anything.”
“We were closed up,” Mrs. Miller interrupted. “Normally we have a guy who works the daytime but he’s been on holiday the past couple of days so we’ve had to close the shop. I was staying with my sister. She’s just had a baby.”
“Right,” Brigit said, glancing Callum. Of course, that was why he’d been building the extension; it must be the nursery.
“The first I heard of it was when Rupert called me, but by then it was all over,” she said, looking up at her husband.
“I woke up from the smoke,” Mr. Miller picked up the thread. “The smell of it. I knew what it was; it’s not the first time hunters have tried to burn me out of my home,” he said grimly. “We’ve got extinguishers so I went straight and got them. Luckily the blaze didn’t have the chance to do more than take out the front display.
Brigit felt terrible for him. To have been attacked more than once in this way, his house burnt, it was awful. What if he hadn’t woken up? What about the houses next door? What if the fire had spread? She pushed her thoughts aside and interviewed him more thoroughly, getting a full accounting of everything that happened since he woke up. Dana stepped away to take photos of the scene.
“Do you have a camera by any chance?”
“We do. I don’t know how useful it’ll be; you only get one shot where you can see his face, and it’s not a great picture.”
“Please, a copy would help.”
Mr. Miller disappeared into the shop to get it, and then she and Dana turned to leave. Brigit glanced at her brother and jerked her head for him to join them. “Thanks for calling me out here,” Brigit said to Callum.
“Yeah, no problem. They weren’t going to report it otherwise and it didn’t seem right.” He glanced over at Dana, a smile coming over his face. “It’s good to see you, Dana. You’re looking well.”
Dana smiled. “Thanks, Callum. You too.”
Brigit gave Callum a quick hug and got back in the car. She hesitated before starting the engine, trying to work out how to begin her apology to Dana. “So… Mrs. Miller isn’t a vampire.” She said the first thing that came into her head.
Dana glanced at her, and then back out at the street. “Yeah, how’d you figure?”
“It’s a guess, but she didn’t seem to kno
w who the Shadows were.”
“No.” Dana nodded. “But Mr. Miller, he seemed very aware.”
“Is it always like that?” Brigit asked. “I mean, other vampires, the way they react to the Shadows.”
Dana shrugged. “It’s is not like I’ve met many, except the ones trying to kill us,” she said wryly. “I hope this vampire-human team will make a difference,” she continued after a moment. “I don’t like what’s happening in our city. I thought when the Monster died that would solve all our problems, but I guess that was foolish. It’s all much more complicated than just one killer.”
“Things will get better,” Brigit said. “If we can get a handle on the attacks, you’ll see. I think this team is a good idea; it has potential. Sure, there’s a lot of moving parts.” Cops, Feds, and vamps; it was a hell of a project. “But you can handle it.”
“You think so?” Dana looked at Brigit.
“Fuck yeah. You brought down the Monster of Chicago, Dana. You got this.” She grinned at her. “And I’ve got your back, no matter what.”
Dana caught her eye and returned her smile. Brigit felt the air between them ease, and she turned the key, pulling out and driving back to the precinct. She’d never been great at the whole ‘talking out your feelings’ crap. Actions meant more. She’d show Dana she was fine with the whole vampire thing. She’d put her support behind her one hundred percent. Of course, that meant she had to find a way to work with Rune. Great.
Chapter 15
“Franklin, Novak,” Special Agent Morrell called from his office. Agent Lily Franklin glanced over her shoulder at Agent Novak but he didn’t look at her, just hunched his shoulders and strode straight into Morrell’s office. She took one last look at the view out the plate glass windows at the Chicago skyline. They were high up on the twelfth floor, and the city was spread out before her. Quite a view, she thought, before following Novak in.
They both stood to attention in front of Morrell’s desk as he flicked through one of the files on his desk, then put it down, crossing his hands over in his lap before looking up at them, his dark face smooth and impassive. The neat stacks of files on his desk spoke to his work ethic, and he ruled his office with an intense strictness that Lily had been impressed by when she was first transferred here out of training.
“You both know what we’re trying to do here is unprecedented. We’re lucky the vampires and the locals are willing to work with us. This is too good an opportunity to pass up, and I’m relying on the both of you not to fuck it up,” Morrell said. “Working with a local cop who just happens to be part of the most elite vampire bloodline in the country? Not to mention the vampire equivalent of…” Morrell shook his head. “I don’t even know what to call the Shadows. Soldiers? Special Forces?”
“Killers,” Agent Novak said.
Lily glanced sharply at him. “Agents,” she corrected. She turned to Morrell and raised her eyebrows. “What else would you call a cross-state enforcement agency that brings wrongdoers to justice.”
“Kills them, you mean,” Novak said.
“Like the death penalty doesn’t exist for humans too?” She rounded on him.
“Enough,” Morrell said, slapping his hand down on his desk. “This is exactly what I don’t need. Get over whatever problems you have with each other. I don’t want to hear it. We present a united face to the cops, and more importantly to the vampires. Understand?”
“Yes sir,” they both said, and if Novak’s voice was a little begrudging, Lily had to take part in that blame. Morrell was right. They had the reputation of the FBI to uphold.
“Nobody expects this to work,” Morrell said baldly. “They think I was crazy to even suggest it. Which is why they’ve given me two fresh-as-daisies trainees. Oh yeah, don’t kid yourselves. You were picked because you’re the closest we’ve got to expendable.” He leaned forward. “But I don’t waste chances. You’ve got a chance to prove yourselves here. Damn well take it.” He leaned back. “You know Detective Lewis is in charge in the field. I expect you to follow orders as if she were me. You have any problems, you deal with them without causing waves. She’s got the vampire expertise, and she’s got the ear of their leader. You don’t want to piss her off.” He steepled his fingers. “I want to believe there’s a way we can work together with the vampires to keep this city safe. And if this works out then it’s a model we can roll out across the country.” He laughed grimly. “Hell, maybe one day we’ll even have vampire here at the Bureau.” Lily could see from the skeptical quirk of his brows that he didn’t think it was a likely possibility, but who knew? Times changed.
“Right now all you have to do is work with the cops and work with the Shadows and get to the bottom of this shit that is happening in this city. We know the actors behind it. We know HUNT is involved, and we know Cleaver, despite his political aspirations, is neck deep in corruption. Believe me, we’re all trying to bring him down from different directions. Your task is to track the HUNT angle. Don’t get distracted. HUNT’s more than just a bunch of angry vandals. Cleaver’s not an idiot; whatever he’s doing with them, it’s gonna be big and it’s gonna be ugly.” He sighed. “We’ve gone as far as we can on our end, but we don’t know enough about vampires to track down the big players. That’s why the Shadows sharing their files with us is so crucial. There’s a lot that you could do here. Or you could both snipe at each other and this whole damn thing can be a waste of time. Is that what you want?” He pinned them with a glare. “You want to waste my time?”
“No sir,” they both said loudly.
“Good. Pep talk over; get out.”
Lily walked out of the FBI building full of nerves and excitement. Things were going to change, she could feel it. Being part of the taskforce, it meant being part of something new, something big and she would be ready for whatever came next.
Chapter 16
Brigit stared at the whiteboard. A grainy picture of Sparrow stared back at her. It had been a week and she was no closer to finding Sparrow than at the start. After interviewing Cassie and others at the shelter, Brigit had managed to gather a few names, pull together a handful of missing persons cases. Too many. There was a gaping hole in the city and nobody seemed to care. Brigit was the only one chasing it down. The only reason she’d been able to divert the team’s resources to it was because the anti-vampire attacks had mysteriously dried up in the past few weeks. It was weird; it was almost as if HUNT had been tipped off. Or they were distracted with something else. Brigit hoped that wasn’t it. She didn’t want to imagine what they might be planning. She went back to her desk, glancing through the internal windows to see Rune was walking in the precinct doors. The sun had only gone down five minutes ago. How the hell did he get across the city so fast?
She deliberately turned away. She’d gone out clubbing that night after their moment in the parking lot to try and find some guy, any guy, to work off her energy with. Only she’d found herself comparing every man in the club to the Viking warrior that she had left behind. None of them measured up. None of them even came close to stirring her desires. She’d gone home frustrated and returned to the precinct the next day screwed up even tighter inside, swearing to channel all her energy into the case. Except that was a damn dead end.
Brigit rocked back in her chair. She hadn’t found any relief in the nights since then, and working with Rune every day was only making it worse. Where did the man get off looking like sex on a stick? Was it some kind of vampire prerequisite that they had to be as sexy as sin and twice as imposing? She glanced at him sidelong as he entered the room silently, his face impassive, expression still as he walked over to the handful of new files the Feds had brought on similar vandal attacks from across the state. He settled down at his desk to read them as if Brigit wasn’t even there. She fought the impulse to poke at him and get some kind of reaction. She wasn’t a fucking schoolkid with a crush. Brigit let her chair slam forward. Agent Franklin, looked up from her computer and sent her a wan smile. Her eyes loo
ked red-rimmed. She’d been staring at the screen all day, tracking down the whispers of a black-market blood distribution network.
Brigit had been ready to fend off the usual FBI crap, but Agent Franklin had been a pleasant surprise. She was a few years younger than Brigit, fresh from training Brigit guessed, and clearly keen to make a good impression. Plus, she was good at her job. She’d been the one to tease out the information on the black-market ring by herself.
Turned out people were using vampire blood in all sorts of things. It was kind of like a new drug. Fresh, it gave people a heady kick. It was addictive from the bite, but bottled up it seemed not so much. It lost its kick pretty quickly though, so the traders were always on the lookout for more. That put the vampire population at risk. It was a mess. No one knew what the side effects may be. And what happened if you died with vampire blood in your system? Did you get turned?
Dana had implied not. She hadn’t made it official yet, but she’d told Brigit something like that had happened with one of the Shadows—A human stealing his blood to try and turn herself. It had been ugly and ended badly.
The other Agent, Novak, had his head down in the corner and was tapping away at his computer. He almost never spoke. He didn’t seem to want to be part of the team at all; stole in late and left early. Brigit wasn’t impressed. He almost never looked up from that machine in the whole week they’d worked together. She had barely exchanged a single word with him.
Morrell had checked in on them a couple of times, the captain too, but other than that it was down to Dana to run the show. A more mismatched team Brigit had never seen. She was pretty sure Morrell and the captain were fending off attempts to make the team just a political smokescreen. But until they could pin down a real lead, on HUNT or the black-market ring, or even on the missing people, they were stuck kicking their heels. Again.