by Kate Serine
Damn, Nate was fast.
I squatted down in front of the victim and carefully lifted his suit jacket, looking for a wallet or some other form of identification, but he’d been stripped of anything that could make my job easy.
Figures.
I braced my elbows on my thighs and took a deep breath, preparing for what came next. The man’s eyes were wide open, glazed over with that faraway gaze that was unique to the dead. Swallowing my nerves and pushing my fear aside, I locked onto his gaze and felt the connection taking hold.
Now for the fun part.
In seconds, I was drifting into the dead man’s psyche, latching on to the last impressions seared into his memory before his light had been snuffed out.
The images came fast and furious: Tingling on his tongue as the Cristal slipped past his lips. Euphoria and arousal. Blurred faces of two women—grotesque and surreal, like reflections in fun house
mirrors—pawing at his clothing, pushing him down onto the bed, bright red fingernails clawing at his chest, then slipping past his waistband to roughly caress. Animalistic sounds of lovemaking and release. Then—just as he was collapsing into postcoital exhaustion—fangs plunging deep into his jugular, drawing out his blood with a snarl that reverberated through him, a persistent buzz vibrating just below his skin. He wanted to scratch, tear it out, but his limbs were paralyzed. He couldn’t move. The terror pumped adrenaline into his system in a fervid rush, making his heart pound furiously against his breast.
Panic rose up from the depth of his gut and he tried to scream, but no sound came. More fangs sank into his skin, drawing away his life one great pull at a time. He was drifting now, the images growing dark as death edged closer. He was cold, could no longer feel his toes, his fingertips, his legs. . . . As the shadows drew closer, an image came to him of a beautiful woman who moved with feline grace, and regret brought tears to his eyes. He felt a single warm tear slip from the corner of his eye and marked its path as it trickled across his temple and toward his ear. And then—
“Hey, Trish.”
I started so violently, I toppled over, ass-planting on the pavement. “Damn it, McCain!” I snapped, casting an irritated glance toward the Enforcer who’d interrupted my connection and stolen the dead man’s final image from me. “You can’t interrupt me when I’m reading the dead.”
“Ah, hell—I’m sorry,” he said, having the good grace to look contrite. “Go ahead and do what you need to do. I won’t say a word.”
“Won’t work,” I grumbled, pushing up to my feet and waving away his offer of help. “I only get one shot.” I brushed the dirty snow from the back of my coat and looked over at McCain, taking him in at a glance. Black male. Close-cropped hair. Brown eyes. Athletic build. Six feet two inches, two hundred twenty pounds of lean muscle. After nearly two years with the FMA, he was still considered the new guy. The kid was doing everything he possibly could to try to impress the higher-ups but hadn’t quite made the marks yet.
“Was there something you needed, McCain?” I asked, trying to be patient as he stood there, rocking a little on his heels.
He shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets. “Red sent me. She thought maybe you’d like—”
I held up my hand, cutting him off. “Let me stop you right there, sparky, before you embarrass yourself,” I said, my tone a little pitying. “I’m not going out with you.”
He blinked at me. “What?”
I sighed. “Listen, I know Tess totally busts your balls and makes you nervous as hell, but I think you’re doing a pretty amazing job. And, I’ll admit, you’re seriously good-looking and seem to be a great guy—you know, once you get past the constant ass-kissing.”
His brows came together. “Um, thanks.”
“So, really, it’s nothing personal,” I explained. “You’re the tenth guy she’s tried to set me up with in the last few months, but I’m married to the job. I don’t have time for a personal life. So, you can tell Red thanks, but I don’t need her to play matchmaker just because she’s happy and wants all of her friends to be happy, too.”
He nodded. “Okay. I can do that. But she only sent me down here to see if you wanted some coffee. She’s sending me on a Starbucks run since it looks like we’ll be here awhile.”
I felt the heat rising in my face. “Oh.”
Alex jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “So . . . you, uh, need anything then?”
I stripped off my latex gloves and wiped my wrist against my forehead. “Yeah. Thanks. That’d be great. Cream, no sugar.”
He looked a little uncomfortable for a moment as if trying to figure out how to gracefully make his exit. “So, I guess I’ll just . . .”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”
As soon as he turned away, I let my head fall back and closed my eyes for a moment. “Nice, Trish,” I murmured. “Way to make an ass of yourself.”
When I opened my eyes again, I glanced down toward the opening of the alley where Nate stood with Red, his body half wrapped around hers, a protective posture they often shared. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her chin tilted up and away from him in anger, but it was mostly for show at this point. She just wasn’t quite ready to let him off the hook yet. Then, as I watched, Nate bent and pressed a tender kiss to Red’s brow and rested his hand on her belly. In response, she turned and gave him a pert look but accepted his brief kiss, letting him know she’d forgive him, but he’d be making it up to her as soon as they got home. I looked away again before envy could take hold, and turned back to the dead man, wondering who the beautiful woman was who’d invaded his thoughts before dying.
Was she his lover? Wife? Unrequited love?
With a twinge of sadness I wondered what beloved face would bring me comfort in my dying moments. Whose eyes would I picture and long to see just once more? It was a question I’d asked myself over and over again since coming over, but the answer never changed. I’d had a few lovers over the years, both Tale and Ordinary, but no matter who I’d let into my life, there was no one else who’d ever come to mind.
I drew from my pocket a handkerchief with the initials NB lovingly stitched in black silk thread. Nicky Blue. I couldn’t even guess how many times I’d thought of him since the day we’d come over. I’d often wondered if he ever thought of me, too, but when I’d finally come face to face with him again two years ago, the answer to that question had been made crystal clear. After all, how could he think of me when he didn’t even remember me?
He’d walked into my lab when I was analyzing evidence from the Sebille Fenwick case—not to see me but to bring additional evidence to Red and Nate. And then he’d greeted me, not like an old friend but as a new acquaintance, and had handed me the handkerchief to wipe a smudge of blood from my cheek.
I didn’t really expect to see him again after that. But after his wife, Juliet, had been tragically killed and Nicky grievously wounded in a confrontation with Sebille Fenwick, I’d been one of the first on the scene. I’d had to witness the pain and torment in the eyes of the man I loved as I tried to stabilize him enough to get him to the Tale hospital. He’d gripped my hand, silently pleading, his gaze holding mine. He hadn’t needed to speak—I knew he was asking me to take care of his lovely bride, to make sure she was treated well. I’d nodded, letting him know he could count on me. And I’d made good on that promise.
I just hoped I’d never have to tell him what I saw when I’d looked into her eyes just before I let Nate take her soul to its final rest. With a sigh, I tucked the handkerchief back into my pocket. Seeing as how Nicky had gone off the grid after Juliet’s death, the odds of me ever having to face that dilemma were pretty slim.
I made my way to the mouth of the alley and jerked my chin at Nate. “All yours.”
“So, what did you see?” Red asked. “Anything to help you identify the killer?”
“Killers,” I corrected. “Plural. They were women, but I didn’t get much else.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “Really? T
hat’s all?”
I squirmed a little. “Vampires,” I admitted, knowing she’d see through me in a heartbeat if I strayed too far from the truth. “But not Vlad. I didn’t sense him at all.” I frowned. “There was something weird about these women. They had a Tale aura to them but . . . I don’t know. It felt wrong.”
Her brows shot up. “Do we need to have a chat with some of our contacts, let them know there could be a problem?”
I barely held back a groan. I knew exactly what she meant by “contacts.” We didn’t out ourselves to many, but there were a select few Ordinaries who’d been brought into our confidence—sometimes whether we liked it or not. So far they hadn’t divulged any of our secrets, but there was always the possibility that one of them could let something slip, which made me nervous as hell about sharing any intel.
“I’d rather hold off getting in touch for a while longer,” I told her, pulling on my winter gloves to keep my fingertips from going numb. “No sense dealing with them any more than we have to.”
Red gave me a tight nod. “Works for me. I’ll just—” She winced, sucking in air through her teeth, and bent forward a little, her hand going reflexively to her belly.
I closed the gap in an instant and put my arm around her. “Tess, you okay?”
She nodded quickly, but her eyes were a little confused. “Yeah, I’m good.”
I gave her a disapproving look as she straightened. “When did this start?”
“Earlier today,” she told me, her voice just above a whisper. “It’s nothing, though. I’m sure everything’s fine.”
I glanced around us to make sure none of the other agents on the scene were listening too closely. “We have no idea what your pregnancy will be like,” I reminded her. “Considering Nate’s not really a Tale, there could be complications we can only guess at. The minute he gets back, Nate’s taking you to the hospital to get checked out. Understood?”
When she met my gaze I saw fear there—something I’d never seen in her eyes before. Even so, Tess Little wasn’t the kind of person to admit she needed help. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. “Just go! I got this.” I laughed a little. “I mean, seriously—the guy’s already dead. What could possibly go wrong?”
Chapter Two
I sipped at my coffee and cranked up the heater in the van as I watched the Investigators pack up their equipment. They’d finished photographing the entire crime scene and were loading the body into the van to send back to the lab for further examination. Nothing to do now but pack it in and call it a night.
“I’m surprised he hasn’t showed up,” Alex McCain mumbled, pulling his gloves back on as he prepared to leave the warmth of my van. Why he’d felt the need to keep me company was beyond me. He hadn’t really said a word the entire two hours we’d sat there together.
“Sorry?” I asked, not really needing further explanation. I knew who he was talking about.
“The Spider,” Alex said. “He’s been popping up all over the place lately, coming in, kicking some ass, and disappearing before the Ordinary cops arrive. The New Orleans office said he took out a couple of Tales down their way, though, so he appears to be an equal opportunity ass kicker. It’s like something out of a comic book.”
I grunted. “Comic book heroes don’t get themselves killed by butting in where they don’t belong,” I mumbled. “The guy’s a vigilante and he’s breaking the law just as much as the criminals he’s taking down. Don’t romanticize it.”
Alex shrugged, then hopped out of the van and made his way to the unmarked sedan he’d driven to the scene. He lifted a hand and offered me a cautious smile. I forced a smile in return, still feeling the sting of humiliation from my earlier tirade. As soon as he drove around the corner, I blew out a relieved breath and put the van into gear.
Thank God that was over.
I was just pulling away from the curb when I caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. I slammed on the brakes and threw the van into park, then squinted into the darkness where the light of the street lamps didn’t quite reach. As I watched, the shadows shifted, darting to the left and slithering along the bricks before vanishing into the alleyway.
“What the hell?” I muttered. Without stopping to think, I hopped out of the van and hurried down the alley, my eyes searching for the false shadows. Only as my hair began to rise on the back of my neck and a heavy feeling of being watched descended upon me did I stop to consider what I might be walking into. “Oh, shit.”
I whirled around to race back to my van, but slid to a halt. Blocking my path was a woman with long blond hair who was clothed only in a cocktail dress and stiletto heels, the cold obviously not bothering her in the least. As I stared at the woman, her lips curled in a mirthless smile, revealing the tips of her fangs. I immediately recognized that bloodthirsty snarl from the dead man’s thoughts. Not waiting around to be a midnight snack, I spun and sprinted toward the other end of the alley. It was blocked by a chain-link fence, but I scaled it in a matter of seconds and dropped down on the other side. Only to find her companion waiting for me.
The brunette hissed at me like a cat, baring her fangs. She lunged, her hand outstretched to take hold of my throat. At the last instant, I sidestepped her attack and swung my fist, catching her hard on the side of the head and using her own momentum to take her down. Then I dropped, driving my knee into the back of her neck. I heard an ominous crack and she screeched with rage, flailing around, her limbs no longer under her control. I scrambled back to my feet, but a sudden impact knocked me to the ground, sending me sliding across the snow-slick pavement. Before I could scramble to my feet, someone grabbed my arm and twisted. I cried out as the bones snapped and white-hot pain shot through my wrist.
The blonde launched herself up, dragging me with her as if I weighed nothing, and hurled me toward the side of the building. I grunted as I crashed into the bricks and dropped, a pile of cardboard boxes breaking my fall.
I cradled my broken wrist against my chest as I rolled up to my knees, but the blonde was already on me, grabbing me by the hair and jerking my head up. She crouched down next to me and hissed in my ear, baring her fangs, preparing to plunge them into my neck and drain me dry. I whimpered and cringed away, forcing her to lean with me. Feeling her balance shift, I brought my good arm up behind her neck and flipped her over my shoulder. The second she hit the ground, I drove the heel of my palm into her nose. She howled in pain, but I didn’t wait around to go at her again—there was no way I could take down a vampire on my own. The best I could hope for was a little time to escape to someplace with lots of people around, where it was less likely she’d attack.
I glanced over my shoulder as I ran, discouraged to see she was already on her feet and prowling toward me. There was no need for her to sprint after me—if she wanted to catch up to me, all she had to do was pour on her vampire speed and I was a goner. Worse yet, the brunette had recovered from her partial paralysis and was joining in. They stalked forward slowly, their heads lowered between their shoulders, their eyes blazing red with feral light, obviously done screwing around.
“Shit,” I spat, hugging my arm closer and running faster. My snow boots slipped on the ice and snow, but I kept my footing and made a break for the opening of the alley. Then suddenly the brunette was in front of me, looking righteously pissed off.
I spun around to dart back in the other direction, but the blonde was right behind me. She grinned, knowing our little game of cat and mouse was officially over.
Son of a bitch.
I glanced around, searching frantically for some escape, but it was useless. Unless I suddenly discovered some latent ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, I was well and truly hosed. I pressed my lips together and squared off. If I was going down, I wasn’t going to make it easy. They’d have to earn my blood.
“Come on, you bitch!” I growled at the blonde. “You want a piece of me? Bring it on!”
She leaped forward like she
was on a spring. My eyes went wide, my courageous last stand suddenly not such a brilliant idea. But a split second later, she jerked back with a screech, her hand clawing at a small black arrow lodged in her shoulder. I heard an answering screech from the brunette and swung around in time to see her head snap back as an arrow pierced her eye.
What the hell?
There was a scuffling noise behind me that brought my head around in time to see the blonde struggling with a figure dressed in black fatigues and wearing a black ski mask. As I watched, he swung his fist, catching her jaw with a right hook, then slamming her chin with a left uppercut that knocked her on her ass. In the next instant, he had a knee on her chest and snatched from his ammo belt something that looked like a railroad stake. The blonde didn’t even have time to react as he drove it down into the center of her chest.
I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until it burst from me with a gasp. But my relief was short-lived. An arm came around my throat, cutting off my air. I drove my elbow into my attacker’s ribs, but it barely fazed her. I grabbed her arm and tucked my chin down to take some of the pressure from my esophagus, then drove the edge of my snow boot down along her exposed shin, making her howl in pain.
“Get down!”
My eyes darted toward the sound of the man’s voice. He stood over the body of the blonde, a small crossbow aimed at the brunette. I bit down on the vampire’s arm as hard as I could, drawing her tainted blood. When she roared with rage, her grip loosening for a fraction of a second, I dropped, rolling out of the way as the man in black fired the crossbow. The arrow struck the center of the woman’s chest. Her eyes went wide for a fraction of a second before she crumpled into a permanently dead heap.
So this was the infamous Spider . . .
I totally took back everything I’d said about the guy being no better than the criminals he brought down. He was my new BFF. I was tempted to see if he was a bit parched after the ass kicking he’d just doled out and maybe wanted to join me for a super stiff drink at Ever Afters, but then the mind-numbing pain in my wrist reminded me I probably had other business to tend to first.