I willed my brain to stop spinning around possibilities to that question.
“Why are you here, Ian?” I asked with a sigh.
“I felt your despair, then nothing.” His voice was flat.
“My shields…” I began.
“Your shields would not have stopped me from feeling your presence, My Love. It was as if…” He cut himself off and closed his eyes. “It was as if you no longer existed.”
I looked up into his blue eyes and saw only sincerity.
“Have you not felt my presence, sensed me, even through your shields?”
“I don’t know.” In truth I’d been too busy trying to block him out to dare even think about if I could still feel him. Then I added sarcastically, “Perhaps you underestimate my shields.”
“I have learned well not to underestimate you.” He moved closer.
“Please Ian… I really have had a shitty day.” Talk about understatements. “I … I need to be alone.” The words came out softly, barely a whisper.
“I’m sorry about Ben.” He moved a step closer.
I shook my head quickly and repeatedly, my eyes cast to the floor. I didn’t want to think about Ben. I didn’t want to think about anything. I felt my mental blocks crack and could almost hear the thunder of emotions spill out, like water from a burst dam.
“Don’t.” It came out so quietly I didn’t think he would’ve heard it if he hadn’t had vampire-enhanced hearing.
He took yet another step toward me. “I am sorry for your loss, My Love.”
I covered my face with my hands. I tried to choke the grief back, determined to keep it on the back burner until I found who killed Ben, but couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face.
Ian moved closer, wrapped his arms around me and set his chin on top of my head. Just as suddenly, he jerked his head back as if he’d been burned. “His scent is all over you, it is not becoming.”
Anger pushed back my overwhelming grief. Arrogant prick. “You got what you wanted. Joaquín is gone.” I pushed away from him and staggered back several steps, my feet unsteady. “Get out!” I spat at him. “Don’t you have a cocktail waitress to interview?”
“Is that a touch of jealousy, My Love?”
“Not on your grave, Ian.” Resolve stiffened my spine.
“It was merely an interview; I have decided that she will not fulfill the requirements of the position,” he replied.
I snorted out a laugh. “I seriously doubt she was interested in only a waitress position.”
Ian shrugged with his eyebrow. “Maybe not, but that was all I was offering. My heart belongs to you, My Love. And yours, to me.”
“My heart belongs to me.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Get out, Ian.”
Ian cocked his head. “I’d almost forgotten you enjoyed inflicting pain on the emotions of those you once loved.” His voice was challenging.
“If that’s your polite way of calling me a vindictive bitch then so be it. Just remember one thing, Ian. You had me. You didn’t have to be a vampire; you just had to be honest.”
“You are still mine, My Love.” His gaze went steely.
“That is where you’re wrong. My name is Leah. Or Miss Wolfe, whichever you prefer.” I ground my teeth. “But I am not ‘your love’, not anymore.”
He stalked toward the door, his face impassive, and motioned to the splintered wood of the frame he’d broken through. “I shall have that fixed tomorrow.”
“You bet your ass you will.”
I headed to the shower. I was tempted to just slide right back into the tub and let the bubbles erase the world for a while but I couldn’t seem to shake the sour feeling over me and damned if Ian’s words didn’t ring in my head. “His scent is all over you.” I stood under the water as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed my body clean.
Again.
I poured myself a glass of wine while the tub filled. I indulged myself with a scented bubble bath, sank low into the water and hit the jets.
By the time I had finished half a bottle of wine and soaked in the strawberry-scented bath I started to feel clean again.
I went to bed vowing to get vengeance on Ian if he had mind fucked me to make me feel dirty for being with Joaquín.
* * * *
The insistent ringing of the doorbell woke me. I glanced at the bedside clock but couldn’t really tell through my blurry vision if it was morning or night. If Ian had scheduled an early repair for my door I was going to kick his ass. After taking my gun from its holster, I stumbled out to the door. A quick check of the peephole revealed the rounded face of an older woman.
I stepped to the side. I didn’t see a weapon but I wasn’t about to risk getting shot through the door. “Who is it?” I called.
“Are you Leah Wolfe?” the woman asked.
“Who wants to know?” I countered.
“I’m Ben’s mother.”
Holy shit.
Chapter Eighteen
I took another look out of the peephole. She was an older and female version of Ben. Her face swollen and red, tears still glistening in her eyes. I opened the door and stood aside to let her in.
I wasn’t sure if I expected her to blame me for Ben’s death. I just prayed I would never have to know how she felt right then.
“Mrs. Harris. I am so sorry. Please come in.”
“Thank you, Miss Wolfe. I am sorry to disturb you.”
“Not at all. Have a seat.”
“Thank you,” she said while taking a seat on the sofa.
I tucked the gun in my waistband and sat next to her on the couch. No matter what she was here to dish out to me, I knew I wasn’t going to shoot her anyway.
Her eyes flitted to the gun but she said nothing.
“I am so sorry, Mrs. Harris.” My voice broke. “I would have gladly traded my life for his.”
She placed her hands on mine. “He loved you like a sister, Miss Wolfe. He never had one, you know. He was our only child.” She broke off in sobs. I awkwardly patted her back.
When she was able, she continued. “He talked about you every time we spoke. He really admired you.”
What could I say to that?
“Can I get you something to drink?” I didn’t know Ben felt so strongly about me but something eased in my chest a little.
“No. I don’t have much time.”
“Much time for what?”
“I need your help.”
Something inside me sparked. I felt my determination to find Ben’s killer grow. “I will find his killer, Mrs. Harris,” I promised with more edge to my voice than I had intended.
“I know you will. That’s why I’ve come to you. And it’s Susan, Susan Palmer.”
My mouth fell open. I couldn’t help it. “Susan Palmer, wife of Senator Maxwell Palmer?” I asked incredulously.
Maxwell Palmer had been very vocal of his desire to eliminate the supernatural community. They were pure evil in his opinion. His very public, very vocal opinions were gaining popularity and creating tension between the human population and non-humans. He was the chairman of the Committee Against Supernatural Beings. CASB had been trying to get the government to revoke rights to supernaturals. The idea was completely ridiculous; many supernaturals, vampires in particular, had been living among us for centuries. They weren’t going to go away just because they weren’t considered legal citizens. That’s the real problem with knowledge. Once you know something, you can’t un-know it.
“Ben worked to protect what Maxwell Palmer hates? I don’t understand.”
She snorted a sound between a laugh and a cry. “Believe me, neither did Max. It’s why Ben chose to use my maiden name. He didn’t want to be associated with the hatred his father is fostering. So he became an agent for SINS and kept his relationship to Maxwell a secret.”
My head spun with the information. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So what can I help you with, Mrs. Palmer?”
“Susan, please call me Sus
an.” She clasped her hands together and stared down at them. “I think maybe Maxwell has something to do with the recent increase in vampire population.”
What the hell?
“I know you’re upset, Susan, I can’t even imagine being in your shoes right now.” I spoke gently. “But Maxwell Palmer hates vampires, why would he have anything to do with creating more of them?”
“I don’t know, exactly. I just know he’s been withdrawn, secretive. He’s been meeting with people late at night. He won’t tell me what’s going on. I’m scared. I’m scared for him and I’m scared for me.”
“Here.” She reached in her purse and pulled out a file. “I’ve taken pictures, they’re not the best quality but I thought if anyone could make something out of them … well, you were Ben’s friend.” She said it with finality. “I’m leaving for a while. Please don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me.”
“Susan,” I began cautiously, “if you feel that you are in danger let me help you, let SINS help you.”
“I can’t. I don’t trust anyone.”
“Who don’t you trust?”
“Watch your back, Miss Wolfe.”
And with that little ditty, she left.
Chapter Nineteen
It was shortly after dusk when I parked my car at the police station and made my way to the office SINS occupied.
“Hey, Donovan,” I greeted him.
“I didn’t expect to see you here today.” His face was marred with concern.
“This case is mine, Donovan. I intend to see it through.” I knew everyone was worried, but I couldn’t afford to give the impression I couldn’t do my job. I’d go crazy sitting at home. I had to do something and right now I couldn’t think of anything better than finding Ben’s killer.
I headed toward Sam’s closed office door. I’d decided on the ride there I would show the file to Sam only. I trusted Sam with my life. If he decided we needed to show this to anyone else, I would go with his judgment.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Donovan warned.
I turned to look at him with obvious confusion. “Why?”
“He’s been in there since I got here two hours ago. I don’t know who he’s with but there’s definitely one vampire in there.”
That raised my eyebrows. “Really?” I hadn’t sensed a vampire—they have a slightly different aura than humans. Maybe their being dead had something to do with it but still, I should have noticed. I shrugged my shoulders and tossed the file on my desk. I wanted to do a web search on anything that related to Maxwell Palmer and the VRA anyway, so I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down behind my computer. I tapped my fingers on my desk while I waited for my laptop to boot up. Patience and I have never been friends.
Sam stepped out of his office, looking as guilty as a toddler caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He tried to close his door behind him when a hand grasped the side of the door and pulled it all the way open.
“Leah?” Sam said a little cautiously. “You were supposed to take a couple days off.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Ian?” I demanded.
“Now, Leah…” Sam began. “Mr. Nightwalker is here on official business.”
I snorted. “Official business my ass.” Ian stood in the doorway behind Sam. He wore black from head to foot. His long dark hair was tied in a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck and his black silk shirt was unbuttoned just enough to allow a small nest of hair to show on his chest. The rolled up sleeves showed off the powerful muscles of his forearms.
“I have been ordered into service with the Marquis,” Ian said, his gaze boring into mine. He knew I would understand the significance of such an order. Ian should have been a Marquis, one of the seven vampires who rule each continent. He was basically vampire royalty, by age and by blood, and with age comes power in the vampire world. He’d made his decision long ago not to stay with the Marquis because he didn’t approve of their “lifestyle choices”. It was somewhat terrifying to think of Ian as the bad guy. He was the second most powerful vampire I’d ever met. I killed the most powerful one I’d met after she kidnapped Alli and used her to capture me and even she wasn’t powerful enough to order Ian to do anything.
“Who’s the new vampire in the game, Ian?”
Ian smiled, not a happy smile, but a smile just the same. “His name is Chaos. He is my Immortal Deity, the one who turned me.”
Ian moved past Sam to stand in front of me. “I am to find out if he is the one responsible for creating new vampires and execute him. Do you understand what that means?”
“Are you taking over the case?” I asked. I didn’t know how that would affect me but I wasn’t about to step down and turn this all over to the Marquis. “Ben was my responsibility and I will find who killed him.” I was glad my voice echoed my determination.
Sam blew out a breath. “Good, then we’re all in agreement. Leah, you’ll partner with Mr. Nightwalker in the investigation.”
“What?” My voice hit a higher octave. “I’m not partnering with Mr. Nightwalker on anything!”
“Are you telling me you’re unwilling to fulfill your duty as a federal agent?”
Shit. That and the tone in his voice made it clear I had no choice in the matter. He was going all official on my ass. “No.” I replied somewhat petulantly, the effect lost by the look on Sam’s face which left me no choice in the matter anyway.
“Good. Now, I’m sure Ian needs to get to someplace safe from the sun for the day. I want you both back here tonight.”
“I am able to withstand some sunlight, Sam,” Ian put in.
“Oh.” Sam gave me a scolding look. “I wasn’t aware of that, Ian.”
I knew I was in for a lecture from Sam on withholding information about the vampires, so I did the only thing I could think of. “I have a file I need to show you, Sam. Some … uh, new information.”
Sam turned and swept his arm out wide to indicate his office.
“Let me grab the file, I’ll meet you in there.” Sam went in while I stepped toward my desk for the Susan Palmer file then turned toward Sam’s office.
“Why didn’t you tell him about my tolerance for daylight?” Ian asked with a truly puzzled look on his normally unemotional face.
I tilted my chin up defiantly. “I didn’t want to betray your trust.” I arched an eyebrow at him. “I know how much that hurts.” I walked past him into Sam’s office without looking back. I felt a little nudge on my mental shields and ignored it. If Ian wanted to say something to me, he was going to have to say it out loud, not through a mental connection. I felt the nudge turn into a pounding in my temples. I turned and put all the anger I felt into the look I threw at Ian. “Don’t push it,” I warned.
“I didn’t…” Ian began.
“If you two don’t mind, we have a sociopath vampire out there making a bunch of new sociopath vampires. Try to focus, will ya?” Sam said.
I swallowed back the snide comment I had planned to fling at Ian and got down to the business at hand. I told them both about my visit with Susan Palmer and her suspicions about her husband. Sam was less than thrilled that I had let her leave on her own. I informed him that other than arresting her—and she hadn’t done anything illegal—there was nothing I could do.
I gave him the file that contained not only pictures but also notes she’d written about her husband’s activities. Sam called Donovan in and had him start to organize the notes and see if the computer could clear up the photos enough for us to make anything out of them. I’m definitely not tech savvy so I was glad Sam passed the chore on to Donovan.
I wasn’t overjoyed about the situation but there wasn’t really anything I could do about that and as Sam said, we had a sociopath vampire to deal with. My personal life would have to take a backseat for a while.
Chapter Twenty
I left shortly after Ian. Sam insisted I get some sleep. I hated to admit it, but he was right.
The promise of a new day warmed the
blackened sky as I pulled into my driveway. An unfamiliar car sat shadowed in the far corner of my yard. I was just about to loosen my gun from its holster when I saw a very familiar-looking shadow leaning against the pillar of my porch.
Annoyed, I pushed open the car door and crossed the distance to my front door. “What do you want, Ian?” I asked as I strode past him, pushing the key into the lock.
“It is near dawn, My Love.”
“Yeah,” I turned a glance up to the sky. “Soon too. You should head for home before it’s too late.”
“It is too late already, My Love.”
“Hmm.” I opened the door and stepped inside.
“You would have me burn in the sun rather than offer me refuge for the day?” he asked with an arrogance that told me he knew I wouldn’t.
When I still didn’t move he added, “Please, My Love, you have given Joaquín a second chance. I only ask for the same opportunity. I did not contact while you were away and only knew that you were well because of your contact with Shia.” He shifted and his voice lowered. “And she would only tell me you were ‘fine’ I had hoped that with time, you would discover that you missed me.I was a little surprised to hear that Shia had not given Ian any more information. She and her sons lived on Ian’s estate, although in their own house, and she worked at his casino. She had been there since her husband died, leaving her a widow and Cody and Quinn without a father. Shia was a Therian mountain lion, born as an animal with the ability to take human form, and was also one of the few people I’d kept in contact with while I was training to be a SINS agent. I considered her my friend and Cody and Quinn had easily won my heart.
“Joaquín didn’t risk my life to get back at Elizabeth,” I challenged.
“Please, Leah. I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you and I would not have let Elizabeth cause you harm.”
He spoke the words so sincerely and there was something different in his eyes. A far-away look I couldn’t quite decipher.
I blew out a long sigh and moved to the side, sweeping my arm out in greeting. Ian slid in past me, a hint of a grin plastered to his face that made him all the sexier.
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