Books 1 & 2 of Connor and Sami: Operation Underworld Trilogy

by Carly Fall

  At least, she hadn’t told him that she’d found the perfect match in his blood, and no matter what his decision on their relationship would be, she’d never, ever be able to forget him.

  14

  An hour later, Sami had showered, tamed her hair back into a ponytail, had had three cups of coffee, and now sat across from the dining room table from Connor, sucking down her forth.

  Focused, alert, and ready for action.

  “I heard from Harper about your buddy Pedro,” Connor said.

  She rolled her eyes. “He’s not my buddy. Like I said, I met him three times. He worked under my father.”

  He stared at her a beat. “Okay. Harper sent me information on that lying prick, Pedro. Is that better?”

  Whatever Harper had found out must have been incriminating, or maybe he referred to the fact that Pedro was a vampire. It wasn’t something that he’d shout to the rooftops.

  “What does it say?”

  He looked down at his phone. “Pedro Chavez, the ‘immaculate imitation of a god,’ as Harper said, along with, ‘he’s better-looking than Mark Consuelos.’ Considering I don’t even know who that is, I’m going to have to keep my opinion to myself.”

  She bit her lip to bite back the laugh that threatened to erupt. Harper had pegged him correctly. At least, they agreed on something.

  “So, Pedro was employed by the City of Los Angeles for twelve years. Begged, pleaded, and groveled for the nightshift, which they were happy to give to him because no one wants to work it.

  “No wife, no kids, no family that anyone knows about. Climbed his way up the ladder, made it to Sergeant. Had a record of being honest, good to the men under him, punctual, and was continually praised for writing such comprehensive reports. According to his file, the guy was a regular Shakespeare.”

  She tilted her head. “Sounds like the best thing to hit the LAPD.”

  “Yeah, until he disappeared six months ago. I’ve got a missing persons report filed by some of his bowling buddies. He skipped their tournament without a word to anyone, which not only caused them to lose, but also had them a bit worried.”

  “Going back to him being punctual.”

  “Exactly.”

  She looked out the floor to ceiling windows. Would this damn rain ever stop?

  Pedro had been a busy boy, and she lined up all the pieces. It didn’t look good for him.

  “So,” she said. “He disappeared, and we find him in Seattle at the clubs where humans are overdosing on drugs that are most likely coming from vampires.”

  “Yup. I don’t believe in coincidences that big. This guy is up to his nuts in this.”

  She grinned. “I think it’s more like his armpits.”

  They stared at each other for a beat.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  Connor thrummed his fingers on the table as he pursed his lips, then he spoke.

  “I think I better have a talk with our new friend.”

  She agreed, but did have some reservations. “I think we wait. Just watch him and see if we can catch him in the act of dealing or providing the drugs to the dealers. Then, at least we have something solid to question him on, and we aren’t taking stabs in the dark.”

  He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I just worry about him seeing you again.”

  She shook her head. “What does it matter if he does? I’m just enjoying Seattle.”

  “For the same reason that you got uncomfortable when you saw him. It’s not right.”

  “But he doesn’t know why I’m here. He has no idea that I’m trying to bring down a drug ring.”

  Connor got up and paced in front of the window, his arms crossed over his chest. Finally, he turned to her. “I’d just prefer if he didn’t see you, okay?”

  She didn’t understand his line of thinking, because she really didn’t pose a threat to Pedro. But she did know that on some level, Connor cared for her. That kiss earlier still had her lips tingling. He must be worried for her safety, and she’d respect that.

  “Okay, we’ll make sure that he doesn’t see me.”

  “Did you bring any wigs?”

  She shook her head, having left those behind in Los Angeles.

  “Maybe we should go shopping for some,” Connor murmured.

  She got to her feet and walked over to him to place her hand on his forearm “Connor, I’ve met the man three times. He doesn’t know why I’m in Seattle. I’m just the daughter of a cop he used to know.”

  His gaze bore into hers, the little flecks of yellow seeming to twinkle. She didn’t break their stare, which seemed to grow more heated by the moment.

  Finally, he reached out to her and cupped her cheek. “I just want you safe.”

  Tilting her head, she pressed into his palm. “I do, too, Connor.”

  He nodded, then stepped away as his phone rang and he walked into his bedroom.

  She heard him talking in low tones, but she couldn’t make out what he said. With a sigh, she figured he’d tell her, eventually.

  It seemed like he didn’t know what to do. On one hand, he’d kissed her this morning, and he worried for her safety. But it seemed as if he didn’t want to get too close, and that hurt. However, she’d laid a lot on him last night and this morning, and all of that combined with the assignment had to be a lot to take in. It was for her. She found it difficult to concentrate on what needed to be done with Connor so close, and she once again wondered how she’d considered herself strong enough to work with him, or join Operation Underworld.

  She didn’t know what the future held for them, but she’d made it pretty clear where she stood. The ball was in his court.

  “That was Harper,” he said, coming back into the living room.

  “What did she say?”

  He sighed and rubbed his face, then the top of his head. Whatever news Harper had given him must have been troubling. She waited patiently for an answer.

  “She said that she put a bug in the computers of some of the major hospitals in California, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona to see if anyone was admitted with bleeding eyes.”

  Oh, no.

  “And she found some,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  He nodded.

  “Where?”

  “One in Tucson, Arizona, one in Reno, Nevada, and three in Los Angeles.”

  Turning back toward the window, she considered the implications. Whoever manufactured and distributed the drug had expanded, apparently not caring one iota that they were killing people. However, it shouldn’t surprise her in the least bit. If one looked at regular street drugs such as cocaine and heroin, which killed thousands of people a year, no one ever stepped forward and apologized for manufacturing or distributing.

  “I think we should go see Candy Rease this afternoon,” Connor said from behind her. “I’ll call her and see if she’s available now.”

  She didn’t turn around, but stared out into the pouring rain. It would be a perfect day to snuggle in bed and make love. However, work called, and she’d be chatting with a woman who had overdosed, instead. With the drug spreading, it would be smart to talk to an actual user and gather any information possible.

  Connor walked into his bedroom again, and she heard him talking on the phone. He emerged a few minutes later. “She’s got to work today at three, but we can come now.”

  “Sounds good,” she murmured as she turned toward her bedroom. “I’ll go get my coat.”

  “Don’t forget the fake police badge, either.”

  “Got it.”

  15

  “It was a horrible experience,” Candy said as Sami and Connor sat on the blue couch in her apartment while Candy had taken a chair from the kitchen and sat across from them, the coffee table between them. “I don’t even drink anymore, it scared me so badly.”

  Sami studied the twenty-four-year-old African-American woman with the blue gaze, and imagined that having blood seep from one’s eyes would have that effect.
r />   “Can you tell us how the night went? Step-by-step on what you did up until you went into the hospital?”

  Candy furrowed her brow. “I already told all that to the police. Besides, it’s been three months, so I don’t know if I’ll remember everything.”

  Sami nodded. “We know, but we’ve just been assigned the case. Because we’re new to it, we’re interviewing everyone all over again. We’d like you to try.”

  The woman nodded, then sighed. “I went out with my friends Jenny and Marissa to that club named Hot Sauce. After being there a while, Jenny had scored some of the drug, and we were all excited to try it.”

  “Does the drug have a name?” Connor asked.

  Candy shrugged. “I don’t know if it does or not. It was going around the clubs that there was a new drug dealer in town, and he had something that gave a better high than heroin, but you couldn’t get addicted.”

  Sami listened as Candy told her of the three women having wine while getting dressed to go out together. They took an Uber to the club and danced for a bit, had a couple more drinks, and flirted with some guys.

  At twenty-eight, Sami had never done anything like that, and hadn’t felt like she’d missed out on anything. During her early twenties, she had preferred to stay home with a book, or spend the evenings with her parents watching movies or playing games.

  “Then Jenny pulled out these little packets made out of wax paper,” Candy said. “Inside was a little purple pill. We each took one, then headed back out onto the dance floor.”

  “How long before you started feeling sick?” Connor asked.

  Candy shook her head. “I don’t know. I was fine one minute, feeling great, and the next minute, I had this white-hot rage boiling up inside me. I wanted to kill someone, to rip them apart and beat them with their own limbs.”

  That certainly didn’t sound pleasant for her, or for anyone around her.

  “It was like I was completely out of my mind. I don’t remember much after that, but Jenny said I bit her a couple of times before blood started coming out of my eyes and I began convulsing.”

  “And then?” Sami asked.

  “The club called 911. Marissa said I was thrashing all over the floor like a wild animal. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. She even took some video of it.”

  Sami and Connor exchanged glances.

  “Do you have it?” he asked. “Can we see it?”

  Candy nodded and stood. “Yeah, I keep it on my laptop. Anytime I feel like going out and partying, I watch it. It curbs the itch real quick.”

  She walked over to a small desk and retrieved the computer. After pressing a couple of buttons, she set it on the coffee table in front of them.

  Sami hit the space bar, and the fifteen-second video began to play.

  Candy writhed on the floor, her teeth bared as she snarled and snapped at the people standing around her, blood oozing from her eyes. It was difficult to watch, and Sami’s stomach twisted in disgust. It was one thing to see pictures of a dead body with blood caked on the face, but to see it live brought on a whole other level to it.

  “Nice, huh?” Candy asked after it finished.

  “It looks like you’re lucky to be breathing,” Connor commented.

  “I know.”

  Sami wanted to get the conversation back on track. “So, what happened then, Candy?”

  “Marissa said the ambulance drivers strapped me down on the gurney, and then I passed out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital feeling like I’d just been run over by a truck.”

  “What about Marissa and Jenny? Did they have any problems that night?” Connor asked.

  Candy shook her head. “Nope. Nothing. In fact, they still look for it when they go out. It’s not easy to find, but they do every now and then.”

  As Sami studied her, she wondered what made her so different from the others who had died. Why had she and a few of the others lived? And what about those who took it and just had a good trip? Could it possibly be an allergic reaction? Was it a chemical reaction with the type of alcohol they drank? The reason seemed to be just out of her reach. She needed to go over the files again.

  “Is there a way we can talk to Marissa and Jenny?” she asked.

  Candy narrowed her gaze at them. “I don’t want them to get in trouble.”

  Connor shook his head. “They won’t. We just want to know about the person they bought the drug from that night at Hot Sauce, and if it’s the same person they buy from now, when they do find it.”

  She stared at them a moment. “They aren’t going to want to get their dealer busted, especially when they like what he sells so much.”

  Sami leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. “Candy, people are dying. We have to stop this guy and get the drug off the street.”

  Candy slowly nodded. “I’ll call and ask them, but that’s the best I can do.”

  Connor stood, and Sami followed his lead. They told Candy they would be in touch later in the day for an answer on speaking to Jenny and Marissa, shook her hand, then left.

  “That’s a dead end,” Connor mumbled as they walked outside.

  “Probably.”

  Standing under the awning of the apartment complex, he continued. “I think we should go to the hospital that treated her and talk to someone there.”

  She shook her head. “I need to get back to the apartment and go over the files again. Why don’t you go to the hospital, and I’ll head back there.”

  “Why?”

  “We’re missing something, Connor. People take this drug and some are fine, while others die. Why? It’s some little detail that we missed.”

  “Okay, if that’s what you want to do.”

  She pulled out her phone and summoned an Uber. Connor did the same. His showed up before hers.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, gently brushing his lips against her cheek.

  She nodded, the kiss sending a chill down her spine, but she didn’t allow herself time to daydream about a future with Connor.

  The mystery of Candy Rease needed to be solved, and she felt certain that the answers would be found within the files.

  16

  An hour later, the front door to the apartment opened, startling her. Connor walked in and tossed his leather coat across the back of the couch.

  “How did it go?” she asked as she set down her pen and stretched her arms in front of her.

  “Big goose egg. A total waste of time.”

  Even though she’d been the one to suggest they look at the hospitals that had treated those who OD’d, she’d had a feeling it wouldn’t lead to anything. But they had to cover all their bases.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  He sat down across the table from her. “What about here? Did your beautiful brain figure out the great mystery yet?”

  She shook her head, completely frustrated. “No, and it’s really irritating me.”

  “You’ll find it.”

  He stood and went into kitchen, then came back with two beers. “Beer always clears things up.”

  She laughed and took a sip, figuring it couldn’t hurt.

  They sat in silence for a moment, then Connor spoke. “Can you take a break for a few?”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  As he drank, he stared at her over the bottle. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”

  Heat flamed her cheeks in embarrassment as she recalled her outburst, but she didn’t look away from him.

  “In fact, I’m finding it hard to think about anything else, including this damn case.”

  She hadn’t actually been very focused, either, but they needed to get to the bottom of who was dealing the drug.

  She cleared her throat. “Did you want to share your thoughts with me?”

  He sighed and slammed back the rest of his beer, then pushed back on his chair so he teetered on two legs.

  “Well, I guess so, but I don’t know if you’re goin
g to like them or not.”

  He stood and began walking around the table, his gaze never leaving her. As he came toward her, he spoke. “Right now, I’m thinking about you stretched out on this table, completely naked, while I lick your nipples. On the way back here from the hospital, I was considering how you’d look under me as I pumped my cock into you. I also thought about burying my face between your legs and listening to you scream my name as you came all over my lips.”

  His words caused her heart to thunder in her chest, her mouth to go dry. Where had all of this come from?

  When he reached her, he pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist as she laid her hands on his chest.

  “Since you showed up at Operation Underworld, I’ve thought of all the ways I want to make love to you, all the ways I want to fuck you, and the way it hurts so good when you suck my blood from my vein.

  “After you kicked me to the curb, I tried to ignore the ache you left deep in my chest and replace it with anger, but in quiet moments, all I saw was your smile.”

  Her breath hitched as he pulled her closer, and she snaked her arms around his neck. His erection pressed against her belly, sending a shiver of longing through her.

  “Do you know what I think?” he asked, his lips barely brushing against hers.

  “W-what?” she whispered.

  “I think that we need a break from the case, and we need to get reacquainted.”

  She wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the assignment even if she wanted to at this point. With his hard body against her, his mouth so close, and his scent dizzying her, all she could focus on was him.

  He didn’t wait for an answer, but covered her mouth with his. As his tongue worked the seam of her lips, his hand ran over her hip, then up to her waist. She acquiesced, and their tongues danced, his palm finding her breast, gently squeezing it. She ran her fingertips over his biceps, the muscles rolling and contracting beneath her touch as he felt her body.

  Lifting her shirt, he stepped back for only a moment as he pulled it over her head and dropped it to the floor. With a quick flick, he had her bra open and sliding down her arms.