by Faith Gibson
Jacking off was not Gregor’s favorite way of relieving tension. Of course he enjoyed the release, but he would rather his hands be fisted in long red hair or massaging a pair of tits while he was getting his dick sucked. Masturbating had lost its allure a long time ago. Getting frustrated, he pictured Tessa in the middle of his bed on all fours as he slid his cock in and out of her pretty, wet pussy. Close. Oh gods, he was so close to coming. He placed one foot on the bench at the back of the shower. Reaching between his legs, he slid a finger in his hole, searching for the spot he knew would do the trick. As soon as he hit his prostate, his orgasm sped through his balls and out his dick. He hissed Tessa’s name as he stroked his cock until the last tremor was gone.
Gregor hurried and bathed, doing his best to think of anything other than Tessa, before his dick decided it wanted more. While he dried off and put on his work clothes, his heart was warring with his head. His heart wanted him to call Julian and have him hack the airlines to see where Tessa was going. His head told him that was invading her privacy, and he should leave it alone. His heart told his head to shut the fuck up. He called his cousin.
“Gregor, what can I do for you so early in the morning?” Julian yawned into the phone.
“I need to you to find out where Tessa is flying to.” Gregor poured coffee into a travel mug.
“You mean you want me to hack into the airline system?” The keys of Julian’s keyboard were already being tapped. Not only did Julian have a computer room at the lab that would rival any government’s, but his home was equipped just as well.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Gregor pulled his boots on and laced them.
“I do not see any passenger named Tessa Blackmore listed. She’s probably using an alias. What was the name she used when you met her, Trixie?” Julian chuckled. “Nope, no Trixie’s either. Any suggestions?”
Gregor thought back to his conversation with Tamian. “Try Andi.”
“No Andi Blackmore, or Andrea Blackmore. Ah, here we go. Well what do you know? We have one Andi Stone flying first class to New York.”
Gregor was glad he wasn’t drinking coffee at that particular moment or he’d probably have choked. “That can’t be right; she would never use my last name.”
“I’m telling you, Brother, that’s the only Andi listed. It may not even be her. Are you sure she’s flying today? Commercial? She could have a hot Gargoyle flying her somewhere.” Julian was chuckling on the other end of the line.
“Jules, have you been smoking pot? It’s a little early to be cracking jokes. Especially ones that aren’t funny.” Gregor’s heart was tapping out a beat in his chest that had nothing to do with the caffeine he was drinking. It was spelling out hope. Hope that Tessa was thinking about him. “That really can’t be right. She would require identification in that name. Maybe she isn’t leaving until tomorrow. You know what? Don’t worry about it. I don’t need to know where she’s going anyway. Thanks Jules.” He hung up and sat down on a bar stool.
Tessa’s identification would have to have been made long before now. Their very first encounter at the gas station had been what, three years ago? Holy fuck! What if she had been using his name all this time? Of course, it could be as a joke. No, he wouldn’t get his hopes up. He would wait until she returned from New York or wherever the hell she was going and talk to her.
Gregor grabbed his travel mug, moved through the covered walkway that led to his garage, and climbed in the Hummer. As he settled in and buckled up, he thought about Tessa and her bike. Did she have a vehicle she drove in the winter? What kind of car would his mate drive? He really couldn’t see her in a hybrid like her cousin drove. No, Tessa was an adrenaline junkie. She probably drove a sports car.
As he drove to work he wondered about his mate. She was going out of town, but for what? To see a lover? For a job? He knew so little about Tessa. At least when Rafael found Kaya, he knew what she did for a living. Tamian was tight-lipped when it came to his sister. Maybe he could get the information out of Isabelle. He would give her today to rest up, but then he was calling her.
Kaya walked into the precinct to the shouts and applause of her team. She hadn’t been gone all that long, but she knew her being abducted by a lunatic had gotten around the precinct. She held her hands up and waited for the chatter to die down. “Thank you all. It’s good to be back, and I’m ready to get down to business. Let’s head to the meeting room and get our morning brief out of the way.” She continued on to her office where she stowed her purse and set her laptop on the docking station.
From behind her, Kaya heard Dane say, “Welcome back.”
She checked her emotions before she looked her lead detective in the eye. “Dane, thank you for taking over while I was out. I will let you lead the brief this morning since I am not completely up to speed.” He didn’t appear any different. She must have been studying his features too intently.
“What is it? Kaya, why are you staring at me like that?”
She had to keep cool until after the meeting. Then they would talk. “I guess I just missed you. Now, let’s go. Don’t want to keep the team waiting.” She smiled and squeezed past him out the door.
Jasper was already sitting in the conference room with the others. They had decided over breakfast that Kaya would talk to Dane alone. He looked at her now and gave a slight nod. Kaya stood at the front of the room with Dane standing beside her. “Good morning. I want to thank Abbott for taking up the slack while I was out. I also want to say welcome to our newest detective. Jasper, welcome to New Atlanta. Since Dane is more familiar with the current caseload, I’m going to let him have the floor.”
Kaya stepped out of the way, and Dane took over. “We have another victim in The Redhead Murders. For lack of a better name, that is what we will be giving the press when we issue a statement. Greta Powell, age 33, was reported missing this morning by her roommate. The photo she produced matched the victim found last night. The roommate has already been to the morgue where she identified the body as that of Miss Powell. The M.E. confirmed earlier that all three women died from asphyxiation. He is going to run DNA testing on the victims. They look so much alike they could pass for sisters; he wants to rule that out as a possibility. Regardless of whether or not they are related, we want to issue a press statement to the public so other women out there who fit the profile will remain diligent.”
Dane handed out assignments, and the team left to get busy with their day. Jasper didn’t hang around, and Kaya told Dane, “Let’s go to my office. We need to talk.”
Eighteen
Kaya shut the door and motioned for Dane to sit. “Great job in there. Maybe one day you will be Chief.” She smiled at him, but the frown on his face removed her smile. “What?”
“Are you planning on going somewhere?” Dane was not the same flirty, carefree man she had known for years.
“Of course not. But if I were, would that bother you?”
His frown only deepened. “Yeah. Yeah it would. You’re the best Chief this department has seen in a long time. And I have no desire to take your place. Too much responsibility. What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” The wheels were turning behind those blue eyes, and she knew he was thinking way too hard about things.
“I mean, you’re different. You were abducted by a crazy man. Instead of seeming traumatized, or at least stressed, you’re… I don’t know, happy. In all the years we’ve worked together, I’ve never seen you so calm.”
“I am happy. Happy to be alive. You’re different, too. Instead of the happy-go-lucky man, you haven’t smiled one time since I’ve been back. What changed?”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Rafael Stone would it?” Dane ignored her question. She wasn’t going to let him turn this around on her just yet. She wanted to get him to open up without her coming right out and telling him she knew.
“We’re talking about you. You seem tense. You know you can tell me anything, right? No matter w
hat it is. When I was kidnapped, I saw some things that opened my eyes. I also realized there are people behind the scenes helping us do our jobs.”
Dane studied Kaya’s face, chewing on his bottom lip. “You know, don’t you?”
This wasn’t exactly the opening she was hoping for. “Yes. I know what you are. I know what Jasper is, too.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t nice of you to spring him on me like that.”
“I had no idea you were a shifter nor that you had gone through your transition. If I had, I would have handled things differently. Since I didn’t…” She let him think about it.
Dane stood but had nowhere to go in the small office. “He acts like this is no big deal. It’s all new to me, and I can’t even talk about it.”
“Why can’t you talk about it? As far as Jasper’s concerned, he’s been a Gargoyle his whole life. He’s a full-blood, so to him it isn’t a big deal. When you’ve lived five hundred years, it won’t be a big deal to you either.”
“How do you know all of this? Does it have to do with Stone?” Dane pinned her with a look that said he expected the truth.
“Yes, it has everything to do with Rafael. Now that you’re a shifter, you will meet him, too. But not as a suspect being interrogated by a detective. You will be introduced to your King.”
“King? What the hell are you talking about? Tes… nobody told me about having a King.” Dane was getting agitated. Kaya was afraid his fangs were going to drop.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about your kind, but there’s plenty of time for that. I know you are still getting used to your new body. I think you should…” There was a knock on the door and Jasper stuck his head in. “Sorry to interrupt my Qu…Chief, but we have another redhead. The call just came in.”
“Dane, go check it out, and take Jasper with you. Don’t forget, it really is good to talk about this.” Kaya inclined her head toward Jasper. “Call me when you have more information.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Dane had his hands on his hips. If he didn’t look so stressed, she might have laughed.
“No. I have very capable detectives for field work,” Kaya told him.
He huffed at her then followed Jasper out the door.
Kaya and Rafael had talked at length about how much she should tell Dane. She finally convinced him that telling Dane the whole truth, like ripping a Band-Aid off, would be better than dribbling tidbits of information to him. He was already struggling with the lack of knowledge. She really hoped he opened up to Jasper. Rafael had given both she and Jasper carte blanche in speaking to Dane about their kind. In turn, they hoped Dane could give them at least some information about the half-bloods.
The silence hung thickly in the air during the ride to the crime scene. Jasper wanted Dane to talk freely with him, especially now that Kaya had admitted knowing the truth. His new partner was obviously not ready for a heart-to-heart.
Dante and CSU were already at the scene when they arrived. Dane, being the senior detective, took lead. “Dante, what do we have?”
Dante nodded his hello to both men then answered, “Same as the others. Female, red hair, green eyes, approximately thirty years of age. COD appears to be strangulation as there is bruising on her neck.”
Both men waited on further instructions from Dane, but he seemed to be lost in thought. Jasper clapped him on the shoulder. “Dude, you okay?”
“It’s these victims. They look quite a bit like someone I know.”
“Tessa,” Dante and Jasper responded at the same time.
Dane narrowed his eyes at them. “Oh my god, you’re one, too?” He was staring at Dante when he asked. Dante looked at Jasper who just shrugged. It wasn’t up to him whether or not Dante admitted he was a Goyle. Rafael had held a video conference call, filling the Clan in on Dane’s becoming a shifter and the redhead murders. He and Kaya agreed to keep each other informed of all happenings so they all could work together.
“So how many of us are there?” Dane asked, hands on his hips. Jasper was getting used to the gesture. Even though it looked funny for a big, strong man to stand like a put-upon woman, he really couldn’t blame him. If he had just transitioned, not knowing what had been hidden in his core his whole life, he might be agitated as well.
Dante held out his hands, palms up. “Tens of thousands? We would have to ask Nikolas since he is the keeper of the archives. There actually may be more than that since we don’t know how many half-bloods there are. Do you know how many of you there are?”
Dane shook his head. “No, not really. I only know that I have sixteen brothers and sisters. I don’t even know all their names. Only one.”
“And that is?” Jasper was fishing.
“I think we should get back to the crime scene. We can talk about less important stuff later.” Dane walked off to where the body of the latest victim was being bagged for transport to the morgue.
“The fact he has sixteen siblings bodes well for Rafael and Kaya,” Dante told Jasper.
“I was hoping he would spill about Tessa. It’s going to suck if his girlfriend turns out to be Gregor’s mate. Maybe I can get him to open up a little more on the ride back to the station.” Jasper left Dante to do his M.E. stuff, and he went to observe Dane. Having never actually been a police officer, there was a lot to learn.
Jasper walked up right as one of the CSU mentioned a possible break. A couple of her fingernails were broken off. If they were lucky, there would be DNA evidence on her hands they could use in all databases available to them. Once the body was loaded up, Dane told Jasper there was nothing more for them there. They headed back to the office.
“Since we have more than one body that resembles your friend, are we going to treat this as a serial killing?” Jasper asked, still learning protocol within the department.
“That’s the Chief’s call, but yeah. I’m sure she will. We need to get the profile together of the killer and get it on the news. These women need to be careful. We don’t know who this guy is or why he’s killing the look-alikes.”
“What if it’s to draw your friend out? Or maybe they are searching for her and don’t know exactly what she looks like. Then again, maybe this bastard just randomly chose redheads because they remind him of his mother and she abused him as a child.” Jasper was throwing theories out, hoping to offer something useful to the case and to see if Tessa meant something to Dane.
Dane scowled at Jasper, “Or maybe it’s because they look just like Tessa. And before you try to get inside my head, she’s not my friend. She’s my cousin.”
Excellent. Gregor’s not going to have to kick his ass. The rest of the ride back to the office was made in silence.
Gabriel smiled as Rebekah squeezed his hand tightly. She loved walking through the woods during the fall. She could stand and admire the changing colors of the leaves for hours. Gabriel could admire Rebekah for hours. The way the sunlight glinted off her honey blonde hair beckoned for him to touch it. The silky strands slid through his fingers as she rambled on and on about the trees and the weather. “Did you hear what I said?” She was grinning at him, her beautiful smile as bright as the sun shining down on them.
“I’m sorry, my love. I was admiring your beauty.” Gabriel cupped her soft face in his hands and placed his lips on hers. Rebekah moaned into his mouth, and he drew her closer, wrapping his arms around her.
When they came up for air, Rebekah placed a hand on his cheek and whispered, “You are the beautiful one.”
Gabriel grinned at his fiancée. “Men are not beautiful.” He once again touched his mouth to hers, but she pulled back quickly. “Ouch! What the?” She was backing up and pointing at him. When she found her voice, she screamed. Gabriel looked behind them; a Gargoyle stood in the clearing, fully phased.
“Rebekah, it’s okay. I’ll protect you.” Gabriel turned to place himself between the albino looking monster and his woman, but the Gargoyle was gone. He turned back to face Rebekah who was still screaming and hel
d up his hands. “It’s okay. He’s gone.” Gabriel noticed the claws at the end of his pale fingers. “No, Rebekah, I’m not…I won’t…” Rebekah was running away from him. He had to stop her, to explain. Using his shifter speed he caught her easily.
His hands gripped her slender arms that were now covered in ribbons of blood. His claws cut through her skin, marring the perfect canvas. “Oh gods, no. Rebekah, I am so sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“REBEKAH, I’M SORRY!” Vincent flew off of his prison bed, wings unfurled, chest heaving. Rebekah. Who was the girl in his dream? Why was she so familiar? He needed a cigarette. Fuck the patch. He banged on his cell door. He continued hitting the metal door with his fist until a guard stood at the window. This was the same guard who came to his door every time he beckoned. He held up the same worn message: cigarette. By now, he knew the guard wouldn’t give him a smoke, but he would at least get a patch. The small scrap of material wouldn’t help for long but it would take the edge off. The guard opened the slot and slid the small square through to him. He grabbed it, pulling the paper backing off and slapped it on his arm.
If the guard was surprised at seeing an inmate with fangs and wings, he didn’t show it on his face. This guard, Deacon, didn’t walk away. He waited until Vincent was under control. “Are you ready to talk now? I have a feeling if you give the warden the information he wants, he’ll get you a whole carton of cigarettes. Think about that.” Deacon walked off, and Vincent considered it. If he didn’t give them the information he had on Flanagan, he would rot in this hell hole. Alone. If he did talk, he would still be held prisoner, but maybe he would be taken out of solitary. He could have a cigarette. Maybe he could feel the sunlight on his face.