“You’re right, Cai. This is your chance, detectives. Don’t blow it,” Elsie informed them. She wasn’t getting her hopes up because she knew the odds were against them, but she wanted to see them try. It was refreshing to know they cared.
Zander sat across from her, watching her intently. His presence was so unnerving that she got up and poured a glass of wine. She both hated and relished the effect he had on her. Elsie didn’t want to want him, but it was there, nonetheless. Maybe it was because she’d never been the sole focus of someone’s attention.
“Thanks for not putting pressure on us,” Orlando teased. “We’ll start with questions that you’ve been asked in the hopes that fresh ears can glean new information. Phone records revealed that Dalton called you shortly before he died. What did he say?”
It wasn’t easy to fight back the tears as she glanced to the orange blanket hanging on the wall, and revisited that night.
“I didn’t speak to him. He left me a brief voicemail message saying,” she swallowed the emotion that choked her, “that he didn’t have long and he loved me.”
“Is there anything else you can remember about the message?” Santiago added.
“Just that he was tired and sounded out of breath. His tone was sad…he was saying goodbye to me. I know that now,” Elsie murmured as she choked back the tears.
Talking about this still brought her to her knees. It always would. That vampire stole her life when he killed Dalton.
Orlando reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it in comfort. Shocked, she looked up at him. Understanding and acceptance met her gaze.
“Did anyone have a reason to want him dead?”
“No, Dalton didn’t have any enemies. He was a stickler for the rules, but he was fun and easygoing. He had an open heart and mind that the children in the home responded to and respected. This killing was the work of evil,” she declared.
“There isna doubt that this act was evil. His death should no’ have happened,” Zander admitted.
The vehemence in his tone had her head swiveling in his direction. She met his eyes and for several long seconds, he held her with his hypnotic gaze. It felt as if he were looking through to her soul.
Orlando’s voice broke the connection, and she took a deep breath. Zander unnerved her on so many levels. “Had he behaved any differently in the days leading up to his death?”
“No, nothing different. Dalton went to work that morning like usual.” If she had known he was never returning, she would have kept him home. At least made love to him again.
“This question is tough, and I don’t ask it to be insensitive, but…” Santiago qualified. “Is it possible he was having an affair? Or you? A jealous boyfriend or girlfriend would have the motive to harm him.”
Red dotted her vision as anger quickly boiled out of control. She stood up and balled her fists. “How dare you come into my house and accuse my husband of having an affair,” Elsie yelled. “You know nothing about us. Neither of us had an affair. You are no friends of mine. Get out,” she spat, itching to pull her knife from the sheath in her boot. They might not turn to ash, but she could do some damage.
Santiago stood and placed his palms out in a gesture of peace while Zander closed the distance between them and took her shoulders in his big warm hands. “Elsie. Santiago, while only doing his job, spoke oot of turn. He knows, as do I and Orlando, that there wasna any cheating. Please understand that asking is part of leaving no stone unturned.”
Cailyn sidled up to her side and wrapped her arm around her waist. “El, honey, take a deep breath. These nice gentlemen have no idea how much you and Dalton loved each other. You accused them of not doing their job so don’t get angry when they do it.”
Elsie bowed her head, not wanting to meet anyone’s stare as silent minutes passed. Cailyn and Zander were both right. The question touched a nerve that set her off like a firework. Finally, she saw reason and lifted her head.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, of course. That is a sensitive subject for me. I hate that people always assume there had to be something like that when there is no other explanation. There are things in this world that defy explanation and are capable of evil for no reason,” Elsie replied. More than anything, she wanted to confide in these men about vampires. SOVA needed strength like theirs.
Zander’s hands tightened almost painfully. “Not everything is at it seems. Doona risk yourself. You are now part of us.”
Orlando peered over Zander’s shoulder, smiling broadly. “Yeah, for better or worse, you’re part of the family now. We’re a motley crew, but we’d do anything for you.”
She was helpless but to return his smile. Her gut twisted as she acknowledged her life was transforming. It was unnerving until she realized the familiar feeling of tragedy that accompanied her predictive episodes was absent. Admittedly, it was a comforting change to the usual doom and gloom.
*****
Zander’s steps never faltered as he hit the landing of the grand staircase of Zeum, searching for his siblings and Dark Warriors. Thanks to modern technology, automatic shutters descended before dawn, and covered the large picture-windows, protecting the vampires from the sun. No longer were his kind relegated to the rooms in the basement during the daylight hours.
He spotted Rhys crossing the grand foyer, heading into the war room with a bottle of wine, and Zander assumed he stopped by the wine-cellar on his way up from the basement.
“Where are the others?” he barked, causing the warrior to jump.
Rhys twisted toward the staircase in a graceful move. Ready to fight any threat. The bottle of wine was a deadly weapon in his capable hands. His stance relaxed once he caught sight of Zander.
“Goddess, Liege, you need to make some fucking noise. I think Kyran, Breslin, and Bhric are in the media room and I’m joining Gerrick in the war room now. What’s up?” Rhys quipped.
“Is that wine for you and Gerrick? A nice, cozy, little interlude?” Orlando teased, as he walked up behind Zander.
Zander scowled at the warrior. On most days, he enjoyed Orlando’s humor, but he was wound tight from being in Elsie’s presence. Not to mention, there was a new threat to them which compounded the fact that Zander was lusting after a member of the vigilante group. He gleaned small pieces from Elsie’s mind about SOVA, and was still shocked that the little fireball was a part of the organization.
“Awww, O, jealous we didn’t include you? You’re welcome to join us, but get your own bottle.” Rhys replied.
“Dickhead. There’s been a development that holds implications for the entire realm.” Orlando retorted, all semblance of his good nature gone.
“Grab Gerrick and join us in the media room, now!” Zander barked and his tension increased. If his muscles tightened any further, he may snap in two.
“Yes, Liege.” Rhys nodded and disappeared into the war room.
Zander headed down the hall beneath the twin staircases and entered the kitchen, which was empty. He was thankful for that because he didn’t want to share this information with anyone outside his inner circle. The Alliance Council needed to be told, given this news affected them, but right now he had too much he needed to sort through.
Past the kitchen was the enclosed patio, but he saw no one lingering there, either. His gaze slid over the lime-green cushions on the wicker sofa and landed on the tiled floor. He recalled the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the hand-cutting of each tile that formed the intricate design of the Triskele Amulet in the center of the floor.
He heard his siblings talking down the hall in the media room. He entered the room and rolled his eyes at the sight of Breslin and Kyran sitting on one of the black, leather sofas, arguing about their card game. Bhric sat in an overstuffed chair next to them. The scotch was sitting on top of the bar in the corner.
Which one of them was hitting the bottle this early in the morning? His money was on Bhric. It seemed his brother had been using alcohol, and other substances, with increa
sing frequency over the past few decades. One glance at the end table next to Bhric confirmed his suspicions. The ice hadn’t melted in the tall glass.
A flat-screen television took up one entire wall and was tuned into ESPN. He picked up the remote off a Louis XVI cabinet and muted the volume. That grabbed his siblings’ attention. Only then did they realize he’d entered the room followed by Orlando, Santiago, Rhys and Gerrick.
Bhric took in the scene quickly and grabbed his titanium sgian dubh from his ankle holster. “What’s up, brathair? Are we under attack?”
“Nay, we are no’ under attack. We have a situation.” Zander paused and gathered his thoughts. “Orlando and Santiago took a case at my behest and we have discovered there is a new threat. We need to determine what we do aboot it, if anything.”
Gerrick pulled his lips into a thin line, making the scar that stretched over the left side of his face stand out. “What kind of a threat? I can handle that easily. Tell me who it is, and I’ll kill them.”
Zander rebelled at the thought of any harm befalling Elsie. “That approach willna work. The case involves the human female whose husband was murdered eighteen months ago. ‘Tis a death sentence to kill a human…and, I willna tolerate any violence toward her.”
Orlando chimed in, “To clarify, Elsie doesn’t pose a threat. She may know about vampires, or what she thinks are vampires, but she would not disclose that to anyone, or she would have told us. The bigger threat comes from SOVA. Having a bunch of humans trying to kill supernatural creatures is a disaster waiting to happen.”
“Okay, that doesna sound good. Back up and explain more,” Breslin said.
Zander sat down on one of the sofas and leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “Orlando is right. Elsie doesn’t pose a direct threat. That much was evident from her thoughts. She willna tell anyone aboot skirm for fear of being seen as insane. She blames her husband’s death on vampires, but what she doesna know is that it was skirm. She has become involved in a vigilante group called SOVA, and they hunt at night. From what I was able to glean, they’ve been fairly successful in their mission to eliminate vampires. The humans involved in this group are all victims that have survived encounters with skirm.”
“Och. I assume the risk is in them killing a real vampire and thus exposing the existence of the realm,” Kyran threw out as he tossed his cards on the table.
“Aye, that would be the concern. Use caution when handling this situation. I willna tolerate Elsie being harmed in any way and we canna eliminate humans for being rash. They seek justice for a wrong done to them. How many of us wouldna do the same thing? We need to learn who is involved and include their territories on our nightly patrols. I willna have more innocent humans killed on my watch.” Zander explained.
He needed a reprieve from his ruminations about Elsie. He wasn’t thinking straight and developing an effective plan seemed like an impossible task.
Thankfully, his sister began plotting for him. “Why don’t we erase their memories of their encounters with skirm? That would take care of it.”
“That isn’t going to work, Bre. We have no idea how widespread this group is. We can’t assume the group is restricted to this area. If this is global, there would be no way to get to every member. It would be easier to put an ad in the paper,” Santiago replied sardonically.
Breslin’s face fell. “Oh, I hadna considered that. What can we do then?”
Kyran eyed them intently. “I say we follow this group. They may have uncovered the skirm lair. Skirm canna sense humans like they do us, and won’t take as many precautions around them. I volunteer to follow Elsie,” his brother said with a sly smile.
Zander’s objection was immediate and vehement. “Nay, you willna follow her. I will be the one to do it.”
Kyran’s smile spread. “This is the female you got sprung for the other day, is it no’?”
Zander scowled. He fell into his brother’s trap. All he thought about was Kyran seducing her and introducing her to his dark desires. That thought made him so angry he reacted without pause. “I did not get sprung over her,” he gritted out.
“Aye, brathair, you did. Everyone in the restaurant heard how attracted you were to the human.”
Everyone laughed when Kyran released a loud moan which magnified Zander’s desire to punch his brother.
“Our Liege attracted to a human?” Orlando teased. “No wonder you wanted Santi and me to take her case. You wanted an excuse to see her again—” Orlando’s reply was cut off as he ducked Zander’s punch.
“Enough,” Zander barked. He wanted to deny their accusations but the words would be a lie, and he refused to deceive his warriors. “The only information I was able to learn from Elsie is that she works with someone named Mack.”
Zander had no idea if this person was a male or female, but he didn’t care for how much Elsie seemed to rely on Mack. “I will ask Killian to research the computer and see if he can discover who this Mack is, as well as, anyone else involved with SOVA. I suspect it may take some time. In the meantime, no one will follow Elsie without my direct order. Now, get some rest,” Zander ordered.
He stalked from the room, ignoring the comments thrown his way. He was more unnerved by his undeniable attraction to Elsie than their snide remarks. The Vampire King should never consort with humans.
CHAPTER FIVE
Elsie finished texting Mack and placed her crappy cell phone on the table. She hated canceling another patrol but her sister was still visiting, and there was no way Cailyn would understand. She’d never allow Elsie to do something so dangerous.
Elsie loved Cailyn but part of her was itching to be out on the streets with Mack. Her phone chirped, indicating she had a message. She picked it up, expecting to see a reply from Mack and was shocked to see it was Orlando.
It had been a few days since they’d taken her case and she had yet to calm down. It wasn’t Orlando, or even his partner, that had her on edge. It was Zander. She cursed and sent a reply.
“What it is?” Cailyn asked from where she stood, gazing into the empty fridge.
“It was Orlando. He said they have some news and will be here in a couple of minutes,” she replied.
She wrung her hands as a thousand different things ran through her head at once. Did they find out about her involvement with SOVA? Had they found the vampire responsible for killing Dalton? No, they couldn’t have. If they had, they’d probably be dead.
“I’m sure it’s good news,” her sister reassured.
“That would be nice. I’ve wanted to hear for too long that whoever killed Dalton is finally going to pay for what they did,” she admitted.
The doorbell interrupted. Elsie opened to see Orlando’s emerald-green eyes, along with his two sidekicks. She wondered at her easy friendship with these men and acknowledge that some people clicked from the moment they met. She connected with these men, and her heart kicked at the sight of Zander. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered.
Giving herself a mental head shake, she stepped back and invited them in. They each carried bags. She tilted her head curiously. “I thought you said you had news? It looks like you guys are going to a birthday party.”
They chuckled. “Good one, Chiquita,” Santiago murmured as he hugged her close.
Being so readily accepted was magnificent, but she wondered if they’d do so if they really knew her. If they knew she was a freak who had premonitions of death, and hunted vampires at night.
Zander pulled her into a hug, halting all coherent thought. He smelled magnificent and she deeply inhaled his masculine scent. “‘Tis great to see you again, Elsie.”
She flushed when he lightly kissed her cheek. His formality struck her as old school. She imagined he was better suited for chainmail and knighthood. The intimate note to his kiss, however, had her stepping out of his reach.
Orlando claimed her attention before she gained her footing. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding out one of th
e bags in his hand. “Because we know your fridge is empty, El, we brought some grub. We also brought tequila and chick-flicks. We’re going to have a girls’ night.” He air-quoted the last, causing laughter to bubble up her throat. It still felt odd to be so chummy with them, but they knew how to put her at ease. “I may even let you paint my nails,” Orlando teased.
Cailyn laughed and hugged the men. “With my sister’s impressive culinary skills, you’d think she’d have some food in her house.”
“Shut it, Cai,” she snapped.
Zander shifted a sparkly, silver, gift bag to his other hand, catching her attention. She paused. Although tempted by the shiny bag, she was more curious about what they had to share regarding Dalton.
“I appreciate the food and stuff, but I need you to tell me the news first,” Elsie informed them.
She busied herself with emptying the contents of the bags Orlando and Santiago brought in while she listened to them update her on the investigation. After reviewing all the evidence, they found a trace of blood on a pen they believed belonged to the perpetrator. They compared the DNA found on the pen to a corpse they recently discovered in a dumpster. She sat in stunned silence as she digested the information.
Every vampire she’d ever killed turned to ash when she pierced its heart. The fact they had a body threw a wrench into her beliefs about the creatures. But, if what they told her was true, then she had a name for who destroyed her life. Jag. And, she couldn’t seek revenge for what he did to Dalton because he was dead.
She grabbed plates and silverware from her kitchen cabinets and set them next to the food. She expected to feel better with the news, but the same pain and heartache pierced her chest. Nothing about her torment changed.
For months, Elsie told herself that she would feel better and begin to heal when the culprit was identified and killed. It was devastating to learn that it made no difference. Her suffering was never going to end.
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