Retribution [Federal Paranormal Agency 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)
Page 1
Federal Paranormal Agency 3
Retribution
You have to be the best to go to war with the worst.
That’s the motto the agents of the Federal Paranormal Agency live by. They train hard to hunt down those that go rogue, enforcing the laws set down through the ages. They deliver justice to those that break the laws and save the innocent. They are the enforcers of the paranormal world.
Evan Vexen is a vampire and an agent with the Federal Paranormal Agency. When vampires from the New York City coven start turning up dead – their bodies discarded around the city like trash – Evan is called in. During his investigation, Evan comes up against multiple challenges and uncovers a lot of secrets along the way, secrets the coven never wanted exposed.
Reyes Caliar is called back home and put on lock-down when vampires from his coven turn up missing and later found dead. Someone is hunting them down, one by one, beating them and bleeding them dry. With the FPA on the case, each coven member is being called in for questioning. During his visit to their headquarters, Reyes meets Evan, his True Match.
Their attraction is instantaneous, but the danger is still lurking around, keeping Evan on edge. When Reyes is taken, Evan quickly realizes that the prolific killer has a history with his True Match, a history that nobody ever expected. With Reyes’s life on the line, time is running out.
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 31,416 words
RETRIBUTION
Federal Paranormal Agency 3
Olivia Black
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at
legal@sirenbookstrand.com
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
RETRIBUTION
Copyright © 2015 by Olivia Black
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-485-3
First E-book Publication: June 2015
Cover design by Jess Buffett
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Retribution by Olivia Black from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Olivia Black’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Olivia Black’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
In our eyes this is rage
No apologies can return
The progress that’s been erased
Retribution’s on its way
Tonight
(Inner Surge, “Retribution Song”)
I want to give a shout-out to my cheerleading squad—Kimberley Spinney and Rhonda Wolf. Thank you for all the support.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
About the Author
RETRIBUTION
Federal Paranormal Agency 3
OLIVIA BLACK
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Evan Vexen ended the call with the leader of the FPA, Abram Jackman, and dropped his cellphone onto the table. It was a relief that the team had found Viktor Payne before the human could hurt any other paranormals. The chemist was far more dangerous than anyone had thought. He may have been human, but he was an evil genius, intent on unleashing a poisonous toxin that had the capacity to kill. The only person to be harmed in the end was Ranger Caber, Abram’s mate, but Evan was sure the wolf shifter would heal completely.
Now that Viktor Payne was out of the picture, Evan needed to focus back on his own case. Vampires were being killed and their bodies being dumped around the city.
The first body was found by the West Harlem Piers, bled dry. Soon after, three other bodies had been found. The only difference between the first victim and the others were that the amount of violence was increasing. The vampires were badly beaten which led Evan to believe that the perpetrator had to be a paranormal strong enough to not only hunt down the vampires, but to also kill them. In Evan’s opinion, a human couldn’t be responsible.
Evan didn’t have any leads, but he hoped that would change soon. He had a meeting with Garrett Egilson, one of the new coven leaders in the area. The vampire owed them after taking part in Ranger’s abduction. And since the man was in charge of a large coven, Evan was sure he knew something, especially since the dead vampires were members of his coven.
Checking the clock on the wall, Evan stood. He grabbed his cell phone and keys off the table and strode toward the elevator. Evan pressed the call button and the doors slid open. Stepping inside, Evan pushed the button for the underground parking garage. The doors closed and the metal box fell rapidly. He stood in the center of the elevator and closed his eyes. The sharp drop always brought a smile to his face. When the elevator came to a sudden halt, the doors opene
d, and he stepped out.
Evan clicked the unlock button on his key, and the red lights on the rear of his Porsche Cayenne SUV flashed bright within the dim cement garage. Climbing into his vehicle, Evan started the engine, and reversed. He put his SUV in drive and headed out in the busy streets of New York.
He drove toward the vampire coven located on Central Park West. It was only about eight miles away from their building on Leonard Street, but with the traffic, it would take nearly twenty-five minutes. Most people would go crazy driving in New York City traffic, but it didn’t bother Evan. The hustle and bustle of the city always helped to remind him of why he became an agent. He was protecting not only his own people, the paranormals, but humans as well. It was a responsibility he’d accepted long ago.
As he drew closer to Central Park West, the architecture changed. The new modern buildings gave way to buildings that dated back to the late 19th century. The majority of the older buildings had a neo-Italian Renaissance style, beautiful and classic. Being in this area took Evan back to a simpler time and made him yearn for the life he had long ago.
Evan slowed when he neared the coven.
The building was old and beautiful, made of brick and slate, with a giant wrought iron gate surrounding the entire property. It looked gothic with its French Renaissance design dating back to sometime in the eighteen hundreds. Mounted cameras and high-tech gadgets watched as Evan approached from every angle. He slowly eased his vehicle into the driveway. Evan only waited a moment, before the gates automatically swung open. He drove in, pulling around the round stone driveway.
He could feel magic in the air. It shimmered like a bubble in the sunlight, which meant that there was a protective ward.
The old building loomed above him—round towers tapering off into sharp points, stone arches with intricately carved designs, and blacked-out windows.
Parking right outside the main entrance, Evan strode toward the heavy front doors. He didn’t even need to knock. A fledgling vampire opened the door.
“May I take your coat?”
“No thanks.” Evan shook his head as he stepped into the entryway. He wasn’t handing his black leather trench coat over to anyone. There were too many weapons strapped to his body.
The interior was as impressive as the mansion’s exterior. Marble tile stretched across the floor, crystal chandeliers glittered above, velvet crimson curtains, and expensive art pieces covered the walls.
The door closed behind him and the young man came to stand beside Evan. “If you’ll just follow me, I’ll escort you to the coven master.”
Evan nodded. He kept a couple of feet between him and the doorman, looking around at the luxurious surrounding as he strode through the mansion. This was the first time he’d been inside this particular coven, but the similarities between this one and others he’d visited in the past were striking.
The large estate was made up of a rich color pallet—deep and dark. Reds and black dominated the space along with walnut brown antique furniture. Elaborately carved moldings ran along the walls, bordering the rounded ceiling. Glorious chandeliers hung down, dripping with crystals.
Vampires as a whole enjoyed flaunting their money. They had riches far exceeding anything that a human could ever accomplish in their short lives. Centuries would do that though. They’d learned long ago how to invest. Now, they could live many lifetimes without having to work.
Evan strode past a group of well-dressed vampires. Men and women were all sitting in the lavish living room. They lounged back on plush couches or chatted in small groups. Most were holding expensive looking glasses filled with crimson liquid. Blood. The atmosphere was cool and stuffy. He could practically smell the holier-than-thou attitudes flowing off each of the vampires. They looked at him with a mixture of fear and distain.
He understood the first emotion. He was an FPA agent, which meant that most paranormals feared him, but the second made no sense. He was a vampire. But, Evan wasn’t like them. He would be considered “working-class” versus “pampered.” His own kind looked down on him, which was fine. He didn’t want to be in the same class with these people, considering that they believed they were better than others, him included.
The young vampire escorting Evan stopped outside of a closed door. He knocked twice, paused for a moment, and then opened it. He stepped back and Evan walked inside.
Garrett Egilson was seated behind a large desk dressed to the nines in an expensive Armani suit. His long, platinum blond hair was tied back at the base of his neck, and when he looked up, his bright blue eyes glowed in the dim room.
“Come in.” Garrett grinned, his pearly-white fangs peeking out the corners of his lips.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet.” Evan walked into the office. He pulled out one of the chairs behind the desk and sat down.
“It was the least I could do.” He waved his hand and the door closed, leaving Evan and Garrett inside the office, alone. “I don’t want to make any enemies at the FPA.”
“I’m working on a case and I think you’ll be able to help.”
“The dead vampires?”
Evan arched a brow. He leaned back, making himself comfortable. “What do you know?”
“Not much.”
Evan could only shake his head. He didn’t believe that, not for one second. Garrett knew a lot more than he let people believe. “Why don’t you tell me what you do know?”
He shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly, as if it didn’t really matter. “A few vampires have been killed.”
“Vampires from your coven,” Evan reminded him, looking for a reaction, but saw none.
After a moment of silence, Garret sighed and leaned back in his chair. “That’s the reason I was called here. The coven needed a new leader.”
That didn’t make any sense. The first vampire’s body was found fairly recently, after Garrett had become the official leader of this coven.
“The killer only recently started dumping the bodies out of our territory. For whatever reason, it seems as though he wants to involve the FPA.”
“How many vampires have been killed?”
“Six.” Garrett blew out a ragged breath. “Including the former coven leader, Fabian Nicodemus.”
“And you’re just telling me this now? The deaths should’ve been reported to the FPA.”
“Making changes is difficult, especially considering the fact that vampires are immortal. We don’t allow outsiders to take care of our problems.”
“The FPA is here to help paranormals. We aren’t outsiders and we aren’t the enemy,” Evan insisted.
“We’re handling things internally. All the coven members have been ordered to live here. Everyone must travel in groups. We’re taking precautions.”
“These so-called precautions aren’t working. You may not want the FPA to be involved, but we are. I’m working this case.” Evan put his emotions in check, careful not to reveal too much, even though he was pissed. He didn’t trust Garrett, not at all. “I want a list of the vampires that were killed and I want to know who found the bodies.”
“For what purpose?”
“I’m searching for a killer that’s targeting your coven. I need to know who was killed.” It was important to know all the details since the killer had become more vicious in such a short period of time, changing their modus operandi. The first body was bled dry, but the others had been badly beaten, showing how angry the killer actually was with this coven of vampires. “If the FPA had been contacted, lives could’ve been saved. This isn’t random. And there’s no way this situation can be handled internally. You’re not equipped to catch this killer.”
A flash of anger crossed Garrett’s face. The man didn’t want to cooperate, but he would. He sat up, ramrod straight, and moved closer to the desk. Garrett grabbed a notepad and a pen. He wrote down the names, pressing the tip of the pen so hard against the paper, that Evan thought it might actually break. Six names to be added to the four others that had been killed. T
en vampires’ total, and Evan was sure the number would rise.
The killer was clearly on a mission, but why? Why was he targeting this coven? Why did he hate these vampires specifically? There were so many unanswered questions and it was Evan’s job to figure out this puzzle and put all the pieces together. He just hoped he’d be able to find the killer before he struck again.
“I need to talk to all the members of the coven.”
“Now?” Garrett asked, his tone slightly aggravated, as he handed Evan the list of names.
Evan really hated being treated as if he were the enemy. The agents in the FPA worked hard to protect the innocent. They all had put their lives on the line countless times, while searching for rouges intent on hurting and killing others.
With all the secrets that Garrett was keeping, it gave Evan pause. Was Garrett involved in some way? Did he know who the killer was? He’d been keeping important information to himself, perhaps he knew more than he was sharing.
Evan grasped the piece of paper in his fist and stood. “I think it would be a good idea for everyone to come down to FPA headquarters.”
Evan needed to brief the rest of the team before starting interviews. This case was going to be anything but simple. There was a serial killer out there murdering vampires. They needed to start a manhunt right away. He was naïve thinking that he could work this case alone. Then again, Evan didn’t know all the information.
“Okay.” Garrett nodded. “When?”
“Tomorrow,” Evan said. “I need to talk to the other agents. We won’t take up too much of your time, but we need to know who found the bodies and what state they were in.”