Chasing Shadows (The Initiative Book 1)

by Kindra Sowder

  “Are you sure? Especially with this thing with Richards? What if he sees it and gets violent or something?” I asked, certain it was a possibility considering how long the man had been coming onto me.

  “Ah thought about that, but decided it was best if he knoo ye weren’ goin’ eny farther than thes when ye walked in. It feels important.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and took him into a tight embrace that he returned, his large warm hands moving up my bare back and causing me to shiver in excitement.

  “Well, it’s time to get downstairs,” I sighed as I pulled back from him. “I really don’t want to do this.” I rubbed my now chilled arms as the realization hit me that the car was probably pulling up into the driveway as we spoke.

  “It’s not tay late tae back out. We can nail him some other way.”

  I shook my head, the long tendrils of slick brown falling away from behind my shoulders. “No, I can’t back out now. No way. It’s now or never and after what happened behind the veil I have a feeling he may know that I know something I shouldn’t.”

  “Ur ye sure he noticed ye? Mebbe he jist sensed somethin’ an’ didn’ see ye.”

  “I wish I could say for certain, but there’s only one way to know for sure,” I answered with uncertainty as I took his hand and began to lead him out of the bathroom, turning off the light as I passed it. “I’ve got to walk right into the lion’s den.”

  “Ur ye tryin’ tae scaur me miir than Ah alreddy am?”

  “I don’t even think that’s possible.”

  We started our trek down the stairs and into the living room where all three FBI agents were donning their bulletproof vests that were emblazoned with large white letters stating who they were. They all turned to us, the other two that had joined Stephenson in the case eyes wide with obvious nervousness.

  “Isabelle, McGrady, these are Agents Brooks and Fogarty. They will be assisting us tonight in Richards’s arrest,” she stated, pointing at each agent as she said his name. “They have never dealt with the supernatural, so they may need some pointers.” That was directed at me since I had the most extensive of experience in the entire house.

  I looked both men over, noticing their differences before even acknowledging what good they could do considering what I was assuming Richards was. A shadow plopped down into an annoying, albeit nice to look at package. Brooks was tall and lean, his muscles barely registering underneath his tanned flesh. A true Spencer Reid of ‘Criminal Minds’ type the more I looked at him. So much so it was disturbing. Fogarty was a tall, heavily muscled blond that could even rival McGrady’s strength with eyes the color of caramel almost while Brooks looked over me skeptically with much darker ones. Since they were all the FBI could spare they would have to do. I knew Fogarty could handle himself just by looking at him, but Brooks was a wildcard.

  “Well, I can admit that even though I have a lot of experience I’ve never seen anything like this before. What has attacked and killed the Van Helsing line within the Initiative look like shadows and can only be seen along the walls, their physical forms aren’t visible to the human eye from what I can tell. The information I have gathered beyond the veil shows that James Richards, the governor of Louisiana and advocate of the Initiative, is also one of these beings, but has been placed in a body somehow. We do know that flares will cause those without bodies to run, but we have no idea how to even deal with Richards, which is why we are attempting to arrest him tonight if we can. Only shoot him if there are no other options. Is that clear?”

  Everyone nodded. I stalked toward McGrady’s coffee table where each of my weapons were laid out, knowing I couldn’t take the sword which I was just itching to use. I had nowhere to hide the thing even though Richards would know I would be armed with at least one piece of artillery. I sighed and placed my hands on my hips as my cell phone that was sitting beside my gun went off. From my position, I could see it was a text from Richards stating the car was pulling into my driveway and that it would bring me to him. The rest of my troops would follow as closely behind as they could without being spotted in a vehicle that wasn’t leased by the Initiative or knowingly by the FBI. I just had no idea what they were even driving tonight.

  “That’s him,” I said as I picked up my inherited sais into a sheath made specifically for them so I could wear at least one of them on the inside of my thigh. I was disappointed I couldn’t wear both of them, but this was the best I could do without being so uncomfortable I couldn’t sit down or walk. I picked up my gun and slid it into the spot just at the small of my back, the elastic at that particular location in the dress holding it there nicely and, luckily for me, somehow remained undetectable. “Are we ready to go?”

  “We are,” Stephenson said as she walked up next to me and placed a small purse in my hands where I then placed my cell phone, wallet, and handcuffs.

  If experience told me anything, Richards would not search it. He was a gentleman sometimes despite being a cheater.

  “Once you are at the end of the driveway we’ll head out and follow, hanging back as far as we can. We will all be set up in an apartment at the end of the hall that the owner allowed us to use for surveillance tonight.”

  “Sounds good,” I said as I walked up to McGrady and ran my hand down his arm, placing a quick peck on his lips as not to mess up my lipstick. “I love you. I’ll see you shortly.”

  He smiled feebly and watched as I walked to the door, opening it to hit the invisible wall of insufferable heat and humidity Louisiana was known for. It made my skin slightly tacky as I closed the door behind me, my slick palms slipping on the warm metal of the knob. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched as a silver Audi A8 pulled up and stopped directly in front of me, an older gentleman getting out of the car and coming to the back passenger side to let me into the vehicle.

  I grinned at the man and got into the car, the black leather smooth against the back of my legs, and then we were off to the lion’s den what I was hoping to take the lion down.

  Chapter 18

  After a fifteen minute drive, I was being led down a hallway toward James Richards’ apartment, the heels I was wearing already beginning to grate on my nerves. The walls were painted a chocolate brown with white carpet covering the floor and decorated timeworn New Orleans. The sai was still resting comfortably on my inner thigh even after the car ride, which I was thankful for. And the wire was still non-detectible. I sighed in relief, but Richards’ driver took it as a sigh of irritation. He flashed me a reassuring smile and stopped in front of the door, hand frozen on the doorknob and opened his mouth to speak.

  “No need to hide your discomfort from me, Miss Van Helsing. I know it’s hard to do something against your will because you are being promised safety,” he said, his eyes full of wisdom and knowing. “I am supposed to pat you down, but I will not. Any weapons you have on you are there because you feel at risk, and I will not strip you of your security. He has a tendency to get handsy, but I have a feeling you can take care of yourself.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered softly, not denying what he had just said even though it was only a half-truth. “I do appreciate that.” I thumbed the ring McGrady had slid onto my finger only twenty minutes ago, the old man noticing and raising an eyebrow.

  “And make sure he sees that. Maybe it’ll bring him back to Earth on the situation between you two,” the old man half-joked as he turned the door knob and moved out of the way just enough so that I could enter the apartment first.

  As soon as I was inside, I could tell that I was in a politician’s apartment. Everything was crisp and white, spotted with pieces of black furniture, causing me to have to squint and blink as soon as I stepped inside. I wanted to make a sarcastic comment about the rays of the sun, but I kept my mouth shut knowing it would only serve to make someone angry. That someone being Richards himself. A meaty smell wafted through the spac
e, greeting my nose with hints of gamey lamb and refreshing mint and I couldn’t lie. It did make my mouth water, but I swallowed it down. This was not about food or any type of ill-perceived fun. The music that was playing hit my ears with pleasantly beautiful notes of strings and piano, causing me to cringe on the inside seeing that Richards was trying so hard for no reason. The old man closed the door behind me with an audible click and I groaned, the clean white door holding me inside of my new jail as he stood outside it.

  Footsteps rounded the corner and Richards appeared wearing black suit pants, his shiny leather shoes, and a white button up dress shirt. If I weren’t so on edge, I probably wouldn’t have noticed that he had the top buttons open, revealing a small portion of smooth, well-muscled chest. My mind was racing, anxiety and confusion possibly evident on my face as he took in my appearance, his eyes moving down and then back up until they met my face. He smirked and took another step in my direction, hand out to take mine. I bent to his will to keep him happy and placed the hand with the gorgeous engagement ring on it in his. He noticed it instantly, the flash of anger on his face noticeable even though he was attempting to hide it, but he couldn’t hide it from me. I wanted him to notice it even before his indentured servant asked me to make sure the man did to make it perfectly clear that this date of sorts wasn’t moving any farther than this. And I was hoping it wouldn’t go much farther than the interaction at this point.

  “I’m sure you’re hungry,” he said as he led me into a very well-lit dining room with a perfectly made table sitting in the very center. The place settings were spectacular and showed that he was still trying to impress me, despite how many times I had turned him away for McGrady. I would hate to tell him I wasn’t impressed by the flashy lifestyle he was trying to force on me as his mistress. “I even made sure to purchase everything organic.”

  My heart skipped a beat as I was taken aback. Somehow he knew my eating habits and lifestyle a lot better than I wanted, or needed, him to. He dropped my hand before I could say anything and moved to the kitchen, my feet following his path to come to stand in the doorway. The apartment wasn’t extremely large, which I would’ve expected and was the only thing about tonight I was pleasantly surprised by. Even though he was a demon, he did have great style and seemed to care enough to make him appear like a human being, but I wasn’t buying it. I had felt something underneath the surface for a long time, and it was solidified beyond the veil just the night before, causing this experience to be one of the most stressful and terrifying of my life besides my time there. He stood at a pristine, infrared stove, stirring something inside of a large steel saucepan and turning off the front burner.

  “You’re awfully quiet tonight. I take it you don’t have anything to say to me?” His eyebrow arched elegantly as he looked at me, the smirk he had been sporting finally disappearing from his face even though I didn’t have to slap it away like I had wanted to.

  “Oh, I have plenty to say, but I figured you may revoke your offer if I say anything that comes to mind,” I admitted, crossing my arms over my chest.

  He stood upright and took a couple of brazen steps toward me, shock on his face. This was an emotion I could tell he was faking so it garnered no reaction from me at all except for my ratcheting heart rate. “Do you really believe I would do that?”

  “Well, you did pretty much blackmail me into this date,” I said, using air quotes around the word ‘date.’

  Richards came even closer, and I retreated, backing me into a corner within the room. I knew never to get backed into a corner, literally or proverbially and I wasn’t doing a good job at avoiding either. My thoughts were racing as his facial expression changed from one of amusement to one of rage and evil, but I had no idea if it was because of the ring on my finger or the possibility that he knew that I had learned what he was. His eyes flickered just like they had in the hospital, leading me to believe that anger was what spurred the change. That left me with those two options still, not doing anything to lean one way or the other.

  “You are way too close for comfort, Richards. We’ve talked about this,” I said, placing my hand on his chest and attempting to shove him back even a fraction of an inch. His body stiffened, and I watched a menagerie of emotions cross his features ranging from anger to lust, and then to rage as his eyes turned completely black and didn’t return to their normal hue, even the whites disappearing entirely.

  “You are here with me, Miss Van Helsing. We are on a date, and you will act as such, or I will have your fiancé killed. Do you understand?”

  “You wouldn’t,” I sneered.

  “Wouldn’t I?” he said as a sinister grin spread over his lips, his hand reaching down to move my skirt enough to graze bare thigh. His fingers brushed the very tip of my sai, and his eyes shot up to mine, the smile only broadening as he shook his head. “You were supposed to be searched, Izzy. That naughty old man.”

  I inhaled sharply as he touched it again, brushing the bare skin underneath the blade. “It’s Isabelle, Richards. Always Isabelle. That or Miss Van Helsing.”

  He leaned into me, placing his mouth next to my ear and breathed in deeply and replied, “Hmmm, you smell of fear, hunter. And it is exquisite.”

  I turned my head slightly in an attempt to look at him to tell him that I knew and that he had been caught. He grabbed my jaw with one large hand and held it still so I couldn’t look at him and hissed, “You smell so good, and you got all dolled up for me.”

  I closed my eyes and decided to let it all out. To let him know that I had found him out, and that McGrady and three FBI agents were just down the hall ready to barge their way in once, I gave them the okay.

  “I know what you are, Richards. We all do.” The words came out quick and shrill, and I couldn’t hold back the terror that rolled up my gut.

  “I know, and I also know that your lover and those agents are right down the hall.”

  “But…” I was about to ask how when he interrupted me.

  “You think I haven’t paid off pretty much everyone in this building, Izzy?” He pushed me deeper into the wall. “They are being taken care of.”

  My heart jumped in my chest, threatening to spill out of my mouth to go running down the hall to see if this was true. “Leave them alone. They aren’t a part of this.”

  “Oh, to the contrary. I may be jealous because he managed to get you and I couldn’t, but that has nothing to do with this even though they are being taken care of as we speak. This is all about what is carved into your beautiful body.” His hand covered my stomach and began to rub in circles like he was worshipping the sigil that now butchered my flesh. “Our God is almost here, and all we needed was one to live to carry the sigil. Lucky for me it was you. I’m surprised Eshu didn’t offer to get rid of this for you. He has the tools, but I’m sure he suggested something even more,” he paused, “brutal.”

  My heart and mind were racing. McGrady and the others could be dying at that very moment, and I was stuck playing with a shadow that just happened to have possibly gone off the deep end. I attempted to push against him, but he had other plans. Richards placed his forearm across my throat and applied just enough pressure to let me know he’d suffocate me if I didn’t cooperate. Little did he know I was done playing nice. The small purse was still on my arm by some miracle and he hadn’t removed the sai from its discovered hiding spot, so I still had my weapons, but I had to be able to get to them.

  I kicked out, my foot catching him in the groin and he fell just like any other man and I stepped over him as quickly as I could to try to make it to the door. I didn’t make it far. I had only made it a couple of steps before a hand gripped my ankle, causing me to fall to the ground, slamming my forehead into the corner of the extravagant dining room table. The room went black for all of a second, and when I came back it was spinning, Richards face coming into view as he knelt above me. The purse was no lo
nger on my arm, but lying at least five feet out of reaching distance. My mind was in a fog, and my body felt like a lead weight as he lifted the skirt of my dress and removed the sai from its spot on my thigh and then raised it even higher to see his master’s handiwork, smiling down at my marred flesh. I felt something warm run into my hair. Blood from where I had struck the table. He reached up and took some onto his fingertips, causing it to sting immensely, and rubbed some of it on the scar as he set the sai down on the table above him. Rage overtook me, causing the scars to glow just slightly. Nothing like when we were beyond the veil.

  “You are the perfect vessel, my dear. Only perfection can bring the world down,” he said lovingly as he etched my blood along the dim light coming from within me. “And with your quick healing, these have healed up quite nicely.”

  Everything came back into focus at that moment and when he leaned down to place a soft kiss on my forehead, I took action. I threw a punch that landed in his throat, but he caught my hand and began to twist it backward, a pained cry leaving my lips. I sent my forehead into his teeth, hitting my target. He loosened his grip and, using my feet against the near wall, I pushed myself away from his grasp and slid along the hardwood floor just far enough to reach the purse. I sprung to my feet in a backflip and took the strap into my hand, and the gun falling into my waiting hand. I had left the zipper open just in case this happened. Always be prepared.

  He was on me within seconds, and I pulled the trigger. Richards dodged the bullet and gripped the gun, the blazing hot metal burning his flesh. It sizzled sickeningly as he twisted it. It was either I hold on, breaking my wrist or I make a go for the sai that was now behind him on the table.