Shifters in the Shadows: Seventeen Paranormal Romances of Sexy Shifters, Dangerous Vamps, & Things That Go Bump in the Night

by J. K Harper

  Chapter 6

  When Ivy arrived for work, the front door was open as men carried metal fence panels into the house. “What’s all this?” she asked when she saw Charlotte.

  “I had a surprise visitor yesterday.”

  “Oooh a visitor with a badge perhaps?”

  "One with fangs, hence the need to block the tunnel. The badge was here too, but Gabe may not be coming back."

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “No, but I understand it.”

  Charlotte filled her in on everything that happened, causing Ivy to sit with her mouth open for a good while. “Holy shit. I go to the warehouse and miss everything.”

  “You also missed the new house rules I implemented. I’m going to need you to curtsy whenever I enter the room.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I can probably get Molly to keep doing it.”

  Ivy shook her head and laughed. “And we were worried about her.”

  “I know!”

  They watched as the workers carried the final pieces inside the house.

  “Do you think there will be others?”

  “No idea. I’ll do my best to keep that from happening.”

  “Why did she come here?”

  “No idea about that either.”

  “If there are others, will the fencing be enough to keep them out.”

  Charlotte paused longer than before. “No idea … but I hope so.”

  Later that afternoon, Molly returned with fabric samples and poked her head into Charlotte's office. Her smile was infectious.

  “What’s gotten into you? The samples were that good?”

  “You have a visitor. Outside on the steps.”

  “Who?”

  Molly just smiled and disappeared.

  Charlotte’s pulse raced as she checked her makeup and straightened her blouse. She took a few deep breaths before slowly opening the front door and peering down at the mass of muscle sitting on the steps.

  “Detective Sandoval, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She closed the door behind her and joined him on the steps.

  “Have you heard the one about the werewolf and the vampire?”

  "Do they walk into a bar?"

  He nervously ran his hands along his slacks and took a deep breath. "I don't have a punchline. I was trying to think of some clever story about marrow and high heels, but then my mind races forward and … I just can’t stop thinking about you.” He moved closer and took one of her hands in his. “I never should have left like that. I’ve dedicated my whole life to fighting crime. I don’t know anything else and—”

  "I’ll save you the speech," she interrupted. "We aren’t normal people. Your people, my people … we are operating by a different set of rules. There will be justice for Gina, but it will not be at the hands of the NYPD or any other human force, and no one but us will probably ever know about it.”

  “Most NYPD officers are actually shifters, though.”

  “Really?”

  “The shift has been gradual, no pun intended.”

  "And why has that been kept quiet?” Charlotte nodded her head slowly as she answered her own question. “It’s the saying I was told my entire life, isn’t it? You probably know it too."

  They both answered in unison, “What humans don’t know won’t hurt them.”

  “Unless you’re Gina Cagliotti or her family,” he added. “And unless you’re being hunted.”

  “We don’t know that. One victim does not equal ‘open season’ on humans. The superiors will get to the bottom of this. I promise you.”

  He shifted his hip, so his knees brushed against hers. "And I promise you, I won't leave again."

  "You assume I'm inviting you inside. Rather quick don't you?”

  “We follow a different set of rules. You said it yourself. In dog years, we’re like old, best friends.”

  She cringed and covered her ears. “Never use the o word around a vampire.”

  “We’re like new, best friends.”

  “I like that better.”

  “Is this when you invite me to your coffin?”

  “Your vampire jokes leave me underwhelmed,” she said as she stood up and dusted off her skirt. “I will invite you to visit my Serta mattress once more.”

  “No knives or swords tonight, please.”

  “You’re not fooling anyone. You’d like to play with them, wouldn’t you?”

  He nodded his head enthusiastically. “But not before I get to play with you.” Gabe hesitated before he crossed the threshold, turning to hold her in a tight embrace. “No more secrets.”

  Charlotte nodded her head and tilted her chin up to reach his lips. “None.”

  He stroked her cheek softly and placed their foreheads together. “And I meant what I said, he whispered. “I’m never leaving.”

  Epilogue

  Throughout the city, people were going about their lives. The offices of The Vamp Within were buzzing, Charlotte's room was rocking, Julian was plotting, and on a quiet block in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a mother was pacing. She stared at the clock and walked the same path in her kitchen until the clock hit 2 AM. She breathed a sigh of relief when the second hand moved with a click and immediately hit the redial button on her phone.

  “Sixty-eighth Precinct, Officer Walters.”

  “I waited 24 hours like you asked. I need to report a missing person. It’s my daughter. She went to a Halloween party and never came back.”

  “What’s your daughter’s name, Ma’am?”

  "B-r-a-n-d-i. Brandi. Her name is Brandi."

  * * *

  A battle is brewing between the vampires who kill and those who don’t. More parents will pace as calls for the missing increase. Julian will stop at nothing to destroy everyone in his path, including the only family he knows. Charlotte and Gabe will do everything to defeat him, but they’re going to need an army of their own. There are more tales to come from the Naked City Immortals.

  About the Author

  Thank you for reading “The Vampire Wore Stilettos.” More tales from the Naked City Immortals are in the works. If you enjoyed the story and have time, I would appreciate if you left a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It would help other people find and enjoy my stories. Thank you so much for your help. -- Cynthia

  Please join my mailing list to learn more about Charlotte and Gabe as they fight Julian and try to save the innocent ones. You may also enjoy the Mistletoe Hollow series and its cast of sexy shifters. Begin the adventure with Grizzly Bell Rock – When the feisty O’Reilly sisters, Gracie and Catherine, travel over the river and through the woods straight into Mistletoe Hollow and its population of shifters, two hunky shopkeepers show them the best Christmas presents come with four legs and fur.

  Cynthia Fox is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in the middle of California with her boyfriend and a couple of rotten cats. She enjoys writing about humorous characters and happy endings in both the paranormal and contemporary genres. Curvy heroines and laughter rule!

  Be the first to learn about new releases and freebies. Join the Cynthia Fox Mailing List.

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  Also by Cynthia Fox

  Mr. Davenport Never Left

  Billionaire Alpha Seeks Curves

  The Werewolf Always Rings Twice

  Something Weasel This Way Comes

  A Ghost of a Chance

  by J.M. Klaire

  Love isn't only for the living.

  Chapter 1

  I tugged the zipper of my bloody, sexy, zombie nurse outfit down another inch or two until my breasts were just barely contained, and grabbed a test tube full of some kind of purple liquor off of a passing drink tray.

  The girl carrying the tray of test-tube shots was nearly as bloody as I was, but she was rocking a
slutty-cheerleader-in-a-car-accident costume as she worked her way around the room, handing out shots.

  There was another waitress around here somewhere, carrying a tray of shots in syringes that were way yummy, but she was nowhere to be seen, so the test tube shots would have to do, for now.

  I up-ended my shot, downing its purple contents in a couple of quick swallows. I placed the empty test tube on the table beside me, and then tugged my zipper back up an inch or two, even though I'd just tugged it down a second before.

  I tried to find my boyfriend in the huge crowd of partiers, but since all I knew of his costume was that he was planning on showing up here as a bloody doctor in scrubs, and there seemed to be quite a few of those tonight, I was at a loss.

  He had better show up soon, or I may lose my nerve. This place is creepy, I thought as my eyes searched every super hero, cowboy and mummy who passed by me, on the off chance that Mark really was here, but had decided on a different costume at the last minute.

  He'd had to work late, so he told me to go ahead and ride to the party with Jenny and her boyfriend, and he'd just meet me here when he could. I had, but Jenny and Tommy had already disappeared on me, probably to fuck in one of the old patient rooms in this old, abandoned asylum. This place was so freaking perfect for a Halloween party like this one that I was surprised no one had ever thought to throw one here before two years ago.

  The year I came here with Cole.

  I shook off the memory, refusing to let him in. I’d thought I was ready, but maybe this wasn't a good idea.

  The music was pounding. I was grateful they'd been playing good stuff since we got here and hadn't played the corny stuff like “The Monster Mash” or any of those “creepy noises” CDs that people liked to drag out on Halloween.

  I looked around at the fake spider webs and the cardboard coffins and wondered why they bothered. This place was creepy as fuck without any decorations; they totally could have saved themselves some cash.

  I'd heard rumors that it was haunted. However, since Halloween was both mine and Mark's favorite holiday of the entire year, we jumped at the chance to attend this party—even with what happened two years ago, and even though we'd also known there was a chance Mark would have to work late.

  He tried to get out of it, but no one would cover his shift. So here I stood, abandoned by my best friend and her boyfriend, at a super creepy Halloween party her boyfriend's parents had somehow managed to pull off three years in a row. The first one had been an early college graduation present for Tommy, and they'd kept it going in the years since.

  After what happened at the first one, to Cole, I was surprised when I heard that the party was going to happen again the next year—even though what happened to him had nothing to do with the party itself. I skipped it last year, but this year I thought maybe I could handle it. I wanted to claim Halloween back from the dead, and to be able to enjoy it again, as I knew Cole would've wanted me to.

  Cole had been my fiancé, my soulmate, my one true love.

  I had planned to give him my virginity here, two years ago tonight, by sneaking off to have sex in one of the very same rooms I was quite sure my friends were probably in right this minute.

  We'd planned on waiting until our wedding night, and he was totally willing to do so, but it was me who couldn't wait any longer.

  I had loved him with all of my heart, and I knew we'd be together forever, so I figured what a better “first time” story than to give my virginity to my fiancé here—at an amazing Halloween party in an actual old insane asylum.

  Halloween had always been my favorite holiday, and Cole had been a good sport about dressing up for it even though he could've personally taken or left the whole thing. His favorite holiday was Christmas, which was why we had been planning to marry that December, but his death made that impossible.

  We'd helped Jenny and Tommy set up that year, and when she started panicking about not having enough liquor, Cole had offered to make a liquor run.

  While he had been gone Jenny had teased me about that night being “the night,” but all I could do was grin. We'd been together since grade school. I had been wearing his ring and very much looking forward to our Christmas themed wedding, and I knew I'd never love another like I’d loved Cole.

  A love like ours was eternal.

  I’d wanted to show him just how much I loved him, finally, after making him wait for so very long.

  I remember feeling like I could hardly wait until he got back and the party was in full swing. I wanted to wrap my arms around him as we danced in a throng of costumes and whisper in his ear how much I needed him and just how badly I wanted to show him.

  I planned on taking his hand and leading him deep into the old building. I wanted to make our first time together something memorable, so we always had that story to look back on when we grew old together.

  Having the huge, blow-out, Christmas wedding he wanted being preceded by our first time happening on my favorite holiday, deep in the bowels of a creepy, supposedly haunted old building like this, would have been perfect.

  Only Cole never made it back.

  Some drunk driver had T-boned his car as he was heading back here, and the night that I'd hoped would end with us making dirty memories instead ended with my fiancé dead.

  I almost didn't even come here tonight but Mark had gotten so excited about it when he heard. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, either that he'd hear about it, or that he'd want to go. The idea of coming back here though, when the last time I'd been here my future stopped, made me nervous.

  But I knew I couldn't avoid Halloween forever.

  Mark was so sweet, and he'd gotten so excited when he heard that the party was held here. Even though this old asylum was fenced off and had been off limits for years before that first party, and still was off limits every other day—except when Tommy's parents’ old money somehow opened it up for one night a year that is.

  Of course being off limits had never stopped people from sneaking into it, or daring each other to spend the night—especially on Halloweens past—but I was still surprised when the city actually let his parents continue to throw this party here.

  They said only the main front rooms were to be used, and they had caution tape across all the hallways leading away from here, but it was a well-known fact that many people would, and did, sneak off to one of the farther away rooms and christened this place with some naughty, down and dirty Halloween sex.

  Just like I'd planned on doing years ago, and just like I'm sure Jenny and Tommy were probably doing right now.

  I still had yet to do it. With anyone.

  It wasn't for any weird reason, like I thought if I ever planned to do it again the poor guy would end up dead or anything. It was just that … well … I hadn't found anyone else that I loved like I'd loved Cole.

  And that probably wasn't fair to Mark, I thought as I stood in the middle of a sea of dancing, horny, costumed couples.

  We'd been dating a few months now, and nowadays that was an eternity to date without having sex. I wasn't quite sure why he was still around, honestly.

  Maybe tonight should be the night, I thought. Cole would want me to be happy, not celibate. Maybe I can honor his memory and finally let him go at the same time, by just getting it over with. I'm too old to be a virgin, really. And I like Mark. He's sexy, and sweet, and he's really good to me, good for me, even.

  I looked around for a waitress, thinking a drink might be just what the doctor ordered as I mulled things over in my mind.

  I spotted the waitress with the syringe shots worming her way through the crowd, so I followed her, determined to get one. They were amazing. I caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned to face me I almost jumped out of my skin.

  It was a different waitress this time, and her makeup was done so well it looked like she really did have an eyeball resting down beside her nose, and it looked like her brains were falling out of a huge slice in her
forehead, above her other eye.

  Damn, I wish whoever did her costume had done mine. I had squirted fake blood all over my sexy nurse costume, but she had gone above and beyond.

  She grinned at me as she handed me a syringe, and her grin made the eyeball on her cheek move a little.

  "Killer make-up," I told her after I downed the shot, slid the empty syringe back onto her tray and grabbed another.

  "Thanks."

  I watched her walk away, all swaying hips and long legs, and caught a glimpse of Mark, finally, near the front door.

  He wore a set of surgery scrubs with a white doctor's coat over them, complete with the mask over his face and an old timey white scrub cap on his head. He'd doused it all with even more fake blood than I'd splattered onto myself. He looked like he'd gone all out as well, even holding a clipboard in one hand, and what looked to be a scalpel in the other.

  Finally, the other half to the couple's costume he'd chosen for us of evil asylum doctor and bloody nurse had arrived. Perfect costumes for the location, I thought.

  A tap on my shoulder pulled my attention away from my newly arrived and perfectly creepy-looking boyfriend. It was another waitress, only instead of carrying drinks on her tray she carried snacks.

  "Care to finger a witch?"

  "I'm sorry, what?"

  Surely the syringe shots were starting to get to me. Did she just ask me if I wanted to finger a witch?

  She nodded toward her tray, which had numerous snacks laid out on it, including what looked to be a stack of thick pretzel sticks dipped in witch-green chocolate with an almond sliver gracing one end. It looked remarkably like a stack of witch fingers cut off from a hand.