by Mary Abshire
“Werewolves don’t always take mates within their species.”
“Seriously?”
Rachel nodded. “I met a couple of women in the 1980s who were mates to werewolves. One was a vampire and the other was a shape shifter. I think she was a cougar shifter. I didn’t meet their husbands, but they claimed they were mates. They would tell me some interesting stories.”
Anna hadn’t known werewolves could claim a mate from a different race. She rarely interacted with others outside her species, humans, and the demons she exorcised. The news surprised her, but it didn’t prove she was his mate. “I think he’s just being protective of his new partner.”
“I don’t think so. I saw how he acted when you showed up in the studio.”
“What do you mean?”
“He listened to every word you said. The way he looked at you…” She shook her head. “He had his full attention on you and only you. It was as if nothing else mattered. He had a look of deep reverence I’ve never seen before in a man.”
Anna had noticed his sympathetic gaze and deep concern for her. But she didn’t believe he could be head over heels for her. They’d only met twenty-four hours ago.
“We haven’t known each other long. I’m sure he’s trying to make a good impression,” Anna said. “He’s admitted to having some biases about vampires. Because of them, I don’t think he’d claim me.”
“I’m telling you, he’s got his eyes on you and it’s not just for a fling.”
Anna shook her head in disbelief. “We have priorities. There isn’t time for a relationship right now.”
“Love doesn’t stop because the world is ending. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
With the city, and maybe the country, on the brink of an outbreak, Anna couldn’t contemplate love. She had too much to do and not enough time to do everything.
“Speaking of the world ending, don’t you need to check on our detainees?” Anna asked.
“I’m on it.” Rachel walked away from Anna’s desk.
Anna finished the rest of her drink as she thought about Rachel’s comments. It seemed ludicrous for Zale to have claimed her as his mate. She was a vampire, the one species he considered selfish and manipulative. Although she’d tried to set him straight, the werewolf would always have preconceptions about her kind. He’d spent the majority of his life tracking and bringing immoral vampires to justice. He had an attraction to her, but Anna doubted there was anything beyond that. The idea he’d even consider a long-term relationship with her was too preposterous.
She couldn’t deny the werewolf was unlike any man she’d ever met. He’d charmed her and had won a place in her heart. She’d like to know him better and explore a relationship with him. After they stopped the masters and prevented an outbreak, she’d consider getting to know the werewolf on a more personal level, and an intimate one too if he were interested. The thought made her smile. Now she had more to look forward to once they stopped the demons.
Chapter Fourteen
The garage for the Divine Syndicate’s headquarters contained more vehicles than Zale had seen the previous night, and it was only an hour past sundown. Zale had to turn around at the bottom of the garage and then go back up to find a spot to park. He’d found plenty of spaces on the upper floor, closer to the entrance. He suspected word had spread fast about the organization’s high alert status and more vamps had shown up to help.
From the garage, he took the elevator to the lowest level. His heart gained beats as his anticipation to see Anna rose. Concern for her had prevented him from sleeping well during the day. But unlike vampires, werewolves didn’t require much rest during the day. Werewolves could function well on two hours of sleep or less for several days. He’d managed to catch three hours, so he was in good shape. He’d spent the rest of his day cleaning his house, eating, and working out in his home gym, all while thoughts of Anna and their time together played in his head.
The ding of the elevator indicated he’d arrived at his destination. Before the doors opened he could hear the chatter of voices. The lack of beating hearts disturbed him, but he refused to let his biases interfere with his job or the woman he longed to be with.
He strode down the small hall to the office. Men and women sat at almost every desk. Many were on the phones. Others were talking to coworkers. The open-floor format reminded Zale of where he worked except the UoJ had six-foot cubicle walls to provide each employee some privacy.
Zale slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked among the employees, looking for Anna’s desk. He’d worn a plain gray t-shirt, his usual attire. Several vampires turned their gazes to him. Of course, they were all female.
“Zale,” Anna said.
He turned his head in the direction of her soft voice. She stood and waved for him to approach. Without delay, he changed his direction and headed for her.
With her hair gathered in a ponytail behind her head, she grabbed her leather jacket from the back of her chair and then collected her phone from her desk. The color of her skin and her eyes looked normal. She appeared healthy again. His blood warmed and started to gather in his groin as he examined her outfit. She wore the same knee-high boots, black tights, and a black t-shirt over a long-sleeved teal one. The clothes hugged her body, revealing all her generous curves.
“Rachel left a little while ago to bring Leon to the interrogation room,” she said as he reached her desk. “He should be there now.” She donned her jacket.
Although he stood a few feet from her, he smelled the light scent of magnolias. He’d caught a whiff of it the previous night too. The perfume or shampoo pleased his nose.
“I hope Leon has more information for us to find this gathering,” he said.
“Me too.” She started walking, and he followed beside her. “I think he might since Brandon mentioned they were friends and they’d gone to school together. Did I mention Leon is the same Leon Finton’s girlfriend had mentioned when Victor and I spoke to her?”
“No.”
She led the way past the desks and to a long hall. “I hadn’t seen a picture of him, so I didn’t recognize him. Another agent has his file, so all I can tell you right now is that he’s eighteen and he knows Finton.”
“I still have the bag of clothes in my car.”
“Hold onto it for now. I’m not sure if we’ll get to check any addresses tonight, but we will at some point.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the masters will be at this gathering.” He’d love for Anna to exorcise the masters and bring an end to the violence. Then, he could work on developing a more personal relationship with her.
“I hope so.”
“By the way, you look nice.” Complimenting a woman never hurt. “And you look… well.”
She smiled as they strode down the hall. “Rest helps. I also replenished my system. I’m back to full strength now. Thanks again tucking me into bed this morning.”
“Anytime.”
Her lips stretched wider. He could look at them all night and never get bored. Of course, he’d love to kiss them.
Anna led him back to the recording studio. Rachel stood in front of the electronics shelved on the back wall. Dressed in black slacks and pink blouse, she spun to face them as they entered the room.
“He’s ready when you are,” Rachel said.
Zale shifted his gaze to the one-way mirror overlooking the room where Leon sat. The young man was downing a bottle of water.
“How was Brandon?” Anna asked.
“He’s fine. I’m having an agent drop him off at his home,” Rachel said. “Steven said both had slept all day without any problems.”
“Good,” Anna said before she turned to Zale. “Care to join me in the interrogation room?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Let me take the lead asking questions.”
“No problem. I’ll sit by you and sway him with my good looks.” He crossed his
arms.
Rachel chuckled and Anna grinned.
Anna placed her hand on his bicep. Her cool touch pleased his warm skin as well as a certain part of his body. “Given your size, I’m actually hoping he’ll be more cooperative with me. Come on, big guy.”
Zale trailed her from the studio and into the room with Leon. The young African American man straightened in his seat and set his empty bottle on the table.
“Leon Taylor, my name is Anna and this is my partner Zale. We’re not cops.” She took a seat across from him.
Zale stopped at the side of the table. He scooted the chair out and it scraped over the floor.
“If you’re not cops, than what are you?”
“Private investigators,” she said as Zale sat.
“Uh-huh. Well, I want a lawyer. I’m not talking about anything,” Leon said.
Anna put her arms on the table. “I talked to your friend Brandon.”
“Where is he?” Leon asked.
“He’s on his way home. He answered my questions, so we let him go. I’ll let you go too if you answer some questions,” she said.
“What kind of questions?” Leon asked.
She threaded her fingers together. “I know you know Reggie and Finton. I know there is a gathering tonight. I want to know where it’s being held and who is going to be there,” she said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leon started bobbing a leg.
“You’re lying,” Zale said.
The extra beats of Leon’s heart indicated he’d fibbed to Anna. Zale knew the sign all too well. The jerky movement of his knee was another one.
Anna cleared her throat, stealing Zale’s attention. She pressed her lips together. He quickly gathered she wanted him to remain silent. Sighing, Zale crossed his arms.
She returned her gaze to Leon. “I know you took Brandon to a party last night where he met Reggie and Fin. I know there was discussion about the gathering at three in the morning. Tell me about it and I’ll have someone take you home.”
Leon lowered and shook his head. “I can’t believe he talked.”
“He knew we would turn him over to the cops for murder if he didn’t talk,” she said.
Leon shot his gaze up at her. “It ain’t his fault Jerry and Marshal got shot. And what the fuck happened to the two guys you set free? Why didn’t they die?” He rose from the table so fast his chair scooted away from him. “What the fuck were they? Nobody can survive getting shot like that. Why did you let them go?”
The man’s heart raced. The majority of humans had no idea supernatural creatures and demons existed. It seemed clear Leon didn’t either.
Anna put her palms flat on the table. “Leon, you need to calm down.”
“Fuck that. I want answers too,” Leon said.
Anna stared at him. In a matter of seconds, Leon stilled his movements and the angry expression on his face disappeared.
“Sit down and forget about the encounter with the men and the police. I want you to focus on the party you and Brandon went to,” Anna said.
Leon pushed his chair closer to the table before he sat.
“Good,” Anna said. “Now tell me about the gathering.”
“It’s at three,” Leon said in a calm tone as he kept his gaze on Anna.
“In the morning?” Zale asked before Anna.
“Yes,” Leon said.
“Where?” Anna asked.
“Off East 21st street in an abandoned warehouse, across from a hair salon,” Leon said.
“Will Reggie be there?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Leon answered.
Anna tilted her head slightly. “Will Fin?”
“I think so,” Leon said.
“Who else?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Leon said. “Fin said it was going to be a huge party.”
“How big?” Zale asked.
“I don’t know, but Fin’s been hyping it up for several days,” Leon said, keeping his gaze locked on Anna.
“Fin told you to be there?” she asked.
“Yes,” Leon said.
“To give you more drugs to sell?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” Leon said.
Anna leaned back in her chair. “And he wants you to bring people?”
“Yes,” Leon said.
“Great. Now, what I’m about to tell you is what you’ll remember. You and Brandon went to a party together. You never left the party. You passed out after he did. You will not remember anything about the police, seeing me or Zale, or being here,” she said. “You’re going to sleep now because you have a bad hangover.”
Leon’s eyelids began to close. His head and body started to fall to the side.
Zale rose and hurried to catch Leon. The young man’s body had gone completely limp. Holding him upright with his head tilted down, Rachel opened the door and a male vampire dressed in black strode into the room. Anna stood as the vamp passed her.
“I’ll take him,” the vamp in black said. He circled around Zale and then took hold of Leon.
Zale backed away as the vamp lifted the young man over his shoulder.
“His memory is clean. He can be returned to his home,” Anna said.
“I’ll take care of it.” The vamp carried Leon from the room.
“Aziel is on his way to talk to you,” Rachel said, holding the door open.
“Thanks. Give us a few minutes,” Anna said.
Rachel gave a nod before she walked away, closing the door behind her.
Zale scrubbed a hand over mouth. They had a location now. Both agencies could coordinate their efforts to go in and stop the demons. He needed to talk to his boss.
“He wasn’t going to cooperate. I had to go into his mind and calm him. I don’t like doing that, but I didn’t want his fear to stop him from talking to me,” Anna said with her head slightly tilted down and a hint of regret in her eyes.
“You did what you had to do and you didn’t hurt him.” Her honesty and concern reflected the type of person she was. He admired her more.
“I know, but it still feels like an intrusion of privacy.”
“We’re trying to save lives. It’s okay to invade someone’s privacy.” He grinned. “How big do you think this gathering will be? A hundred? Two hundred showing up?”
“From what I could pick from his memories, Fin wants Leon to sell drugs and bring anyone interested in doing drugs to the gathering. That’s always been Fin’s game. He finds these young men to bring people to the masters.”
“It sounds like a master will be at the gathering.”
“Whether one is or not, it’s safe to say we will have a mixture of human and demons. We’ll need to keep everyone contained. And we’ll have to find a way to exorcise the demons without the humans knowing.”
Stopping a meeting with demons seemed easy, but add non-possessed humans to the mix and the task was twice as complicated.
The door opened, capturing their attention. Aziel stepped into the room, dressed in a dark blue suit, minus the jacket. Before he could say anything, Zale’s phone buzzed in his back pocket. He hurried to fish his cell out.
“We need to talk,” Aziel said to Anna.
Zale held his phone up. His boss’s name appeared on the screen. “I need to take this. It’s Gordon.”
Aziel gestured for him to leave. “Tell him I’ll call him in a few minutes with a game plan.”
Zale nodded on his way toward the hall. Excitement coursed through him. They were one step closer to getting to a master. Better yet, he couldn’t wait to see Anna in action again.
Chapter Fifteen
“Did Rachel share with you what I was able to find out about the gathering?” Anna asked.
Aziel stepped into the room. The door closed behind him, leaving Zale in the hall by himself as he spoke to his boss on the phone. Aziel came to stand near her. “No, I only arrived a short while ago. I’ve bee
n on the phone with Gordon and other managers in our department a couple times since sundown. Tell me what you know.”
“Leon said the gathering is in a warehouse off East 21st street. It’s across from a hair salon. He doesn’t know if a master will be there, but Fin told him it would be a huge party and he should bring people. He also said Fin had been talking about this party for several days. I think it’s fair to say a couple hundred people will show and they will consist of non-possessed and possessed, so we need to plan accordingly.”
“Okay, here’s what we should do. The UoJ will set up a perimeter with some of our agents. I’ll reach out to our contacts in local law enforcement so they will know what we’re doing to have their patrols stay away. I want you to lead a team into the building. I’ll have staff upstairs monitoring via satellite and drones. Use tear gas to knock as many out as possible. Gear up for battle. You have authorization to kill if necessary, but wound first. Any that escape should run into agents.”
Anna nodded. The plan seemed simple enough. They all did until it came time to put them into motion. Then something always popped up.
“Once we knock them out, we can locate the demons and exorcise them,” she said. “If three hundred show up, I’ll need twenty agents at bare minimum to exorcise the demons with me. Thirty would be nice. And this is going to take some time. I’d guess two hours at least.”
“The gas will put them out for up to three hours, so you should have time. As you know, we typically have ten agents on staff. We’ve gained eight over the last few days. Six more will arrive within the hour, which will give you a total of twenty-four field agents to work with.”
Anna chewed on her lip. Some of the agents would have to stand as guards and wouldn’t be able to help exorcise demons. She wouldn’t have enough agents to work inside with her, which meant it would take longer to exorcise if three hundred demons were there. But she’d always been the type to overestimate. Maybe three hundred humans would show but only half would be possessed, in which case they’d have plenty of time to exorcise the demons before the gas wore off.
“We should have enough agents for your plan should work,” she said.