Olena smiled around an egg roll. “I love a man who’s easily pleased.”
“I find that hard to believe, Olena,” he chided.
Olena burst out laughing, and when Kellen turned he saw that Sophie was trying to hide her smile behind a hand. He joined in. It felt so good to share camaraderie with these two women. From the first moment he’d been introduced, it seemed like he’d been working here forever. It felt natural.
Not that he hadn’t had a good working relationship with those in the OCU back in Necropolis. He had fit in until he started to change, and everything irritated him. Now he knew it was because of the Sangcerritus, but before being diagnosed he thought it was because none of them liked having him around. They would go out of their way to avoid him.
Here, because there was no way to hide his condition, both Olena and Sophie, even Gabriel in his own way, had accepted him for who he was. It felt good to not be feared.
“Hey, Olena, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he began, “Just how old are you?”
The fork heading to her mouth halted in midair as she lifted one elegant brow. “How old do you think I am?”
“At least two hundred.”
Sophie snorted. “I can’t believe you’re talking about your age so casually. I thought it was rude to ask a lady about that.”
“It’s different for vampires. The older you are the more powerful you are assumed to be. For a lady, being close to three hundred is a good thing.” Olena grinned.
“Well?”
“Do you know who Marie Antoinette was?”
Kellen smirked. “Of course. I saw the movie.”
Sophie laughed at that. And it warmed Kellen’s heart to hear it. He smiled at her, and this time she didn’t turn away.
“Well, I was her governess for many years before she moved to the French courts.”
Kellen nodded, impressed. “I knew you were older than me.”
She waved her fork at him. “Oh, the stories I could tell you. I visited her quite often in Versailles. What fun.”
“Do you miss it, Olena?” Sophie asked. By the look on her face, Kellen thought she was really asking something else.
Olena shook her head. “I’ve enjoyed every era I’ve been in. Including this one. There’s something to be said about all of them.” Then she looked pensive. “It’s the people I’ve loved that I miss. Unfortunately, not everyone I had a relationship with was a vampire. But the heart is fickle, non?” She smiled at Sophie, then turned that same knowing look onto Kellen.
He dropped his gaze and turned his attention to his food, intently shoveling noodles into his mouth. God, that woman saw way too much. It was spooky. She had a lot in common with Caine and his ability to sense when someone was lying, or to know exactly how they were feeling. Kellen didn’t want to be transparent like that. How could she know what he was feeling for Sophie, when he didn’t really know?
He risked a glance at Sophie. Her head was down, too, avoiding Olena’s raised eyebrow and that look of omnipotence. He wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
But he didn’t get a chance, because Gabriel burst into the room with a none-too-pleased look on his face. “Grab your gear. There was another bombing.”
Chapter 16
The bombing site was a media circus when they arrived. Television trucks and newspaper journalists, as well as curious onlookers, swarmed the area. Yellow police tape, and roadblocks, sectioned off two city streets around the central site, which was another bar. This one catered to lycans.
Unfortunately, the place wasn’t empty went the bomb went off. They didn’t know the exact tally of casualties, but with every minute the recovery crew dug in the rubble, the number increased. So far, they were looking at three dead and still counting.
Sophie’s stomach roiled as she ducked under the tape to enter the crime scene. She’d learned to close herself off for the most part; it was difficult to do the job if emotions clouded the process. But the possibility that she might know some of the victims hit her hard.
Sucking in a breath to calm her nerves, she tightened her grip on the handle of her crime scene kit and, head up, followed Gabriel into the blasted area. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder as she walked. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Kellen right behind her, his eyes full of sympathy.
It unnerved her that he sensed she needed that hand of support. Was she that readable? No other man, not even her own pack alpha, could tell what she was thinking.
“You can’t read my thoughts, can you?” she asked him cautiously.
He shook his head. “No, but I can read you.”
Uncertain if that made her happy or scared, she nodded to him, but didn’t say anything. She felt like a rookie on her first scene. There was no room for her emotions if she was going to do a thorough job. Later she could cry. But now the victims needed her to have her head on straight.
The first thing she noticed upon entering the scene was the size of the blast radius. Twice the diameter of the one at the medical center and the doctor’s apartment. The bomb obviously was twice the size. Was their bomber escalating? It didn’t make sense to her, especially if the initial bombs were meant for the doctor.
Kellen was next to her, surveying the damage. “It’s not the same guy.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Gabriel stopped and looked at him. “You can tell that right off?”
“The blast radius is too big for a simple pipe bomb. Our guy likes simplicity and uniformity. This mess,” he waved his hand around at the massive destruction, “was caused by C-4 or an equivalent explosive agent.”
Gabriel surveyed the area and nodded. “The superintendent thinks they’re all related. Or at least he wants them to be, to make his job easier.”
“He’s a politician. Of course he wants it easy,” Sophie added.
“Okay, let’s work the scene, gather our evidence and get back to the lab to figure this one out.”
“Do you think it’s this NORM group?” Kellen asked.
Gabriel’s face darkened and Sophie knew anger simmered just under the surface of his usually calm exterior. “Yes, I do. There are quite a few humans who work and live here. People are going to start pointing fingers soon, and we’re going to have citywide panic.”
The superintendent took that moment to enter the crime scene. He made a beeline toward them. “Inspector, a word please.”
Gabriel nodded to the team. “Get what you can and take it back to the lab. Kellen, see if you can piece this bomb together and give us a lead to follow.”
“No problem.”
The inspector shoved his hands into his pockets and left with the superintendent.
Sophie, Kellen and Olena marched into the chaos to find evidence to catch a killer.
Tossing her house keys onto the kitchen counter, Sophie ran a hand through her hair, pulling it out of its usual ponytail. She shook her hair out and rubbed at her sore scalp. She had a headache and it seemed to be mounting.
The day had been long and exhausting, both physically and mentally. They had worked the scene for over five hours, and came away with bags of debris to analyze. When they returned to the lab, she announced she was going home for a couple of hours of rest. No one argued, especially since she had weeks of vacation and sick time saved up, and the fact that one of the victims had been a member of her pack. She hadn’t known Cheryl well, but had associated with her at pack functions.
Kellen had looked at her but said nothing. She didn’t know what she would have done if he had asked to come with her, if she needed some company. In her state, she feared she would have said yes. So she was glad that he hadn’t asked. And maybe, just maybe, he had known that.
She opened the refrigerator door and searched the contents. Her stomach growled for some real food. The chow mein she had eaten earlier sat in her gut like a lump of coal.
She grabbed lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber for a salad, and a package of steak. She needed some red meat. M
aybe after her meal she’d go for a run. It had been over four days since she’d shifted and stretched out her wolf legs.
As she was putting the salad together, her doorbell rang. Her heart thumped in her chest. Had Kellen followed her home? Her palms started to sweat at the prospect. She had to admit she wouldn’t be upset if he had. In a way, she would have been flattered that despite her protestations, he chose to come anyway.
Wiping her hands on her jeans, she smoothed a hand over her hair and moved toward the door, anticipation rushing through her veins. She wrapped her hand over the knob, twisted, and pulled the door open. Disappointment roared over her in a blast of cool wind. She should have smelled her father coming up the porch steps.
“Leon?”
“Hello, Sophie. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” She fully opened the door to her pack alpha. A lycan always opened her door to her alpha, no matter what. If he came here to her home, it was important. The last time Leon had been in her house was over seven months ago. That time was to tell her that her brother, Gaston, was getting married.
Leon removed his shoes then came into her living room and made himself comfortable on her sofa. Nervously, she did a quick survey of her place to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, that she didn’t have anything embarrassing lying around that he might see and comment on.
“Would you like a drink?”
“No, nothing, thank you, Sophie. I just came to talk.”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat and sat on the sofa beside him.
“You had a hard day.” It wasn’t a question. Leon would have known immediately that Cheryl had been one of the victims of the bombing. Most pack lycans had their alpha listed as a next of kin.
“So have you. It must be hard to lose a member of the pack.”
He nodded. “Yes. It’s the hardest in circumstances like these. Do you have any leads into who did the bombing?”
“Not yet, but we will.”
“I know you will.” He reached across the back of the sofa and patted her hand that rested there. “You’re a good investigator.”
She gave him a little smile, unaccustomed to his compliments.
“So I hear you have someone…else working the case.”
Ah, there was the real reason he had come knocking on her door. Pulling her hand out from under his, Sophie stood. “Did Duncan talk to you?”
“He’s concerned about your interaction with this person.”
“His name is Kellen.”
Leon waved his hand like he was batting away a bad smell. “Is there something going on between you and this vampire, this Kellen?”
Wrapping her arms around her body, she turned from him, not wanting him to see her face as she lied. “No. And Duncan should mind his own business.”
“You are his business, Sophie.”
She wheeled around and pointed her finger. “He’s your business, Leon. I told you I’d go on one date with him, and I did. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to mate with him. I don’t care if he’s your right hand. He’s a Neanderthal.”
“And this vampire is not?”
“No, he isn’t, if you have to know. He’s actually one of the most intelligent, charming men I’ve ever met.”
“He’s a vampire, Sophie, and from what I’ve heard, not a very stable one at that.”
“Is this why you are here, Alpha? To warn me away from Kellen. To threaten me with some terrible fate if I decide I want to have a relationship with the vampire.”
“No, I’m here as your father, to ask you to think about what your relationship with this vampire could do to your pack and to your family. I can’t believe you don’t remember the upheaval the last one brought to you.”
She shook her head. “It’s just like you to bring up the father card when nothing else is working.”
“And it’s just like my daughter to fight me on everything.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his haggard face.
The years hadn’t been kind to her father. Years of running the pack had taken its toll on him. He looked old and beaten. Or it could have been that he only looked that way when he was arguing with her. Over the years, she’d made a habit of it.
It wasn’t easy being the alpha’s daughter. Every young lycan had an eye on her while she was growing up. And every one of them desired her for different reasons. Most for what she could do for their aspirations to be alpha. Her brother, Gaston, had the first right to the job, but another male wolf could challenge him. Now, if that particular man had her on his arm, it would go a long way to winning popularity among the pack. Their pack was a democracy, and the best man was voted in. Not like in the old days, when lycans fought to the death for the right to lead. Blood battle had been abolished thirty years ago. But it was how Leon had won his place.
“You don’t disappoint me, Sophie. But you haven’t always done what’s best for the pack.”
“That’s your job, Leon, not mine. I’m not the alpha and never will be.”
He shook his head again. “So stubborn and rebellious. I don’t know where you get it.”
“Mom, probably.” Because of the hurt look in his eyes, Sophie was almost sorry for mentioning her mother. When Sophie had been only thirteen, her mother, Elsa, left the pack and went on tour with her musician friend, who just happened to be a vampire. Even though Elsa had been the alpha’s mate, she had been shunned by the pack for her behavior.
Leon had been devastated. But he hid it for the sake of the pack and for his children. But she knew how much it hurt him, not only because he had loved her so much, but because it made him look weak as an Alpha.
Elsa returned to the pack eight months later, after Leon had tracked her and brought her back, but it hadn’t been the same between them. Or with Sophie. She tried to visit with her mom at least once a week, but it was difficult to see her. She looked so broken and sad, like a huge piece of her had been ripped out.
She knew she was being childish by bringing it up and by arguing with him like this, but sometimes she couldn’t help it. He was her father, but he hadn’t always been there for her. The welfare of the pack had always been more important than her needs. And sometimes those two things were in direct competition.
Like now.
“I didn’t come here to argue with you, Sophie. I came here concerned for you. To make sure that you weren’t making a big mistake.”
“Well, I’m not. You don’t have to worry about it. It’s been all taken care of. Kellen and I don’t have a relationship and don’t plan on having one.”
He stood and moved toward her. He lifted his arms up to hug her, but when she didn’t advance toward him, he patted her shoulder instead. “I’m glad we had this talk. Everything will work out for the best. You’ll see.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. If she formed the words she wanted, she knew her father would never forgive her. No matter their differences over the years, she wasn’t quite sure she could live with that. She wasn’t sure she was ready to give up the sanctity and safety of the pack, or the promise of a big family one day, for one man, no matter how amazing he may be or how incredible he made her feel.
“I’ll see you at the meeting later this month.” Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss on her cheek, patted her shoulder again and after slipping on his shoes, promptly left.
Angry but conflicted, Sophie stomped back into the kitchen to eat. Her stomach was beyond rumbling. When she was upset she liked to eat meat, the bloodier the better.
Ripping open the plastic covering the steak, she grabbed the meat in her hand and tore at it. She was too upset to cook the damn thing, or waste her time cutting it into small pieces. It always tasted better this way anyway.
As she ate she thought about Kellen. What she wouldn’t give to see him right now. To snuggle into his warmth and take comfort from the way he touched and kissed her. He made her feel extraordinary.
Worthwhile, and not because she was the alpha’s daughter. She knew he didn’t give a damn about any of that political nonsense. He wanted her. For her.
And that made a difference in her world. But was it enough to risk everything her life was based on?
Her mother had sacrificed everything for eight months of pleasure, but was she really willing to do the same? Sure, her father had taken her back when most in the pack called for her banishment. Would he make the same concessions for her? She didn’t know—and she wasn’t sure she really wanted to find out.
Chapter 17
The water pooling in the huge frond leaf overhead dripped down onto the brim of Kellen’s helmet.
It was raining again in Vietnam.
When didn’t it rain? It was the soggiest country he’d ever been to. Which was saying a lot, since he’d traveled to many places in the past eighty years.
Kellen wiped at the moisture beading on his forehead before it dribbled into his eyes and impeded his vision. Although he had superior eyesight even in the night, the claustrophobic dark of the jungle nearly suffocated him into inaction.
Sometimes he just wished he could sit in a tall tree overlooking everything and everyone and wait out this stupid war. To think he had even enlisted for this job.
“Psst, Falcon. Wake up, man, and hand me that charge.”
Startled from his crouch along the trail, Kellen handed a claymore mine to his squad sergeant.
The sergeant shoved the two prongs into the ground, underneath thick foliage, unrolled the detonator wire from it and then walked it in a squat across the trail to where Kellen was crouching. They would unravel the wire until they reached their position fifty yards away, where they would detonate the explosive when needed. It was the tenth booby trap they’d set in the past four hours.
Two platoons from Delta company were hunkered down about two miles from their position, preparing to mount an offensive against a group of Viet Cong that had retreated into a nearby village. Kellen and the sergeant were ensuring that any of those who escaped the village wouldn’t get away.
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