Chapter 13
“So what the hell was that all about?” Cara asked Sheriff Ducat, pointing her thumb in the direction of Kane’s exit. “You want to tell me why you two were discussing me and how I became Kane’s business?”
The sheriff’s gaze spoke of his annoyance. He hated being caught with his pants around his ankles. Cara knew that Sheriff Ducat and the Sons had an unspoken agreement and were in bed together. But that didn’t make Ducat happy for anyone to be privy to the fact.
“Don’t get all worked up over nothing, Brahnam. Kane wants to see you’re protected is all.”
“Since when did he drop off the suspect list?” Cara’s tone rose, angry that the sheriff was now in on the fact she needed the biker’s protection. “I’m now being protected by a murder suspect? Doesn’t that cross you as a bit odd? Come on, Sheriff, you can’t seriously think I would be better off under the OMC’s care.”
She was tired of being thought of as helpless, even though in this instance she might very well be. So then why was she fighting Kane’s offer of protection so whole-heartedly? Because she feared being alone with him, and not because he was high on the suspect list. She just hoped Kane was correct and his brothers would do a damn good job of keeping them apart. The last thing she needed was to be caught in a moment of weakness again.
“We aren’t even sure he’s innocent of murdering these three women in cold blood. And yet you hand me over, someone who matches the look of the dead victims, to the man who very well may have drained them of their blood. Hell, Sheriff, why not just take out your gun and shoot me yourself?”
The sheriff leaned back in his chair, his face tired and deflated. These cases seemed to have aged him, the worry lines in his forehead were much more pronounced, as were the frown lines between the bridge of his nose. She knew the pressure to solve these cases was much harder on him, not to mention the promise of the State Police and Forensic Services Division coming to Lane County. Cara and her partner could look like boobs in the investigation with little fallout, but these unsolved cases could cost Sheriff Ducat his next election.
Maybe her outburst had been unwarranted.
Cara braced her hands on the top of Ducat’s desk, not a paper covering the fine oak surface. Ducat was OCD when it came to his office. On hers, however, you couldn’t find the desk surface.
“Look, I’m sorry and you didn’t deserve my tirade. But where Kane is concerned these days, you can’t blame me if I’m a bit defensive.”
“You really think he might be involved in these murders?” The sheriff cleared his throat. “You should know I would never willingly put you in danger, Cara.”
She took a seat opposite the sheriff and sighed heavily. “I know you wouldn’t. And I don’t know what to think where the president of the Sons is concerned. We have the State wanting to come here and look over our shoulders, thanks to Tab’s murder and her father thinking we aren’t doing our jobs.”
“Are you doing everything you can to solve this thing?”
“Of course, Hernandez and I are, sir. I want this son of a bitch caught more than anyone.”
“So what Kane is saying is true then.”
The last thing she wanted was Ducat privy to her believing in vampires. Surely, he didn’t know. Or did he?
“What’s true?”
“That you’re in danger.”
She shrugged, not being able to form the lie. Besides, had the sheriff bothered to read the reports on her recent break in, he’d know about the threat on her bathroom mirror. Had he been so preoccupied he hadn’t heard about it? Or had he brushed it off as a nothing more than a pissed-off convict wanting to put a little scare into her? Either way—he should have known.
“My house was broken into Thursday.”
He nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, Cara, I’ve been so busy, but I should have asked you about that. I haven’t read the report yet. Any clues?”
“Not yet. I don’t think anything was taken. There was a threat aimed at me written on my mirror. I believe that was in the report as well.”
The sheriff’s complexion reddened. “I didn’t read the full report and Hernandez hadn’t elaborated. The threat was aimed at you specifically?”
“The message said, ‘Open your eyes … and believe. Your turn to die.’”
Sheriff Ducat pursed his lips as he rubbed his chin, clearly perplexed. “Believe what?”
Maybe he didn’t know Kane and his brothers were blood-sucking vampires after all.
“I don’t know.” Cara thought it best not to expound her knowledge to the sheriff. She could see a straight jacket in her future. “But the ‘shall die’ part, is pretty clear. And not only that—”
“There’s more? Why wasn’t there a second report?”
“I didn’t report it. It just happened. I woke up this morning and discovered someone had been in my room while I was asleep.”
The sheriff’s complexion deepened in color. “What the hell? Who?”
“I don’t know. At first I thought it was Kane when he showed up at my house early this morning. But he swears it wasn’t.”
“What do you think?”
Cara took in a deep breath. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think it was Kane either. I believe him.”
“Which is the entire reason Kane wants you moved out of your house and under someone’s protection.”
She smiled sadly. “Not someone’s … his. And he’s not taking no for an answer. For some reason, he thinks he’s the only one who can protect me.”
“You want to stay at my house for a while? I can talk to Alice about it. We have an extra room now that the kids are all off to college. It wouldn’t be a burden and you wouldn’t have a biker hovering over you.”
“Thanks, but no.” Cara couldn’t involve two more innocent people in this twisted nightmare she found herself a part of. Like it or not, Kane was her only sole choice. If this primordial vampire was real, then Kane and the Sons were her only hope at staying alive. “I’m going to take Kane up on his offer. If this threat on my life is real, I don’t want Alice, or you for that matter, to get hurt.”
Cara knew the sheriff would agree. He adored his wife and wouldn’t want to put her in jeopardy.
He cleared his throat. “If that’s your decision.”
“It is.”
“I hate like hell to put you in an uncomfortable position, Cara, but I’m confident the Sons will keep you safe … that is, if this threat is real and not a prank by some young punk or thug you might have brought in.” Ducat tapped his desk. “I’ll have some of the deputies go through your past cases. See if anyone you arrested was recently released, someone who might have a beef with you. We’ll catch this guy. You won’t have to stay under the protection of the Sons for long.”
“Check with Higgins. Hernandez had him looking into my past cases last I knew. I do hope something turns up and soon. Staying at the Sons’ clubhouse and under Kane’s protection isn’t going to set well with all the Sons.”
Lord, how the hell did she get herself into such a mess? Stay with the Sons of Sangue? She had to be battier than the nut who wrote on her mirror to even consider such a proposal from Kane Tepes.
Living under the same roof with the sexiest man alive was downright dangerous in itself, not to mention a whole coven of vampires. Maybe instead of heading for the clubhouse at night fall, she should just head for the state mental hospital and check herself in.
* * *
“It’s a Saturday, Brahnam. Don’t you want to take some time off?” Hernandez asked, glancing up as Cara entered their small office.
It looked like Joe had already been hard at work with papers and manila files littering the desk surface, quite the contrast to Sheriff Ducat’s. Pictures of the dead women were push-pinned to the corkboard adjacent to their work surface, with not a single suspect tacked up. Cara approached the folders on Joe’s desk and withdrew a photo of Kane.
She had meant to get an earlier start, but due to Kane’s unexpected visit and her chat with the sheriff, she had gotten to the office much later than intended. As for giving up her day off, it wasn’t like Cara had anything more pressing than the cases they worked. After all, who did she have at home waiting? She glanced down at the picture in her hand, but quickly shook off the notion that he might actually be waiting for her. Arriving at the clubhouse at dark would be soon enough to deal with her conflicting emotions. She needed to keep her mind on her job and not her rising libido. Spending too much time in Kane’s company had a very dangerous effect on her. Cara felt as if she were on a slippery slope with nothing much to grab onto to stop her decent.
Nightfall would come soon enough, but first Cara planned to stop by the nursing home and take her grandfather a piece of peanut butter pie, following her day at the office. It had been a week since she last seen him and she could use the added distraction. He’d undoubtedly give her hell the minute she walked into the room. Cara smiled. She loved her grandfather’s spunk. That’s what kept him alive and kicking at ninety-two.
“I could ask you the same thing, Hernandez. You got a wife and kids at home waiting for you. Why the hell are you here?”
“Let’s see, spend the day with the kids fighting and my wife pulling her hair out or working the case. Yeah, tough decision.”
Cara chuckled. “You know I don’t believe that for a New York minute. You adore your wife and kids.”
Glancing back at the photo of Kane, Cara walked over to the corkboard, pulled out a silver pushpin and pinned his photo, front and center.
“Wow.” Joe sat back in his seat and stared at the board, a smile of satisfaction rose on his lips. “Are you really ready to call him a suspect, Brahnam?”
Cara stepped back and viewed her handiwork. “We have anyone else?”
“Nope.”
“Then at this point, Kane is our only suspect,” she said, not voicing the fact she was handing herself over to him later this evening. For now, she’d keep that between her, Kane and the sheriff. Besides, what better way to keep an eye on him? “I’m still not sold on the fact he did it. But at this point we have little else. I just want to keep a close eye on him and his band of outlaws.”
“I can’t argue. I’ve been saying that all along.”
“I know, Joe.” Though, she wasn’t ready to fully commit to the idea either. “You find anything else that might stand out in these files?”
He shook his head. “Nothing really. But I think we should visit Tom’s Deli about suppertime.”
Cara narrowed her gaze, a frown creasing the bridge of her nose. “You needing a supper companion?”
Joe laughed heartily. “Appealing, Brahnam. At least it would be a quiet meal for once. But, no, I was thinking of interviewing some of the customers. See if maybe anyone saw someone making a call from their cell near the restaurant. Our uniforms didn’t turn up anyone, but by the time they arrived, the supper crowd had departed.
“The cell phone they retrieved was reported stolen several days ago and wiped free of prints. The only call made after the call had been reported stolen was to the S.O.”
“Visiting at suppertime, we might catch the same crowd,” Cara said, likely voicing what Joe had been thinking. “You sure you don’t want to head home and catch up with me later?”
“Nope. I’m yours for the day. Char and the kids are going shopping. I really didn’t want to spend the day at the mall.” His gaze turned serious. “You have any other problems at your house since the break in?” he asked, changing the subject.
Cara shook her head, not ready to reveal last night’s intruder. Besides, that brought up her conversation with Kane, and she wasn’t about to let Joe in on the fact he had shown up at her house at the break of dawn. Or the fact that she could have easily fallen into bed with him. What the hell was wrong with her? She needed to get a handle on her libido and come to the realization that Kane might very well have killed these three innocent women. She would do well to keep her guard up and her enemy close.
As though knowing where her thoughts were, Joe said, “How about we pay Kane another visit today?”
Her gaze snapped to his. “For what purpose?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe lean on him some more. I think the bastard knows more than he’s telling us. There’s no way he and his brother, Kaleb, were out for a joyride two nights ago. You and I both know that. And yet we take their word for it?”
“We took their statement, Joe,” Cara said, annoyed he would think she’d take their word verbatim. “That doesn’t mean we believe them. There’s a big difference.”
“Then I say we visit the clubhouse and question Kane again.” A smile grew on Joe’s face. “Besides, I kind of like annoying the hell out of him.”
Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the clubhouse parking lot. Three motorcycles sat to the left of the building. Kane, Kaleb, and Grayson looked to be inside. Cara bet at least two of the three were still asleep. She already knew Kane was up … unless he had gone to bed following his visit to the S.O. If Joe enjoyed harassing him, waking him up ought to accomplish that in spades. Cara wasn’t sure whether to bask in Kane’s misery or her own, should he take it out on her when she returned for the evening.
Joe opened the passenger side door to her Dodge and climbed out before she had a chance to turn the key off and cut the engine. He headed for the scarred front door with one purpose in mind: pissing off the biker. Cara unfastened her seat belt, climbed out of the car and jogged up the beaten path behind him, dread sitting in her stomach like a rock. Kane swung the door inward after Joe’s incessant pounding, the look on his face none too friendly, even when he turned it on Cara.
“Let me guess, social call?” Kane grumbled, his glare centered on Cara and ignoring her partner altogether.
By the look of his sexy bed-ridden hair, she’d bet Kane had been sleeping upon their arrival. No wonder he seemed to have a continuous stream of women. One look at him and she was mighty tempted to join him in that bed herself.
Whoa, Brahnam … Mind on case.
As though knowing the path of her thoughts, Kane ran a hand through his mussed hair. His scowl turned to a smirk as he winked at her. Damn him for the insight. Arrogant bastard. Her face heated, no doubt reddening her cheeks.
“Look, Mister Tepes—”
“Don’t you two have something better to do … like catch a murderer?”
“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do,” Joe said with a cocksure smile. “And you need to let us do our job.”
“Are you here to arrest me?”
“No, not yet anyway.” Joe pulled out his small tablet and pen from his jacket pocket. “We’re here to ask you a few more questions. Like why you were really out on North Fork Road the night we got the tip about the dumped body in Bender Landing County Park.”
“Joyriding. Last time I checked, it wasn’t a crime.”
“Cut the bullshit,” Cara said, stepping past Joe and jamming her forefinger into his sternum. “You and I both know that’s not the reason you and Kaleb were out there. Visibility that night wouldn’t have been great for sightseeing.”
“I assure you, Detective, I had no problems with my vision that night.”
“Did you stop near Bender Landing County Park?”
“No.”
Cara narrowed her gaze. “I think you’re lying.”
Kane stepped closer, leaning forward so their noses nearly touched. “Prove it.”
“You see, Mister Tepes—”
Kane chuckled when she placed her palm on his chest and shoved. Though her effort wouldn’t have made him budge, he backed up anyway and gave her some much needed breathing room.
“So formal, Cara? You can call me Kane, or Viper if you choose … but we’re way past the formalities.”
Hell, she’d much prefer picking up her tail and running as far away from him as possible. Being this close to the man, or vampire, or whatever the hell he was, played havoc on her senses. Mind on case, Brahnam. Could she help it if the man was a walking, wet dream?
Cara sighed, then said, “We have footprints leading back to the area where the body was found.”
“You have casts? Then match it to my boot and prove I was there. But considering the amount of rain we had that night, I’m betting your evidence washed down the hill. How far off am I?”
If Joe hadn’t been standing mere feet behind her, she might have pummeled his smug chest. Kane knew she bluffed and that they had no evidence at all to point to him or Kaleb having been at that site before they arrived to cordon off the area. But someone had been digging up that body and messing with the crime scene, and she would bet her grandfather’s life that it was either Kane or Kaleb. The brothers, no doubt, covered for one another. Call it intuition, but she knew.
At Kane’s obvious lake of respect, Joe started to step around her. But Cara held out her arm, staying her partner. She wouldn’t allow Kane to think he could best her or that she needed her partner to go to battle for her. Besides, where would Joe be tonight when she showed back up at the clubhouse under Kane’s protection?
“You know, Mister Tepes,” —she stuck with formality since he said he preferred her not to— “you aren’t helping your case if you are in fact innocent by not cooperating.”
His gaze darkened, and Cara swore she could see just hint of the obsidian-like glass his eyes turned to in his vampire state. “Just so you know, Detective, I am cooperating. If I weren’t, you’d still be pounding on the fucking door.”
“Then why lie about being at the scene.”
“You haven’t proven I was, therefore you can’t make the assumption I’m lying.”
“Someone was out there. That much we know. Someone disturbed the make-shift gravesite … maybe someone who had a stake in this.”
“And what stake would I have?”
“She was your girlfriend.”
“I thought we already established that I didn’t have a girlfriend. Don’t embellish the facts or put your own spin on the truth. She was someone I fucked on occasion. And that’s all she was to me.”
“So did you get rid of the annoyance?”
Kane’s brow furrowed. “Now what direction has your inquisitive little mind taken you? Why the hell would I want to rid myself of a good piece of ass?”
“Was she?”
He laughed, humor twinkling in his gaze. “Why would you or your case care whether my last fuck was any good?”
“Because if she were, then maybe you wouldn’t have killed her.”
“Or maybe you have a personal interest.”
Cara looked briefly at Joe to see his reaction. She couldn’t tell if her partner was angry at her for the line of questioning going south or mad at the biker for insinuating she might be jealous. She certainly hoped for the latter or she’d have a lot of explaining to do.
“You live in a dream world, Mister Tepes, one where every blonde haired, blue-eyed woman cannot resist you.”
He raised one brow. “I haven’t found one yet who could.”
“Then your ego is inflated, because this blonde is resistant to your charms.”
His smile widened. He didn’t believe her. And why should he? She hadn’t given him any reason to. No, just mere hours ago she damn near gave him everything he desired from her.
“Let’s get back to the questions, Viper,” Joe growled, his temper showing.
“That’s Mister Tepes to you, asshole.” Kane’s humor quickly retreated. “Ask your questions, then get the fuck off my property. But if you even start with whether I was at Bender Landing County Park the night in question, you should know, my answer hasn’t changed.”
“And my belief that you were there hasn’t either,” Joe retorted.
“Then we’re at a standstill. It’s your job to prove I was, Detective. Why not go do your job?” Kane glanced back at Cara. “And unless you can prove I had anything to do with Tab’s murder, or that I even had a motive, I suggest you find someone else to harass. I’m done here.”
With that, he shut the door in their faces. A complete waste of time, Cara thought. Not to mention they had probably put Kane in one hell of a mood, for which she would likely pay later. Cara let out a steady stream of air, turned on the step and headed for her vehicle, hoping that Joe would let the innuendoes go without question.
* * *
“Where the hell have you been?” Cara’s grandfather griped, his voice raspy from years of smoking, even before she passed through the open doorway, a slice of his favorite peanut butter pie in hand.
The late afternoon sun poured through the opened, west-facing window as a cool, fall breeze caused the tan sheers to float softly across the tiled floor. She had been running late, due to the busy supper crowd at Tom’s Deli. Joe and Cara put their time to good use. After a filling supper, they interviewed the crowd. Finding someone who might have seen a person dropping the cell phone used to call the S.O. across the street two days prior, though, didn’t happen. Had it not been for the great food, Cara would have called it a complete bust. She purchased a slice of pie to go and parted ways with Joe.
“You know some of us have to work for a living, Grandpa,” she said with a smile as she bussed his cheek and laid the pie on the dinner tray, still sitting on the bedside table next to him. A roast beef open-faced sandwich, dripping with brown gray, and a perfectly rounded scoop of potatoes appeared all but untouched. “Doesn’t look like you ate much for supper.”
“‘Cause I was waiting for that pie. I had to save room, you know.” He patted his slightly rounded belly. “Watching my figure for the ladies.”
Cara chuckled. “They don’t stand a chance with you around, Grandpa. And if you don’t learn to eat better, you won’t have the energy to chase them.”
She took a seat on the edge of the bed, grasping her grandfather’s weathered hand. The veins stood out in contrast from his brittle bones; the skin-covering seemed to get more loose and transparent every day. She knew her grandfather’s years were numbered and she wanted to cherish each and every one of them. After all, to her, he was the last of her family. Cara turned his hand over. A dark bruise marred his right wrist. At his age, it didn’t take much to purple his delicate skin. She rubbed the injured area.
“Where did you get this one from?”
“Getting out of bed.” He glanced at the wrist she held. Cara knew he loved the close bond they shared. “They put those bed rails up every night like I’m some damn child.”
“They don’t want you falling out of bed, Grandpa.” Cara smiled. “If a bump caused this bruise, imagine what a fall would do. Don’t you be giving these ladies a hard time here. They take good care of you. I can’t be looking for a new home for you, one that would be willing to put up with your old cranky ass. I have a job to do.”
“Bah! Cranky! You go right ahead and find me a new place, missy. These gals don’t give me no slices of peanut butter pie! That’s for sure.”
Cara laughed again. “Then you best be nice to me or I won’t bring them either.”
“Ain’t it a Saturday?”
“You know it is, Grandpa. I come every Saturday evening to see you.”
“You should pick another day.”
Cara smiled. She knew what was coming. He never stopped chiding her about not having a man in her life.
“Saturday is for courting. You should be out on a date.”
“Don’t worry, Grandpa. You aren’t taking some man’s time. I’m still not seeing anyone.”
His weathered brow creased. “You best stop playing so hard to get. You ain’t getting any younger and I ain’t dying until I get me a great-grandbaby. How about that nice detective you work with?”
“Joe?” Cara laughed. On occasion, Joe would stop in to see her grandfather, said he liked the old fart … made him laugh. “He’s already married. Don’t you be pushing me off on someone else’s man. I can get my own.”
“Well, you sure ain’t doing a very good job of it.”
Her grandfather picked up the remote, turned on the television set and changed the channel to the news. Settled, he reached for the pie and began taking large bites.
“You best not fill yourself with dessert. You need to eat some roast beef, too, old man.”
“Who you calling old?” he said around a mouthful. “I can still outrun you on a bad day.”
“I’d like to see that. You can barely get out of that chair.”
Finished with the pie, he set down the empty plate and turned to look at Cara, his gaze serious. “You need a man in your life, girlie. You can’t spend the rest of your life alone. I only have so many good years left. Then who’s going to take care of you?”
“I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for over ten years.”
He sighed, moisture misting his eyes. “Don’t I know it and it’s a damned shame. Your mother was a good-for-nothing whore. Worked your father to death and took every damn dime he had. Made too many excuses for that one, he did.”
“You don’t have tell me…,” She patted his weathered hand. “I lived it, remember?”
“Exactly why you need to find yourself a good man. You’ve had enough unhappiness in one lifetime. You deserve to have a nice family.”
Cara smiled, hugged his hand to her chest. She knew he meant well and only wanted the best for her. But finding a man hadn’t been a priority, let alone had she ever thought about the word family. She lived for her career, which didn’t provide her a lot of time for dating. Besides, the men she came across on a daily basis weren’t worth having. No, she was better off alone.
Kane came to mind.
Her nights were about to get a lot less lonely. She didn’t plan on telling her grandfather that, though. He’d likely want to meet him, Cara thought with a chuckle. But Grandpa wasn’t ready for the vampire.
“I have to go, Grandpa. There’s someplace I need to be tonight. I hope you don’t mind me cutting it short.”
“You going to see a man?”
“In fact, I am … but we’re just friends. Don’t you go getting no ideas.”
“Bah!” He waved his hand in the air. “No such thing as a man friend. You go. Don’t keep him waiting on my account.”
Cara kissed his cheek again. “I’ll be back next Saturday.”
“You come see me another night.” His nearly toothless grin always brightened her day. “You save Saturday for that new friend of yours.”
“Fine! No sense arguing with a bullhead.”
“Not when you know I’m right. Now get on, get out of here.”
Cara waved at him as she left the room, dread settling in her stomach as the sun began setting, casting an eerie glow down the long hallway to the entrance. Time had just about run out, and she had an angry vampire waiting for her.