Chapter Twelve
“What in the hell happened last night?” Police Captain Vivian Harris demanded as she paced beside her desk.
Jane blew out a long breath. Aidan had gone back to Hell’s Gate after dropping her off at the police station. She’d immediately gone in to have a closed-door talk with her captain and now—
“Jane, how close did you come to dying?”
“I think as close as one can get.”
Vivian stopped pacing. Her eyes squeezed closed. “Dear God.”
Jane jumped to her feet. “I’m okay now. Better than okay.”
Vivian shook her head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have put you on this beat. Going up against paranormals when you’re human…what was I thinking?” Her eyes opened. “I’m sorry.”
Jane’s spine was ramrod straight. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I want this beat.” Even as Jane said the words, she realized they were true. She’d thought that the paranormal beat was a pain, that dealing with the monsters and their drama was her job because she was unlucky but…
That’s not true. “I know the score. I understand the monsters.”
Vivian’s sigh was sad. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be the one to clean up their messes.”
“I want to be the one.” And, again, it was true. Jane shook her head, struggling to fully understand the situation herself. “I know it’s dangerous and it’s crazy but…someone has to be in the middle.”
Vivian crossed her arms over her chest. As usual, she wore a finely cut suit. Her hair was twisted behind her head. No-nonsense Vivian Harris. The captain who could make everyone jump.
The secret werewolf.
And Jane’s…friend. Though she would never make the mistake of saying those words to Vivian’s face.
“I bridge the worlds, human and paranormal. I understand them both.” Because of Aidan, because of her own bloody past, Jane did. “I know what the victims feel like. The ones who survive…” She thought of the woman who’d been bitten by the vampire. And she thought of Alan Thatcher and his friend Travis Maller. “And the ones who don’t. I know what their families go through.” Because she’d gone through the same thing. “I can help them. I want to help them.”
And monsters…they weren’t all bad. Vivian certainly wasn’t. And even Garrison—she could understand him, too. The guy kept making big ass mistakes with his life, but Garrison wasn’t evil, not by a long shot. His family had also been killed by vampires, and that attack had scarred him on the inside. He was trying to do his best to make the city safer.
His best was just…kind of off-beat. Slanted. Twisted?
“I want to do this job,” Jane added. She almost couldn’t believe she was saying those words, but they were true. She wanted to keep working this beat. She wanted to give justice to Alan and Travis. And as for the werewolf who’d attacked her? I want to stop him, too. She would stop him.
Besides, she was currently riding a high on the whole new and improved version of herself. Maybe Aidan was right and the side effects of his blood donations would be temporary, but until they wore off, she’d enjoy the bonus of extra strength and some sensory enhancements.
“I don’t want to lose a good detective,” Vivian said. Her brows climbed as she studied Jane. “Because I’d miss you like hell if that happened.”
Jane smiled. “Don’t worry, captain. I’m not going anywhere.” The rogue werewolf won’t get another swipe at me.
“All right.” Vivian straightened. “Then I won’t argue with you.”
Good.
“I’ve got the news covered for now,” Vivian continued briskly. “They’re running with the story of the mugger. Get over to the ME’s office—you’re the one who can light the best fire under Dr. Bob. The guy is being freaking slow as molasses on this case. I don’t know what he was doing all night….”
Jane winced. “He was patching me up. Sorry.”
Vivian looked a bit taken back.
“I’ll get right over there,” Jane added quickly. “I’m sure he’s completed the exam by now.” She hurried for the door.
“Jane.”
She looked back.
“I’m very glad you’re all right.”
Jane smiled at her. “Me, too.” She opened the door. Hurried toward the bullpen and…if she hadn’t still had the enhanced hearing, Jane was sure she would have missed Vivian’s low whisper as the captain said…
“I would have hated having to kill you if you’d become a vamp.”
Jane kept walking, not letting on that she’d heard that last bit, but her heart was suddenly doing a double-time rhythm and her palms were sweating.
Dammit, people needed to not whisper shit when she was around.
***
The police station was busy. Reporters were swarming the steps. Their news vans were all over the place, and he even caught a glimpse of the pretty blond news anchor who’d been broadcasting so damn annoyingly earlier in the day. The blond woman stood in front of the station, a small microphone hooked to her shirt, and her expression grave as she spoke into the camera just four feet in front of her.
Bitch.
The station doors flew open behind the reporter. A woman with dark hair and wearing a battered jacket hurried down the steps. His eyes widened when he realized…
Detective Jane Hart.
What the actual hell? The woman was looking far too hale and hearty. He’d clawed her insides out. Sure, she might, might have been able to survive the night, but no way should she just be running around as if nothing had happened to her.
Not unless…
What are you, Detective Hart?
He took a step forward, intending to follow her but then those station doors opened wide one more time.
The reporters pretty much turned at once as they focused on Police Captain Vivian Harris. The prey I intended to find this morning. Before he’d gotten distracted by the sight of a too-normal Detective Hart.
Harris waved her hand toward the reporters. “I have another statement to offer regarding our ongoing investigation into the murders of two area men in the St. Louis cemetery…”
She’s distracting them so that Detective Hart can slip away. No one else had even seemed to notice the dark-haired detective.
He should give chase. He should—
“The coward who is killing in our streets will be stopped. We have new leads that have developed—”
He didn’t hear the rest of what she’d just said. Coward. Coward. His hands fisted. His claws itched to spring out. He would show her a fucking coward. A growl built in his throat as he focused his fury on his prey.
Vivian Harris.
His next victim. I’ve got the perfect cemetery spot already picked out for you.
***
Aidan knocked once on the door of the Voodoo Shop. He could hear movement from inside, and he knew that Annette was in there. He didn’t hear anyone else, though, so he figured she wasn’t with a customer. A good thing because he needed to talk to her, right the hell then.
The door opened. Annette lifted her brows at him. “Alpha, it’s only been a few hours. Did you miss me?”
He growled.
“Always growling. So not sexy.” She sighed and motioned him inside. “Never can just come for a friendly little visit, can you?”
“Are we friends?” Now he was genuinely curious.
“I have no clue.” She turned and headed into her private room in the back. He followed and, once inside, his gaze fell on her black scrying mirror.
“It’s showing me nothing today,” Annette announced glumly. “And I’ve looked. Over and over, I looked.”
His fingers rubbed at the ache in the back of his neck. “You were right.”
Surprise flashed on her face. “Want to admit that again? A lot louder? And maybe wait until I can grab my phone and record this important moment?”
He exhaled on a rough sigh. “Jane’s…different. Stronger. Her senses are sharper. My blood did something to her.” His hand fell back to his side. “I came to you because I need to know how long that something will last.”
Her fingers tapped over her mirror. “I told you, I’m seeing nothing in here today. I keep trying to call up Jane’s future, but nothing is there.”
A chill skated down Aidan’s spine.
“Maybe I’m just tired,” she muttered. “Some alpha and his goon, Paris, did keep me up all night. I’ll rest a bit and try again later.” Before he could speak, she lifted her hand. “If I see anything, you’ll be the first to know about it.”
“Thank you.” But he still hesitated. “The vampire—Vincent—he just appears and disappears at will. And I don’t catch his scent, not until it’s too late.”
“I’m not helping him,” she said immediately, as if he’d just accused her.
“No, I didn’t think that you were but…” And this was nagging at him. “It’s not like you’re the only one who can work magic in the world.”
Her expression was guarded “You think he has his own voodoo queen?”
“Doesn’t have to be Voodoo. Could be a witch. Could be a demon.”
Fear flashed in her eyes. “I’ve thought the same thing.”
“A whole lot exists in this world. We’re just scratching the surface, you and I both know it.” He tilted his head as he studied her. “Have you felt a surge of magic in this city? Since he’s been here?” If so, that would sure give credence to the idea that someone might be helping the vamp. Hell, someone had to be working spells around him. Vamps didn’t just…vanish.
But how old is he? The oldest vamp Aidan had ever encountered had been two hundred.
“I…looked in my mirror yesterday, to see more about him,” Annette confessed.
She didn’t add more.
“And?” he prompted. Come on, Annette, don’t hold back.
She licked her lower lip. “I saw him on a Viking ship. His hair was long, braided, and he had a…a big ax in his hand.”
“You’re telling me this guy was a Viking? How do you even know you saw the right vamp? You haven’t met Vincent—or I thought you hadn’t and—”
“I know it was him. Big, your size. Dark hair. Square jaw. Broken nose, a little hawkish. High cheeks. Even has a little dimple in his chin.”
Okay, fuck, that sounded like Vincent. She’d noticed details about the guy he hadn’t even thought of, not until she’d spoken. Because I was focusing on not killing him, and not staring at his damn face.
“After he attacked Garrison, Paris brought me some of the vamp’s blood. Seems Jane shot him and a few drops were at the scene. I used those to see his past.”
A very, very old past. “With vampires, age brings strength.”
“On that ship, with that ax…I saw the vampire you call Vincent die.” Her finger was making a swirling motion on the scrying mirror. Almost a circle, but…not quite. “He was run through by an enemy. Only he didn’t stay dead.”
Fuck me. “I already suspected he was a born vampire, too.” But his gaze was on her finger. “What are you drawing?”
She blinked, as if surprised. “I-I don’t know.”
He grabbed a piece of paper from her desk. Snagged a pen. “Draw it again.”
Hesitant now, she did. “It’s an image that came to me when I saw Vincent rise as a vampire. I didn’t even really think about it much.” Her brow crinkled as she drew. “So many images fill my head. If I didn’t filter most of them out, I’d go crazy.” Her voice had thickened as she made that confession. “Here. This thing. This is what I saw, okay?”
Not okay.
“A horseshoe,” she said. “It could mean anything.”
“It’s not a horseshoe. It’s the Greek letter Omega.”
A tremble slid over her. “The end.”
“Not on my watch it’s not.” But why had Annette seen it when she scried Vincent’s past? Before he could push her for more information, there was a sharp rap on her shop’s front door. His nostrils twitched but he caught the familiar scent of their visitor.
“Your guard dog is spending way too much time here,” Annette murmured, obviously also knowing who the visitor was. “You could try keeping him away. I’m not a threat to you.”
His gaze dipped to her face. “Maybe Paris stays near you for an entirely different reason. One that doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
Surprise widened her eyes, and he heard the quick hitch in her breathing.
Maybe try scrying that, Annette. Aidan had long known that Paris was interested in Annette. But, back then, Annette had been involved with another wolf. One who’d turned homicidal.
He’s dead and buried. Annette and Paris are both living. And something tells me Paris won’t stand by and watch her go to another again.
Paris let himself inside the shop and he hurried into the back room, obviously having decided that neither Annette nor Aidan were going to invite him inside. “Was just coming up the steps out there,” he said, voice a bit breathless. “When I got the call.” He still had his phone gripped in his hand. “We found Drew.”
Drew. Jane’s brother. The name clicked immediately for Aidan.
“He was actually in Birmingham, Alabama, but the guy is here now. He’s at Hell’s Gate. Garrison has watch over the guy.”
Fuck. Garrison watching? That scenario had trouble written all over it. But if Drew was in town, then it was time for the siblings to be reunited. Jane had asked for her brother. Aidan would make sure that she got him.
***
The ME’s office was cold—as usual—and it smelled of antiseptic and bleach. Again—as usual. Jane strode inside, and her eyes narrowed when she realized that Dr. Bob’s desk was empty.
“Dr. Bob!” Jane called but then her nose twitched.
In the back. She hurried to the exam area, pushing open the door and then striding back to the storage locker section.
Dr. Bob was just closing one locker.
“Knew you were back here,” she said, a bit impressed with herself. Even over the bleach, she’d smelled the guy’s too expensive after shave.
Dr. Bob gave a quick cry and spun around. His hand went to his chest. “Sweet hell, Jane! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
She frowned. “I thought you heard me coming.”
“No, because you didn’t make a sound.” He straightened his lab coat. “But at least it’s just you and not the alpha, too. That guy—how can you seriously be involved with him? He’s bad news.”
“Don’t push me.”
But he lifted his hand and pointed his index finger at her. “I got something you’re going to want to see. Just got the reports back.” He bustled by her, muttering, “Don’t push me. Don’t push me? I’m the only one who knows how dangerous this shit is! Not like you can play nicely with a werewolf…”
“Dr. Bob.” A warning edge entered her voice. “Just so we’re clear. I love Aidan.”
He picked up a folder. The folder trembled a bit in his hand. “I know. That’s part of the problem.” He offered the file to her. “Read this.”
She did. She actually read it twice because she was sure she had to be mistaken. Then she shoved the file back at the ME. “That’s wrong. Run the test again—”
“It is not wrong. I am not wrong.” Now he sounded insulted. “There was wolf fur found on the deceased.”
“Aidan wasn’t in wolf form at the cemetery. He hadn’t shifted.” She glowered at him. “So you’re wrong, okay? He tried to help Travis Maller, not attack him or—”
“I never said he attacked. And I also never said it was his fur.”
The ticking of the clock on the right wall was suddenly very, very loud.
“I have a sample of Aidan’s DNA on file. I ran it against this specimen.” Dr. Bob was watching her with a very guarded expression. “They weren’t matches, Jane. I knew this wasn’t Aidan’s fur. I never told you it was.”
“But only alpha werewolves can transform. Aidan told me that.”
Dr. Bob nodded. “He told me the same thing when I first learned the truth.”
“You’re saying that our killer is an alpha?”
“Yes. Aidan isn’t the only alpha in town. And, sooner or later, the new beast will come for him. Isn’t that the way it works?”
She had no clue. But she would be finding out. Jane stumbled back. She grabbed her phone. Dialed Aidan immediately.
Pick up. Pick up.
“What’s wrong, Jane?” Aidan asked when he answered after the first ring.
“Bob says the killer is an alpha.”
Static crackled over the line. Hell, she never got good reception in that place. Jane rushed for the door. “Did you hear me, Aidan? Dr. Bob says the killer—he’s just like you.”
But Aidan didn’t speak.
“Hello?” She hurried through the building.
There was no connection. Just silence.
“Hello?”
Dammit. She ran outside, her finger sliding across her screen as she prepared to dial again.
***
Aidan paused in front of Hell’s Gate, his hand tight around his phone. Had Jane just said that another alpha was hunting?
Impossible. Not in this town. There were no other alphas in his pack.
But maybe that’s why all of my wolves are checking out when I question them. Maybe none of them are killing.
Another wolf…someone new in town…
His phone rang again. Jane’s beautiful face popped up on his screen. She’d been in bed with him when he took that picture. He put the phone to his ear when he answered the call. “Jane.”
“Aidan!” Jane’s voice was tight with worry. “Did you hear me? Dr. Bob said—”
“There’s another alpha in town.”
“Yes.” Her breath heaved out the line. “What happens now? What does it mean to have two of you in the area?”
“He is nothing like me.” With an effort, Aidan kept his voice flat.
There was a pause. “Aidan, you know I didn’t mean that.”
Yes, he did. “I’m sorry.” But he was worried. Because if there was an alpha in town… “He’ll have to challenge me. Since he’s not of my family…” I have no family. “Alphas who aren’t related fight for territory. If he’s in my city, killing under my watch, then there’s only one way for this to end,” he told her grimly.
I have to kill him.
“I need to know more about alphas,” Jane said. “Look, I mean, when do you guys first start shifting into the body of a beast? When does all this happen?”
“Around twenty-one.” When a boy finally became a man, the beast slipped out.
“That’s…that’s college age.” Her voice had turned thoughtful. “Travis and Alan were both college students. They knew each other. They knew him.”
“Jane?”
“I bet the killer went to school with him.” She was talking fast now. “I need to get back to Tulane. I want to search the campus again.”
“Jane, that’s a bad idea. Wait for me.”
“Well, get your ass to Tulane and meet me.”
“I…have to see someone first.” His gaze was locked on the entrance to Hell’s Gate. “You need to see him, too. Come to my bar.”
“Aidan, I have a lead. I need to follow this lead before someone else winds up dead.”
That was Jane. Being the hero again.
While I’m used to being the villain.
“My guards are tailing me. It’s broad daylight. And, yeah, by the way, notice I’m not bitching about having guards during the day? I’m compromising.”
His lips twitched.
“I’m compromising,” Jane said again, “and I’m doing my job. Before I head to the campus, I’ll switch to silver bullets.” Her breath rushed over the line once more. “Just meet me at Tulane as fast as you can, okay? If our killer is an alpha and he’s there, you’ll spot him.”
Yes, he would. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Great. And…Aidan?” Her voice hitched a bit. “I love you.”
The call ended.
I love you, too.
Aidan shoved the phone into his pocket. He squared his shoulders. Then he headed into Hell.
***
She was being followed.
Vivian Harris paused at the street corner, her gaze trekking slowly around the area. Something was off. The hair on the nape of her neck was rising.
I’m being hunted.
And if there was one thing a werewolf understood, it was the hunt.
Once more, she let her stare sweep around the street. Only no one stood out to her as threatening. Not the elderly man walking his dog. Not the two teen girls posing for selfies in front of the beignet shop. Not the young boy break dancing for tip money near the souvenir shop.
Where are you?
The threat was out there. Her nostrils flared and she pulled in the scents of the city. But…
The light changed. She took her time crossing the street. Tension had gathered in her body and it took all of Vivian’s self-control not to let her claws burst out. But instead of using her claws, she reached inside her jacket. Her fingers curled around her gun and she slipped it from her holster.
You’ll find that I’m not easy prey. She knew these streets so very well. Knew how to hide. And how to hunt.
Vivian slipped into a small space between two buildings. Not an alley. Far too small for that. She flattened herself against the nearest wall. Then she waited.
Footsteps rushed toward her. Vivian’s eyes turned to slits. She barely breathed as the unknown assailant rushed into that little space after her…
Vivian attacked. She grabbed her prey, shoved the would-be attacker against the brick wall, and Vivian put her weapon underneath the chin of the—
Reporter?
Vivian froze. She was staring straight into the terrified eyes of news anchor Sarah Steele. She had her gun aimed right between those terrified blue eyes.
“Please,” Sarah barely breathed the word. Her blond hair fluttered over her shoulders. “Don’t shoot me. I just…I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Dammit. “You don’t sneak up on someone like that! Got it?” Vivian started to lower her weapon. This was going to be a PR nightmare. “You want an interview, you ask like a normal person. You—”
Sarah’s eyes seemed to bulge from her head. A high, desperate squeak burst from her lips.
“What is it now?” Vivian demanded, disgusted.
Then she realized…Sarah was looking over her shoulder.
But I didn’t hear anyone else coming behind me. I didn’t smell anyone. I didn’t—
She spun around, trying to lift up her gun, but there was no time.
Claws sliced across her wrist and the weapon flew to the ground.
***
Two bitches for the price of one.
He carried them, one at a time, and dumped them in his ride. The captain had thought she was so smart when she’d taken shelter between the two buildings. He was smarter. He’d let the reporter distract Vivian, then he’d moved in.
And he’d made sure to use his vehicle to block the small space between those two old buildings. With his vehicle positioned there, no one could see what he was doing. No one saw the blood or the unconscious women.
It was his lucky day. To get both of them. Just like this…
Perfect.
Vivian Harris was out cold. He’d carved her up a little too much. But the reporter…
Her eyes were already fluttering open. He leaned over her and smiled. “Hello, Sarah Steele.” He made sure to flash his fangs at her. “Guess what? You just scored yourself an exclusive.”