Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 3) (39 page)

I couldn’t get Dante back on my own, and the man in front of me certainly wasn’t going to help. Melcher probably had a rule against negotiating with vampires.

He took a seat and stared at me across the desk. “Tell me everything that happened.”

Everything? Fat chance.

If Melcher refused to be candid with me, he could forget about getting the full story.

I had a greater appreciation for Noel’s deliberate omissions and Valerie’s attempts to manipulate the man.

I took a deep breath. “Earlier this morning, Giselle Morrel showed up at my house. As soon as I opened the door, she had a gun pointed at me. She forced Valerie and me into the living room.”

“What was Miss Ward doing there?” Melcher asked.

My chair groaned when I shifted my weight to the right.

“She received a text from Dante telling her to meet at my place.”

Melcher leaned forward. “And where is Dante?”

“Giselle has him.” My throat constricted.

Melcher frowned. “How did she manage that?”

“I don’t know.” And I didn’t like the way Melcher asked so disapprovingly, like Dante had somehow messed up—like we all had. The only reason any of us were in this mess was because of him.

“When’s the last time you saw Dante?”

“Last night, at Diederick’s tasting. He escorted me downstairs before heading to the third floor to do his undercover work.”

“What happened with your mission?” Melcher asked next. “The cleaners never received a call.”

Was Melcher for real? Dante had been kidnapped and Valerie stabbed, but he wanted to know why I hadn’t completed a stupid assignment?

I liked Selene. I never wanted to kill her, and I wasn’t sorry I hadn’t gotten the chance.

I straightened my back. “I never saw Selene.”

“Why did you leave before Dante?”

I tried glaring at Melcher, but I could never pull it off as naturally as Valerie.

“Henry was harassing me about Marcus’ death. He’s been hired to investigate, and he thinks I had something to do with it.”

Melcher’s frown deepened. “He approached you at the party about this?”

I nodded.

Melcher sat back in his chair, hands clasped together, looking off towards the wall.

“I’ll have another agent take care of him.” His head bobbed as if he was checking off a problem with his chin.

“Anyway, it was a little hard to maintain cover when a vampire was standing around accusing me of being a vampire hunter in the middle of a vampire party. So I left.”

“He put you in a rough spot,” Melcher conceded.

My handler had no idea. Henry had put me in a rough spot, all right. One that ended with Fane’s face between my legs.

I shifted to the left side of the chair. I needed to think about something else.

“How is Valerie?” I asked.

“She’s still unconscious, but she’ll make it through. Now, let’s get back to Miss Morrel. What did she want?”

“Jared.” My lips pulled back as I said his name.

“I figured as much,” Melcher said. “What exactly did she propose?”

“That I deliver Jared in exchange for Dante.” I didn’t mention Gavin. I figured Melcher wouldn’t care about the vampire, and neither did I. Gavin was on his own. Maybe he would even convince Giselle to release him when she realized he was one of her own. If she grabbed Dante at the party, she might believe he, too, was a vampire since that’s what he was posing as.

Melcher twisted his lips from side to side. “We can make this work to our advantage.”

I sat up. “How?”

As long as I got Dante back alive, I didn’t care whose advantage the situation worked towards.

Melcher lips curved up on one side. “We’ll give her Jared. We couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. Once we have her location, Jared can send Miss Morrel’s soul into the great beyond where it rightfully belongs.” Melcher rubbed his hands together. “I’ll call off all the informants I put on her. I’ve already wasted too many resources on Giselle.” Melcher reached for the receiver on his desk phone, lifting it in one quick motion to his ear. “Hello, Mandy. Send in Agents Parker and Hicks.”

I turned around in my seat as the door opened and two young men entered Melcher’s office. One of the guys had shaggy light brown hair that stopped just above his shoulders. He wore faded blue jeans with a hole in one knee and a slate blue shirt. It hung loose over his pants. He looked a lot like Kurt Cobain with slightly darker hair. Maybe the singer hadn’t really died. Maybe the government had made it look like a suicide and recruited him.

The second guy was black with dark hair buzzed nearly to his skull. He wore a long-sleeved gray thermal top, taut against his large muscular chest, and had full lips that immediately caught my eye.

I had a slight thing for lips.

I scrambled out of my chair as Cobain’s twin stretched his hand forward.

“I’m Levi.”

“Aurora,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Mason,” the black guy said, taking my hand after Levi released it.

“Mr. Parker is an informant,” Melcher said, indicating Levi, the shaggy haired Kurt Cobain-look-alike. “And Mr. Hicks is a hunter.” The reason for their arrival didn’t sink in until Melcher said, “The three of you will be working together.”

The ground shifted under my feet. I looked from Parker to Hicks, Levi to Mason. They were way too hot to work with, for one thing. More importantly, they weren’t Dante, Noel, or Valerie.

“Mr. Parker and Mr. Hicks have plenty of experience,” Melcher said.

Like that really put me at ease. And what did Melcher mean by “working together?” Were they going to help me bring back Dante?

I turned slowly towards Melcher. “What exactly is the plan?” I asked.

He leaned forward on his elbows. “We’re going to shut down Diederick’s tastings, permanently.”

For several seconds I was speechless. Here I thought we were planning Dante’s rescue, but Melcher had brought up Diederick. I couldn’t care less about tastings or any other uppity vampire function tailored to the rich and thirsty.

My mouth must have hung open.

“You look confused,” Levi said, flashing me a megawatt smile. Despite the sexy cleft in his chin, his comment annoyed the hell out of me.

I folded my arms across my chest. “My partner’s been kidnapped, so maybe you’ll forgive m
y
confusio
n
as to why his recovery isn’t top priority.”

Bonehead. I saw right through his bright smile.

“Apprehending Giselle and recouping Dante are top priorities,” Melcher said. “Once I get Jared back in town, we will formulate a plan. In the meantime, your assignment stays the same. I want you on tastings. I want the three of you to put down every vampire who goes upstairs.”

Levi and Mason looked at each other and smiled. So the studs enjoyed the hunt? Charming.

“And how do you propose we do that?” I demanded.

Rather than answer me, Melcher looked at Mason with raised brows. Mason’s lips puckered in thought. They were impossibly full.

“We find a way upstairs and replace one of the wine girls with her.” Mason glanced sideways at me. “One by one, the vampires feed on her, convulse, and one by one, we kill them.”

Levi placed a finger in his cleft. “I hear you, brother, but where do we put the bodies?”

“Bathroom, closet, out the window—I don’t care.”

No, of course not. He wasn’t the one getting the blood sucked out of him. Bodies meant biting. As much as I didn’t enjoy killing, it didn’t seem fair to be the only one doing all the poisoning in one night.

“What about you?” I asked Mason. “You’re a hunter. Why don’t you step in?”

“Sure, let’s have the vampires bite the black man.” Mason folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes.

Wait a minute? Was he trying to turn this into something racial? Because it wasn’t. This was totally and completely sexist. Sure, let’s have the vampires suck on the white chick.

I glared back.

Levi deliberately coughed. “They’re called wine girls,” he said slowly, as though I were daft. “Girls, as in female, as in you.”

“Yeah, I get it,” I said sourly.

“Do you?” Levi asked. “Because it didn’t seem like it a second ago.”

He was an ass hat, all right. They both were.

I looked at Melcher. “Do I have to work with these assholes? I’d rather put my efforts into Giselle. I am her only contact, after all.”

Melcher pressed his lips together. I couldn’t tell whether he was thinking or curbing his anger. Finally he spoke. “Complete this mission successfully, and I will take you off all other assignments until Dante is back.”

My heart surged. I felt hopeful and deflated all at once. Melcher had promised what I wanted most—no more missions, no more assignments until Dante was safe. But he also said I had to go back to the lodge first.

I could do it. I didn’t like it, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable.

“Okay,” I said, lifting my chin. “I will go back one last time.”

Melcher nodded. “You are a defender of humanity, Aurora; a champion and a guardian angel. Never forget how important your work is.”

On opposite sides of me, Levi and Mason nodded solemnly. Did these guys really buy into Melcher’s bullshit or, like Valerie, were they simply playing along? If so, they all had me beat in the acting department. I had a hard time not gagging.

“Thanks,” I said, the “s” hissing between my teeth. “But the next tasting isn’t until Friday, and I’d like to look for Dante in the meantime.”

Melcher lowered his chin. “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do until Jared gets to town.”

“And when will that be?”

Oh, goodie. Jared back in Anchorage. His arrival was a necessary evil, but one I dreaded nevertheless.

Melcher straightened. “As soon as possible. In the meantime, I suggest you go to class. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? To be a college student?”

Yeah, like I was really going to be able to concentrate in class while Giselle held Dante hostage. I stared at Melcher a moment, looking for some sign of compassion. I saw nothing. His eyes were as empty as Giselle’s.

Rather than answer Melcher’s question, I asked, “Do you have a spare key to Dante’s place?”

“Why would you need a key?” Melcher asked.

“So I can get his dog.”

Parallel lines formed beside Melcher’s chin when he frowned. “I warned Dante against keeping a pet. Our work doesn’t allow for their care and upkeep,” he said. Melcher drummed his fingers over his desk slowly. He stopped, got up, and went over to a square metal cabinet attached to the wall. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cabinet. From behind him, I could see rows of keys hanging from labeled key chains. A sick sensation twisted in my gut knowing that Melcher could get inside my house at any time. And why shouldn’t he? He owned the house. He owned us.

My gut churned.

Melcher pulled a key out and relocked the cabinet. Before returning to his desk, he stopped in front of the ancient file cabinet.

The room was silent, other than the metallic groan the drawer made as Melcher opened and closed it. He returned to his desk with the key and a file.

Melcher looked at Levi. “Mr. Parker, take care of the animal.”

“Consider it done.”

A jolt shot straight up my spine as Melcher’s words registered. “What? No!”

Levi stepped forward, stretching his palm out for the key. I tried to intercept him, but Levi grabbed the key before I could stop him. He lifted it in the air, grinning like this was some kind of game.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll make sure the dog finds a loving home.” He looked over my shoulder and smirked, sharing a laugh with his partner.

“Tommy already has a loving home, you fuckwit,” I said, jumping for the key.

Levi held it higher, grinning wider. I pulled my arm back and socked him in the chest with everything I had, anger adding extra “pow” to my punch.

Levi’s smile dropped, but the key didn’t.

“Agent Sky, get ahold of yourself!” Melcher roared.

I caught Mason out of the corner of my eye inching in behind me.

Three brutes against one woman. Even if I got lucky, got the key, and got past the guys, I’d never make it out of the building, let alone off base.

I took a shaky breath.

“I’ll poison as many vampires as you want. I’ll kill them all, just give me the key.”

I implored Melcher with my eyes. He stared into them absently for several seconds before shaking his head. “You don’t have time to take care of a pet.”

“I’ll find someone to watch him.”

Again, a shake of the head.

“You have far more important things to worry about than
a
do
g
.”

Melcher said “dog” like it was the lowest of all creatures, worse than vampires.