Lycan Unleashed (6 page)

I wanted him to think that I was beautiful and smart and skilled. I didn’t care what a lot of my coworkers thought—not that I wasn’t irritated by their reactions sometimes. But they didn’t matter.

Mason mattered.

I stopped at the sink and stared into my backyard. Moonlight peeked through the heavy cloud cover and reflected off of the snow that enveloped every surface. Half full.

Less than a minute later, I heard the front door open and shut. A ragged breath escaped me, and I swallowed down my tears.

Chapter Five

“S
o why aren’t we meeting with the prime suspect right now?” I asked as we pulled up in front of a mortuary. I rubbed my arms. Even in the car with my coat on, the chill of the bright, sunny morning cut through me.

“They’re having services for Jake Stone this morning.” Mason cranked the heat.

I whistled under my breath. “That was fast.”

“Can’t let vampire bodies sit. Besides, autopsy’s complete.”

Of course. Vampires were unusual in that they didn’t always stay dead. A truly dead vampire didn’t come back—not really. But their bodies didn’t always die all the way either, even when decapitated. And a zombie vampire could be messy as hell to deal with. Especially one that had been murdered. While they didn’t retain much of their old selves, ones who died violently tended to act in kind. To ensure they didn’t come back as killing machines, vampires had to be cremated within a few days of death.

“I get why we’re here. But if the suspect leaves town while we’re watching the vic’s wife grieve—”

“Crafty as the Magister thinks he is, Isaiah’s not the type to hide. If he leaves town, we’ll be able to track him.” Giving me a sidelong glance, he turned the heat up another click. “Besides, we don’t have anything substantial on him. Can’t hurt to take a few more hours to see if we can come up with anything.”

I relaxed as the heat filled the SUV and melted into my coat. A few people trickled in for the services. I recognized Mary Stone, arriving with an equally beautiful older woman who had to be her mother.

“Our prime suspect, Isaiah, is around two hundred and fifty years old according to Luc Chevalier. That matches what the OWEA has been able to dig up.” Mason took a sip of his Starbucks.

“And the Magister thinks he’s responsible?” I kept my voice even, but I wanted to reach out and give Mason a big kiss on the cheek for passing along the information I’d missed the night before without making a big deal about it.

“He strongly suspects him.”

“I’m surprised that the Magister hasn’t taken care of it himself,” I murmured.

“Oh I’m well aware of the vampires’ tendency to take care of their own business. But the OWEA is already aware of this guy. Besides, Luc isn’t likely to take out someone he might want to hire himself someday.”

I started at the thought. But of course it wouldn’t be personal to the Magister. He might want vengeance on whoever hired the hitter, but not on the hitter himself. Jake Stone wasn’t a personal friend or family member of the Magister’s. If it had been someone like Nicolas, I had no doubt that Luc Chevalier would have been unstoppable in his vengeance.

Guests filed into the mortuary, fewer than I would have expected. But then, Jake Stone wasn’t from Chicago, and it was entirely possible that not all of his friends and family could make the trip on such short notice.

“I’m going to go speak to the suspect alone later this afternoon,” Mason said after the parking lot had quieted.

“Pardon?” I turned in my seat to face him.

He sipped his coffee, not at all ruffled by my tone. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go.”

“Why?” I said flatly.

“It’s not safe.”

“I’m sick and tired of people thinking I’m made of glass or something. Granted, I don’t have any offensive abilities, but a lot of normal cops don’t, and they manage just fine. I have a personal sidearm.” I didn’t add that it was still in the glove box of my car. He could see for himself that I wasn’t carrying at the moment. “And I know how to use it.”

“Not much help against a vampire. Besides, do you even have a permit to carry concealed as a citizen, not a cop?”

“Vampires will go down if you get enough bullets into them,” I countered, ignoring his permit question. I’d never needed a permit before, so of course I didn’t have one. But I viewed that as a technicality. I’d get my badge back, and his point would be moot.

Mason nodded. “Sure they will. If you can get one to hold still long enough to shoot him.”

“I’m going with you. This case is more important than your overprotective machismo bullshit.” I clapped my hand over my mouth and Mason let out a short laugh at my expression.

“Cussing isn’t against the law. You know that, right?”

I ignored his silly question and the heat bathing my face. “It’s important for me to go.”

He glanced down at his coffee before returning his gaze to me. “Your safety is more important.” His voice was so soft that I thought I’d misheard him, but there was no escaping the flash of emotion on his face.

Mason Sanderson cared about me.

My breath caught and my heart thundered in my chest. I almost wanted to give in. Almost. If only to give this handsome man what he wanted. If only to revel in the fact that he had feelings for me. If only to let someone take care of me, even just for a minute.

But I couldn’t do that. My pride wouldn’t let me, and neither would my good sense. I was an adult, not some kid looking for someone to worry about her. And Mason had made his feelings clear the year before. Even if it seemed like he cared for me, he didn’t care for me in any lasting way. Not enough to want me in his life.

“What if he’s the coin’s owner?” I asked. Another lie hiding as an omission. Guilt pressed against my mind, rising from my heart. If all the otherworlder auras didn’t give me a blasted migraine during this case, the guilt certainly would.

He tensed then rubbed his face with his hands. “Fuck. You’re right. You can’t very well ID him if you aren’t there.”

I nodded and gave him a half-smile. He returned the expression with a sardonic grin. The look was so rare for him it shot straight through me. I swallowed hard and tore my eyes away to watch the mortuary, fearing if I looked at him for one more second I’d blurt out the truth.

Perhaps sensing my change in mood, Mason watched the mortuary silently.

We sipped our coffee and shared some beef jerky that Mason carried in his glove compartment. Not my snack of choice, but the lycan seemed to enjoy it. Finally, the funeral service ended and people began filing out two and three at a time. Even from across the street I could feel several different species of oh-dubs, mainly vampires. But at this distance, they sort of melded together and the energy was weaker. It made it easier for me to concentrate, but it also meant I was surprised when Nicolas Chevalier walked out, holding Mary Stone’s arm and supporting her weight as she leaned against him.

“What’s he doing here?”

Mason shrugged. “Probably a polite vampire thing. Guessing he’s here to represent Luc.”

“I suppose.” But something about the way the vampire held the succubus’s arm didn’t sit right with me. Mary seemed stiff and uncomfortable, but that could very well be because she was at her husband’s funeral.

The SUV roared to life and I jumped a little. “Are we going to the cemetery, too?” My stomach let out a loud noise, its vote obvious.

Mason snorted. “Let’s get some lunch and then go talk to Isaiah. I don’t think we’re going to find out much more here. Waste of time.”

“Perhaps,” I said, and glanced out the window to the spot where Nicolas Chevalier and the widow had stood. I wasn’t convinced that there was no value in our trip.

D
espite the chill breeze whipping its way through the city, and the snow and ice covering the ground, Mason suggested that we eat from a hot dog vendor–outside. Seeing the perspiration touching his brow after he had kept the car temperature high enough for me to be comfortable all morning, I agreed.

We drove down to the city, exchanging a few words during the trip. I half expected him to change his mind again and decide that I shouldn’t come along with him to question Isaiah, and I didn’t want to tip the unsteady balance between us. So I stayed quiet.

Mason parked in an underground parking garage on Michigan Avenue and we snagged hotdogs from a vendor a short walk away. With my hat and gloves on, and my coat pulled tight around my body, the cold wasn’t too difficult to bear. Finding an unoccupied bench near the hotdog vendor, we sat and munched on our dogs, eager to finish them before they froze.

I watched Mason as I chewed my food. His posture was relaxed and his face more open than I was used to seeing on him. “You don’t care to be indoors all the time, do you?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I suppose it’s a lycan thing. Half-beasts like to be under the sky.”

“I’m surprised that you don’t live farther out in the burbs. With land or something.” I popped the last bite of hotdog into my mouth and then crumpled the wrapper into a small ball.

“I like commutes even less than a lack of space. Besides, my home is my place.” He gave me a tight smile. “My territory, you could say. I don’t feel as uncomfortable there.”

A snicker escaped me as the image of Mason rubbing all over his furniture to claim it flashed in my mind.

“What?” he asked, amused.

“Nothing.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Really. You don’t want to know.” The idea was ludicrous. Mason wasn’t that much of a beast. Besides, I wasn’t even sure a wolf would mark their scents the same way my cat seemed to. Heck, wolves probably…oh goodness, no. He couldn’t.

Mason watched my expression in fascination as I tried to decide whether a lycan would mark his territory like a domestic dog. Finally I threw an arm over my face dramatically. “Quit looking at me or I’ll have to tell you what I was thinking, and you’ll never think well of me again.”

Mason let out a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle, but when I dropped my arm to my side, his expression was back to normal.

“When we talk to Isaiah, you’re going to need to try to keep your thoughts off your face, Astrid.”

My smile faltered. “I know.”

“I’m serious. If you show how much you know and he’s our guy, he’ll pick up on it—hell even if he isn’t our guy in this case, I don’t want him to know we’re aware of that.”

I brushed at my nose, which was now almost numb from the cold around us. Cold that I hadn’t even noticed when I had been distracted by Mason’s good humor. But now that professional Mason was back, I felt everything more sharply. I pushed up from the bench. “I get that this is serious, Mason. I’m not a child. And this isn’t my first investigation.”

“All right, then.”

“All right,” I echoed. “Let’s get going. I’m sick of the cold.” How could he switch it on and off like that? Humorous and almost normal one second, and cold and gruff the next? And I was fully aware of the necessity of keeping my feelings hidden around a suspect, especially a vampire with a reputation like Isaiah’s.

I made it a few steps away before the anger pulsing in me had to find an outlet. “I might not have the best poker face in the world, but we’re none of us perfect.”

“No, we aren’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t ready for his platitudes when embarrassment still surged through me. “Speaking of which, you intimidate everyone around you. I want to speak to the wife alone. I think she might be more inclined to confide in me if you’re not there glowering at her.”

“That’s not a good idea.” He crossed his arms.

I poked at his chest, ignoring the rush I got from the simple touch. “The succubus isn’t going to jump me. And if you’re paranoid about it, you can wait in the car. Like a good boy.”

His mouth dropped open and I couldn’t help but notice how
not
intimidating he looked with an expression of shock on his face. And despite the ridiculousness of my comment, I had a hard time suppressing a laugh. A second later, he snapped his mouth shut. Pushing my chin into the air, I waited for his comeback. Finally, he said, “Fine.”

Not bothering to keep the triumph I felt at the small win off my face, I nodded and continued down the sidewalk.

M
ason and I walked to the swanky hotel where the suspected vampire assassin was staying while he was in the Chicago area. It struck me as odd that he wasn’t hiding out in a dank hole somewhere, but I guessed there was no accounting for vampire politics and behavior.

We rode the elevator in silence, but Mason’s posture had straightened, and his fists clenched tighter at his sides the closer we got. I doubted my heart pounding nervously in my chest was good for his nerves, not to mention that I’d suddenly started sweating. Probably not something I’d normally notice, but knowing how good Mason’s sense of smell was made me conscious of it.

The elevator pinged open, and for once Mason violated his ladies first mindset and stepped out in front of me. I exited the elevator behind him. He paused and turned to me, then touched my shoulder softly, before continuing down the hall. Confidence seemed to flow from his hand, and some of my worry melted away. I was suddenly certain that the lycan beside me could handle whatever threat the vampire might offer. True or not, the thought made me feel better.

I stood back while Mason knocked on the door and then confronted its occupant. From my position next to the door, I was unable to see the man who answered, but I could feel him.

Isaiah’s voice was low-pitched and smooth, and when he invited us in, I paused for a second to examine him. Dark skin covered a large, well-muscled frame that would no doubt have women drooling if it wasn’t for the aura of fear surrounding him. As it was, with my enhanced senses, his energy was almost stifling to my regular vision and burnt coffee already clung to my nose. But he exuded confidence and violence, and I decided that he probably had no trouble with women—intimidating aura or no.

“I’m confused as to why you’re here to see me, Agent,” Isaiah said.

“When did you get into town, Isaiah?” Mason asked, ignoring the vampire’s question.

The hotel suite was nicely decorated, with a half-wall partially blocking our view of the large king-sized bed behind it. A couch and large television occupied our area, as well as a small desk and office chair. Isaiah did not invite us to sit down.

“A week, I suppose,” the vampire replied.

“And what brings you to Chicago?”

“None of your business.”

Mason smiled, and the look was predatory and grim. “We can discuss this downtown if you’d prefer.”

The vampire returned the smile, perfect white teeth flashing. I caught a glimpse of fang. “That won’t be necessary, I’m sure. I’m here on business.”