Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) (14 page)

“All right; so what have we got?” Cami asked getting down to business. Not that she was in any hurry to return to lockdown, but they needed to get the situation taken care of a quickly as possible.
 

“The husband and wife who found our victim are in my car waiting to be interviewed further. We got lucky; they waited here for the patrol car thanks to Glenda in dispatch advising them to wait in their car. Gotta love that woman; told them they would risk contaminating the crime scene and whoever did this might get off because of it.”

“Jackson, you go have a little chat with our witnesses. Rachel, round up the other officers for debriefing. Make it clean; this was just a false alarm, some bored kids making crank calls. They all went home sick with food poisoning from some bad Chinese they grabbed after clearing the scene.” Cami instructed making up the new memories on the fly. “Beckett, pull transport in to load her up. Layla and Jasmine, go with him and sweep the level again. Oh, and get coordinates on the nearest crematorium; I think it’s Benson’s, but double check me. I’m overdue for a feeding so I’m in no mood to ride very far smelling dead blood.”
 

When the three walked away, Cami silently chastised herself for waiting so long to feed. She’d just been so distracted lately with Ethan’s disappearance and…Jared. Shit; she had actually managed to go several minutes without thinking about him.
 

I should have made a pit stop at blood storage,
Cami thought realizing she hadn’t fed since the single bag she drank after the witches recast her blocking spell. She’d been so distracted by Ethan’s disappearance and her efforts to avoid Jared that it had slipped her mind.

When the other soldiers passed through the mist, Cami rejoined Detective Thompson near the body. Not wanting to get too close with her growing hunger, she stood back several feet while he pulled back the heavy black plastic.

As Cami looked down at the deathly-still face of the woman, the only hint of color the dried blood smeared across her right jaw from the gaping wound in her neck, she felt the bile rising in her throat as her heart fell into her stomach.
 

“Fuck me.”

CHAPTER 12 -
Coming Home

Chloe giggled loudly as she sped through the hallway, looking for a place to hide while Jared counted. Seeing that the door to the training center was open, she slipped inside and made herself as small as possible behind a cabinet.

“Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!” Jared finished over one hundred yards away, signaling the start of his search. Since their arrival in Boston, Chloe’s growth rate had increased exponentially. At ten months old, she already looked like a girl of thirteen and most of her preternatural abilities were as strong as, if not stronger than, any fully- mature vampire.

Chloe concentrated on blocking her thoughts from Jared while she continued to listen in on his. With a mind that seemed to have developed even faster than her body, Chloe had already grown bored with the childish game, but Jared had insisted that it was great practice for controlling her telepathy. Realizing he’d already picked up on her scent through his thoughts, Chloe wished she’d found a better hiding place.
 

Her eyes scanned the large room, the bulk of which was open space, eventually rising to the beams over her head.
 

I wonder if I can jump that high,
she thought, looking for something she could boost herself up with, but as she thought about the space above, she felt the strangest sensation in her stomach. A second later, she panicked a little as her feet left the ground, only to immediately drop back down.
 

“
Whoa,” she said aloud as she looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall. Watching carefully, she thought about the space near the ceiling again, and sure enough, the sensation in her stomach returned, followed by her rising up. A few seconds later, she was floating horizontally against the ceiling, watching silently as Jared entered the room.

Jared looked around, certain Chloe was somewhere inside judging by the strength of her scent, a light, sweet mixture of lavender and vanilla, but as he inhaled, another more faint aroma filled his lungs and his heart squeezed. Of course that room would remind him of Cami; he’d been watching her train there every day. It was the only way he’d been able to see her, but that was over. After the mess with Dante that morning, she would likely avoid going there for a while. Turning his thoughts back to the task at hand, he closed his eyes and focused, trying to pick up the stream of Chloe’s thoughts.

“It seems you are getting really good at blocking me, little one,” he said aloud with pride in his tone. “I can hear your heart, but nothing from your mind.”

Still listening to the steady beat, he opened his eyes and started walking towards the source of the sound. As he drew closer to the door, his eyes swept the length of the wall. His eyebrows moved inward as he realized there was no place for Chloe to hide on that side of the room.

Chloe couldn’t hold back the giggle which burst forth when she saw the confused look on her uncle’s face.

“What the— when did you learn to do that?” Jared questioned, his eyes wide.
 

“Um, about thirty seconds ago I guess. I just thought about, and it happened, kind of like when I move objects except I thought about moving me instead.” Chloe said proudly as she floated back to the mat.

While Jared was beyond impressed with Chloe’s new ability, he was more worried about her than ever. She had so much power and when he looked into her big, greenish-gray eyes, it wasn’t the stare of a little girl looking back at him. Chloe’s eyes were those of a very old soul and the deep knowledge, the weariness he saw in them, would only grow as her complicated life unfolded. With all his heart he wished she could walk a different path; that she could just be a normal carefree little girl, but such was not her fate.

“I’m sorry I’m not normal,” Chloe whispered, her eyes cast downward.

Jared placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face. “What did I tell you about listening in to other’s thoughts when we’re not playing games, squirt?”

“I know, I know; but sometimes I can’t help it.”

Jared placed his hands on Chloe’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Normal is boring. You’re a lot better than normal; you’re special. You know that, right?”

She nodded and smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, which suddenly looked sad. “Have you heard anything about my mom and dad?”

Jared immediately snapped his shields in place, not trusting that Chloe wasn’t still listening in on him as he considered how to answer. “Not yet, but I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to get back to you.”

“Aunt Cami thinks they’re dead. I think Grandma Rebecca does, too, but they’re wrong. I know they’re not; I can feel them in here,” she said putting her hand to her heart.
 

Unable to speak, Jared pulled Chloe into a hug, squeezing her tightly as he prayed she was right.

✧

“You all right, Cami?” Detective Thompson asked with concern as he watched her stumble back from the body he’d just revealed.

“No. Yeah. Fuck. I don’t know.” She replied feeling completely disoriented. The sound of a car engine turning over drew her attention. She watched in silence as the officers climbed into their cars, preparing to leave the scene and no doubt heading home to pass out. They’d wake up in the morning believing they had spent the evening hovering over the toilet. The two civilian witnesses followed suit, getting back into their sensible hybrid.

While Cami was distracted, Jackson grabbed a hold of the body, dragging it out of the driving lane to make room for the vehicles to pass through. “Be fucking careful with her!” Cami snapped, eliciting a confused look from Jackson who then scooped the body up and laid it gently beside Thompson’s unmarked sedan.

“What’s going on, Cami?” Thompson asked, his voice laced with concern. Though vampire killings had been few and far between over recent years, usually arising from feedings which had gotten out of hand, he’d seen Cami in action enough times to know that she wasn’t easily shaken up.

“I know her.” Cami stated taking a deep breath. “She’s my sister-in-law. Fuck;
was
my sister-in-law,” she continued quietly doing all she could to keep her emotions in check.
 

“Oh, shit. I’m so sorry, Cami. Just tell me what you want to do. How do you want to play this one?” Thompson asked as he put a hand on her back, trying to offer some small amount of comfort.
 

Cami shrugged him off and stood up without acknowledging the condolences he offered; instead choosing to focus on her anger, knowing that if she let herself feel anything, she risked completely breaking down. After standing there for a minute trying to clear her head, to think about the situation logically from a place of detachment like she would any other mission, it hit her. If Alexa was dead, what did that mean for Ethan? She immediately slammed the door on that line of thinking.

Cami turned to Detective Thompson, her face a mask of steely determination. “Jim, we’ve got to move now. This could be a trap.”

“I don’t understand; who would—?” he stopped as it dawned on him. He was old enough to know all about Lucias and the threat he posed.

Cami put her hands on his shoulders. “You know this all classified, so I can’t tell you anything, but I’m guessing you have a pretty solid idea as to who is behind it,” she said as he nodded in affirmation.

Hearing Jasmine giving the all clear and signaling the first vehicle to pass through mist, Cami stepped into the lane, halting the line of cars. “Nobody leaves yet. Jackson and Rachel, you’re going to have to trance our friends for a few while I come up with a new plan. This location is compromised.”

✧

Jasmine smiled at Beckett as she passed by with a human couple in tow. She’d found the two window shopping in the mall, persuading them to follow her to the parking garage with a story about a flat tire. It was obvious the woman was displeased watching her boyfriend as his eyes followed the gentle sway of the beautiful vampire’s hips, but like everyone else, she fell victim to Jasmine’s power of persuasion and tagged along without protest.

As the threesome approached the barrier of the mist, Jackson stepped out of from behind the Escalade and walked towards them.

“Excuse me, but I think I’m lost, can any of you tell me how to get to—,” his sentence trailed off when he got close and looked into each of the human’s eyes. Within seconds, he’d wiped their memories replacing them with those of an armed robbery and a masked stranger.

“After I’m gone, you’re going to wait three minutes, then call the police,” he said to the woman in a slow, soothing tone. “A masked man pointed a gun at you, stole your purse, your jewelry, everything, and knocked your boyfriend out before he ran into the mall.” She nodded compliantly.
 

Leading the pair around a corner and out of sight, he turned to the man. “Sorry about this,” he said with a shrug before bringing the butt of his Glock down on the back of his head. Catching his weight with one arm, Jackson laid the man down on the concrete and sped off to help his sister with the memories of the humans who were still hidden behind the veil of mist.
 

Sounding very much like a hypnotherapist, Rachel spoke slowly and clearly. “You were leaving the scene after responding to a crank call, but before you got out, dispatch put you on an armed assault in the area. The suspect is armed and considered extremely dangerous and you’re going to realize he might also be linked to a string of unsolved murders. There are a lot of innocent people in the mall right now, so you’re going to call for enough back-up to surround the complex and flush him out, understood?” They all nodded affirmatively.

A moment later, Beckett pulled the Escalade through the mist, opening the rear door for Jackson who loaded Alexa’s body as Layla returned from sweeping the level and gave the all clear. Leaning through the open door of his car, Cami squeezed Martinez’s shoulder signaling for him to drop the camouflage.
 

“Do you think you can maintain cover on a moving target?” she asked as he pulled the headphones from his ears.

“Probably; but I’ve never tried before. How long are we talking about?”

“Just long enough for us to get out of the building and on the road. I’m pretty sure this whole mess was bait to draw us out of the compound.”

“Damn; well I’d better get it right then. Wouldn’t want anyone following us back to base,” he responded following Cami back to the rest of the team.

As they arrived, Cami turned to Detective Thompson. “In a few minutes, there should be enough of a distraction for you to slip out of here. I doubt you’ll run into any problems, but be sure to watch your six anyway, all right?”
 

He gave her a reassuring pat on the back before she stepped up into the passenger seat. “Always. You do the same.”

With a single nod, she closed the door.

Lucias wanted them to find Alexa’s body; Cami was certain he’d dumped it publicly for exactly that reason. No doubt the bastard would have loved to lay her right outside their front gate, but that was the point. After decades of searching, he still hadn’t learned the location of The Elite’s compound. He was using Alexa to draw them out into the open so his men could follow them, hence the moving camouflage. The witch’s protection made it virtually impossible for outsiders to find the first entrance to the compound, even if they already knew its location, but she wasn’t willing to risk it. The rest of her plan, the manhunt for an imaginary mugger, was to protect Detective Thompson. With half the force joining in the search, Lucias would have no way of knowing who had tipped them off about the body.

“Everybody all set?” Cami asked turning around in the seat. “All right, Beckett; as soon as the mist drops, haul ass. There’s no telling how long Martinez will be able to keep it up. We just need to get out of the line of sight before he can ease up.”