Save the Last Vamp for Me

Title Page

Copyright Page

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

Twenty-two

Twenty-three

Twenty-four

About the Author

“O
h, hell no.” That was my instant reaction upon entering Mr. Whitehaven’s office and confirming the reason for the after-dark Thursday appointment. There was a vampire waiting.

Not just any vampire either, but Derrick. He smiled, arranging the ivory lace flowing from the cuffs of his hunter green, antique-looking jacket. He’d been changed young, so no crinkles appeared at the corners of his dark brown eyes. His hair was brown too: An incredibly disciplined mop of light brown curls that reached his shoulders. The blond streaks artfully decorating it were fake, because “vampire” equals no sunning. He looked as though he should be gracing the cover of a Gothic romance.

Mr. Whitehaven’s office was the largest in our building, a nearly square space at the end of both the hallway and the building. One wall sported floor-to-ceiling shelves, fronted by glass doors. The doors were locked with a spell. I’d seen the boss open them once, to pull out a sword and dagger capable of killing demons. There was an entire treasure trove of curiosities on those shelves I’d never quite managed to find the time to delve into. Considering the massive amount of shiny, all of it was probably worth quite a lot of money.

Of course, Mr. Whitehaven was wealthy. He drove an expensive SUV, and being eight feet tall, more than likely had to have his suits custom made. I also knew he was one of the first supes to start a business after the Melding, and one of the most successful of them at that endeavor.

His long hair, always neatly smooth, was the white of new-fallen snow, and his eyes were reddish brown. I’d seen them glow crimson a couple of times in the past. He looked large, but sort of gaunt, as though he’d once had more meat on his bones. Probably as a much younger man.

While I didn’t know exactly how old he was—asking some supes their ages could result in a headache from simply trying to comprehend their answers—I did know he was really, really old. Possibly ancient. Yet not a wrinkle or age spot marred his skin, even though he appeared to have a light tan.

I’d been told my boss was a highly respected member of the supe community.

Too bad that respect didn’t extend to his employees like diplomatic immunity. Then again, it didn’t keep the occasional elf from trying to pull a fast one either.

I didn’t return the vampire’s smile, too busy meeting my boss’s reddish-brown gaze. “I don’t work for vampires.”

“No.” Mr. Whitehaven agreed in his usual deep, calm baritone. “You’re in my employ.”

While we stared at each other, Nick slipped past me to take a seat on the couch. My boyfriend and partner wore a faint grin, because he finds the fact I always cave to our boss funny. Probably because he never wins when we argue.

I managed a whole minute before heaving a loud sigh. “Fine.”

Once I’d plopped down on the couch next to Nick, Derrick chuckled. “You’re still holding a grudge?”

“Your goons destroyed my car.”

“I’m paying for the repairs.”

“And you beat up my friend.” The friend being Logan Sayer, a tiger shifter I’d met the same night the vamp and I had had our first face-to-face.

“We didn’t kill him, and he wasn’t exactly easy to ‘beat up’, Miss Jones.”

I glared. “And you cracked my freaking skull.”

Derrick pursed his lips, his brows drawing slightly together. “I do apologize for that. I overreacted due to your reputation of being a bit hot-headed.”

I did have a tendency to roast vampires, using pyrokinesis, when they didn’t back off. Under the circumstances that night, he was lucky I hadn’t roasted first and asked questions later. Not really having a good comeback, I crossed my arms and kept glaring.

Childish of me, but that’s how I react sometimes. I was fifteen when the Melding occurred and all the supernatural types rejoined Planet Earth. Not that I had experienced that craziness, because I passed out at exactly midnight, and spent three years in a coma. Things had mostly settled down by the time I woke up—not that I paid attention to any world-level changes then. Imagine passing out as a fifteen-year-old and waking up eighteen. Next, imagine right after being told you weren’t exactly a kid anymore, you discovered you had a bushel of psychic abilities you had no clue how to control. Then toss on discovering your parents were divorced, and that your dad had remarried.

Short version, I’d been a little busy with figuring out mental and emotional things and working at physical therapy for a while. Though my twenty-third birthday was less than two weeks away, I often felt younger.

Nick patted my leg, his grin full-fledged and his chocolate brown eyes bright. He was a shifter—wolf—the boss had hired to babysit me a few months before. “Show some courtesy to the client.”

I thought about sticking out my tongue at him, but didn’t. He’d said the same thing I often told Percy, the parrot familiar of Kate, the final member of Arcane Solutions. He was right, because you should always be polite to those who made it possible for you to earn a living. Since I was busy house hunting, and had four new dependents, continuing to earn a living topped my list of ‘Important Things to Do’.

Pasting on a smile, I looked at the vampire. “What’s the case?”

“I’m here on behalf of our council, on the matter of six murders over the past month.”

“Humans?” When he shook his head, I couldn’t resist. “Not seeing the problem.”

“I’ve yet to finish. It’s a political issue, as all six were members of the current majority party.” The vamp paused, studying me. “There are two main parties, Miss Jones. The majority party, which I’m also a member of, prefers to treat humans as donors rather than prey.”

“The other party’s gung-ho on the prey thing.”

“Unfortunately, yes, and it’s a public relations nightmare.”

“I bet.” Boy, did I. Something the supernaturals had quickly figured out were the strides humans had made in weapons technology. Technology in general meant humans weren’t as easy to scare, or to hunt. From what I’d heard, things like ultraviolet lights had been a big shock to them, vampires in particular. And with the vamps gathered in one location, bombing them wouldn’t be a problem.

“As long as we continue to hold the majority on the council, we can limit the number of human deaths. However, we are the majority party by a slim margin, and three of the victims held council seats. Those empty seats will be filled by whomever can gain enough support to take them.”

“So, what exactly do you think I can do that you can’t? You’re a powerful telepath, and I doubt you have the same scruples I do about digging around in other people’s minds.”

Derrick chuckled. “That’s exactly why I can’t lead the investigation. I’m biased in favor of my party, therefore motivated to discover a conspiracy to weaken it.”

“Maybe you don’t know this, but Cordi’s pretty biased too,” Nick said.

“I’m fully aware of Miss Jones’ prejudice against my kind. She would prefer we didn’t exist, which makes her relatively impartial. I’m certain she won’t hesitate to make her displeasure over being forced to work with vampires clear.”

I said, “Maybe I’d dance on your ashes if every vamp in Santo Trueno spontaneously combusted, but I’m going to do my best to save human lives. So that kind of makes me less prejudiced toward those of you who don’t want to kill people.”

“This isn’t a matter that can be handled by human police. You’re a psychic, therefore not human, and thus, the only acceptable investigator to handle the matter since I’m unable to. All members of the council agreed to hiring you.” He glanced at Mr. Whitehaven before adding, “Of course, due to your well-known dislike of us, being in the Barrows as often as you’ll need to be will increase the likelihood of attempts on your life.”

“Pfft.” I waved my hand, pretending confidence I didn’t really feel after that statement, and wondering if I should dispute his “not human” remark. “I’ve been there plenty of times without getting killed.”

“Be that as it may, I suggest that you bring more than your partner.” He lifted his chin, indicating Nick. “You’re an ally of the White Queen. Ask her for another bodyguard or two, and consider bringing your hound as well.”

“I’ll take that under advisement.” I was definitely doing both, the first as soon as possible.

“Excellent. If you’ll come to my residence at seven tomorrow evening, I’ll have everything we’ve gathered so far ready for you.”

“Sure.” I didn’t need the address, since I knew exactly where he lived.

The vampire stood, inclining his head at my boss. “My thanks for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome.”

Derrick gave me a nod next. “Miss Jones.”

I nodded back, and he left the office. No one spoke until we heard the squeak of the glass door that signaled the vamp had left the building. I frowned. “This is going to be fun.”

My boss ignored that in favor of changing the subject. “Have you found a new domicile yet?”

An irresistible subject change. I’d had to move home, and the overcrowding was driving me crazy. Not to mention, I worried constantly that someone of a not-friendly persuasion might follow me or otherwise find out where I was living. That would put my mom and Tonya at risk.

“Not yet, but we’re going to look at another place tomorrow. Apartments are out, and there’s been something wrong with all the houses I’ve looked at so far. Too many neighbors too close, or too small, and a lot have needed work.”

Nick threw in his opinion. “She’s really picky.”

“Yes, I am. It needs to be as close to perfect as possible because it’s a long-term investment. A house is one of the most expensive purchases people can make.” I didn’t want to end up with a money pit, because the idea of a mortgage was scary enough.

We chatted with the boss for a bit, before leaving to have a late dinner, something we’d been doing a lot. Work had been steady, and privacy hard to come by. After all, I was living with two other women and what felt like four dozen dogs.

“Am I staying the night?” Nick asked while we waited for our steaks. We’d picked a place that had recently opened, and I swayed a little to the rock music playing just loud enough. We’d been seated near the grill, which had been designed to be a focal point of the dining area, the rest of the kitchen tucked away behind it. Burning mesquite scented the air, and the sizzle of steaks made my mouth water.

It’s always all about the steaks, so I hadn’t given the place my seal of approval yet.

“Sure. Just remember to be quiet when we go in. Mom’s been putting in a lot of hours, trying to set things up for the Halloween dinner for the homeless.”

He promised he would be, but that promise was blown out of the water a little later, when we walked into the house and the Chihuahuas went nuts. Normal dogs didn’t like shifters in general, but they really didn’t like wolf shifters. My Pit Crew, as I’d taken to calling Bone, Red, and Diablo, ex-fighting dogs, tolerated him because I’d asked them to, as did Kyra, Tonya’s Husky.