Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book 1), page 10
Danny gently touched the scar. It looked like some crazy doctor had tried to do an appendectomy and failed miserably. It was softer than the rest of her skin and pulsed gently. She closed her eyes, her senses tingling at his touch, so familiar and yet so new. She wanted to say something, but didn’t want to break the moment. If she had the power to stop time, she would have. At the same moment, he removed his hand and she stepped away.
“I have to get ready for work. Wait here and we’ll drive in together.” She hastily went to her bedroom, where, once the door closed behind her, she had to fight the tears. If this were anyone other than Vincent, she’d quit the case. This hurt too much. She mentally slapped herself and got dressed. Vincent wasn’t going to take off from killing so she could have a personal day with ice cream and The Notebook!
****
At the PID, Director Dominic was wondering if he should confront Angelica about killing Fiona. He knew, once he saw the news report about the fire that she was behind the crime. PID protocol was arrest first, question second and kill third. She had simply killed. Angelica was his superior in every way, but he still had to maintain the illusion that he was actually her boss. He knew the story behind Guilfoyle’s atrocities, but could he allow the murder to be ignored?
When Angelica walked into the offices side-by-side with Detective Mancini, her face and neck scarred, he decided to let it go. Danny was the reason she had killed, and his well-being was top priority in her mind. She would never be able to let that woman live, for his sake alone. And she would take down anyone who questioned her authority on the matter of Mancini’s well-being.
“Detectives, we’ve tracked your potential victim to an apartment complex near Wicker Park. Her plans are to attend a club there and meet up with a ‘secret admirer’.” He looked them both over. “I advise you to dress the part to tail her into the club.”
“Excuse me? I’m fifty, for crying out loud! I can’t infiltrate a club and be inconspicuous,” Danny protested.
Angelica slid his jacket off, took off his tie and ruffled his hair even more. “On the arm of a young Goth girl, I think you’ll be just fine.” She disappeared into a room down the hall, where they kept outfits and various other pieces for disguises and emerged five minutes later, her hair down and wearing a dark red velvet corset, black lace miniskirt, black sheer tights and platform Mary Jane shoes that made her two inches taller than Danny. “Let’s catch us a vampire.”
****
The dingy club had a line down the block with rich city residents just dying to get in.
“We’ll never make it,” Danny groaned. “It’ll be last call before we get close enough to hear the DJ through the walls.”
Angelica just led him to the front, where she said, in her native British accent, “On the list: Angelica Delarue plus one.” She held out a British ID that confirmed the alias.
The burly bouncer took his eyes away from her chest long enough to check the list on his tablet. “Right this way, Ms. Delarue. Enjoy yourself.”
Danny was still on her arm, like a royal escort, as they entered the stone and brick building. Blue and purple lights flashed in time to the electronic Goth band that was playing. He hoped he and Angelica could hear each other over the noise, before remembering that she was a half vampire and could probably hear him as easily as if they were next to each other in the car.
“How are we going to find the girl? Does she even have a name?” he asked, scanning the room of pretty, young girls, looking for a pretty young blonde girl.
“Her name is Caroline Greene. I can catch her energy signature a little, but it’s warped. You’re better off looking for Vincent with your eyes while I look for her with my mind,” she replied.
“Split up?” he suggested and she shook her head.
“You’re no match for someone as powerful as Vincent by yourself. Just stay close and act natural.” She took his hand. He wondered if she was cold because she needed blood or she was nervous. She started to dance a little, her body naturally finding the rhythm of the dark music being played.
“Pleasures remain/So does the pain/Words are meaningless/And forgettable.”
Act natural. This was not very natural to him at all, but he placed his hands on her hips and tried to match her pace. It was difficult, but he did it, all the while scanning the crowds for tall, dark and deadly. For the casual observer, they looked like a couple (a mismatched couple, but still…). But he saw that, while her body was on the music, her mind was on her mission.
He had a flash of memory, of a waltz. A big hall, old-fashioned, his arms around a white-clad Angelica as she smiled up at him while they danced. It was over as quickly as it had begun, but it left him with an odd feeling in his chest. Somehow though, the memory looked happy, it made him sad.
“She’s at the bar, talking to a girl with purple hair,” Angelica said. “Come on.” They pushed through the crowd to get to the bar and he saw Caroline, wearing a red mini-dress and matching heels, talking to a punk girl. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but Angelica could. Caroline was upset that her mysterious date hadn’t shown up yet.
Angelica suddenly grabbed Danny’s arm and pulled him a little away. “That girl she’s talking to isn’t a girl at all.”
“What do you mean? What is she?”
“A specter.”
Specter? “How do we kill those?”
She sighed. “You can’t. Specters aren’t like ghosts— burn the body and you’re done— because they were never alive to begin with. You can banish them, but they’ll be around forever. They can appear and even feel solid, but it’s all an illusion. You’re mortal so you can’t see it, but the specter is actually a grey mist behind the girl. It’s like she’s a puppet and the specter is the ventriloquist.” She asked him if he had his gun. He did, of course, and pulled it out. She proceeded to strip it of silver shells and reload it with iron ones. “Shoot it with these and it will be wounded and banished from this place forever.”
“Shoot? In a crowded club?” He really didn’t want to go to jail.
“As a vamplet, I am not very good at glamour, but I can manage it. Wait till I have the club under my control and take your shot.” She turned away, leaving him mystified. How was he supposed to know when the club was glamoured? Would he become glamoured as well or could she control it? Shaking his head, he never thought that he would miss the days of hunting down motives for the murder of a teenage girl or little old man, but he did. At least he knew the limitations of a human being. With paranormal creatures, there were no known limits and he felt lost; in over his head.
The band was momentarily silent when he heard a woman’s voice take the place of a male singer, haunting and raw, filled with passion. He stared at the stage, unable to believe that these words, that voice, came from Angelica. How the Hell had she managed to get up there and sing? The song was beautiful, and very emotional. Once she hit the last verse, she nodded to him to shoot, but he had to listen another moment.
“I don’t like this
Not at all
I want to change back
Be human
I want to die
Commit immortal suicide
But I am no coward
I am angry
I want revenge
Yes, that’s the word that tastes so sweet
Sweeter on my lips than any blood could ever be
Watch out, my creator, my maker
This time the hunter is the hunted.”
He shot at the specter, who disappeared into nothingness, but Caroline was also gone. Where had she gone?
Angelica quickly got off the stage and led him to follow her energy signature. They reached the back door and pushed it open, leading them into a smelly alley.
“I don’t feel her anymore,” she whispered, worry clenching in her gut. They crept down the alley, looking for the girl, Vincent, or both. Danny had his gun (reloaded with silver bullets) and Angelica had her knives. She stopped and closed her eyes, trying to breathe shallowly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Can’t you smell it?”
“All I smell is garbage and alcohol,” he replied. “What is it?”
“Human blood.” Angelica opened her eyes and he saw that they were red. Bloodlust. His stomach rolled, but he had to keep it together as he followed her, following her nose. Her heels clicked as she turned a corner and then he saw what her nose had detected: Caroline’s dead, bloody body lying spread-eagle in the middle of the alley, right under a bright security light. They went toward the body cautiously, both of them wondering if it was a trap.
“Can you feel your father?” he asked.
“No, Vincent cloaks himself very effectively,” she said pointedly. “Cover me as I check the body.”
He held his gun out, mumbling that he wished he had some holy water on him, too.
****
Angelica bent down and knew, from the lack of any life energy, she was dead. She needed to know if Caroline was dead or about to be turned. The bite marks covered most of her flesh: from the neck to her arms, her breasts to her stomach. There was no way to pass this off to the CPD as a psycho human murderer. These marks were definitely from a vampire. She called in to the PID for their coroner to get down there ASAP. Tucked into her hand was a piece of paper. Donning her gloves, she pulled it out and read it, scattering some of the roaches that had already come to feast upon her dead flesh.
“Your move, Daughter. Good luck. By the way, didn’t we ever teach you not to play with your food? Detective Mancini is on my list, and you won’t be able to stop me from eating him.”
He saw Angelica reading and asked, “What did he leave?”
“A taunt. You can stand down; he’s long gone.” She stood up and lit the note on fire. Despite the tempting smell of blood, she felt sick to her stomach. “I already called the PID to pick her up. They’ll inform her family.” She stared down at her feet, her head spinning and her breath feeling short. She swore there was an elephant on her chest. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Do what? Angelica, you’re so close. Don’t give up now,” Danny said. His disgust melted to concern. Her eyes weren’t red anymore and the passion she always had had faded into nothingness.
“You don’t understand. I don’t do this for me, Danny, I do it for others. For my mother. For my city.” She hesitated. “For you. I tried so hard for two hundred fucking years and what do I have to show for it? A growing pile of corpses because I can’t catch one son of a bitch! I try to protect and avenge the people that mean something to me. But by pursuing Vincent my city is in danger. You’re in danger. I quit. I give up! I’m not strong enough anymore! I— I can’t go through this. I killed Fiona to ensure your safety and it still isn’t enough!”
For the first time in a century, Angelica didn’t just cry, but sobbed her heart out. Only the knowledge that a dead body would catch her kept her from falling to the ground.
****
Pushing aside his anger (yes, he was still as angry as ever at her deception), Danny held his arms out and she fell into him, her blood-infused tears staining his white shirt.
“You’re not going to give up. I refuse to let you,” he said. “You brought me into this because of all that Vincent has done to me. I want him dead almost as much as you do, Angelica. And I promise, I’m not going to let you quit and I’m not going to let him live. I will see him die and soon.”
She looked up, her face stained with mascara and blood. “How can you be so confident?”
He smiled, his warm brown eyes sparkling. “Because I have an idea how to catch him.”
Chapter 12
“She’s all alone again/Wiping the tears from her eyes/Some days she feels like dying/She gets so sick of crying.” —Green Day
Danny, after all this time, was still her rock, the calm to her storm. Angelica went home that night after getting Caroline’s body back to the PID and sunk into her bed, knowing she wouldn’t sleep. Instead, she thought about Danny and the absolutely insane idea he had proposed to her and Director Dominic that night.
She remembered when they had been together in 1910. She was a hotheaded girl, still rebelling inside. He would rein her in, whether he realized he was doing it or not. She would become calm when in his arms, and usually only then. Tonight had been a flashback to that time. Even though she could still feel the disgust rolling off him in waves, he still held her close and calmed her down, simply with his touch and his energy. He was still the man she had always loved.
She turned on her DVR, hoping to catch up on some summer shows, but Graceland and Motive were too deep. She didn’t have the attention span for them. She was about to embark on a very dangerous mission and felt as if she was in free fall, spiraling out of control.
****
Danny took a walk in the dawn light, knowing he was safe from Vincent for the moment. His neighborhood was waking up. Kids were going back to school, adults to work. Old people were sitting on porches, drinking hot tea. It all looked so normal. Who would’ve guessed that, in this world, there were vampires, werewolves and specters lurking around every corner; that evil witches who lived for centuries were being burned to death a few miles away?
He knew he wouldn’t have said that Salem’s Lot would turn out to be real. If someone would’ve told him that, he would’ve done what his old captain had done to him— sent them to a shrink! He looked down at his bloodstained shirt. Bloody tears. How the Hell did he get himself involved with such creatures? He regretted volunteering to go on the stakeout alone while Camille was on maternity leave. Was it destiny? Was he really meant to meet Angelica again?
She was amazing: strong, beautiful and smart. She was also a monster and a liar. How had he fallen for her in his previous life? It just wasn’t natural. People talked badly about interracial and same-sex couples, but at least they were all of the same species! (He, personally, had been supportive of both the previous romantic situations.) Imagine if the Westboro Baptist Church got wind of an inter-species relationship!
The thought made him smile as he walked around his block, but he stopped short, now knowing what an incoming vision felt like.
****
He was sitting on the couch in a mansion. Two older people were sitting across from him, and neither of them looked pleased.
“Are you completely mad?” the man roared, making him flinch.
“No, Father, I am as sane as I have ever been. I tried easing you both into this, but you are so closed-minded. I love Angelica and I have already promised to marry her. You cannot change my mind, but you can at least be accepting of it,” he said.
“Never! She is a monster, and you know that! You have let her feed from you! You are as much of an abomination as she is for encouraging her instead of killing her! What have we worked for for the last six generations? Nothing?” Wow. The old man was really getting worked up!
“I am not like you. Goodbye Father, Mother. One day I hope that you understand.”
****
Danny came back to the present with a jolt of a door slamming in his vision. Well. That was interesting. He needed to write it down and, hopefully, make some sense of it once this case was over with. Were those his parents at one point? What had his family fought for generations?
Great, more questions were just what he needed!
Once he was at home, in bed, he felt acutely lonely. Loneliness was something he had resigned himself to long ago, and it had gotten to the point where he was numb to it. This night, however, he felt like he was in a cold, dark void with no hope of ever seeing the light again.
****
Two weeks went by. September was leaving, making way for cool, crisp air, colorful leaves, Supernatural season ten and Halloween. Angelica wondered if she’d live to see ‘demon Dean’ next week. Their mission was coming closer, and they were cramming in as much extra training as possible.
****
Danny was feeling at the top of his game now that he was forced to return to the PID’s gym. (He couldn’t go back to the place where he met Shannon.) Angelica would sometimes get a dark gratification that, inside those vitamin shakes Danny was drinking, was a vial of vampire blood for energy. Imagine, the man who rejected her for being a vampire was drinking the blood of her kin!
Director Dominic told her that she was very cruel and she knew that she was, but he had been worse. Sometimes revenge isn’t a dish best served cold— it’s best served unknown! She just hoped her current director didn’t have a guilty conscience and decide to tell him.
“This is the longest I’ve ever been on a case,” Danny commented, hitting the punching bag for all he was worth.
“Same here. Technically, he was my first case, so I’ve been dealing with him for one hundred and eighty years now. I can’t wait to finally put this to bed and him six feet under.” Angelica was sparring with a werewolf, and winning. “Okay. Time.” She toweled off, noticing the blood-tinged sweat. She could never come to terms with bleeding through her sweat and tear glands. It seemed just awful. Grabbing her blood-filled water bottle, she drained half of it while watching him towel off his messy, wet hair. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you afraid?”
He stopped, turning to her. “Of what?”
“Death. You know how dangerous this is. Your chances of survival are even slimmer than mine. I know this was your idea, but if you’re having regrets, we can come up with something else,” she suggested.
He shook his head. “No. This is the best way. I’m not afraid of death, Angelica. I have nothing more to live for. I’ve done a lot of good in my life and, if God wants me, I’m ready to go.”
Nothing to live for? What a kick in the ass! She didn’t respond, less she run the risk of sounding like a bitchy teenager. Instead she called the practice to a close. She had some paperwork to do before sunrise.
