When Sirens Screech: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (Bedlam in Bethlehem Book 3)

by Nicole Zoltack

  Grinning to myself, already feeling a little better, I head toward my desk.

  “Tempest.”

  I cringe and slowly turn around to face Rex Hunter, the head of the Special Investigative Unit. It still royally pisses me off that I’m working under him. I should have that position. I discovered that vamps are real. I learned about werewolves and captured Amarok. Yeah, I’ve made mistakes. I’ll admit it. I even fired a gun off at a guy. A purse snatcher, I think. I can’t even remember clearly. Damn. At least my balance is back to normal. I’m definitely improving.

  “Rex, old buddy, old pal. What can I do you for?” I ask, smiling sweetly.

  “Can it, Tempest,” he snaps.

  Geez. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I’d love to say that to him, but he’s flushed. If he were a cartoon, smoke would be pouring out of his big ears. I better not push my luck.

  “The lieutenant wants to see you,” he says.

  “Let me guess,” I murmur, “he’s in a mood.”

  To my surprise, Rex cracks a slight smile. “You could say that,” he agrees gruffly. “Why are you still standing here? Don’t make him wait!”

  “Are you his secretary or something?” I mutter.

  He doesn’t respond, so he mustn’t have heard me because there’s no way he would’ve let that comment slide.

  As much as I don’t care for Rex, he’s right. It’s never a smart idea to keep the lieutenant waiting.

  Maybe I’m unduly harsh toward Rex. I don’t really know him that well. My dislike probably stems mostly from him taking my position.

  Although it’s clear he doesn’t like me. Probably because he knows that if I had played the whole vamp thing and Amarok by the book, I’d have his role.

  He feels inadequate. I feel vindicated just for realizing that.

  Humming softly, I stroll into the lieutenant’s office.

  He’s sitting. Good sign? Bad sign? I can’t be sure.

  “Tempest,” he grumbles. His beady eyes squint.

  “Yes, sir.” I stand stiff, almost like I’m military.

  “Are you keeping something from me?”

  “Sir?” I ask carefully.

  I don’t want to alarm him about the possible situation between the vamps and werewolves.

  Then again, is it my place to keep quiet about it?

  “If you want me to ever be able to trust you,” he continues, “you need to talk to me. First. Tell me what’s going on. Keep me informed.”

  “Yes, sir. Of course, sir.”

  He sighs, stands, and leans heavily against his huge desk. “Once trust is broken, it’s nearly impossible to rebuild it.”

  “Sir?”

  Is he saying I’m forever screwed?

  “So you better start talking,” he grumbles.

  “What is it you want from me? Do you want me to hunt down the vamp hunter Blake Damon? Try to locate more vamps? Bring them in? Or a werewolf? I spoke to their alpha last night.”

  Whoops. I hadn’t meant to say that last part, and I’m pretty sure my face gave away that it’d been a slip.

  “He’s not very talkative,” I rush to add so maybe it won’t seem like a blurted out detail. “Gave away nothing.”

  “Did he know Amarok? Is he happy he’s free?”

  “He knew Amarok, yes,” I say cautiously. “But he’s as pissed as you are that he’s free.”

  The lieutenant shakes his head and wags a finger at me. “No more talking to werewolves or vamps without bringing them here first.”

  “On what grounds, sir?” I ask even though I know the question is gonna try his patience.

  “On the grounds that I want to talk to them. That’s all. Plain and simple. You think you can handle that, Tempest?”

  “I can handle anything,” I say coolly.

  His glower is powerful. “Make sure the door doesn’t hit you on the way out.”

  Once I go back to my desk, I discover Rex left a ton of paperwork on it for me to sort through. Fun times.

  I really hate that man.

  I’m not even halfway through the pile by the time lunchtime rolls around. My haven has become a prison, and I dart out of there. Diego had thrown a few glances my way earlier, but he never approached. Why not? If he had, what would I have said?

  Aimless, I drive around. I’m not really hungry, just looking to get away. Isolation is sometimes a good thing. Being alone doesn’t have to always be lonely. It’s almost therapeutic.

  When I realize I’m heading toward St. Luke’s Hospital, I opt to swing by. I park and troll inside. It doesn’t take me long to find Dean.

  Man, does he look handsome today. Ever since I made that comment while loopy from medicine about him looking hotter with a shadow, he hasn’t been completely clean-shaven. I appreciate a man who listens.

  His gray eyes land on me, and he pauses, his face indifferent, a mask.

  I grimace through a smile. Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea after all.

  But he’s already walking over, so it’s too late for me to duck out of here.

  “Hi,” I say softly. “You too busy for lunch?”

  “Everyone has to eat sometime,” he says.

  “Might as well be now?”

  “Might as well.”

  “Might as well be with me?” I hold my breath and then let it out as I offer him a timid smile.

  “Might as well.”

  We just head on down to the hospital café. Guess he’s too busy for us to leave for long. He’s quiet, so quiet, and I’m struggling to find things to say myself.

  For being hospital cafeteria food, it’s not too bland. Nothing to write home about but not terrible at least.

  A lull in the conversation has me grasping for another topic.

  “Have you talked to your sister lately?” I ask and then wince. Maybe it’s not a good idea to bring her up.

  He jerks his head up to gape at me in disbelief. “How did you know?” he whispers.

  I swallow hard, now anxious and worried. “Know what?”

  Dean stares at me strangely and then shrugs. “I guess it’s kind of obvious.” He exhales deeply. “Today’s the anniversary of when I had to splint her arm. It was about a year earlier that I started to suspect the abuse. I just felt so helpless.”

  I reach over and pat his hand. “You did everything you could for her. She’s better now, right? That’s what matters.”

  “Yes.” He gazes into the distance, a faraway look in his eyes.

  “Hey,” I say softly. “You can’t save everyone.”

  “Guess that’s why we need each other.”

  Chapter 6

  I don’t really have a response for that. He’s giving me whiplash, honestly. Are we together or not? Just friends or more? He kisses my forehead and jets out of there a minute later, and I’m just left feeling lost.

  I hate that feeling. There’s nothing like feeling useless.

  Yeah, Dean and I have that in common.

  As soon as I enter the station, my shoulders slump. Rex stands over my desk like he’s a watchdog. A pit bull. He’s definitely not a lovable St. Bernard.

  I cross over to him. “Just got back from lunch. Wasn’t gone long—”

  “You should’ve been finished already.”

  I clench my jaw so tightly that pain radiates to my ear. “I wasn’t gone a half hour,” I grind out.

  “Should have worked through lunch.”

  “Look. I get it. You don’t like me. Tough. I’m in your department—”

  “For how long?”

  I blink once, hating that I showed that his words affected me. “Is that a threat?” I ask, my tone low but dark.

  “No. It’s obvious. You’ve been a loose cannon for a while now. You’re reckless. You’re dangerous. You’re a threat, honestly. You’re gonna end up getting yourself killed. Or worse, you’ll get your partner killed.” He squinted. “Or mine since you two seem to have teamed up behind my back.”

  “Have you chewed
out Diego over that or just me because I’m your personal punching bag? Look, Rex, I get it. You feel threatened because I keep doing your job for you. You couldn’t kill a vamp or survive an encounter or two with the likes of Amarok. I did. I have. What do you have to your name? Nothing.”

  I pick up the stack of uncompleted files and slam the ends down to straighten them out and make them uniform.

  “Now, if you’ll stop bothering me, I’d like to return to work. Or would you rather I not so you can yell at me some more?”

  A few other officers are watching us. For the most part, we’ve kept our voices down, but I’ll admit, this last spat, I raised my voice a little.

  I’m lucky. For the most part, I haven’t received much of any discrimination for my gender here. I’m not sure if this is playing a role any here. Or maybe it is. Maybe it really sticks in Rex’s claw that I’m better at the whole supernatural detective work than he is.

  Not my deal. I might be willing to try and help Dean with his demons. Rex is on his own. Ain’t got time for that.

  Rex crosses over to his desk and is just sitting down when the lieutenant bursts his door open.

  “Hunter!” he roars. “There’s been another death.”

  I just sat down to settle into work, so I jump to my feet. “Who? Where?” I call out.

  The lieutenant ignores me and talks to Rex some, their voices too low to be overheard.

  Rex nods and waves over Diego. The two walk past on their way to the door.

  “What’s going on?” I ask desperately. “A vamp attack? Did it happen last night?”

  Rex flares his nostrils and doesn’t look at me. “Nothing you need to worry about. You have your job. We have ours.”

  “But…”

  Diego shrugs sympathetically. Man, do I hate it when he’s all serious. Makes me wish when he’d go back to his overly flirty self.

  The two leave as Angelo strolls in. He returns to his desk next to me.

  “So, what did I miss?” he asks.

  I blink a few times and rub a hand down my face.

  A team. I need a team, right? A two-person team isn’t that big or effective. But Angelo has his own crap going on. His marriage is falling apart, I think.

  Rubbing my chin, I eye him. “You seem… cheery today.”

  Which he hasn’t been since we’ve become partners.

  He starts to whistle. Whistle! Yeah, something’s up.

  Diego’s not the only flirt on the force. So is Angelo, but at least he hasn’t tried to flirt with me any. I assume his pending divorce, if that’s the route it’s going, is because of him and his ways.

  “What’s going on with you?” I force myself to ask.

  I haven’t wanted to get to know him or his personal problems. Figured it would be better to face everything alone. Now that I’m trying this whole team thing, I need allies. To have allies, I need to trust them. Which means learning about their good sides and their bad.

  “I decided to take my wife back,” he says with a smile.

  I freeze. Say, what?

  Angelo’s face falls. “Look, I know my reputation. I’ve always been the class clown. A people pleaser. I’m not a flirt. Not really. I just want everyone to be happy. I would never… You thought I cheated on her?”

  “I had no thoughts on the matter,” I lie.

  “Sure you didn’t. You and everyone else.” He scowls and leans back in his seat.

  I have no words.

  After a moment, Angelo shifts toward me. “Just before the new department was formed, I learned that my wife was cheating on me. I didn’t confront her about it. Tried to ignore it. But then, she confronted me, claiming that I had first! When I demanded that she tell me who, where, why, she had nothing. She realized her fears had blinded her. We’ve been going to therapy. It’s really helping her to see that her fears had been because of a lack of self-esteem. I’ve been getting some help realizing that sometimes, I can worry about pleasing only myself instead of everyone else. You ever go to therapy, Clarissa? Does it help you?”

  “I’ve gone a few times. Not exactly helpful.”

  “That’s too bad.” He straightens. “I would, ah, appreciate it if you don’t go spreading the word about what happened around. It’s embarrassing.”

  “No worries. Hey, Angelo. I’m sorry this has been happening.”

  He gives me a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry I haven’t been a better partner. My head hasn’t exactly been in the game, you know? And that’s terrible. With what’s going on out there, you deserve to have a partner who isn’t distracted.”

  “Speaking of partners…” I take a deep breath. “Any tips for getting along better with your old one? Rex hates me.”

  “Rex? He’s all bark, no bite. Don’t let him get to you. Once he realizes he can’t affect you, he’ll get over it. Once you do something to make him respect it, you’ll be totally in the clear.”

  “And how can I do that?” I ask.

  I should be eager to get on Rex’s good side. Maybe then I’ll be one step closer to returning to the lieutenant’s good graces.

  Now that, I’m desperate to achieve.

  “Save his life,” Angelo says simply.

  Which would mean I would have to go out in the field with him.

  Ugh.

  A few minutes later, Rex comes back in, goes into lieutenant’s office, and exits with something in his hands. A flash of silver. Bullets?

  I stand and slide to block his path. Forcing excitement, I smile. “Are you sure I can’t help you out? Angelo and I would love to be of service.”

  Rex exhales loudly. “I told you already. You aren’t welcomed out in the field. Your golden girl aura is gone. You destroy everything.”

  With that, he marches around me and slams the door shut behind him.

  I wince. Frustration melts into fury, and I clench my fists at my sides.

  Yeah, okay, Rex. You’re wrong. You and the lieutenant. You know what? Maybe I am too. Maybe I don’t need a team after all.

  Or if I do, I sure as Hell don’t want you on it.

  Chapter 7

  After work, I head to Leading Edge for a black belt class. A shower and a quick dinner have me feeling refreshed. My balance is almost perfect. My mind is clearing up. It’ll probably be a little bit yet until I’m one hundred percent, but I’m definitely on the road to recovery.

  By now, twilight has fallen. Good. Excellent even.

  I call up Diego.

  “This gonna be a nightly thing now?” he asks. “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “Talk to me about earlier,” I say.

  He hesitates.

  “Don’t want to talk about it over the phone? Fine. Want me to swing by? I’m in the mood to drive around and see what we can see.”

  “Clarissa.”

  The way he says my name makes my stomach dip in an awful, unpleasant way.

  “Yeah?” I ask, bracing myself. I am so not gonna like what I’m about to hear.

  “Rex told me that you’re not allowed to hunt.”

  “Say, what?” I couldn’t have heard him right.

  He sighs, blowing air over the line. “It’s not coming from him. It’s from the lieutenant.”

  I mutter a curse. “But they didn’t tell me directly so…”

  Diego laughs. “You’re a glutton for punishment, you know that?”

  I grin. “That’s what you like about me.”

  I fully expect him to make a wise crack about that.

  Instead, he surprises me with, “There’s a lot I like about you.”

  His tone is way too serious for me, so I laugh it off. Deep down, though, I’m feeling hurt and betrayed. How can the lieutenant do this to me? Rex I can understand, but Lieutenant Reynolds is a reasonable guy. He knows I can handle myself.

  Maybe he’s right though. Maybe I have been a bit of a loose cannon like Rex said.

  I run a hand through my hair. “So, you wanna be my partner for the night? For vamp hunting, that i
s. Nothing else.”

  I’m rambling. I hate when I ramble. It’s a nervous thing.

  Again, he hesitates. “Sorry, chica. No can do.”

  “No can do tonight or every night?” I ask for clarification.

  “Not tonight.”

  “Got a hot date?” I ask lightly.

  Damn. I’m not jealous, am I? I have no right to be. Stupid heart. So fickle.

  No. It’s not that I secretly love Diego. That’s not it at all. But Diego respects me. Well, my work ethic at least. He’s been as good of a partner as Travis had been. He’s dependable. He’s got my back.

  Just not tonight for whatever reason.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I pull the phone away from my ear and am about to disconnect when I hear that he’s saying something. “What’s that?”

  “Wait until tomorrow night,” he says. “I can go out then.”

  “Diego.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you know me at all?”

  “That you’re an impatient son of a gun? Yes, yes, I do. But, seriously, don’t go out without backup. Call up Angelo. Travis. Hell, even that pretty boy Marlon you used to fancy.”

  “Fancy?” I laugh. “How old fashioned of you. Both to use that term and to expect me to wait around for some guy to protect me. I’m not a damsel in distress.”

  “Damn it, Tempest. There’s a reason why cops work in pairs. It’s not about being a damsel in distress. It’s about being smart.”

  “So, you think I’m being stupid.”

  He pauses. “Unintelligent sounds better, don’t you think?”

  “If it makes you feel better, I will call around.”

  “Actually, it doesn’t.”

  I’m perplexed. “Why not?”

  “Because I want to be the one out there with you.”

  I can’t help it. That makes me melt a little.

  “You wanna put down the vamps as badly as I do, huh?”

  “If there really is a war going on, we need to get to the bottom of it.”

  “We meaning you and me? Or all of us?”

  “You didn’t tell them about our venture to see the werewolves and what it entails.”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?” he asks.

  Someone calls for Diego in the background. A woman. With a Spanish accent.