“Seriously?” Janelle shook her head. “I’m trying to focus. I can’t control everything, especially how your presence affects me. We made a deal. No sex.”
“Good to know you can’t control yourself around me.” Janelle groaned and he chuckled. “You made that deal. I never said I agreed.”
Vlad stood to his full six-foot-six height and swaggered around the desk as if he knew she thought he was the sexiest man on the planet. He had her pegged. Janelle blew out a steady stream of air and held out her palm to stop him.
She was in trouble.
His grin told her he knew exactly what her thoughts were. “We could lock the door—”
Her palm connected with his solid chest.
“Vlad,” she warned, feeling the heat of the contact clear up her arm, warming her from the inside. “We need to get out there looking for your brother. We can’t do that if we’re distracted. Mircea is going to count on that. Why do you think he threatened me? It’s not because I’m a threat to him. He somehow believes he can get to you through me.”
“What’s one quick—”
“Vlad!”
He chuckled again. “You’re right. I don’t need the added distraction. Let’s go see your boss.”
* * *
“Come in and shut the door,” Janelle’s boss said, following her knock.
Captain Robbie Melchor stood and held out his hand. Vlad couldn’t help but give the man’s hand an extra firm squeeze as he shook it. The captain tried to hide the fact the greeting had pained him by rubbing his hands together. Vlad stood a good half a foot taller and had him by several pounds. He’d give the man credit, his face hadn’t shown the slightest intimidation. Maybe his bravado was due to the fact there were dozens of special agents who would come to his beck and call should this meeting go south, though little good it would do.
“Janelle told me when she requested this meeting that you’re working undercover for the ATF, that one of our cases may impede the success of yours, the Flores case to be specific. You’re undercover attempting to infiltrate the cartel. You have my utmost respect.”
Vlad shrugged. Although Janelle’s superior rubbed him the wrong way, he kept his thoughts to himself. There would be no mutual return of respect. Janelle may care about her boss’s opinions, but Vlad did not. He’d bet if he looked close enough, he’d find a few dings in the captain’s armor, not to mention some dirty deals along the way.
The little bastard no doubt thought because of his rank he was above reproach. If Melchor hadn’t sucked dick to get his present position, then his superiors had worn blinders at the time of his promotion. Vlad would no doubt be doing the world a favor if he decided to drain the arrogant fuck. He had no use for men who used their power to get what they wanted, of which Melchor was no doubt guilty.
Janelle had been wise in her request to be the one to speak since Vlad wasn’t one to mince words. One disrespectful comment from the arrogant bastard and Melchor would be picking himself up off the floor.
Clearing her throat, Janelle took a seat across from the captain’s stark white Formica and steel desk. A large monitor and keyboard sat to right on the desktop. Vlad couldn’t see the screen from his vantage point. “It’s been requested that we back off the Flores case as it may impact all the work Val’s already put into this. Not to mention put his life in jeopardy should he be outed.”
The captain took his own seat, a look of indifference on his face. “You know I can’t do that on his word alone. I’m going to need someone to verify his story.”
Vlad remained standing, clasping his hands behind his back to keep from reaching out and grabbing the man by the throat. “I have a supervisor. He’s the only one who knows about my mission. Blow the undercover work I’ve done so far and I’ll come back and seriously fuck you up. I’m not playing games out there. I’m risking my life.”
Janelle shot a dark glance at Vlad. She obviously wasn’t happy with him speaking out. Vlad had handled Melchor’s type before. Allowing a woman to speak for him would send the wrong kind of message. He needed to make sure her boss knew the consequences of crossing him.
Captain Melchor blanched. “I assure you, it’s not my intention to impede an ongoing investigation. Validating your story is covering all my bases. I have people to answer to as well. If need be, you have my permission to use Special Agent Ferrari.”
Vlad bit back his actual retort. The fact this poor excuse of a human was willing to throw his special agent into the cartel’s den rankled his ire. “I plan to. Don’t count on her reporting back unless necessary. I can’t afford the risk and I report back only to my superior. You want to know any details, call him.”
“How did you meet Special Agent Ferrari?”
Vlad held up a hand, stopping her from interrupting him. He was sure to catch hell once they left Melchor’s office. At least Vlad was no longer scenting desire on her like an aphrodisiac. Christ, it took all his willpower not to toss her on her desk a few moments ago and fuck her from his senses.
Her anger was much easier to handle.
“She was sticking her nose into the Flores case, trying to pin the murders on the La Paz cartel. I tried my best to shake her, to keep her from their radar, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. I don’t have to tell you what happens when the cartel feels you’re getting all up in their business. I felt it best, for the sake of the case and Janelle’s wellbeing, to let her in on my undercover work, maybe bring her in as my old lady.”
Captain Melchor looked at Janelle. “And you want to be a part of this? You’ve never done anything undercover. You sure you can handle this?”
Janelle nodded. “I’m sure.”
“I do hope so, Special Agent Ferrari. The cartel doesn’t fuck around,” the captain said. “Who is your superior, Val, and how do I get a hold of him?”
Vlad smiled. The man was too easy to manipulate. Hell, he hadn’t even had to use hypnosis to get him to do his bidding. Withdrawing a worn piece of paper from his pocket, he slid it across the table with a phone number jotted in black ink across it.
“This number is used for the operation only. We can’t chance calling the ATF office directly. If you do, they will deny knowing me and the operation.”
“Your superior’s name?”
Before leaving her office, Janelle had found a higher up’s name from the ATF they could use for their ruse. They needed a real person should her boss look up the validity of his superior. Vlad had called Kane and let him in on their plan before entering Captain Melchor’s office.
Vlad said, “Acting Director Kenneth Turk. He’ll be expecting your call.”
Chapter 15
“Showtime.” The burner phone Kane had acquired earlier vibrated on the counter with an incoming call. He picked it up and looked at the number on the screen. It had to be Melchor.
“You got this?” Kaleb looked at him in concern. “Your history with this asswipe could blow this if you lose your shit.”
“As long as he doesn’t compromise us finding Vlad’s brother, then I’m good. He steps out of line, I’ll tear out his throat.”
Kaleb chuckled. “That’s my brother.”
Hitting the answer on the screen, Kane placed it on speaker. “Turk here.”
“Acting Director Kenneth Turk?”
Kane’s hate ran deep for Robbie Melchor due to the man’s past with his mate, Cara. She and Robbie had briefly dated long before Kane and Cara had gotten together. Apparently, the man didn’t know the definition of the word “no.” Cara hadn’t told any of her co-workers about Robbie having raped her because she felt they wouldn’t have likely taken her word over the decorated officer’s. Cara had packed up her belongings, quit the police department, and moved to Lane County where she became a detective.
Kane couldn’t have been more thrilled with the outcome, though. Had it not been for her arrival in Pleasant, he might have still been quietly admiring her from afar.
Thanking Melchor for his fuck up? Was
n’t going to happen.
“Who the fuck is asking?”
Robbie cleared his throat. Kane pictured him using a forefinger to loosen his collar. No doubt still a yellow belly. Typical pencil pusher with credentials, not having the actual balls to do the fieldwork.
“I’m Captain Robbie Melchor with the DEA office here in Oregon. Special Agent Val Tepp one of yours?”
“He gave me a heads up you’d be calling. He’s working on a case for us. Call me again and I’ll deny it. Blow his cover and I’ll come find you.”
The smirk on his twin’s face told Kane his brother was humored by his reply.
“Thank you, Acting Director Turk. I appreciate your time.” Kane could hear Janelle speaking in the background, telling him that she and Vlad were currently in Robbie’s office. “One of my special agents, Janelle Ferrari, will be working with your man.”
“See that she doesn’t fuck this up. I agreed to bring her on because she was sniffing around where it might get her hurt or jeopardize the case we’re building. Special Agent Val told me he could use her undercover as his old lady. You need to touch base, go through me and use this number. Otherwise, forget she exists until we make our case. Got me?”
“I don’t plan to jeopardize your case. I’d be happy to share what we have on the Flores case.”
“Have your special agent give it to me. I’m not here to make friends.” Kane ended the connection and placed the cell on the bar. “Damn, that felt good, though it might have been more fun seeing his face.”
Kaleb guffawed. “Not once did he argue or question you, just threw Janelle to the wolves, so to speak. He likely doesn’t care about her wellbeing, only his damn reputation. What a fucking pansy.”
Kane grinned. “You won’t get an argument from me.”
* * *
“Make sure you kill the son of a bitch this time,” Vlad growled into the phone.
“I would’ve last time but as I recall someone stopped me.” He heard the smile in Kane’s tone, telling him Kane jested. Vlad supposed he deserved it. “I’ll take some of my men with us. We’ll canvas the area. We’ll find him. His hours are numbered. I’m not giving Mircea days. This ends now.”
“Call me when you find him.”
“I’ll call you when he’s dead.”
Vlad ended the call and pocketed his cell.
Like a caged animal, he paced the floor of his penthouse. He wasn’t used to holing up in one place overlong, not even on his island. The itch to get back on the road crawled across his skin like a thousand ants. He needed to find his brother and get the hell out of Oregon. Ever since his captivity centuries ago he hated being confined, even to a luxury penthouse, which is why his island had become his sanctuary with twenty-plus acres in which to roam. Human interaction could be kept at a minimum and only out of necessity.
He had developed a certain dislike for people.
They provided the nutrition he needed for survival, a way to sate his sexual desires, and little else.
The decline of civilization had become quite obvious over the years. Vlad supposed he could blame the lack of parenting. Politeness had all but disappeared. Work ethics had gone out the window. And people conversed by way of electronics or skipped conversation altogether and spent their time watching television.
Hell, kids were killing kids these days.
He shook his head and gritted his teeth. In his time, he had ruled with an iron fist, and if the crime called for it, a wooden stake. Vlad was feared as well as revered for the way he held court. There were penances to be paid. Anything less and his enemies would have considered him weak.
The world had grown soft.
Vlad couldn’t get back to his self-isolation soon enough. How much worse could humanity get? He wasn’t sure he wanted an answer. One thing was for sure, though, he wasn’t about to allow his brother to contribute to the darkness a moment longer. Mircea needed to be stopped before the cat, or in this case, the vampire was out of the bag.
Janelle shifted in her seat, quietly watching him stew. She had been the one bright star in his otherwise bleak existence; the one human he had actually enjoyed. Even in the face of evil, she didn’t cower. Hell, no. She wanted to be out there on the front lines, helping him bring down his brother.
As if she had read his thoughts, she said, “I hate that we are sitting here doing nothing. Strength comes in numbers. How do they plan to find him anyway?”
The whiskey tone of her voice stirred him in places he was having a hell of a time ignoring. Visions of her on her knees flooded his brain and stirred his cock, making his pants a bit uncomfortable. Tracking Mircea was but a mere blip in his present muddled brain, proving Janelle was a distraction he shouldn’t be entertaining. His weakness where Janelle was concerned rankled his ire and very well should have.
“If you’re referring to my ass of a brother, I don’t know,” he snarled, giving his back to her, hoping she hadn’t detected her effect on him.
Christ, she was quickly becoming his Achilles’ heel, proof in that he stood here babysitting her rather than combing the woods. “He’s near. I can feel it in my blood, but damn if I can get a read on his whereabouts. It’s like the son of a bitch anticipates my moves and it’s driving me to the brink of madness. I can’t help but wonder if my brother somehow mastered the art of blending in with his surroundings. Being able to sneak up on the Sons in the alley speaks of some sort of trickery.”
“You won’t catch your brother in here pacing the floor.”
Still miffed, Vlad whirled on his heel, heat pooling in his gaze and no doubt blackening his eyes. “You think I don’t know that?”
Flames of fury licked up his spine. Lord, she didn’t deserve his rage. Self-loathing washed over him from his uncalled for outburst. Vlad was the one at fault, not Janelle. She had done nothing more than offer her help. It was his damn sentimentality months ago that had Vlad unwilling to end Mircea’s life and thus imprison him. His brother had enlisted his servant Nina and escaped his island, making Vlad the biggest of fools.
Kane was right. This must end.
But instead of being out there tracking the bastard down with his grandsons, he stood there with his dick in his hand. Had Janelle not held her libido in check and he scented the slightest essence of her desire, there would be no stopping the beast from emerging. Drinking from her had been a colossal mistake. One taste of her sweet blood and she was his heroin and he the junkie.
Lord, he was the one who needed to check his libido.
Biting back the emergence of his fangs, he once again gave her his back and peered across the horizon. Nightfall had descended. Downtown high-rises were illuminated, lighting the skyline and leaving the forest edging the city dark and impassable for humans. Not that the blackness would hinder his or his kin’s sight but it would render Janelle nearly blind.
He wasn’t about to take her along for the hunt and put her in jeopardy, not with Mircea’s threat to take her heart. Kane and Kaleb were quite capable of sniffing out his trail. If they didn’t kill him on sight, then Vlad would once they gave him the coordinates.
Vlad braced his large hands against the cool glass. “We won’t catch Mircea in the city,” he said more to himself, before giving Janelle his attention.
“What makes you think so?”
“Because the forest offers him better cover. Nearly fifty percent of Oregon is covered by woods. Besides, I’m betting Mircea dislikes people as much as I do. If I were him, it’s what I’d do.”
“Sometimes hiding in plain sight is the better choice. He could be taking advantage of the background and blending in with the crowds.”
Anything was possible, Vlad thought. Mircea could assume he’d easily blend in with the city’s residents. Hopefully, Vlad hadn’t allowed his arrogance to count out other possibilities.
“What do your visions tell you?”
Janelle smiled. “They don’t work that way, Vlad. I wish they did, then I could catch a lot more criminals,
not to mention tell you exactly where your brother is. Unfortunately, I have no idea when one will show up.”
He could tell by her restlessness she wasn’t one to sit idle, not when there was a job to do. Vlad liked that about her, but unfortunately the special agent was out of her league on this one.
“We shouldn’t be sitting here,” Janelle continued. “We need eyes out there looking for him. The more people the better the odds are of catching him.”
And he damn well would have been out there now, had it not been for his need to protect. No one could scare up Mircea like Vlad, not even his grandsons. Helplessness settled over him, further souring his mood. But allowing Janelle to tag along wasn’t an option. Mircea would show her no mercy, if for no other reason than to watch Vlad suffer.
Vlad supposed his killing of Mircea’s stepdaughter and secret crush, Rosalee, and Mircea’s later imprisonment had caused some of his anger issues. The killing of his brother’s mate Nina was no doubt another sore spot, even if Vlad hadn’t been the one to do so—he had handed down the order. Hopefully, Kane, Kaleb, and the Sons would successfully capture and kill Mircea, ending his brother’s revenge on his own family.
“Vlad,” Janelle broke into his thoughts again. “If he’s such a danger and needs to be stopped, I don’t understand why we’re wasting our time. More people could die.”
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her naivety. Hell, she could die should they join the chase. If he told her his reasoning, the determined beauty would demand they go on the hunt regardless of being put at a risk.
“Damn it, iubi. Stop questioning my motives.”
Fire flared in Janelle’s crystal blue eyes.
Good. He had pissed her off.
She stood, striding over to him, only to stop mere inches from touching him. Her forefinger met his chest. Heat blossomed through him at lightning speed, causing his fangs to punch through his gums and his cock to instantly harden. No way he’d hide the effect she had on him now.
Vlad (Sons of Sangue Book 8) Page 13
