“But a newly turned vampire? That’s pretty specific. How did you know the newly turned part?”
He held up his hand and ticked things off on his fingers. “Even though yesterday was overcast, the light seemed to bother you. Sure, you were tolerating daylight, but not like a normal human. The other option was being hungover, and from what I’ve observed since I’ve known you, you don’t drink that much. Then there was your confession that you were alone at the drop-off. If your strength was recently increased to vampire levels, that would explain how you killed those two men accidentally. The driver’s side door you threw the third man against didn’t just have a broken window, the metal was staved in. That took an incredible amount of force.”
He touched a third finger. “What really got me thinking about it is that you went from being a middle-aged woman in good shape to being a middle-aged woman with the body and face of a twentysomething. In two days. I mean, you look phenomenal.”
He thought she looked phenomenal. She struggled not to grin wildly. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. But for sure you have the vampire glow. You’re all just unnaturally beautiful. Comes with the turning.”
Now he thought she was unnaturally beautiful. She was going to get giddy about that later. Then she frowned as she thought back to what he’d said. “Wait. Two days? That would mean you saw me on the day of Joe’s funeral.”
He nodded. “We always keep an eye on those things because everyone shows up. It’s a great way to get current pictures and take the temperature of a syndicate. Sometimes we even make a few busts. Anyway, there’s no diet program, exercise regime, or plastic-surgery techniques that can create that kind of natural-looking change in such a short amount of time.”
She nodded. “If there was, I’d know about it.”
“Plus, you smell like a vampire.”
“I smell like a vampire?”
He didn’t answer, instead tipping his head toward the living room. “Then, of course, there’s our friend Yuri out there. He’s got two puncture wounds in his neck. Two evenly spaced puncture wounds. He’s also got a surprising lack of blood coming out of those wounds. In fact, he’s at least three shades paler than most of the corpses I’ve seen.”
She crossed her arms. “You’ve seen a lot of corpses, have you?”
“More than the average person, I’d guess.”
“Okay, so you figured me out. But why are you not shocked? I couldn’t even accept that vampires are an actual thing until just about an hour ago. And I’m the one who got bitten.”
“When did that happen?”
“In the cemetery. The story I told you was true. I just left the more unbelievable parts out. The kid who knocked me down did the biting. And I did pass out. When I came to, there was a woman crouched over me, feeding me blood from her wrist.” Donna grimaced. “Thinking about that used to gross me out. I mean, blood. From her veins. That’s not normal.”
“Neither is being in the Mafia.”
She sighed. “No, it isn’t.”
“So killing Yuri… Is that what solidified the whole vampire thing for you?”
She looked away. “I didn’t mean to kill him. I lost control. Claudette said it would happen. That my hunger would get the best of me if I didn’t feed soon enough. She was right.”
“Were you hungry the night of the drop-off?”
“No. Just mad. And ready to be done with it all. I thought my sudden strength was due to adrenaline.” She glanced at him. “Am I in trouble about that? I have to be, right?”
He exhaled, his gaze distant. Like he was thinking. “No. All good.”
“All good?” She realized she sounded a little shrill, but she couldn’t help it. None of this was normal, and he acted like he dealt with this sort of thing all the time. “That’s not the response I was expecting. At all. Why are you okay with this?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face.
Her mouth fell open. “Wait. Are you a vampire? No, you can’t be. You were out in daylight.”
“No, I’m not.” He cleared his throat softly. “Are you asking me why I’m okay with the deaths of those two guys? Or why I’m okay with you being a vampire?”
“Both.”
“The two guys at the drop-off you killed accidentally and in self-defense. I need to investigate what happened here with Yuri a little more. Why was he here?”
“He said he had unfinished business with Joe. Or rather, his boss does. Boris Reznikov. You know the name?”
Rico snorted. “He’s the Russian equivalent of Big Tony. Except maybe less cuddly.”
She shivered. “Lovely. And Joe was running a deal with him.”
“You know that for sure?”
“No. That’s just what Yuri said.”
“What else did Yuri say?”
“Essentially that he was going to rape me before he left.”
A spark of anger flared in Rico’s eyes. “Then this was self-defense too.”
“How are you going to explain those two puncture wounds and the lack of blood as self-defense?”
“No one’s going to care too much how you took out a Russian leg-breaker. Just that you did it and lived to tell the tale.”
So far, so good. But there was still something she didn’t understand. “I appreciate that. And your help in all this. But there’s still one thing I don’t get.”
“What’s that?”
“Why are you not freaked out about the whole vampire part?”
He looked away for a moment, then made eye contact again. “Since I know your secret, I guess it’s okay to tell you mine.”
A secret from Rico? Every inch of her listened.
“I’m not shocked that you’re a vampire. Because I’m a werewolf.”
Her mouth fell open as she leaned hard on the counter. “What?”
He nodded. “You know they exist, right?”
“I…Claudette did mention that, yes.” Donna was so glad she’d asked about the enemy thing. “I just didn’t think the first one I met would be in my kitchen. Or someone I know.”
“You’re going to have a lot of firsts.”
“I guess so. Does the FBI know you’re a werewolf?”
“No. But the ability does make me a better agent, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”
The side of her mouth hitched up in a half grin as she pictured him tracking down a suspect like a human bloodhound.
His eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re thinking.”
She pursed her lips and said nothing at first. “Can werewolves read minds?”
“No. I just know you had some sort of drug-sniffing dog thing going on.”
“More like on the trail of a fugitive, but you were close.”
“Ha-ha.” Then his expression turned serious again. “This Claudette, she’s your sire?”
“Yes. She said that.”
“Then why isn’t she here helping you? I don’t think it’s standard to turn someone and just split.”
“I sort of asked her to get out of my house. I wasn’t ready to accept what was going on. But I did call her today and apologize.” If you could call a mental message a call. “I’m sure she’ll be back.”
“Good. You shouldn’t get dumped into the deep end like this. There’s a lot you need to know.”
“Such as? Hey, were you turned into a werewolf? Or born into it?”
“Born. Weres can also be turned, but it doesn’t result in as powerful an individual as one who’s born into it. In that way, we don’t work the way your kind does.”
Her kind. How weird. “What things do I need to know? Claudette told me some before she left, but I got the sense there was more. Maybe a lot more.”
“You know about the obvious, right? Don’t go out in sunlight?”
Donna nodded. “I know that one, yes.”
He squinted at the fridge, thinking. “You’ll need to find a blood service.”
“A blood service?”
“So you can stay
fed.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know about that.” Oddly enough, the thought of ingesting blood didn’t seem quite as repugnant as it had yesterday. Maybe drinking an entire human had something to do with that.
“There are blood bars in the city too. Maybe even out here. I don’t know, it’s not my bag.”
“I suppose not. Do werewolves eat anything special?”
“No. A lot of meat.” He grinned. “You won’t run into any vegan werewolves, that’s for sure.”
She laughed. “Right.”
“Did she tell you about the fae? I do know a little about them.”
“She told me they’re the enemy of vampires and that I need to put iron around my house.”
“Have you?”
“Not yet.” She glanced toward the window. “I can’t exactly run to Home Depot now, can I?”
He looked outside and snorted. “Good thing they’re open until nine.”
She lifted her hands in surrender. “I don’t even know what kind of iron to buy.”
“I’d say nails. Then just scatter a perimeter at your property line. Most vampires I know wear a little iron on their person too.”
For some reason, that felt like the last straw. She rubbed her forehead, then closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “All I wanted was a simple life. Freedom to just live. Now I’m facing a whole new set of rules and regulations. This is not what I wanted. Not even remotely.”
She felt warmth in front of her and opened her eyes to find Rico standing there.
“Hey,” he said. “You can handle this. Sure, there’s going to be a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you’re going to be fine.”
She nodded and let out one little sniffle. Which was followed by a deep inhale. Which filled her senses with Rico in a way she’d never experienced before.
A deep, earthy scent washed over her, like a primordial forest after a hard rain. A darker musk danced around her, the essence of every male. Then faintly, a smell that could only be described as wolf. Which, thankfully, was nothing like wet dog.
She stared at him hard, mouth open to instinctually capture more of his scent.
He stepped back, hands up. “Okay, you’re freaking me out a little. I am not dinner.”
She closed her mouth, instantly aware that her fangs were out. “Sorry, I don’t have any control over that stuff yet.”
He nodded. “I know. No harm done. But the weird eye glow is going to give you away if you don’t master it.”
“Eye glow? And for the record, I was not going to bite you. I was just…smelling you.” Okay, that was embarrassing to admit.
He smiled a little. “I get it. Everything’s more intense right now, I’m sure. And yes, your eyes glow when you’re, I don’t know, really worked up about something.”
Great. So he thought she’d been really worked up about him. Because telling him she’d been smelling him wasn’t embarrassing enough on its own. Wow. This was like going through puberty a second time. “So, uh, when you said earlier that I smell like a vampire? What does that smell like exactly?”
He went back to leaning on the island. “Hard to say. It’s kind of a dark, sooty smell with a faint floral note. At least that’s what the women smell like. The men have a different undernote that’s slightly bitter. Like burnt coffee. Neither one is unpleasant. Just distinct.”
She frowned. “So I smell like a florist shop that burned down?”
He laughed, a sharp, sudden bark of a noise. “No, not quite like that.” He shook his head. “Tell you what? How about I run to Home Depot for you? I don’t like the idea of you being unprotected.”
“Thank you. I would really appreciate that. Say, there is one other thing I’ve been wondering about…”
“Yes?”
“Yuri’s not going to turn into a vampire too, is he?”
Rico glanced toward the dead Russian. “Not unless you tried to revive him with your own blood after you realized he was a goner. Did you?”
“No.”
“Then we’re good.” He headed for the door. “When I get back, I’ll deal with the body. And you can give me this new information about the Villachis.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rico spent an hour getting the nails and then surrounding her property with them, except for the driveway because nails and tires were a bad mix. Despite that he thought there was enough iron in the garage doors and mechanics to do the trick.
Donna couldn’t remember the last time a man had done something kind for her solely because he wanted to help her and not gain favor from her husband.
It touched her, but she reminded herself that Rico had a motive. Keeping her safe was important to his case.
Even so, he didn’t have to help her with this, so it was still a kind gesture, and she appreciated that.
When he came back in, she was waiting for him in the living room. “Thank you. Would you like a cup of coffee or something?”
“You’re welcome. And no, I’m fine. Thanks.” He brushed his hands off on his plumber’s jumpsuit, then came over to stand at Yuri’s feet. “Big guy.”
She nodded. “That’s for sure.”
“Did you check him for ID?”
“I didn’t touch him at all. Except for when I did earlier. And ID was the last thing on my mind.”
“Right. Okay.” Rico bent and checked the man’s pockets, finding a wallet in the interior of his jacket. He opened it and looked at the license. “Yuri Lukin. I’ll pull his file when I get back to the office, but I’m pretty sure you’ve done the world a favor.”
Curiosity pushed the next sentence out of her mouth. “What are you going to do with him? With his body, I mean?”
Rico glanced over his shoulder at her. “The bureau has some allowances for situations like this. I’ll report it, but the body will go into our morgue, and that will be the end of it. For now, anyway.”
“The FBI has a morgue?”
“Not as far as anything official goes. But the Organized Crime Unit works a little differently. OCU is its own world. Keeping Yuri on ice is no big deal. And the day may come when his body showing up somewhere will work in our favor. Until then, he’s in the deep freeze.”
“And you can just do that?”
“I can because it protects you. You’re the key to bringing down much bigger fish, so you’re a lot higher up the food chain.”
“Gee,” Donna said with a smirk, “you sure know how to make a girl feel special.”
He shrugged, but there was humor in his eyes. “It is what it is.”
“You going to put him in the back of your van?”
“Yes.”
“You want help carrying him? He looks heavy.”
Rico stood, laughing a little. “He looks heavy because he is heavy, but that doesn’t have an impact on people like us.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m a werewolf and you’re a vampire. Picking up a lunk like this isn’t any harder than carrying in your groceries.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”
He stood back. “Have a go.”
“It’s a dead body, not a barbell.”
Rico’s expression turned smug. “Chicken?”
She was not about to turn down Rico’s challenge, as odd as it might be. She gave him a smug look right back and went to stand beside Yuri. She wasn’t even sure how to pick up a guy this size, let alone a dead one. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Fireman’s carry,” Rico offered.
She frowned at him. “Like I know how to do that.”
“Roll him over, then face him and grab him under his arms and around the back. From there, hoist him to his feet, then bend and drop him over your shoulder.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
Rico smirked. “Want me to demonstrate?”
“No, I’ve got this.” But did she? It wasn’t just Yuri’s bulk. He would be dead weight. Literally.
She rolled him over, which wasn’t too hard because he wasn’t fighting it, then did exactly as Rico suggested. Stuck her arms under his and around his back, then lifted.
Yuri came up to his feet with very little effort. She turned, Yuri slouched over her like the world’s worst dancing partner, and shook her head at Rico. “How is this so easy? It’s like he hardly weighs anything.”
Rico looked proud. There was no other way to describe it. “Told you.”
Just because she could, she bent and let Yuri fall over her right shoulder, bending her knees and pressing upright as she lifted him off the ground. “Mary and Joseph. Who would have thought?”
“There’s a lot more you’re capable of now. You’ll see.”
She eased Yuri back to the floor. “Amazing. Except for the part where I just had a dead guy draped over me.”
“Yeah, well, thankfully it’s probably not something you’re going to have to do again.” He hoisted Yuri, then headed for the front door.
She went ahead of him to open it. “You’re just going to carry him out like that? No tarp or anything?”
Rico stopped. “Why? Do you think you’re being watched? It’s not like the house is visible to any of your neighbors. You sit too far back off the street.”
“I don’t think I’m being watched. But you came in the plumber’s van for a reason.”
“Your protection. Pulling up in a bureau vehicle would be dangerous for you.” He dropped Yuri back to the floor. “But you’re probably right. It would look odd for the plumber to haul a body out of your house. I’ll get a tarp. Which, to be honest, is still going to look weird.”
“Could you back the van halfway into the garage? There’s room.”
He nodded. “Let’s do that.”
“I’ll go raise the door.”
Rico pulled his keys out. “Be right there.”
Ten minutes later, Yuri was loaded up and out of Donna’s house. She was glad for that. Having a dead body in your living room was about as undesirable an addition as you could get.
Rico left the van in the garage and came back into the house. “All right. Where’s this new info you’ve discovered?”
A small part of her didn’t want to reveal Joe’s secret room, but there was no reason not to show it to Rico. He was there to collect evidence against the Villachis. Everything in there was a part of that. He needed to see it.
Sucks to Be Me Page 13
