"All right, let me get them stripped down so you can see the rest." He turned and pulled out a pair of EMT scissors and started cutting the clothing off.
"The rest?" Had I missed something? The clothes were still intact, from what I could see. That's what I missed; it was something I couldn't see. "Hand me a pair of scissors."
He handed me his pair without a word and then went to retrieve another set for him. I went to work removing the female body’s clothing. When we both had done what we could, I helped him flip the male body over and then he helped me with the female.
We removed the scraps of fabric and I saw what he was talking about. Scratches marred the backs of these two. "Wild sex?" I threw out there.
"Right up there with zombies and cannibals." He muttered. "Look at the angle, they were attacked from the back. Even in the heat of passion, you’re not going to get those angles.”
He was right, they weren't consistent with marks of passion and were too deep for that. "You know, there are people who are into pain and it doesn't have to be done from holding the person."
He blinked at me and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"But no, I don't think this is one of those cases. I think this is from whatever our killer is."
"They almost look like claw marks. Which points to lycanthrope."
Which if the media got a hold of, it would ruin the work that Mina and her mate were here for. "I don't think it is, because of the throats." I pulled my gloves off. "I'll process what information I have." Which wasn't a whole lot. "Call me when you get the results from the dental records."
"Will do. Do you need a ride back?"
I picked up my purse, dress and shoes. "Nope, I'll call a friend. You worry about the bodies. I'll get the scrubs back to you."
"Thanks, I'll call you if I find anything else out." He went back to the bodies.
As I watched him for a moment, I wondered why he chose this field. Mason said he'd earned his spot and I believed that. Maybe he just had a talent for it. I shut the door behind me and pulled my phone from my purse. I texted Levi that I needed a pick up, it would be a couple hours before he could get down here. I had two choices, sit it out in the lobby or walk back to the party with Simon. I chose my first option. There was no way I was walking back into a party wearing scrubs.
My phone battery was almost dead from playing games while waiting for Levi. I could have gone in and helped Jason, but he didn't need me looking over his shoulder. I trusted that he'd get ahold of me once he had information. Besides, this was supposed to be a night off. Levi walked in the lobby and I saw the receptionist put her hand under the counter. I wondered for a moment if she had a gun under there just in case. I knew that we did and that Kathy had once had to use it at our office. Supernatural creatures on a rampage were never a pretty thing.
"It's fine, he just came to give me a ride." I grabbed my dress up from the chair and slipped my feet into my heels.
Levi raised a brow. "Heels and scrubs, not your normal look."
"I thought the blue of the scrubs would bring out my eyes." I said easily and did a little turn and Levi laughed. "Seriously, this is why dating doesn't work for me. But wait until you hear what we have in town. Care for a late night...bite?"
Levi rolled his eyes at my bad joke. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the party?"
"No way in hell would you get me back in there willingly." I thought about Mina and the way her magic made me feel. "That's what we need to talk about. I could use some coffee."
He nodded and motioned to the door. "Then shall we go?"
I shuffled out the door and grinned when I saw the Hummer sitting there in front of the building. It was my favorite of Levi's vehicles, though I could never justify owning my own with how much I drove in the city. The only problem was that it was yellow now, not green.
“Why did you repaint the Hummer?” I ran my hand over the paint. It wasn’t awful but it wasn’t as stealthy as the dark green.
He smirked. “It needed to change, vampire business. Don’t question it.”
I shook my head and opened the passenger door. He probably just wanted a color change and knew those two words would keep him from having to explain. Like the sheep from earlier.
I climbed in.
"I can't believe you destroyed another car." Levi said the moment he got in.
I resisted the urge to tell him what I had told everyone else. "Do you ever get that feeling that someone is always out to kill you?"
"Why do you think I'm so paranoid and taught you to be the same?" He started the Hummer and pulled away from the building.
I looked at his face, hoping to catch a glimpse of a smile or something to show that he wasn't completely serious, but nothing. He kept his blue eyes on the road as he drove. I'd always said the paranoia kept me alive. I had told Simon something similar with my last big case. "We're talking two attacks within a year of each other. That's more than normal."
"I'm sure it will have something to do with your cases. It always does." His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Levi was normally calm and collected, emotionless when he needed to be. Now I could see the tension. "I'm sure it will be. It's really not that big of a deal." I promised. "Thanks for coming to get me and bringing the Hummer. I didn't want to pull Simon away from his pack stuff."
"Wise not to. Any luck with the missing wolf?"
I watched the little bit of traffic move by us. "She's protected by something stronger than me." My mind flashed to Mina, but her magic didn't feel the same. "I can't use a regular tracking spell to find her. I'm going to have to go out and look for her and see if my magic will work that way."
"On pack land." He stated.
I nodded. "Yes, because that's where she was taken. I don't like it any more than you do. I don't like playing by their politics."
"I don't like you on land where you can get eaten." He laughed a little. "But you have to do what you have to." He pulled the Hummer into the small parking lot. I looked up at the Waffle House and smiled. I had spent much of my college time at this particular one studying.
"I won't get eaten. Greg needs me to find this woman. Plus, the Alpha and his queen are in town, remember? It'd be a bad show to eat a PIB agent on his grounds." I got out of the Hummer. Levi and I walked side by side to the building.
The place was empty except for two people, one a cook and the other a waitress stocking tables with napkins and condiments. They looked up and watched us walk over to a table. I looked down at the scrubs to make sure I hadn't gotten any blood on them and then shrugged.
We sat down and I pulled out a menu. I found that I was hungry and wanted something with my coffee. "So, I met the Alpha and the queen that are in town."
"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked and leaned back into the booth.
The waitress came up to us. Her round brown eyes were wide as she stood there poised with a pen. She was scared of Levi was my bet. "What can I get for you?"
Levi motioned to me and the waitress pivoted so she was facing me and Levi was almost at her back, like she was ignoring him.
"I just want a breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee, please." I smiled kindly and stuck the menu back where it belonged. She nodded and walked off.
I looked at Levi. "The queen is a witch, a powerful one at that. A mere handshake almost brought me down to my knees."
"Curious, I thought his queen was a wolf. You can't be both." He folded his hands on the table.
I thought it was weird for a moment to see him out in public, his button up shirt and his dress pants. I thought maybe he had dressed for a meeting of some sort. "No. She might be using a spell to shift with them, but it's not the same thing. And it's a hard spell to maintain. Especially for a bigger animal." I shook my head. "I don't know what it is, but I don't like someone that powerful in the area."
"They are only visiting, to help with the civil war that broke out." Levi shrugged. "You probably won'
t run into her again."
"Unless she's the one hiding the wolf." I said off-handedly.
He raised a brow. "Do you think that it's her?"
"No, it's a different magic, but she makes my skin itch." I thanked the waitress as she brought me coffee. I cradled it in my hand. "I have to do a press conference on the rogue vampires tomorrow night."
"Are you on that case?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Not really, not officially."
"Abigail." He said and met my gaze.
I shrugged. "If there are any more incidents then yes, I could be put on the case. It would mean working two cases though, so I'm hoping Boss Man doesn't put us on it. But you know him. Rogue vampires don't look good on PIB. Or you for that matter."
"I don't want you near it, but you know I won't interfere unless it becomes absolutely necessary."
I sipped my coffee. "You told me to stay away from the corpse we found. You sent the agents to speak to me about it too."
"I didn't send them." His brows drew together. "They met you at the office?"
I moved my arms and coffee out of the way when the waitress came back with my plate and ticket. I waited until she left to answer Levi. "Yes, I e-mailed him yesterday and he and his partner showed up at the office. Should they have not? He was with me when the car blew up, but ran off before the firemen showed up and Boss came down."
"I didn't think Brian would come out." Levi crossed his arms. "But you're right, I told you to stay away from it and it seems that it's gone away. The rogue vampires though, that's my job to take care of. Not yours."
One of his duties as the ruler of the territory. I could respect that, but the night before he said that I'd need to take care of it his way. Maybe he had changed his mind on needing my help. "Hopefully it's taken care of before they send me and Nick out, or worse, sending the executioners after any vampires in your territory."
"The laws protect us from that."
But we both knew that the government was willing to bend those laws when it came to rogues. We both let the silent thought sink in for a moment. "Are you going to come to the press conference?"
"No. I have a meeting tomorrow night. Your uncle called me tonight." Levi chuckled. "He still thinks you're a child that I can control. You canceled your meeting with him so he wanted me to make you go."
It didn't sound like Oliver had told him what it was about. Oliver also normally avoided contact with Levi. "I didn't have a car and I wanted to go on my date with Simon. I'll make sure to tell him you don't control me."
I took a bite of my burrito. A scream outside echoed and I cursed, looking longingly at my burrito before I kicked my heels off and ran to the door to see what had happened. Levi was at my back.
Three vampires were out in the parking lot, each with a person pinned against a car. I didn't have my gun, just my badge and that wasn't going to do a whole lot of good. I glanced to the Hummer and wondered if there was a gun under the seat. Levi rushed by me, grabbed one of the vampires, and ripped them away from the human. This was how we were going to play it. He'd do his job. I waited to make sure the first vampire was down and rushed to the woman that had been pinned against the car.
She put a shaky hand up to her neck and gave me wide eyes. I could see the glossiness start to fill her gaze and her body shake. She was going into shock. I reached into the pocket of the scrubs and grabbed my phone. I dialed 911. "This is PIB Agent Abigail Collins, I need an ambulance down on Powers and Galley. I have three vampire victims."
I confirmed the details with dispatch and hung up. I shoved my phone in my pocket and touched the woman's face. "Help's on the way. I have to check on the other two. You sit here."
She gave a small bob of her head. I turned to find that Levi had rounded up the three vampires. One was on the ground unconscious. I went to the next victim, male, his eyes were hooded, but he was still awake and breathing. I could hear the sirens wail in the background. I moved to the last victim and put my fingers against the uninjured side of their neck. No pulse. I closed my eyes. It'd been a hell of a night to be caught without my gun. I grabbed my badge and hooked it to the outside of my pocket as a police cruiser pulled up. Nick's car pulled up next.
He stepped out and looked at the scene and then at me. "What do you want me to say?" I asked.
"What is Levi doing here?"
Neither of the three vampires dared move a foot while Levi was only a few steps away. As I watched them they glanced up in panic, their eyes red. They were acting like scared children. "Levi and I were meeting for coffee. He brought the Hummer down and picked me up from the M.E.'s office."
"Where's your gun?" Nick asked.
The tone of questioning in his voice made me turn to him and his gaze wandered up and down my body.
"And your shoes." He added.
"My gun is at home as I was on a date and the gun wouldn't fit in the clutch. My shoes are in the restaurant, have you ever tried to run in heels? I'd rather risk cutting my foot." I crossed my arms.
One of the vampires tried to bolt, but Levi caught him by the shirt. I pressed my lips together. "You've got this handled?" I asked Nick.
He gave me a droll stare. "You're not leaving me, partner."
I huffed. "Okay fine. Call containment. Let them know we have three blood-starved vampires." I'm not even sure how Levi would handle this now.
Nick stepped away and made the call as the medics started loading the two living victims into ambulances. My gaze went to the body of the third victim. He'd go to the morgue for an autopsy, and I'd get a call eventually from Jason or another telling me what happened. Luckily for me, there were specialists at the hospital that would help the victims with what they needed.
A few minutes later a containment van pulled up. Four men got out of the truck, each carrying a pair of handcuffs and feet shackles. I knew they were silver based, just like my handcuffs. They were also enchanted to block magic. They cuffed the vampires and led them to the van. The van was reinforced steel with silver lining to weaken and contain most supernatural creatures. The contraption could cause pain, and it was cruel, but there was no other way to deal with out-of-control creatures.
Nick clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm sure Jason will call us tomorrow."
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm going to go home and crash. I have someone coming over to possibly claim the cat tomorrow."
"Sounds like you had an exciting day, but you need to give a statement first." Nick urged.
I rolled my eyes. "Okay fine. My official statement? Vampires interrupted my late night snack and killed someone."
"Abby..." Nick crossed his arms.
I met his gaze and surrendered. I told him everything from the time Levi and I showed up to the time he pulled up. By the time I was done, Levi was done talking to the containment crew and was leaning against the Hummer.
"Hell of a night. I'm ready to go home and crawl into bed."
He handed me the keys. I looked back at the restaurant. "I should go pay, and grab my purse."
"Then get home and get some rest." Levi put a hand on my shoulder. "And be very careful with this one, Abigail."
The energy around me shifted and Levi disappeared. I always wondered why vampires got the fun abilities like that and witches still had to use modern technologies to get around. It just wasn't fair.
I walked back in and the waitress moved away from the windows. She shook her head. "We've got you covered tonight."
I smiled and bowed my head. "Thank you." I grabbed my clutch and heels and went back out to the Hummer. I had been hoping for an enjoyable night out with Simon, what I got was blood-starved vampires and dead bodies.
CHAPTER SIX
I texted Simon when I arrived home safe and sound. He told me he was still at the party and was bored. After that I had fallen asleep without so much as a second thought. I woke to realize I had fallen asleep in the scrubs. I rubbed my eyes and cursed when I looked at my phone. The first person trying to claim the cat was
due to show up at any moment. I shot out of bed and danced around my room trying to pull on appropriate clothing. I replaced the scrubs with black jeans and a matching t-shirt.
I managed to brush my teeth and hair before the doorbell rang. The cat was on the back of the couch just watching me.
"Hold on!" I called out and then went to the chair I'd have them sit in. Putting my hand on the seat I mumble the Latin words that would put a spell on the chair to let me know if the person was lying.
I opened the door and smiled at the person who stood there. It was stupid to invite someone to my house, but someone would have to be an idiot to attack a PIB agent.
The guy smiled at me. He was slightly overweight with his glasses perched on his nose and his curly red hair sticking out.
"Come on in." I motioned to the chair. "Take a seat."
He raised a brow and went to the chair. He sat down as if the furniture was going to collapse under him. I went to the couch and picked up the cat. "This look like your cat?"
The man nodded, almost too fast. "Yes."
His lie hit my aura and a cell phone went off at the same time, just a little ping. Then another. It kept going. I glanced at him. "You might want to see who's texting you so furiously."
The device continued its onslaught of pings.
He reached a shaky hand down to look at the text. He responded something and then looked back at me. "Can I have my cat now?"
The cat climbed over my shoulder and jumped back to the couch. "I don't think she likes you."
"Of course she does, come here, Fluffy." He clicked his fingers. "She's just always had an attitude. But we have somewhere to be."
I laughed. "Fluffy is a he, and I'm not surrendering him to you. Get out." I motioned to the door.
He flushed and I wondered if he was embarrassed about not noticing the cat was male, or if he was embarrassed about being caught in his lie.
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