by Rayne Reilly
"I saw a van driving away quickly. I assume that's where they put him," Melody replied.
"Do you remember anything else? What about the color of the van?" Julie asked.
Xander sighed and shifted in his seat. He wanted to get out of this woman's house as quickly as possible.
"Black...The van was black. I didn't see a license plate." She closed her eyes for a moment.
"You said the men's faces were covered but did you notice how tall they were? Did anything at all stand out to you?" Julie asked.
Melody's eyes popped open, and she appeared to be thinking for a moment.
"They were more slender than Joe and around the same height as he was...about six feet tall...If they hadn't done something to knock him out, there is no way they could have subdued him. He was strong..."
She began to cry and brought her hands to her face.
Julie stood and moved to the couch beside Melody. She rubbed her back gently.
"I'm sorry that this happened...I truly am. We don't mean to upset you with our questions. We want to find the guys who did this. And we will find them."
Melody removed her hands from her face and reached for one of Julie's hands.
"Thank you, Agent. I appreciate that."
"Call me Julie." Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a business card and passed it to the woman.
"Call me if you need anything," she said.
Melody nodded. Julie rose and motioned to Xander that it was time to leave. He stood and started to head toward the front door.
"Julie?" Melody looked at Julie from where she sat.
When Julie looked back at her, Melody asked, "Do you think I could have stopped them...you know...if I had been quicker picking up my phone?"
Julie walked a couple of steps toward Melody. "They might have taken you too...don't blame yourself."
She stood as if to leave and then turned back. Wrinkling her nose in thought she asked, "The kidnappers, did they speak?"
"No. I wasn't very close, but I didn't hear any voices from outside. Just the music and sounds inside the club."
Julie nodded and turned to see Xander waiting by the open front door.
He didn't look back at Melody as he motioned for Julie to go out ahead of him. He closed the door behind him as they left.
***
Back at the car, Julie started the engine and stared out at the road in front of her. There was an awkward silence between her and Xander. She really liked him and wanted them to be more than friends but he was keeping a secret and she needed to know what it was before anything could happen between them. Julie couldn't help but wonder what it was that he was keeping from her. The temptation to blurt out her question was strong. She pressed her lips together to force her to keep her mouth shut. Not this time. She would wait until he was ready to tell her.
She could feel Xander's eyes on her and fought the urge to turn and look at him.
It wasn't as if Xander seemed scary or dangerous. After all he was a vetted F.B.I agent. She wanted to know so badly what the hell he was, but now wasn't the time to ask. She bit her tongue.
There was a palpable energy coming from Xander. He looked angry or frustrated; she couldn't tell which. She avoided asking him what was the matter in case she said the wrong thing, again.
Without looking at Xander, she spoke.
"I think we should go back to the nightclub where this victim was abducted...make sure nothing was missed in the initial investigation."
She heard Xander let out an audible breath. He responded confidently.
"I agree. The nightclub it is."
CHAPTER SEVEN
From the outside of the building, the shifter club looked like any other in the newly formed Rivergate Industrial District of Portland. The blacked out windows were the only indication that it might be a nightclub. A security guard greeted Julie and Xander as they approached. The burly guard looked at Xander and put his palm up.
"You can't come inside," he stated in a gruff voice.
Julie turned to Xander.
"Maybe you should wait in the car." She winked at him.
Xander nodded and walked back to the car. Julie held her badge up for the doorman.
"F.B.I. I need to speak to the person in charge."
The man opened the door and motioned for her to step inside.
The smell of sweat and animal filled her nostrils as she walked down the hallway. The walls were painted black, and the floor was dark hardwood. It looked like any other nightclub, and Julie wondered what type of shifters would choose to come here instead of mixing with humans at any other club. The fact that it was hidden away in an industrial area helped keep it off the radar.
Julie didn't have a preference over human men or shifter men. She had dated both. She didn't have much luck with either when it came to relationships. And she wasn't like some of the shifters who worked for the Shifter Alliance Council. Many of them didn't respect humans or didn't want to work with them, seeing them only as a threat to shifter kind.
On one wall at the end of the hall, light spilled out of a partly opened doorway into the darkened space ahead of her. She approached the door and knocked.
"Come in," a female voice announced.
Julie opened the door and entered the room. An attractive brunette sat behind a large wooden desk. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Julie, who held up her badge as she spoke.
"I'm Agent Williams with the F.B.I. I am investigating an abduction from your club a while back?"
"Which one?" The woman said with a wry smile.
"There have been more than one?" Julie asked.
"Several. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if my club is being targeted."
"Are you the owner of this establishment?" Julie tilted her head.
The woman nodded. "This one and several more around the city. Each of my nightclubs has seen several people taken over the past few months."
She stood and walked around the desk. Stretching her hand out to Julie she said, "I'm Misty Clark."
She leaned back against her desk after they shook hands. Julie remained standing in front of her with her hands in her pockets.
"Why would you think your club or clubs are being targeted?" Julie asked.
"I'm not well liked by the S.A.C. They are against shifters doing anything that could expose us to the greater population. They ignore the fact that the clubs are for shifters and run by shifters only. Damn Neanderthals." She folded her arms across her chest and made a sound of disapproval.
Julie grinned. "You think the S.A.C. may be out to get you?"
Misty nodded.
Julie brought a hand to her mouth and snickered.
"That might be true, but the S.A.C doesn't need to kidnap shifters to cause problems for you. All they have to do is bring in more rigid laws to regulate what you're doing."
Julie glanced around the room. It wasn't much to look at in terms of decor. The furnishings consisted of a desk, a couple of chairs and a file cabinet. Julie gathered that this wasn't the woman's main office.
"Do you mind if I ask you about some of the kidnappings themselves?" Julie asked, bringing her eyes back to Misty.
"I already told the investigator from the S.A.C. Can't you ask them?"
Julie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm with the Shifter Task Force and I wasn't assigned to the case until today. I just have a few questions. Please," Julie smiled.
Misty unfolded her arms, letting them fall to her sides and braced her hands on the desk as she continued to lean on it. "Sure, why not."
"When was the first kidnapping?"
"Two months ago. One of my staff went missing. They went to take out the garbage at the end of the night and never came back inside to lock up."
"I assume you reported it?"
"Yes. I've reported each missing person case. I called the S.A.C. and told them. It doesn't look like anything is being done, though."
"You called the S.A.C?" Julie
raised her brow.
"Isn't that what we are supposed to do?" The woman looked confused as she responded.
Julie frowned. "Not anymore. The F.B.I. task force will be of more help in most cases."
Julie paused a moment and studied the face of the woman in front of her.
She looks genuinely worried, Julie thought to herself. "Do you mind if I go and look out back?"
"Go for it. I hope you find out what's going on. I can't afford to keep losing staff or customers."
Julie nodded and pressed her rosy lips together. She decided not to mention the dead body of the shifter that had been found. Thanking Misty Clark for her help, she headed across the dance floor to the back door of the club.
***
When Xander got back to Julie's car, he pulled out his cell phone and got inside. It was time to start asking questions. If he was being pulled into something that involved murder, he wasn't having any part of it. He flicked through his phone and dialed the number he wanted.
"Yes?" A stern voice said.
"Why am I investigating the death of a shifter? What's going on?" Xander asked bitterly.
"What do you mean, a dead shifter? Where was it found?"
Xander rolled his eyes and shook his head. His intuition proved to be correct.
"He wasn't an 'it,' and he was found near the docks. Do you know anything about this, Father?" Xander barked.
The voice on the phone hissed back at him angrily. "Do not call me 'Father'; this line could be monitored. It is none of your business what I know or don't know. I got you your job. You are to be my eyes and ears. You do not question me, understand?"
Xander felt sick to his stomach. The second the witness mentioned the strange scent of the kidnappers, he had figured out that his father was involved. She had noticed that Xander himself wasn't fully human...his mind reeled at the implications of such a discovery.
"Do you have turned-vampires abducting people?" Xander didn't wait for a response to his question and continued speaking. "There was a witness to one of the abductions."
There was a moment before the man responded. "Get rid of her." His father's voice demanded.
Xander's head shot back. He pressed himself against the car seat.
"What? No! I'm not killing an innocent person. For God's sake. Are you experimenting on people, Father?"
"Shifters aren't people. They are animals, and they are in the way. If I had told you, knowing what a bleeding heart you are, you would have tried to stop me."
"Damn right I would have. This is taking your hatred of shifters too far! I can't believe what I'm hearing. You have no right to do this to them," Xander spat angrily into the phone.
"I have every right!" the man roared into the phone. "You don't know what these animals are capable of doing." The man's breathing became jagged.
Xander waited in silence while the man took a few breaths.
After a minute or so, his father spoke again. "All you need to do for me right now is keep us from being exposed by the F.B.I. Just remember that if I am caught, so are you. I can't protect you if you don't obey me."
Xander was livid. "Obey you? That is all I have ever done. It has gotten me nowhere. You still treat me like I am one of your human servants. And I don't need your form of protection, Father. In fact, I don't need protection at all."
The voice on the phone sighed heavily before responding.
"Just deal with the witness and stall the F.B.I. Don't let them find out about what we are doing."
"Father, I won't help-" Xander countered.
His father interrupted him, "And don't question me again-"
The line went silent, and Xander realized that his father had hung up. He wiped his top lip instinctively as it curled slightly. His fangs threatened to show themselves. A hunger for blood filled him.
Quickly, he got out of the car and paced back and forth on the sidewalk. He had to stop whatever was going on in his father's pharmaceutical company laboratory. He needed to find out where the experiments were happening and what they were doing to the shifters they had abducted.
What the hell are you up to Dimitri?
Xander ran a hand through his thick hair and got back inside the car. He placed his hands on his lap, still clutching his phone with one hand. I am not keeping his secret any longer. Not if it means more people die.
Taking a couple of deep breaths in and out, he managed to hold back the side of him that was most like his father.
Xander was sitting with his head back against the headrest with his eyes closed when Julie hopped back inside the car. Her beautiful fragrance and energy filled the small space. He opened his eyes and lifted his head.
"You okay?" She asked when she saw his face.
"Yes. Fine. How did it go?" He forced a thin smile.
"I met the club owner, but she wasn't a lot of help. I think we're looking at shifters being targeted but what I don't get is why? And where are they? With so many of them being abducted, why do we only have one body?" she gestured with her hands out.
Xander turned to face toward the street for a moment and then slowly brought his gaze back to Julie.
"How far back do the kidnappings go?" he asked.
"Couple of months. The only connection I can see right now is that the clubs are owned by the same person. She seems genuinely worried, though. I don't think she knows anything."
Xander lowered his eyes and then shifted in his seat.
"Is there something wrong?" Julie asked.
Xander leaned back against his seat, exhaling loudly. His hands were clutching his thighs almost to the point of making his knuckles white.
"Xander?" Julie looked worried.
"I have something to tell you," he said sadly. "But not here. Let's go somewhere private."
***
Julie drove to a nearby parking lot, put the car into park and turned off the ignition. Turning in her seat, she faced Xander. Her stomach churned with worry.
"What's going on? You're scaring me." She pressed her brows together.
"I don't mean to scare you. I'm sorry. I think I finally know who is taking the shifters and what they are doing to them."
"What are you talking about?" Julie felt bile rise in her throat.
"It's the owner of a Portland pharmaceutical company. Dimitri Megalos," Xander said.
Julie's eyes widened in shock. "What? Xander, he's one of the wealthiest men in Portland. How do you know that he's behind the kidnappings and more importantly, why is he taking them?"
"I just know; trust me."
Julie rubbed her chin and exhaled. "I want to believe you...but you and I both know you're keeping things from me.How do you know he is the one who is behind this? Did he say so? Did someone else tell you? Xander tell me what is really going on here!"
Xander sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "I know Dimitri and I know that he runs some labs where they develop medications. Some of them are above board and FDA approved, while others, not so much. I was informed today that there is a secret lab doing experimentation on shifters."
"Experimentation? We need to tell Jake. He needs to know what you know," Julie said emphatically.
Xander put up his hands and pressed himself against the passenger side window.
"No! We can't. Jake doesn't trust me all that much. I can't risk saying anything yet until I get more information. Besides, there's more that I haven't told you." His brown eyes pleaded with her to listen.
She chewed her bottom lip. "What else haven't you told me?"
The idea of Xander being involved in the case made her feel physically sick. She didn't want him to be a bad guy.
Xander looked away. His jaw flexed. She could tell he was reluctant to say anything further.
Julie scratched her brow. "Okay. Let me make this easier for you..." She reached out to touch his arm."What are you?"
Xander's head turned quickly to face her, his eyes wide.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
<
br /> Julie shifted in her seat and put one hand on the steering wheel while still looking him in the eye. Her gut was rarely wrong. "You aren't human, and you're not a shifter. What are you?"
"You probably won't believe me if I tell you."
"Okay. So what are you?" She insisted.
Xander sat back, creating more distance between the two of them.
"Before I tell you, I want you to know that I have nothing to do with what Dimitri is up to. I didn't know anything about it, okay? I promise you. I would never hurt shifters. I don't have anything against them. Especially you."
His eyes softened as he gazed at her. Julie felt herself go warm. Admitting that he cared about her made her feel a little better about whatever it was he was about to reveal. She sat in silence, refusing to look away.
Xander pressed his lips together, sat up tall and blurted, "I'm a vampire."
Julie put a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle as she sat back in her seat.
Composing herself, she asked, "A vampire? There is no such thing. What are you playing at? There's no way-" She was cut off as Xander put his palms up and shook them a little. "Ta-da!" he said in a sing-song voice as his fangs descended and then retracted.
He frowned. "I assure you I am a real live vampire."
Julie's head shot back and her eyes widened. She paused a moment before speaking again.
"Oh my God...but we are told as shifter cubs that there is no such thing as vampires. We're told they are an urban myth. The S.A.C. even claims they -- you -- don't exist. Why would they say that?"
"I don't know why they pretend we don't exist. I mean shifters and vampires have a long and troubled history, according to my father," Xander announced.
There was an awkward silence as Julie let the information sink in. She never imagined that this was his secret.
"Okay. So you say you are a vampire...but how does that play a part in Dimitri Megalos and his experiments on shifters?" she asked.
Xander's face changed, he looked somber. "Dimitri is a vampire as well. A special kind of vampire, called a Pure One. He hates shifters and would like to see them gone from the face of the earth. I have to assume that is why he is doing what he is doing."
"I have to ask," said Julie, "how do you know him? And why haven't you said something sooner?"
