Bound by Blood (Vampire Romance)

by Tara Manderino

  “I am definitely relieved. I was afraid I was going to have to work with Sam.”

  Alex shook his head in mock dismay and made his way back to his desk. It wasn’t so much the caffeine would matter to him as much as he needed his partner to see him drink it. The stuff held no appeal for him, but it was a good prop. Setting the cup down on the corner of his desk, he seated himself and booted his computer in one smooth movement.

  “So what are you looking for now?”

  Alex looked at the other man. “Don’t you have your own case to work on?”

  “Hey, we’re partners, remember? Besides, this case is going nowhere,” he said, motioning to the folder lying open on his desk, “and you know it. I can’t do anything until someone in the syndicate makes a move.” He leaned over Alex’s monitor, watching him plug information into the database. “What have you got?”

  “A nosy partner!”

  Seeing Nick’s affronted look, Alex relented. The man didn’t have to know everything Alex needed; besides he could help him get through the databases quicker.

  Briefly he outlined his day, what he was looking for, and more specifically, who he was looking for.

  “If you have leads, why aren’t you sharing it with the police?”

  “Good question, but I have to rule out the possibility. You know how the local police are. You tell them who you think it might be, a very marginal suspect, and suddenly they have them in custody. In the meantime, the real person goes free and has a longer chance to cover his tracks. I want to be prepared before I call them in.

  “Makes sense,” he agreed. “So shoot.”

  Two hours later, with Nick’s help. Alex had the information he needed.

  “You’re not going after the guy alone are you?” At Alex’s startled look, Nick held his hands up, palm outward. “Just checking on protocol and all that. Besides, I don’t want to miss any of the fun.”

  Fun wasn’t the word Alex would have chosen, but he let it slide. “I plan on taking this picture,” he held up the composite they came up with from the data base, “and share it with the nanny. After that, we’ll see. Most likely it will not be anyone she can identify.” Although, since he had seen the original picture of Carlos, he was confident the likeness was similar enough.

  “True,” Nick agreed. “Well, good luck, and let me know what I can do.”

  Alex shut down his computer, and started to rise.

  “You’re not leaving yet, are you? It’s only three.”

  “Hey, I’ve been here since it was light out, remember?”

  “You’re back on midnight tomorrow?”

  “Back, but maybe not here. The captain gave me clearance to work the Morgan case. A buddy of mine is involved.”

  Genuine compassion flooded Nick’s face. “Sorry to hear it. I didn’t know. If you need anything while you’re out there, just call.”

  Chapter 4

  Entering his house, dimly lit with the use of timers on his lamps, he draped his coat over a chair in the hall and made his way to the kitchen. Once there he removed his shoulder holster, locking it in the small safe under the kitchen cabinet. It was as good a reason to use the space as any. It didn’t matter for him, but he never knew who might find his way to his home. Better to follow procedures. Besides, he always played safe. Thought he had anyway.

  He grabbed a glass off the shelf and reached for the blood he kept in the refrigerator. There was little else in it save those few bottles and a bottle of wine or two. Pouring himself a glass full, he set it on the counter. By the time he finished changing clothes, it would be at a more palatable temperature.

  Returning to his great room, dressed in black jeans and black turtleneck jersey, he turned on the CD player, then moved to the corner armoire and opened it. Inside was his computer. It was a lap top, but he found he worked better at a desk. As it booted up, he retrieved his drink and set it next to him. While at headquarters he sent himself all the files he considered pertinent to the case. He had his own special database at home. One that Louis helped him develop. In its listing were all the vampires he knew of, and any traits he had been able to garner about them. It was a rather comprehensive list. The other database, set to integrate with the first if needed, contained any mortals he knew who were familiar with vampires, or those in the first database, whether they were known as vampires or not. That list was significantly shorter. And kept as short as possible. There were very few who actually knew the persons were vampires. More often, it was a case of them knowing there was some anomaly about them, but not what. In some instances, they had been caught observing the vampires, which meant it was often more annoying than if they had actually been aware of the reality.

  Carlos was listed. His circle of known vampire acquaintances was very small. Louis’s name was on it, but then, he was on everyone’s list. He made it so. Granted Carlos was not old by vampire standards, but not terribly young either. Yet the list of those who might suspect him was the longest. Interesting. Apparently, the man was careless. Alex encrypted the information then sent it to Louis. It was always good to have other, trusted, eyes to review his findings. It was entirely possible he would see a connection not immediately apparent to Alex. In the mean time, Alex printed the list for his own use, and looked for possible connections between the people involved. There always was one. No matter what he had said to Louis, his gut told him Cassandra had been taken because of him, but who could possibly want the child? No one in this generation would know there was a connection between them, nor from the last. It would have to be someone with a very old score indeed.

  ~*~

  By the time he arrived at the Morgan’s the next day, he felt completely refreshed. Although he had no leads other than Carlos, it was a significant start. It was also something he wasn’t ready to share with the local police. He didn’t believe it possible for them to find the child before him, but what if they could? He pushed away the thought. Even if they found her, they would not be able to deal with Carlos.

  Entering the house, he was surprised to find Barbara Morgan was not at home.

  “She said she may as well get back to work since she could do nothing here,” Lisa told him.

  “And Mr. Morgan?”

  “He had a big meeting scheduled, so he went to the office for a few hours. We’re to call him immediately if there is any news.”

  Alex didn’t wholly approve, but at least someone of his blood seemed to have a bit more sense than the woman.

  “The captain said since there have been no calls or leads, he would have only one uniform here, but you probably saw him on the way in.”

  Alex nodded absently, scanning the room and finding it eerily empty compared to the day before. “If no one else is here, we can talk privately.”

  She looked at him warily, but talking was all he had on his mind, at least until she leveled her clear gray gaze on him. Then a lot of sentiments that hadn’t made an appearance in years – decades – screamed for attention.

  He looked at her more closely and wondered what it was about her he found appealing. She looked a little more rested than the day before but he had a feeling she was paler than normal, making the tender skin under her eyes look bruised.

  She was definitely easy on the eyes. Today, she was dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a purple sweatshirt. Simple clothes, but they changed when they were on her, he was sure of it.

  “I researched the clues you gave me, and I wanted to discuss them. Is it better to do it here or would you like to go somewhere else?”

  She looked around her nervously. “Somewhere else, please. Everywhere I look, I see Sandy. For once, I understand Mrs. Morgan perfectly.”

  He was glad someone did. He nodded in response to her wish. “Let me make sure any calls here are forwarded to my cell phone then we can leave.”

  Re-routing the calls only took a matter of minutes. On the off chance the person who had abducted Cassandra really had done so for ransom then he would not want to miss the ca
ll. But in all his years, he had learned to trust gut instinct, and he didn’t think ransom from the Morgans was on this particular menu.

  Once they told the officer how he could be reached, they headed for his car. After she was inside, she looked about her with interest.

  “I thought agents were notoriously poor?”

  He grinned at her. “They are. I’m not.” When he glanced her as he was turning to look out the window before backing down the driveway, he noticed she was blushing. While it looked charming, it only heightened his awareness of her, if that was possible. He stopped grinning. “Don’t worry about it,” he told her when he realized she was embarrassed by her comment.

  “Where are we going?” she asked after they had been driving for a few minutes and were heading out of the residential area. “I thought we were going back to the play ground.”

  “No. We’re going to find something for you to eat, and then we’ll talk.”

  “I’m not very hungry.”

  “I suspected you would say that.” He drove for another few minutes, and then pulled into the parking lot of the upscale soup and sandwich chain.

  She looked up, startled. “Oh, hey, I didn’t bring any money with me,” she told him, again blushing.

  He gritted his teeth. Why did she have to do that? Being this close to her was difficult enough. The sudden rush of blood didn’t help. “Don’t be absurd. Didn’t I just tell you I wasn’t poor? I think I can afford to feed you.”

  ~*~

  Lisa gave him a sideways glance from under her eyelashes and pulled at her sweatshirt, trying to make it look less like the working around the house shirt it was. Dressed in pants that cost more than half her wardrobe, and a sports jacket she really didn’t want to consider the price of, he was totally at his ease. Which was more than she could say for herself.

  She really hadn’t thought about where they would go. His attire was suitable for anywhere. She was much too naïve, that’s what Mr. Morgan was always telling her. She was beginning to believe it. But somehow, Detective Aguilar seemed safe. And he was a detective, after all. Sworn to protect and all that. Mr. Morgan would definitely tell her she was naïve.

  She was glad when he led them to a quiet booth. Not much light here, and not much chance that their conversation could be overheard. Although she couldn’t imagine what he would have to tell her. She had already shared everything she knew. And it wasn’t much, even she knew that. Mr. Morgan didn’t seem to blame her, but Mrs. Morgan sure did. Not as much as she blamed herself, though.

  When the waitress appeared, the detective quickly ordered soup and a sandwich for her. She couldn’t help but notice the way his mouth moved when he spoke. His bottom lip was fuller than the top and totally fascinated her. Tearing her gaze away, she watched his face and looked into his eyes. She had sensed they were light colored, but now could see they were gray, nearly blue and fringed with sable colored lashes. There was a hint of amusement in them as they watched her. Hastily, she dropped her gaze.

  “I can’t eat all that,” she hissed at him when the waitress left. “And why aren’t you eating?”

  “Because unlike some people, I ate at normal times today.”

  When the waitress put the food in front of her, Lisa looked at the sandwich with some misgiving. It was as oversized as she remembered. She did eat the soup and at least nibbled at the sandwich since it seemed important to the detective she do so.

  After she spooned the last of the soup, she had to admit she did feel better. “Now that I’ve eaten, what can you tell me? And why did you want to leave the house.”

  He gave her a wry smile. “I did not want to leave the house, I don’t care if we stayed, but I believed you would be more comfortable in neutral surroundings. You do feel more relaxed?”

  She nodded in agreement surprised to find it so. She watched with interest when he reached into his coat pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper. Opening it, he laid it in front of her. “Is this the man you saw?”

  She gasped, then looked at it more closely. “I don’t know. I think it is.” She looked up to find him watching her closely. “Is he a criminal? Has he done this kind of thing before?”

  Alex reached for the paper and folded it again before slipping it back into his pocket. “To my knowledge, he has not. That does not mean he hasn’t, but if he has I am unaware of it.”

  “If he’s not a criminal, how do you have his picture?”

  He gave her a wolfish smile, there was simply no other way to describe it. “You do not need to know that. But there is a first time for everything.”

  She could tell by the way he said it he didn’t think this was the man’s first time at anything like this.

  She clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “Do you think he’ll harm her? I can’t bear the thought. To think I was responsible—“

  “You were not responsible!” He practically barked the words at her and she instinctively looked around to see who might have heard. “I do not know if he plans to harm her or not, my job is to find her before he can consider doing so.”

  “It’s already been twenty-four hours. He could have already hurt her.”

  “It will be his life if he does.”

  She blinked at him. There was no heat, no vehemence in his tone. It was as if he was telling her that’s the way it would be.

  “You make it sound personal.”

  “You are mistaken.”

  She shivered at his tone. It was colder than she believed possible.

  “What if he’s not the man? How will you know?”

  “I will know.” He looked at her still full plate. “If you are finished, I can take you back.”

  “Umm… yes, of course.” What else could she say?

  She didn’t speak again until they were in the car. She shifted in her seat so she could see his face, read any expression, though she had a feeling this man was more than adept at hiding anything he didn’t want to share. “I know because of the job you do you can’t tell me much, but have you heard anything? Any leads?”

  He didn’t look at her, but put the car into gear and drove out of the parking lot. “I have shared all I know.”

  “But how did you find this man so fast? No one else had any pictures of him, even had any idea…” She let her voice trail off. He had not even looked at her once, and certainly didn’t appear as if he would give her any answers. He appeared cold and aloof. Then why had he made sure she was fed, cared for? She didn’t understand but finally marked it as part of his protective personality. That was why a lot of people went into law enforcement, at least according to articles she had read.

  “Now where are we going?” She wasn’t alarmed, but she was curious as they headed further into town.

  “To see a friend of mine.”

  “About the picture?” She turned in her seat again as far as the seat belt would allow then tugged on the shoulder harness to allow herself more room. “Hey, I said it could be the man. I didn’t see him very well, remember?”

  “I remember.” He glanced at her then back to the road. “Why are you so nervous?”

  She had a feeling he remembered everything. “I’m not nervous. Not really. I just don’t want to be accusing the wrong person.”

  “I already told you, you’re not.”

  She had some misgivings on that score, but turned to sit straight in her seat. She must be nuts to be going with him. There was no other explanation. She should be at the house, with Sandy’s parents, or in place of her parents.

  ~*~

  “Louis is an old friend of mine,” Alex told her, trying to put her at ease. He could smell the adrenaline flowing through her body, it was getting stronger by the minute as she grew more agitated. He didn’t want her to be nervous, not of him. “In fact, he’s the one who helped me find the photo.”

  The elevator took forever to get to the top floor. Alex was in no mood to wait. If Lisa hadn’t been with him, he would have been talking to Louis already. For
reasons he didn’t want to delve into, he wanted Lisa there. He could easily have seen his friend without her presence, but perhaps she could tell them something that he missed. At least that’s what he told himself. He didn’t know which disturbed him more – the possibility he might have missed something, or how her presence affected him.

  He instinctively stepped out of the elevator first, making sure no dangers lurked. When she joined him, he put his hand low on her back and guided her into Louis’s office.

  Chapter 5

  Lisa looked around the office, if she could call it that. Very highly polished, very posh. Not what she had expected, though not totally out of line for the office building they were in.

  A slim, well dressed man came to meet them. He was a few inches shorter than Alex – Detective Aguilar -- but slim as he was, he appeared a bit stockier than the detective especially compared to Alex’s whipcord lean length. He was much darker than the detective too. She felt herself grow warmer, wondering if she should have even noticed him at a time like this.

  “So, Alessandro, what have you learned?”

  Alessandro? Was that Spanish? She quickly glanced at the detective who merely raised one eyebrow in her direction before focusing on his host.

  Quickly Alex made the introductions. “Lisa is the one who caught a glimpse of the abductor.”

  “Is that right?” Louis walked over to the leather sofa set against the wall and invited them to sit. Next to it was a loveseat, and a chair across from the grouping; a small bar stood adjacent. She had never seen an office like it.

  She sat upright on the edge of the loveseat, still not certain of her role here. She shamelessly followed their exchange, trying to piece together what they had to say. Louis didn’t appear to be in law enforcement, so why was the detective here? She wanted to ask but held her tongue.

  “You got a good look?”

  Louis’s voice drew her attention back to the men. “Not really. I mentioned that to Detective Aguilar, but he insisted I come and talk to you anyway.”