by E A Price
Alma giggled flirtatiously. If vampires could vomit, Viktor would.
She tangled a lock of hair around her finger and unconsciously pushed her breasts toward them. “I’m from out of town, and was wondering if you guys could give me any advice on the best places to visit? I’ll bet you guys go out partying all the time.”
The two cops actually straightened a little further, if that was possible. Wingus started reciting some club names, most likely those where he’d been called to arrest people.
Viktor blocked out their voices and ambled over to them, pretending to be engrossed in the newspaper. He bumped into Wingus, causing the cop to step forward. Viktor smoothly and swiftly lifted the key card.
Wingus turned to him, his face beet red at being embarrassed in front of a pretty lady. Viktor reflected his expression wasn’t nearly as warm as the one he gave Alma. Ah, to be a leggy, Latina woman.
“Watch where you’re going, dumbass!” spat Wingus.
Viktor shrugged. “Sorry, I was just watching that guy over there.” He nodded in the direction of a man sat tapping at a laptop, he was sitting next to an elderly, overweight woman. “I thought he was trying to bite that woman’s neck, for a second I thought he was a vampire.”
Both cop’s eyes widened, and they speedily drew their weapons and sprinted toward the unsuspecting man. Viktor grasped Alma and disappeared into the elevator, inserting the card and setting it going to the penthouse floor.
“How did you know that would work?” she asked, breathlessly.
“Since Julian was arrested, anti-vampire fever is at an all-time high. All I had to do was shout vampire and the Keystone Cops went nuts.”
The elevator drew to a stop, and the doors pinged open. Viktor crept out, checking to see if anyone was around. Alma followed behind; her heels noisily clattering on the marble floor.
“Couldn’t you have worn flat shoes? You're not exactly stealthy,” he murmured.
“First of all, I don’t own any flat shoes. Second of all, I’m human; we don’t skulk around like vampires.”
He groaned inaudibly. “Vampires don’t skulk; we’re just…”
“Sly? Sneaky? Shifty? Crafty?”
“Did you swallow a thesaurus? Now pipe down; I need to make sure no one’s here.”
Alma pouted and folded her arms. “Oh! From bounty hunter to detective and now cat burglar, you really know how to show a girl a good time.”
“If it makes you feel any better, we’ll stop by Hola Sunshine when we’re through here.”
Alma reluctantly had to admit it did. Hola Sunshine was a Mexican fast food restaurant; their tacos were to die for. They were her one weakness. Oh, who was she kidding, she had hundreds of weaknesses!
Viktor motioned for Alma to remain in the hall while he swept the other rooms. After a few moments, he told her it was clear. They both stood in the middle of the room eyeing the blood stains on the carpets.
Alma cocked her head on one side. “So, Quincy, what are we looking for?”
He bent down and sniffed the ground, wrinkling his nose. “Wolfsbane.”
That didn’t sound good. “Is there a lot?”
“Well, let me put it this way, if Jackson were here he’d be climbing the walls and begging us to put him out of all our misery.”
Wolfsbane was particularly toxic to wolf shifters, but was also used by a lot of magic practitioners to create a talisman that would cover scents. An excellent thing to have if you wanted to sneak into someone’s hotel room and not be scented.
Alma fidgeted. “Alright, I’ll admit that is weird. Would Julian have wolfsbane for any reason?”
Viktor shook his head. “He wouldn’t need it; he can disguise his scent without it.”
She spread out her hands. “I don’t suppose it was the cleaners trying to get rid of the smell of blood?”
“Doubtful, the owner of the hotel is married to a wolf shifter. I doubt he allows wolfsbane anywhere near his mate.”
Alma creased her brow. “How do you know anything about the owner?”
Viktor grinned. “I’m a wealth of information.”
Alma sniffed. “And yet, you still don’t know when my birthday is.”
“I know when it is!” snapped Viktor. “Last year, you made it very clear that you weren’t celebrating your birthday anymore.”
She shook her head, giving him a pitying look. “Sure, because women always say what they mean. You’d think you’d have picked up on a few things over all the years you’ve been alive.”
Ugh, god his mate was maddening! “Shall we concentrate on the task in hand?” he asked crossly.
Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile; he was just too easy! “As you wish. So, as far as we can guess, someone came here covered in wolfsbane so nobody could scent them. Hold on, I’ve got an idea.”
Alma’s eyes gleamed as she recited a few words in Latin. Viktor jumped as a burst of energy shot round the room, and neon footprints appeared on the ground in varying shades of red, yellow and one shade of green. “What the hell?”
Alma stumbled a little and Viktor swooped to catch her. She panted from the energy the spell had taken. “It’s a retrace spell. It shows all the people who have been in here in the last four days. The green is for a shifter, lion I suspect by the hue, I guess those footprints belong to he-who-shall-remain-nameless…”
Viktor growled lowly but didn’t interrupt.
“The yellows are from humans and the reds are from vampires.”
He kissed her nose. “My mate, you are remarkable.”
She shrugged. There were a lot of different shades of yellow, most likely belonging to hotel staff, the murdered girls and the cops who had blown through there. Altogether there were four shades of red. One had to be Julian’s; one would be Viktor’s, but they couldn’t be sure who the other’s belonged to.
Viktor fingered one footprint carefully. “I don’t believe Julian invited any friends here, and Playa Lunar doesn’t have any vampire cops.”
Alma sunk onto the couch to rest for a few moments. “Hotel staff, then?”
“No vampires are employed at this hotel.”
She frowned. “How do you know that?”
Viktor affected a look of modesty. “I told you, I’m a…”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, you’re a wealth of information. Got it. So, we have two unaccounted for vampires, and therefore two potential suspects. Nice work Sipowicz.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you, my darling. Not that it puts us much closer to a solution.”
“More than we had an hour ago.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Alma smiled as her mate pouted. He was disappointed. Apparently he thought they were going to rock up, find an amazing clue the cops missed, and clear Julian’s name, all within an hour. He was so optimistic; it was sweet really.
She had been less than thrilled at the idea of running around investigating this whole sordid mess, but had agreed to it to spend time with her gorgeous mate. Her heart almost broke every time he had to leave her. She never wanted them to be apart.
In truth, she wasn’t actually convinced of Julian’s innocence. She had met the older vampire once; Viktor wangled an invitation for her to a party Julian was throwing. She had taken a date for appearance’s sake, a cousin of hers who was there for the sumptuous buffet. She had found Julian to be cold and arrogant, a world away from her sexy vampire. Not that she saw much of Julian that night, she spent most of the night in the laundry room, getting frisky on the washing machine.
Alma smiled remembering that night. Up until then, she had no idea major appliances could be so much fun. But anyway, the point was that she had no problem envisioning Julian coldly killing two innocent girls. But Viktor was adamant he hadn’t…
So, for the sake of her mate, she was going to give this little endeavor her all. Even if he didn’t like the answers they found. Although, she did actually have a few doubts now. Perhaps the ruthless, s
on-of-a-bitch was innocent!
She felt a twinge at seeing her mate looking dejected. Here he was, a centuries-old killing machine, and he looked like a lost, little puppy!
Alma went to him and slipped her arms round his waist. The soft warmth of her glorious body soothed him immediately.
Viktor rubbed her back as he tried to clear his mind. He had been hoping this would be a lot easier, although he could now see he had unrealistic expectations. He leaned down and buried his head in Alma’s shoulder.
A memory started to niggle him. It was something that Julian said after he had been released from jail. At the time, Viktor thought it was a little odd but didn’t say anything. Now, what was it?
He tensed as he heard the elevator rumbling their way. Swiftly he grabbed Alma and ran for the bedroom, pulling the door almost closed as two young hotel staff came out of the elevator.
Alma craned her neck around him trying to get a look. Her heart was beating thunderously. If they were caught, they would be arrested for trespassing! She almost barked out a laugh when the young couple stopped walking and started kissing passionately.
She calmed a little; it was doubtful that the couple was supposed to be up there making out. If she and Viktor were caught, at least they would have a bargaining chip.
Judging by the young couple’s uniforms she was a maid, and he was a bellboy. They started giggling and telling each other to shush as they made their way to the bedroom.
Viktor pulled Alma to the ground, and they rolled under the bed, ducking out of sight just as the door was pushed open.
The sounds of sloppy kissing and clothes being unzipped filled the room. Alma and Viktor watched as the couple stumbled toward the bed, and dipped as the girl jumped up on it. The scuffed shoes of the bellboy peeked under the bed.
“You want this, baby?” asked the bellboy in a husky voice.
Alma rolled her eyes imagining what he was offering the maid.
“Oooh, yes please,” cooed the maid.
Alma glanced at Viktor; he was trying not to laugh at the young couple.
“Here I come, baby!”
Alma almost groaned out loud as the bed dipped, and the bellboy climbed aboard. She and Viktor sunk even further to the floor as the mattress sagged under the couple’s weight.
After a few seconds of the bed slightly swaying, the bellboy let out a satisfied moan. “Fuck, you feel good baby.”
“Mmm, you too, you’re so big,” replied the young woman.
Alma winked at Viktor; she knew a fake compliment when she heard one. Heaven knows she’d lied and said that to enough men over the years!
The bed began rocking; the mattress bounced up and down for a minute before the bellboy grunted and shouted out ‘fuck, yeah,’ and apparently collapsed.
“You’re amazing, baby,” sighed the man, happily.
“Yes, you too,” murmured the maid, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
After a few minutes of shuffling around the couple stood up from the bed, the sound of a lip-smacking kiss resounded through the room, and they retreated out the door. Viktor peered out from under the bed and smiled when he saw they were leaving holding hands. Ahh, young love.
The vampire listened carefully until the elevator arrived, and the door clicked shut. He rolled out from under the bed and helped Alma out.
Alma smoothed her clothes down. “Well, that was… I really don’t have the words for what just happened.”
Viktor’s shoulders shook in silent laughter. “At least he was fast.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think the maid shares your appreciation of that fact.”
“They’ll be fine. Men get better with age; I mean, just look at me.”
“Yes, yes, if there was a sex Olympics you’d bag the gold.” Alma leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his soft lips. “So, Joe Friday, what now?”
Viktor slid his hands round her body and rested them on her peach-like ass. “They actually gave me an idea.”
“I am not having sex in that bed…”
He chuckled. “No, not that. Although if you really wanted, we could just have sex against…” He trailed off when he saw the irritated look on her face. He cleared his throat. “I remembered what had been bothering me. It was about the girls Julian had sex with, and…”
“Allegedly murdered,” supplied Alma.
“Yes, Julian said they just turned up at his room. It was the way he said it, it suggested that he didn’t hire them. So if he didn’t, who did?”
She mulled that over for a few moments. “That’s a good point.”
“You don’t have to look so surprised.” He gave her a reproachful look.
Alma snickered at the needy vampire. “I’m not surprised, just impressed. You impress the hell out of me.”
“Damn right I do.”
Chapter Thirteen
An hour later they were sat on Alma’s couch. She was happily digging into a taco supreme special from Hola Sunshine, whilst he supped at a bottle of blood.
Getting out of the hotel had been easy enough; Viktor left the keycard on the coffee table, and they went out the window to climb down the fire escape. Or at least Viktor did. Alma clambered onto his back and shut her eyes. She hated heights. It had never come up before, but then she’d never been on the top of the fire escape of a thirty-floor building before. Not that Viktor was complaining; the feel of her thighs wrapped around his torso, her breasts crushed against him, and her soft breath on her neck was invigorating. He could have carried her for miles and wouldn’t tire of it.
Driving home, they swung by the Hola Sunshine drive through and then a vampire shop to grab a bottle of blood. When Viktor said he was hungry, he had looked to his mate, hopefully, but she had begged off. In the last few days, she had been donating more than usual and was starting to feel a teeny weeny bit wiped out.
Viktor was disappointed; no one tasted as divine as his mate, but he certainly didn’t want to hurt her. The thought of losing control again made him shudder.
Briefly he wondered about Julian again. The older vampire still hadn’t been in contact. Viktor called his cell phone as well as his own home phone, in the hope that Julian might have returned. But so far, nothing. He just hoped Julian hadn’t run too far; it would look bad if he were found in Mexico.
After almost inhaling her food, Alma dug out her copy of the newspaper and found the names of the two murdered girls. They went by Daffodil and Tulip, but their real names were Martha Jenkins and Susannah Crowley. They were both only 19 years old.
She read the article through a couple of times. “Hmmm, it doesn’t say who they actually worked for.”
Viktor tapped his chin thoughtfully. “The names sound familiar…”
Alma’s eyes narrowed. “Why do the names sound familiar?”
“Can I borrow your laptop?”
Viktor leapt of the couch and grabbed it before she could object. He switched it on and started typing names into a search engine. He alighted on a website for escorts called Tender Blossoms and proudly showed it to Alma.
She gave him a withering glare.
Viktor impatiently jabbed his finger at the screen. “Look at all these girls.”
“You trying to tell me something?” she asked sourly.
Viktor grunted. “They’re all about 19 and they’re all named after flowers, looks there’s a Magnolia, Petunia, Zinnia, Rose and hey look they have a Daffodil and a Tulip, and it says here they’re new to the agency.”
Alma took the laptop from him and peered at the screen, bringing it close to her eyes. She really needed reading glasses, but was far too vain to get an eye test.
“Huh.” She pursed her lips, “How did you find this place so quickly?”
Viktor cleared his throat and started mumbling. “I may have used them a couple of time before I met you; I sort of know the owner.”
Alma stared at him blankly, if he could blush, he would.
“In my defense the girls had no p
roblem with me biting them, just as long as I made sure their necks healed after.” He fidgeted under her scrutinizing look. “It was a long time ago, okay?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You don’t have to,” he grumbled. “A look says a thousand words where you’re concerned.”
“Fine, we’ll go talk to Tender Blossoms tomorrow night.”
Viktor’s eyes shifted. “You don’t have to come with me…”
Alma gave him a chilly smile. “Oh, yes I do. I insist.”
*
The following evening Viktor parked and reluctantly walked toward the entrance of the Tender Blossoms office. Alma followed closely behind.
In over three hundred years he’d never been so nervous. He told himself over and over he had nothing to be ashamed of; he’d had sex before he met Alma, she knew that. Just like he knew she was no blushing virgin before she realized she was his true mate.
He wasn’t exactly proud of the fact, but during his downtime he’d tracked down every single man Alma had ever dated. He hadn’t found the men to hurt them; it just gave him a perverse pleasure to see the sorry excuses for men she had been with before him. It made him feel happier and more secure in making her wait for him. He’d had a lot of free time over the last four years.
He was delighted that not a single one of them could measure up to him. Yeah, okay, he was an arrogant, pervy asshole, and he didn’t care!
He had come to terms with her sexual past, his on the other hand… it wasn’t something they ever discussed. Alma asked him about his past now and again, but he generally demurred and dodged the questions. His spiky little witch had a bit of a jealous streak, not to mention a fiery temper, which made for some very passionate sex, but otherwise was best to be avoided.
Yet, here she was, about to come face to face with the last woman he was with before he met her. He just hoped she could hold onto any rage she might feel.
Viktor made a last-ditch attempt to stop what was about to happen. “Isn’t anyone missing you at the bail bond agency? Shouldn’t you maybe check in with them whilst I deal with this?”
“Nope, everything’s fine. Mia has everything under control.” She hoped.
