Dangerous Retaliation (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 4)

by Kelley, Morgan

  He must be insane.

  Yet, he didn't have a choice. Flynn knew that getting to Tommy was his utmost concern. If they were even seconds late, she’d bleed him to death and toss his body someplace they’d never find him.

  His ex-partner deserved better than that.

  It was time to go. Heading down to the garage, he was thrilled to find a vehicle waiting for him. Like the one back home, this Hummer was just as ‘special’.

  “Jacques, you’re the man,” he muttered, before grabbing the keys from the wall.

  Hopping in, Flynn got ready.

  Now it came down to good old fashioned police work as he began searching for a friend and hunting a vampyre.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  Tommy Gress could feel the room spinning out of control as he tried to remember how much he had been drinking to make him feel this sick.

  Then he recalled there wasn’t alcohol involved when he lost consciousness.

  The last thing Gress remembered was checking out a woman’s statement. Then she fell. He struggled to pull it up in his mind. He’d gone to her aid, and she’d…

  Wait!

  That couldn’t be right.

  There was no way she’d been drinking his blood. People didn’t drink from people…

  Yet, here he was.

  Adrenaline surged as he stared down his body in the dim light. What he saw chilled him to the bone. Tommy was stripped down to his boxers. As he struggled to move, he realized it was futile. His hands were tied tightly above his head to the wall.

  “Oh shit! This has to be a very bad sign,” he whispered hoarsely, through his damaged throat.

  It looked like the serial killer had found him first.

  Who would have thought?

  Tommy never thought he’d go down like this. He’d always hoped it would be in a sinful romp, or by a bullet in the line of duty.

  Well, this sucked.

  “I see that you’ve finally decided to wake up so we can talk,” stated Zola, staring down at his prone form. He wasn’t an unattractive man for a human. She found his red hair and ginger freckles alluring. If she liked fair men, she might play with him a bit longer.

  “Who and what are you?” Panic welled up again as he fought to remain calm.

  “I’m Zola Saran, and you’re my prisoner until I decide what part of you I’ll be mailing back to your old partner. I’m going to ship you to them, piece by piece. Flynn’s mate deserves this little gift.”

  Gress stared at the woman like she was insane. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zola,” he answered, as calmly as possible. “Who’s my partner’s mate?”

  Zola laughed. “I’m sorry for the confusion. You see, you know her as his girlfriend. Please forgive me. Our kind uses different terminology.”

  “Jolie Harcourte?” he asked, trying to piece this all together.

  “Yes, she’s the bane of my existence. My plan is to eliminate her mates and family, to show her that my retaliation is swift.”

  “I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand,” Gress said, trying to remain calm. It wasn’t easy since that sick feeling in his gut was welling up. He couldn’t believe his friend was being stalked by this nutjob.

  “What are you?”

  Zola moved closer to kneel beside the restrained man. “What do you think I am?” she purred seductively.

  “I don’t know. Did you drink my blood before or did I get hit in the head?”

  “Yes, I did drink from you.” Zola ran a well-manicured hand down his body. “I’m a vampyre, Detective Gress, and I intend to drink you dry, and then deliver you to that murdering bitch Jolie Harcourte.”

  “A vampyre?”

  Okay, one of them had sustained a blow to the head, and he didn't think it was him.

  “Yes, Jolie Harcourte and her mate, Jacques, are vampyres. They’re also ancient beings much like myself. I had a mate until he was killed for betraying Flynn to another vampyre. That’s why we’re here today,” she answered.

  “Oh God! Is my friend a …?”

  “No, humans can’t be changed into full vampyres. Let’s just say that he’s going to live as long as they do, and we’ll leave it at that. Their lifespans are getting shorter and shorter.”

  Gress looked at the woman like she was crazy.

  Immortals and vampyres didn’t exist. Everyone knew that, with the obvious exception of this fruit loop.

  “You doubt my words, Detective?”

  “I’m sorry, but this is too weird to be true.”

  Oh, here was another naïve human who thought humanity was the supreme ruler on this big blue ball.

  It was time to school him.

  Zola smiled, thinking about blood. It called to the monster in her. Slowly, the fangs slid into her mouth. It was hard not to enjoy the incredulous look now plastered on Detective Gress’s face. It was one of fear, horror, and terror.

  When Zola lowered her mouth to his chest, licking across his pectoral muscle, he shook in fear. “Don’t worry, Detective. I won’t be killing you just yet. See, I have plans to torture Jolie and her pathetic human mate. You’re simply a means to an end to lure them back to Philadelphia. Then I’ll notify the society that she has arrived, and they’ll be executed for breaking the laws of the council. All in due time of course.”

  Tommy continued to be mesmerized by the slow drag of her teeth across his chest. The sharp fangs scraping across his body were leaving rivulets of blood running down his flesh. His heart pounded in fear and his mind spun, trying to analyze it all. This had to be a dream.

  A very, very bad one.

  “After they die, Detective, I’ll return to their home and kill the family too. Eliminating every single solitary one of them will be my final retaliation--the killing blow, if you will.”

  Gress couldn’t believe how calm she was. Some hideous sickness was obviously controlling her. No sane person plotted and planned things like this. When she began lapping the blood from his chest and side, he could feel panic taking over. This couldn’t be happening to him.

  Zola lifted her face from his body. “Don’t worry, Detective. You have a few days before I kill you! Until then, let’s have some fun.”

  With that, she slammed her teeth into his chest and reveled in the scream that was ripped from the man’s throat. Time was on her side, and she couldn’t wait for Jolie to arrive in the city with her mates.

  Death was coming.

  And they were marked.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  There were days when being almost a full vampyre had its advantages. Today was definitely one of those days. Before even leaving the safety of his Hummer, Flynn was able to scan the entire area for any sign of Zola. The only living or ‘dead’ thing he sensed was one woman alongside the heavy cover of the house. Other than her, the area was clear and safe. If need be, Flynn could definitely take the one human out. That would be a walk in the park.

  So, he took a minute to work out his plan.

  Really, there was only one way to find out if the human was watching the yard to report back to Zola. It was going to involve making himself bait.

  Thank God that Jolie wasn’t there. She’d kill him for risking his neck.

  Flynn only hoped that he could lure the human out into the open, and then grab her for a makeshift interrogation. Normally, he would be more conservative and not play with his survival, but Gress’s life was depending on him doing his job. This was one of those unavoidable choices, and Flynn was just grateful that he was harder to take down.

  Stepping from the vehicle, he set his plan into motion. Flynn made sure to walk straight into the clearing, making himself a target.

  He could hear the human moving toward him.

  There was the crunching of leaves, the soft even breathing, and even the telltale thumping of her heart.

  Vamp abilities rocked.

  “What were you thinking, Gress?” he said out loud, hoping the watcher would make a move.
<
br />   When the footsteps hesitated, he continued.

  “Who took you?”

  “Good question,” answered the voice from behind him.

  Flynn moved.

  His motion was so smooth, fast, and fluid, that the woman didn't see him coming until his gun was pressed to her throat.

  She gasped.

  Recognition dawned and Flynn holstered his weapon. This wasn’t just any female. He knew her really well.

  “Dena Callahan, how are you?”

  The woman swallowed. “Well hell, Flynn, you move pretty damn fast in your old age. Who knew moving south would improve your reflexes?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I know.” Flynn sized up the woman standing before him. At one time, they’d been friends and casual acquaintances. Then, it moved into something more. A few dates here, a roll in bed there, and it all ended in one big fizzle.

  Yeah, Flynn wasn’t proud of it, but more or less, she’d been a way to forget the horrors of work. They’d used each other, until it slowly died away. Now looking back, he regretted every mediocre romp.

  In his mind, it proved even more that two cops could be friends, but they most certainly couldn’t co-exist in a sexual relationship.

  After Dena, he’d proved that.

  Even picturing their few liaisons made him want to be sick. Flynn assumed that was because of the woman now in his life. Jacques did tell him that mates couldn’t, and wouldn’t, cheat.

  Here was the proof.

  Looking back, he knew that stringing the woman along to get off wasn’t one of his prouder moments.

  He probably owed her an apology.

  “I’ve missed you, Flynn,” she said.

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He’d forgotten about her. The day he broke off all connection with Dena, he’d been called into his boss’s office. In that fateful moment, he met the woman he’d eventually be in love with for the rest of eternity.

  That afternoon, tall, dark, and gorgeous rolled into his life to assist him with a serial killer case, much like this one. From that moment on, his heart belonged to only her.

  How could he ever go back?

  Truth be told--the minute he stared into Jolie’s lavender eyes, he was lost to anyone else around him.

  “How are you, Dena?” he asked, accepting the hug, since he really didn't have any other choice. Flynn didn't like being touched by another woman, but he played along, awkwardly patting her back.

  At least it wasn’t a vamp watching him.

  Then again, she was checking him out, and that was just as unsettling.

  “I’m good, Flynn. When did you get into town?” Wow, the man still made her heart skip a beat. If possible, his eyes were a deeper shade of blue. They were set off in the moonlight by his black hair. Maybe her lingering embrace would remind him of what they once shared.

  At least she hoped so.

  “I arrived an hour ago. I’m staying at our house just outside of the city limits. I was going to pop in to see you in the morning, but I was curious, so I had to come out here and see what had happened to Tommy.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Flynn.”

  Oh yeah, she was really happy to see him.

  Flynn tried to put space between them. “What happened? Walk me through the last time you heard from, or saw, Tommy.”

  Dena looked distraught. “He simply went missing. I got a voice mail message telling me he was going to interview a witness that wasn’t on the list, and he’d contact me later. Next day, he never showed up, and I knew you’d want to know. I hope I didn’t ruin your work schedule or personal life.”

  Yeah, she was digging, and he knew it.

  “Yeah, I did want to know. Thanks for the call. As for everything else, my girlfriend wanted me to come. She and Tommy are friends. I had the personal time with work, so don’t sweat it. What have you got so far?” he asked, dragging the conversation back on track. Flynn had better things to do than just sit out in the open with his ex-fling.

  Besides, he wasn’t so sure Jolie would like the way this woman was ogling him. He could feel her leering and hear her pounding heart.

  “We have jack shit on where he could be, and that’s what’s so damn confusing. His car was left here, there are no prints but his and mine, and it appears that he just vanished.”

  Flynn knew what that meant.

  Vampyres.

  Yes, Zola was definitely behind this.

  “We didn't even find drag marks. Tommy isn’t as big as you, but still…someone carried him? How?”

  Oh, Flynn knew exactly how. He’d been carried by a female vamp before. While they may look fragile and small, they weren’t.

  They were killers.

  “We located a few spots of blood where it looks like someone slid in the grass, but that’s it.”

  “DNA?” Flynn knew that would be the deciding factor. If DNA was present, then it was human. If not...the undead.

  “The team is running it. The lab takes time.” Her eyes began filling with tears.

  “We’ll find him, Dena. Stay calm.”

  “I know. I just don’t like the way this feels.”

  “Was he dating anyone?” asked Flynn, turning toward the house to scan the area. When Dena didn’t answer, he turned to face her. “What’s wrong?”

  “We were dating outside of work, Flynn, but you know the chief’s rules. We were breaking them.”

  “Oh, so it was off the record.” Hey! He wasn’t going to judge. After all, he’d been there and done that.

  “Yeah, it just sort of happened one day. Right after you quit, I was bumped from trafficking and drugs to homicide as your replacement. I didn’t plan on dating another cop again.”

  She let that hang in the air.

  Flynn hoped this didn't become fraught in girl drama. This was just one more reason why he shouldn’t have been taking a dip in the co-worker pool.

  “Okay,” he urged, trying to get her to continue.

  “Tommy and I just meshed. We connected, and that’s about all there is to it. We’d keep it out of the precinct, but when we were off duty... well, you know how it was.” She tried to remind him what they used to do.

  Flynn felt bad for her. Despite it all, he’d used her to forget the daily stress. Now, she had lost Tommy too.

  Okay, so he felt guilty.

  Shit!

  “I miss him.”

  Dena began crying. Before Flynn could pat her on the shoulder, she threw herself against him.

  Her death grip kept him trapped as she rubbed her body against his. Had it not been for the guilt, he would have pushed her away. Yeah, he was lucky that Jolie wasn’t around. This wouldn’t fly, and he knew it.

  “Shhhh… it’s okay, Dena. We’ll find him. Why don’t we both head out of here and go home? I’ll give you my address, and you can swing by in the morning. We’ll head to the station together to talk to the chief.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Flynn, for coming back. I didn’t know who else to call. Tommy only has his mom and his sister and they are beyond devastated. The chief told them to stay home until we knew more. It’s probably for the best, since Tommy wouldn’t want them worried.”

  “It’s okay. I’m glad you thought to call me.”

  “Again, I hope I’m not pulling you away from a case or anyone important,” she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

  Flynn finally got free from her hold. He was pretty sure her hand wasn’t accidentally on his ass. He moved a step back, trying to gain some space.

  She simply pulled back her red hair as she watched him.

  “Actually, Jolie and I were just getting back from France. I’m on leave from work for a few more days, so my schedule is clear. I’ve yet to be given a new assignment at work.”

  “France? Wow. Who would have pictured you for the refined type?” said Dena, punching him in the arm. “I couldn’t get you to watch an old movie, let alone get you to Paris.”

  He wanted to tell her that it was because she wa
s simply a way to relieve tension. They weren’t a couple. Instead, he opted not to kick her while she was down.

  Still, his gut was off.

  Here she was flirting, and Tommy was missing.

  “Well, if you knew Jolie, then you’d understand,” he admitted, walking her to her car.

  “I hope I can meet her one day.”

  He nearly laughed.

  Oh, no she didn’t. Jolie would twist her head right off her shoulders. It wouldn’t be pretty.

  “So, what does she do? I know she’s not a cop--that’s your cardinal relationship rule,” she stated, trying to keep the malice from entering her voice.

  Flynn shrugged. “Jolie’s a doctor. Some believe she’s the leading authority in deviant behavior”

  Dena looked up at him. “Doctor Jolie Harcourte is your girlfriend?”

  He wasn’t sure where she was taking this.

  “As a matter of fact, yes. Why?”

  “Oh my God! I hear she’s a genius when it comes to criminology. Her mind is supposed to be amazing. There was this lecture in Philly two years ago, and my whole division scored front row seats for the profiling seminar. I was out on an undercover assignment, but every one of the team said it was beyond amazing. The guys think she’s so in tune with a killer’s behavior that she could be one.”

  Brogan had to laugh.

  Oh, if they only knew.

  “I wish I could have met her. I’m curious to see what all the hype was all about.”

  Flynn knew that was a bad idea. Jolie was a killer. While she came in a gorgeous package, a vamp was a vamp. While Dena thought the men were talking about her brain, he somehow didn't buy that.

  She had a gift.

  There were many times he stopped hearing Jolie and fell into a trance as he stared at her in awe. Her laughter brushed through his body, and he knew she was exerting so much energy to just reach him from New Orleans.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty amazing. I agree whole heartedly.”

  “How in bloody hell did you catch a genius?”