by Ariel Marie
“Shit! We better not have a fucking serial killer on our hands.” Sam cursed, speeding off in the direction of downtown.
“I know. Fuck! When the press gets wind of this, they will call it a serial killer.”
“Captain is going to be on our ass. We need to handle this one with caution.” Sam turned the dash blue and red lights on and sped up.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the location of the latest body. Uniform cars were everywhere; the coroner’s van and the CSI team were there as well. Off to the side, behind all of the yellow tape, was the media.
“Shit! It’s a mad house already!” Cooper jumped out of the car the second Sam put it into park. They quickly ducked under the yellow tape, flashing their badges, looking for the officer in charge. Spotting Officer Banks, they made their way to him.
“Detectives Cooper and Colsten. Welcome to the party,” Officer Banks said sarcastically.
“Glad to be here,” Cooper answered, returning the sarcasm.
“Follow me, our good old CSI boys and girls are about to start bagging and tagging. I had them wait when I heard you were on your way.” Officer Banks led them into the building.
“I thought this building was abandoned?” Sam asked as they walked into the main lobby.
“It usually is, but sometimes the homeless break in to it to get out of the elements. That’s what happened tonight.” He nodded to a dingy-looking man speaking to a uniform cop. “That guy over there was the one that found the body and called it in.”
The first room off the lobby looked like a conference room with no furniture. In the middle of the room on the floor lay the body of a white male that looked to be in his early forties. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve sweatshirt. Walking over to it, they all tried not to step on anything. The coroner, Dr. Daniel Bevins, walked into the room.
“Hi Cooper. Hey Sam,” Dr. Bevins said, snapping surgical gloves on his hands.
“What do you think, doc?” Cooper asked, watching the physician look the body over.
“I won’t know anything until I get him on the slab. But so far, it looks like the same as the other three.”
“Shit! You know what that means?” Sam said, shaking his head.
“Looks like we got a serial killer on our hands,” Cooper muttered.
Fuck! Just what we needed, a serial killer on the loose. The media was going to have a field day with this. Four deaths in one month, all John Does, and all dead ends; just what we needed.
An hour later, they were finally able to leave. They had to split up and speak to everyone who was at the scene and to the other officers gathering information. Not much more they could do tonight, but wait for the autopsy. Sam drove Cooper back to his apartment building.
“See you in a few hours,” Cooper said with a large sigh, closing the door. Sam saluted before pulling off. Cooper walked into the lobby, slowly ambling up to the elevator. There was no way he would be taking the stairs this morning to the third floor. Glancing at his watch, he groaned, seeing that it was almost seven in the morning.
He quickly made it into his small apartment, stripping his clothes off once in the bedroom. He set his alarm, seeing how he would only be able to grab a two-hour nap before needing to be at the station by ten. He crawled into his large king-sized bed, his thoughts drifting to the petite brunette with the ice blue eyes from the diner, before exhaustion consumed him.
* * *
~Nadira~
“Nadira, are you going hunting with us tonight?” Teague, her older brother asked from the doorway. He was the youngest son, but older than her by two years.
Her brothers were members of the Dark Shadows, which was led by her oldest brother Nicu. The Dark Shadows were an elite group of vampires that hunted down and destroyed rogue vampires. They policed the streets to keep humans and vampires safe and ultimately guard the secrets of vampirism. The world was not ready to know that there were others on the planet. Vampires were not truly immortal. They could live for centuries but there were ways they could be killed.
The human folklore had it right when they showed vampires dying by a wood stake to the heart. Sunlight could not kill a vampire and garlic was just a plain myth. Starving a vampire from blood would take a long time, but eventually the vampire would die.
Looking up from the current romance novel that she was engrossed in, she smiled at Teague. Even though they were two years apart, people always thought that they were twins. They both had the same blue eyes and dark brown hair with blond highlights they inherited from their mother. He was much taller than she was, at six foot two, while she topped out at five feet two inches.
“Um, yeah. When are you all leaving?”
“Twenty minutes, imp!” he said before disappearing out the door. She glanced down quickly, not realizing that two hours had passed since she sat down in the window seat of the study.
Her brothers never let her hunt for a fresh donor on her own. They trained her over the years in self-defense, but they still believed that at least one of them should be around. With her being the only daughter, her family believed that she would be a target for any enemy. Sometimes she felt as if she was a liability. Teague was the only one that had taken her training further, but neither their siblings, nor her parents knew of it. She could handle herself with no problem, but it was pointless to argue Nicu’s decision.
She could have just gone to the fridge and picked out her favorite bagged blood type, but there was nothing like fresh blood directly from the source. They kept their own supply of bagged blood on hand in the house for times when hunting was not feasible. Or she could just call her slujitor sânge, blood servant and feed from him. Vampires had used blood servants for centuries.
It’ll be fun to go out with the guys.
She quickly ran up to her quarters in the large mansion that her family had lived in for centuries. She threw on her favorite pair of skinny jeans, an off the shoulder shirt, and a pair of her most comfortable heels. When her brothers took her hunting for a donor, they usually went out late to a club, where it was easier to find a guy willing to go off into a dark corner with a beautiful young lady. Once they all finished with their donors, they usually dropped her off at home while they policed the city for rogue vampires.
After putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she headed downstairs to find Teague and Adrian waiting for her.
“Just us three tonight?” she asked as they walked through the kitchen and out the door to the attached garage.
“Yes, little bit,” Adrian joked, opening the back door to the black Tahoe truck. “Everyone else has plans tonight.”
Just because she was the tiniest of the siblings, they had always teased her. Just another thing for older brothers to pick on their baby sister.
“Cool. Can I stay with you guys all night tonight? You guys get to have all of the fun!” Adrian was the second oldest and she knew that he held a soft spot for her. The minute their eyes met, she fluttered her eyelashes dramatically; his eyes softened and she knew she had him.
“Don’t tell Nicu that we let you patrol with us. He’ll string me up if he thinks that you were in danger!” Adrian groaned.
“My lips are sealed,” she made the motion of zipping her lips. “So where are we going?”
“We thought we’d try that new club Treasure,” Teague said.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the club. Adrian had the truck valet parked. The Olaru family was known as one of wealth and power. The line to the club was almost around the block. They walked up to the door, ignoring the long line. The bouncer at the door was a vampire and immediately let them in the door. Protests could be heard from the patrons in the line.
“Don’t go far,” Teague warned once they were in the club.
She had the guys agree to let her go pick her own donors whenever they took her hunting. It was hard for a guy to approach her if she had four overbearing guys standing around her. All of them agreed to stay away from her once i
n the club to let her pursue a donor on her own.
She went to the bar and ordered a Paloma, a mixture of tequila and grapefruit soda, one of her favorite drinks. She could already feel eyes on her. The bartender brought her drink, but before she could pay for it, he held up his hand.
“Complements of the gentleman over there,” he said, pointing down to the end of the bar.
“Thanks,” she said to the bartender.
She glanced down to where he pointed; a nice-looking guy with short brown hair and glasses raised his glass. She smiled shyly, mouthing the words ‘thanks.’ She took a sip of her liquid courage and decided she might as well hurry this up. The guys were always quicker getting their donors. She strolled over to the guy who paid for her drink, putting a little more sway in her hips, his eyes not leaving her.
“Hi, thanks for the drink,” she said. Up close, he appeared about thirty years old, with warm brown eyes.
“The least I could do for such a pretty woman,” he smiled. He was nice looking and all, but he was no Cooper. The hot detective had been on her mind constantly since the night they met.
“You’re sweet. I’m Nadira,” she said, shaking his hands.
“Rick. Nice to meet you,” he said, smiling warmly.
A popular song came on that she liked. She looked over at Rick. “I love this song; please tell me you dance?”
“For you, I will,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the crowded dance floor.
The song was fast paced and she started to loosen up a bit. A few minutes later, they were laughing at themselves dancing and others, dancing. The next song was a slow one and he pulled her body close to his. She felt the alcohol’s effects and knew she needed to hurry before the guys would want to move on. Looking deep into Rick’s eyes, she used her vampire power of compulsion.
“Come with me, Rick,” she whispered.
His eyes glazed over and he nodded his head. He was under her control. She grabbed his hand, leading him towards the back of the club past the restrooms and out the emergency exit to the back alleyway. Any person who may have witnessed them leaving would think that this guy was about to get lucky.
Once outside, the night air was cool as she pushed him against the brick wall of the building, turning his head away from her. Her incisors lengthened as she focused on his nice juicy jugular vein. He smelled of cologne that wasn’t too strong. She licked the plump vein, before slowing sinking her teeth in, sucking down a mouthful of his delicious blood. His body stiffened with the initial sting of her fangs. The warm coppery blood slipped down her throat as she gulped. She had to be careful not to take too much. It was against vampire laws for donors to be harmed.
A few minutes later, she licked the pinprick holes, sealing them with her saliva, barely leaving a mark. She licked her lips quickly to remove any evidence of his blood on her mouth. She pulled his head back towards her to look into his eyes again.
“Go back into the club, Rick. When you get inside, you will wake up standing outside the bathroom.” She delved into his mind, erasing memories of herself so that he would not remember her. He nodded before going back into the club.
She stood there for a second, already feeling the effects of fresh blood. It made her feel stronger; all of her senses and powers were heightened. She walked around the building to look for her brothers. There was a commotion in the front of the building; a woman’s scream could be heard and someone shouting for the police to be called. Her instincts picked up, causing her to run a little faster towards the front of the building. She made it to the front of the building, noticing the mob of people gathered across the street, a few of them with their camera phones out.
“What’s going on?” she asked a tall man at the back of the crowd.
“They said something about a dead body,” he said, not looking her way.
She quickly pushed her way to the front of the crowd. At the mouth of the alleyway, a man with brown curly hair lay face down on the concrete. He resembled one of the patrons of the club. She instantly could sense no pulse. She dropped to the ground, placing her two forefingers on his neck, trying to find a heartbeat.
Confirmed. No pulse.
“Did someone call the police?” She looked around.
“Yeah, a couple of us called,” someone answered from the crowd. Sirens could be heard getting closer.
Nadira’s eyes quickly assessed him, taking in that there was no blood, scrapes, or bruises. That’s weird. If this would have been a rogue vampire attack, his clothes would have been shredded and his neck would have looked like it was put through a meat grinder.
“Excuse us, let us through!” Two paramedics pushed their way through the crowd.
She backed away; standing off to the side while watching the paramedics evaluate him, knowing there was nothing that they could do for him. They turned him, over assessing him, speaking softly to each other. Nadira’s vampiric sight allowed her to see clearly that there were no open wounds on the man.
“He’s gone. Call it in,” the older paramedic said. A few police cruisers pulled up at the scene. The cops made quick work of pushing the crowd back, lining the street with yellow tape.
Where are Adrian and Teague?
About an hour had passed since she last saw either of them. “Ma’am?” A voice broke through her thoughts. She looked up, seeing a young African American policeman looking at her.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Witnesses said that you checked the victim. I just have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind,” he asked gently.
“Of course. I’m not sure how much I can be of help but I’ll try.”
“What is your name?”
“Nadira Olaru.”
“Do you know the victim?” he asked, taking out a small notebook and pen.
“No, I just heard people yelling and I ran to see if I could help.” He cocked an eyebrow, looking at my club attire. “I’m a nurse. No one looked as if they were going to help him; they just stood around staring. I wanted to at least lend a hand if I could. I only touched his neck to see if there was a pulse,” she said.
“Was there?” he asked, continuing to write in his pad.
“No, there wasn’t,” she shook her head.
“Did you—” a large hand landed on his shoulder, cutting him off.
“I got it from here, Officer Miller.” Cooper said; his brown eyes zeroed in on Nadira. She shifted slightly as her eyes connected with his. Her heart jumped a little as Officer Miller walked away, leaving the two of them alone.
“Nadira, are you okay?” he asked, moving closer.
“Yes, I am.” She swallowed hard, looking up into his beautiful brown eyes. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He asked, looking around at the sudden rush of people and cars coming to the scene. Her eyes focused in on the pulse at the base of his neck. Her incisors slowly inched their way out of her gums. She licked her lips as she witnessed his heartbeat speed up. The clean scent of Cooper surrounded her, teasing her, making her want to take a taste. She couldn’t possible want to feed again! She moved a step closer to him as a shiver slid down her spine.
“Are you cold?” He draped an arm around her, leading her across the street away from the chaos. She had to concentrate hard to get her fangs to rescind back into her gums.
“Nadira!” Adrian and Teague could be seen jogging toward them.
“Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over the place for you!” Teague said, glaring at Cooper’s arm around her. She pulled to move away but he tightened his arm around her, pulling her closer.
“Who the fuck is this?” Adrian said, shooting glares at Cooper. Cooper stiffened at the harshness in Adrian’s tone. Both of her brothers waited for her to answer and they were definitely in their protective big brother role.
“Cooper, these are two of my older brothers, Adrian and Teague. Adrian, Teague, this is Detective Zac Cooper; he’s a detective for the Cleveland Police Department.”
>
“Do detectives usually get this cozy with bystanders?” Adrian asked, with his eyebrow cocked.
“Not usually. Nadira and I actually met the other day,” Cooper answered, not backing down from her overbearing brothers.
“Guys, it’s okay. Cooper was just helping me. I saw the body.” She raised an eyebrow at them, hoping they get the point that it was time to go. Teague caught on and nodded his head.
“Let’s get you home, sis,” Teague said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Cooper.
“I’ll call you later, Nadira.” Cooper said, looking like he wanted to say more. She smiled softly and waved at him, as she was dragged away.
3
~Nadira~
“What was the eyebrow for?” Adrian asked, turning towards her as they waited for the valet to bring their vehicle.
“Not now,” she kept her voice low. A few minutes later, their truck pulled up to the curb. Teague helped her into the vehicle, while Adrian tipped the valet and jumped in the driver seat, quickly pulling off.
“What’s up?” Adrian said.
“First off, thank you for leaving me all alone!” She slapped both of them on the back of their heads.
“What did we do this time?” Teague yelled, acting as if he was actually hurt. “You’re always complaining that we are too overbearing! Sheesh!” he said shaking his head. “I will never understand a female’s brain!”
“It’s not for you to understand!” Her brothers became serious as she proceeded to describe what she witnessed.
“Shit, we’re going to have to let Nicu know,” Adrian said, turning down the street that led to the Olaru mansion.
“I thought you guys said I could stay with you?” she asked, as they drove closer to their home.
