Princess (The Dark Shadows #1)

by Ariel Marie

  “Shit’s changed. We don’t know what killed that guy. That was not a rogue,” Teague said, texting on his phone. “Nicu is home. He was just about to leave. He said he will wait for us.”

  Adrian quickly pulled into the long narrow driveway leading to the Olaru mansion. The extravagant stone mansion had been in their family for centuries. The house was set back away from the main road, sitting on ten acres of immaculate landscaped land. Adrian pulled into the garage. Nadira hurriedly jumped out of the truck, going straight into the house, heading towards Nicu’s office.

  She pushed open the door finding her eldest brother leaning against his massive desk. Aside from his personal quarters in the home, this was his domain. This was where the eldest Olaru offspring ran the Dark Shadows. Nicu stood up straight, his massive size and intimidating glare always demanding respect. As the head of the Dark Shadows, Nicu was not a vampire that you would want to cross. He, Adrian, and Toma took after their father, Vladimir, with their midnight black hair and olive skin tone. All of the Olaru offspring had the same ice blue eyes inherited from their mother. As the eldest brother, he was the most protective of Nadira. If he had his way, she would never date and would have a guard glued to her hip at all times.

  “What happened tonight?” His piercing dark gaze locked on Adrian.

  “Not quite sure. We took Nadira to that new club so she could hunt. She found a donor and the next thing we know, we heard screaming and a commotion outside the club. We found Nadira in the middle of the action,” Adrian reported, Nicu’s gaze whipped around to her.

  Way to throw her under the bus!

  “I don’t know more than you,” she shrugged her shoulders. “I heard the scream and ran to the front of the building. The guy was already dead, lying face down.”

  “Hold that thought. We’re going to talk about why you were behind the building in a minute,” Nicu’s deep voice rumbled as he held up his hand, throwing daggers with his eyes at her other brothers. “But first, what did you see?”

  “There was no heartbeat when I got to him. When the paramedics arrived and turned him over, there wasn’t a scratch on him. No blood, no bite marks not even a little cut,” she said, looking around the room.

  “He was just dead,” Nicu stated. She nodded her head.

  “Adrian, I want you, Viktor, and Ronin to see what you can find out. Go back to the club; I’m sure some patrons are still there talking about it. See what they know. Get in their heads if you have to.” He turned is gaze to Teague. “I want you to see what you can find out on the internet. See what the police have been up to.”

  “No problem,” Teague said before heading out of the office, with Adrian behind him. Teague had been known to crack into a database or two on the internet. He had a wicked way with computers and it would take him no time to get into the local police department’s website.

  “Now, what were you doing behind the club?”

  * * *

  ~Cooper~

  “Something out there is killing people on my streets and I want to know who the fuck is doing it!” Captain Lou Newton screeched in front of the room. Captain Newton was a large African American man with salt and pepper hair. No one wanted to get on his bad side and currently everyone in the room was on his shit list. When the vein in the middle of his forehead popped out, it was never a good sign.

  This morning’s huddle was not going well. Each morning, members of the Cleveland Police Department got together before leaving the precinct. The meeting was to discuss current cases, any updates and any leads that teams may need help with. This morning’s meeting turned into a screaming session for the captain.

  On the television screen behind the captain, morgue shots of the victims that Sam and Cooper were currently working on were displayed.

  “How is it that we have four John Does sitting in the morgue right now with no cause of death, no suspects, and no leads?” Captain Newton continued to rant. Cooper cringed on the inside as the captain’s glare turned to him and Sam. “Not even a witness to see how their bodies got to where they were found!”

  “We don’t have much to go on,” Cooper said. “There were no defensive wounds, no DNA, no nothing! It’s like these guys just fell over dead,” he looked around the room.

  “Any drugs in their system. Are we sure these aren’t overdoses?” Detective Hackman asked from the back of the room.

  “Dan said that was the first thing he thought. All the tox screens are coming back negative,” Cooper responded. Dr. Daniel Bevins was stumped again when he spoke to Cooper this morning. He was not able to come up with why these guys were dead.

  “We’ve run their prints and none of them have ever been fingerprinted. We’ve checked all systems and nothing!” Sam spoke up from beside Cooper.

  “The only weird thing that is coming back is that they are all missing blood,” Cooper announced.

  “But, I thought you said none of them had wounds?” Detective Brynn Reagan asked from the back of the room.

  “When Dan did the autopsy, either they were missing about half their blood supply or all.” Sam said.

  A few curses escaped around the room. “What does Dan think?” Detective Logan Archer inquired from his side of the room.

  “He’s just as baffled as we are,” Cooper replied, leaning back in his chair.

  “Well, we need to get a lead soon! The media is circling and there is only so much I can do!” Captain Newton stated. “I need answers, people! You’re dismissed!” He stomped out of the room. A few people immediately left the room after the captain, while some stayed chatting.

  “Cooper, you guys need help with anything?” Hackman asked.

  “We need a miracle. Dan thinks he’s going to have to rule these as natural causes soon. His boss is demanding that he pronounce and release the bodies.” Cooper said.

  “Well, let us know if you need us,” Reagan offers as she walked away. She glanced back, winking at Cooper before following her partner out of the room.

  “What was that about?” Sam asked as they left the room, walking down to the bullpen

  “I have no idea,” he answered, shaking his head.

  Cooper knew that Brynn Reagan had the hots for him. She had not been too subtle with her attraction to him. He refused to get involved with a fellow officer at the same precinct. He tried to keep everything business oriented when around her.

  They both sat at their desks, checking and responding to emails. Cooper’s phone on his desk rang.

  “Homicide, Detective Cooper. Can I help you?” he answered, holding the phone on his shoulder as he continued to go through his emails.

  No one answered. Deep strangled breathing came across the line. “Hello?” he said again, stopping what he was doing. Sam looked up from his computer, glancing at Cooper from across their desk.

  “They are coming.” A deep scratchy voice came over the line. Cooper instantly hit his record button on the phone, snapping his fingers to grab Sam’s attention again.

  “Excuse me?” he asked, trying to get the person to say more. Sam paused what he was doing to pay attention.

  “They… are… coming…” The deep voice was breathless.

  “Who is coming?” he asked.

  “This… is… the… beginning…” The voice faded away as the line went dead.

  “Shit!” Cooper yelled, slamming down the phone. Several people stopped what they were doing to glance over at Cooper.

  “What the hell was that?” Sam asked.

  “Hell if I know!” Cooper shared with Sam what the voice said.

  “So it just said ‘they are coming’ and ‘this is the beginning’?” Sam asked. “You think this has to do with our case?”

  “I’m sure it does! But who the hell are coming?” They both got up, Sam following Cooper.

  “Where are we heading?” Sam inquired.

  “Down to the tech room so that I can hear the call again.” Cooper said, taking the stairs down to the basement where tech support was hous
ed.

  “Nate!” Cooper called out, barging in the technical support room, finding Nathaniel Duggins glued to his bank of computers.

  “What’s up, Cooper?” Nate asked, not looking up from his computer screen.

  “I need you to replay a call for us.” Cooper and Sam pulled up chairs on each side of Nate.

  “Sure.” Nate’s fingers flew across his keyboard. A few seconds later, the media player on the screen replayed the phone call.

  “That’s some creepy shit!” Sam exclaimed, sitting back.

  “I know!” Cooper agreed. He didn’t know what the hell to make of it. Why did the caller decide to contact him? This didn’t sit right with him. How did the person know to contact him and got past the switchboard?

  “Can you trace it?” Sam asked Nate.

  “Let me see. Not sure if the call was long enough, but let me see if it will give us a general range of where it came from.” Nate typed a few more commands. “Looks like a payphone over on the East Side.”

  “Payphones? There are still payphones around?” Sam asked chuckling.

  “Believe it or not, yes.” Nate replied laughing. “Here we go — an address for you. Looks like the call came from the corner of Fifty-Fifth and Chester.”

  “Don’t delete that, log that as evidence in the John Doe cases that we’re working on.” Cooper instructed Nate as he and Sam left the tech room.

  “Well, this is our first break!” Sam declared as they jogged out of the precinct to their car.

  “Not much of a break, but I’ll take it!”

  4

  ~Nadira~

  That had to be the longest shift ever! Nadira thought as she jumped in the waiting car. Cyran closed the door, walking around to the driver seat.

  “Hi, Cyran,” she said, buckling her seat belt.

  “Princess.” Cyran nodded, as he pulled off the curb. “Bad night?”

  “Yes, we had a couple more rogue attacks come through. One girl didn’t survive the change. It was so sad,” she murmured, staring off into the night as Cyran drove them home. Her phone vibrated, signaling a text. She glanced down, noticing a message from Cooper. Her heart did a little dance.

  I hope I’m not waking you.

  She quickly responded. Nope, just got off work. I thought you forgot about me.

  I can’t forget about you.

  She smiled, feeling bold. Oh, really, why is that?

  Who could forget the most beautiful woman in the world?

  She laughed aloud at that. Cyran raised his eyebrow in the rearview mirror. She shook her head. A few minutes later, Cyran pulled their vehicle into the garage. She jumped out of the car, not waiting for him to open the door. She hurried to her room, snatching her scrubs off, and threw on a pair of comfortable leggings and a t-shirt.

  Feeling brave for some reason, she hit his number, listening to the ringing. He answered on the second ring.

  “Hi,” she said shyly. “So, I’m the most beautiful woman in the world? Do you get many girls with that pickup line?”

  His husky laugh caused a flutter of butterflies in her stomach. She bit her lip, sighing at the sound of his laugh. Just the sound of his voice had her fighting her incisors from dropping.

  “I don’t think I have ever used a pickup line. I was just stating the obvious.” His voice sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Oh.” That was all she had. She couldn’t think of a quirky response as she lay back on her bed.

  “Would you like to grab coffee or something tomorrow when I get off work?”

  “What time do you get off?” she asked.

  They made plans to meet for coffee. He wanted to pick her up but she didn’t think that it would be a good idea. She refused to tell him that she didn’t think it would be good for a human to meet her vampire family. She made excuses that she would be in that area anyway. Now she would just have to find a way to get there without an escort.

  * * *

  ~Cooper~

  He couldn’t believe that he was actually nervous. He peeked at the clock on the wall, seeing that only one minute had passed since the last time he looked at it. He glanced over at the door again, his breath catching in his throat. It felt as if something slammed into his chest as he watched Nadira walk through the door.

  Her long brown hair hung in waves down her back while her icy blue eyes searched the coffee shop for him. Her skintight jeans and t-shirt looked like she had been poured into them. Looking at her feet, she wore high heels that had him promising himself if he ever got her alone and naked, the heels would be the only thing he would allow her to wear. Her eyes caught his as she walked towards him. Every male in the coffee shop eyed her as she made her way to him.

  “Hi,” she said, smiling up at him while giving him a small hug. He gestured for her to have a seat at the table.

  “What will you have?”

  She told him her order. He went and ordered their coffees. He turned to glance back at her, catching her ogling him. A blush crept up her neck as he winked at her. He felt his anxiety grow, wanting to get back to her side; he wanted to examine her flushed skin up close.

  “Here you go, sir,” the teenage barista said, grabbing his attention from Nadira. He turned, catching the eye of a guy who was staring at Nadira. His glare caused the guy to look away quickly. His possessiveness towards Nadira was something new and shocking to even him since they had only just met. As he walked back towards her, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She smiled as he sat down next to her.

  She took a sip of her coffee, moaning with her eyes closed. His cock jumped to attention. Down, boy! He shifted, trying to adjust himself, as he watched her lick the whip cream from her top lip. His eyes locked on her tongue licking her bottom lip clean. He had a strong desire to capture her plump bottom lip between his teeth while burying his hands into her thick hair.

  “Oh my, that is so good!” she gushed, her blue eyes twinkled. He was at a loss for words. His mouth felt like someone had glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “How is yours?”

  “Good,” he finally took a sip of his black coffee. He held back a grimace at the burnt taste and the coffee grounds residue in his mouth. His cup must have come from the bottom of the pot. Not the worst coffee he’d ever had, but he wasn’t going to let on that it was horrible. “So tell me about yourself.”

  “Well, I’m the youngest of five children. I’m the only girl.” She winced. He laughed at her ‘pain’. “Not funny, you will never know what it is like being the baby of the family and the only girl!” she groaned.

  “It can’t be that bad,” he said, laughing. She stared at him for a second with a straight face, before giving into a smile. He chuckled again.

  “My brothers are very… protective of me,” she said slowly while shaking her head slightly.

  “Rightfully so.”

  “Hey!” She playfully punched him slightly in the arm, laughing. He loved the sound of her laugh and the way her eyes twinkled.

  They continued to talk, getting to know each other, and learning about each other’s families. Before he knew it, an hour had passed. His attraction to her grew by the minute and he didn’t want their time to end. He has had a constant hard on since she walked into the coffee shop.

  “Will you go for a walk with me?” he asked, sending up a prayer that she would say yes.

  “Sure.” She smiled and he could have sworn her eyes darkened with need for a second, but it could have been a trick of light.

  Near the coffee shop was a small park with a duck pond and a trail for walkers and joggers. Streetlights lined the empty trail, illuminating it for any nighttime runners. They strolled in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before he felt her small hand slide into his. He smiled down at her, lacing their fingers together, pulling her closer to him.

  The faint aroma of her perfume drifted up to him, making him want to throw her over his shoulder and carry her away to his apartment. His desire to spend the rest of the night exploring her pet
ite curvy body, licking and kissing every inch of it, increased the longer he was with her.

  “So what made you want to be a cop?” she asked, looking up at him, breaking him away from his fantasy.

  “Well, I loved playing cops and robbers with my brother and sister when we were kids.” Her smile quickly faded at a sound of a scuffle in the woods. His body stiffened at the sound. She gasped as two figures fell from the woods in the midst of battle. Swords clashed as the two locked in a deadly battle. Cooper pushed Nadira behind him as he pulled his weapon from his holster.

  “Freeze! CPD!” he yelled at the two figures in the shadows, as one fighter took advantage of the distraction, swinging his sword swiftly, separating the head from the figure, the body falling to the ground. “Shit!”

  Cooper pushed Nadira behind him again as she tried to peek around him.

  “Freeze! CPD!” he shouted again, aiming his weapon at the assailant.

  “Toma?” Nadira called out, quickly moving from behind him, going to the large male with a sword still in his hand.

  “Nadira, honey, move out of my way,” Cooper said, his arm steady as he aimed at the killer.

  “Nadira, what the hell are you doing here?” The male towered over her as he stalked toward her.

  “I will shoot your ass! Get the fuck away from the female!” Cooper shouted, slowly stepping towards the pair. Nadira stood in front of the towering black-haired man. The closer he moved to them, he could see the attacker had the same blue eyes as Nadira. Menacing icy blue eyes that were now trained on him.

  “Cooper, this is my brother, Toma,” she said, pleading with her eyes. “Please put the gun down.”

  “Like hell I will. He just killed a guy in front of me,” Cooper said, nodding to the headless corpse lying on the ground a few feet from them. “Throw your weapon down.”

  “Nadira, who the fuck is this?” The guy named Toma demanded, grabbing Nadira to turn her to him. Her eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the man she called her brother and Cooper.