by Gaja J. Kos
The pack agreed to get in touch after they wrapped up at Pri Sojenicah, letting her know whether they would return here or stay in Ljubljana for damage control. If it was the former, her plan would fall apart, and she would spend the night furious at herself for taking a gamble.
Yet even knowing all that didn’t make saying what she needed to any easier. Not with what she was demanding of her friends. Of her consort.
Swallowing the last bit of the spring roll, Rose blew out a steadying breath, then conveyed to Morana and Serafina what Veles already knew. The god’s calm expression never faltered as she summed up the attack on Ileana, but Rose could sense the burning weight of his gaze, letting on he at least suspected what she was up to.
And, as she predicted, he didn’t like it one bit.
Ironically, neither did she.
“You still haven’t been able to sense them, have you?” she asked Morana once she was done.
The goddess shook her head, her full lips pulled into an apologetic line. “Either I’m not strong enough yet, or they have found a way to shield themselves from my sight. Even with Serafina’s aid”—her pale eyes warmed as she looked at the Koldunya—“their location continues to elude me.”
“I’ve been talking to the elders,” Serafina chipped in, her hand touching Morana’s lightly, “but they don’t know anything more than what I’ve already told you. Nobody learned where they’d taken up residence after the Realm of Kolovrat had fragmented.”
Rose closed her eyes, swatting away the slight nausea and its tumbling cartwheels. She pushed away the plastic container, cursing herself for believing her stomach could handle food at a time like this.
The hour she had spent in Veles’s embrace had offered her the oblivion she sought, but now—there was nothing to soften the impact of what she had to do.
She met the entrancing olive hue of Veles’s eyes. “You told me once that war will come, but that it won’t be our deaths the world will celebrate in the end. Only that won’t happen if we have to fight everyone at once. You know yourself just how little progress we’ve made with the Upirs, even with Katja working twenty-four seven on tracking the bastards down. And with the vamps lashing out and the Keepers a disaster just waiting to happen, we already have three fronts demanding our attention. We can’t afford to add a fourth to the list, not when there’s still a chance of putting an end to the problem before it goes out of hand…”
Nobody said a word as she fell quiet, breathing deeply to gather enough strength to give her silent conviction a voice. But even in the stillness of the room, she could feel Veles’s hesitation. His concern. As if the god already knew what was coming in painfully clear detail.
“If we haven’t found the Vedmaks so far, I don’t think we’ll have any more luck in the future. And we really can’t afford to wait, to give them time to hit us when we’re at our weakest—or knee-deep in some other shit.”
She squared her shoulders and met Morana’s gaze. Then Serafina’s. And, finally, her consort’s.
Her heart threatened to break, but she latched on to that flicker of courage, that whisper inside, reminding her what—and who—she was fighting for. She clasped her hands in her lap and swallowed.
“But there is something we can do to get ahead of the situation. Draw the bastards out.”
Morana’s tone was guarded, her voice tense as she asked, “How?”
“We give them what they want. Me.”
Chapter 9
Despite the late afternoon hour, the precinct was busy. Officers rushed about, several of them guiding prisoners into interrogation rooms or preparing to take them to holding, while others busied themselves with an unruly amount of paperwork.
Crime was on the rise in Ljubljana lately, from speeding to theft, even some shootings, and although the stockpile of fines aided the department’s budget, Tomo could see the worn faces of the men pulling additional hours. The bonuses didn’t outweigh the strain of the job. His own partner had balked under the workload just shy of a week earlier, taking medical leave until his doctor said otherwise.
Tomo sighed. Perhaps it was for the best. The kid was enthusiastic, if slightly hotheaded, and that was a combination that could prove lethal in case he ever went head-to-head with a vamp.
With the bitter thought still echoing in his mind, Tomo swiped a thick manila folder off his desk and strode across the bull pen towards the captain’s office. Voices were coming from behind the closed door, deep, muffled whispers, suggesting Tater wasn’t alone, so he leaned against the cream-colored wall and skimmed through the contents.
Although he knew each and every report by heart, it didn’t hurt to go through the pages once more. With each line he read, he honed the anger that flamed to life inside him—at the crimes, but even more so at the awareness that this wasn’t the entirety of it. Not even close.
He wasn’t enthusiastic about presenting a case far weaker than it could have been, yet he couldn’t deny there was reason in Mark’s words. If they were to involve the police in its official capacity, they could hardly reveal what had been buried in the shadows. So Tomo made sure that every crime included in the folder had been pulled from official reports, the offending parties exclusively the vamps who had been let off with a warning or fine, killed during the takedown, or arrested and thrown in jail. Sadly, the latter category didn’t have satisfactory numbers.
Vampires were a pain in the ass to hold, and the local prison had far too few enforced cells for all the individuals Tomo wouldn’t have minded locking up.
But one thing was clear. Even with the pack taking down most of the aggressors on their own under the police’s radar—or, in some cases, well before the officers had the chance to arrive on scene—the data was nonetheless telling.
Just like with any other gang or group, if enough hot spots spurted to life in the same area, it meant things couldn’t be left unmonitored any longer. Hopefully, the law wouldn’t discriminate now.
A set of footsteps echoed from the office, heavy and gaining in volume. Tomo snapped the folder shut, nodded to the senior detective he’d crossed paths with on a few raids as the door to the office swung open, then stalked inside. The room was stuffy despite the whirls of the cooling unit perched below the ceiling, making him wish he’d left his jacket at his station.
Captain Tater was sitting behind his executive desk, looking every inch the man on the verge of snarling. The lines on his face were more pronounced than usual, his thick brows furrowed, and the vein in his neck pulsing in a rapid rhythm. Whatever detective Matai had brought to his attention had to have been bad.
Tomo took a deep breath, but didn’t let his slight aggravation show as he greeted his superior. Tater wasn’t the most pleasant person to work with by far, but at least the man was effective when approached in the appropriate manner and presented a case that held.
Unfortunately, catching him in a solid mood usually went a long way.
He strode up to the desk, deep blue eyes meeting his. “You wanted to speak with me, Kralj?”
“Yes, sir.” Tomo took the offered chair. “I was the responding officer on a hit on a local establishment earlier today. Eleven vampires attacked the bar Pri Sojenicah and their patrons in broad daylight with no discernible reason in sight. It was fortunate that a few vampiric descendants were present at the time and were able to stop the perpetrators before they took innocent lives.” The lie rolled off his tongue easily, especially when the pack agreed to let the coroner take the corpses. Needless to say, it helped that the M.E. on duty at the time had been none other than Nathaniel. “But if it weren’t for them, sir, the casualties would have been high. One of the perpetrators is currently waiting for interrogation, but I wanted to bring the issue to you before I continued.”
Tater gave him a curt dip of his chin—confirmation that he may present his case. Some of the strain in Tomo lessened.
“Since this isn’t the first vampire related crime we’ve had in the past year, I took the liber
ty of compiling a file of reports not only our precinct received, but the wider Ljubljana PD.” He handed the folder over to the Captain. “Although the warehouse attack was the largest, and the most tragic one, I dare say the accumulative incidents leading up to today’s attack are not something that should be taken lightly. With the few resources the precinct, as well as Ljubljana PD as a whole, has to counter individuals of the vampiric race, I’m afraid of what could happen if things developed any further.”
Tater skimmed through the folder, the paper rustling lightly, reaching over the wisps of traffic rising from the street below. The man’s dark brows came together when he reached the final report, his eyes darting from side to side as he read over the details once more. Tomo knew the account of the incident stood. Zarja had volunteered to be put down as one of the witnesses since she had already worked with the police while tracking down the Upir and therefore didn’t have the need to conceal her identity, while Frank, as the legal owner of the bar, had no qualms stepping up.
Their testimony helped create a believable story, given the biker pack had been long gone when Tomo arrived on scene, but even that fit the bill perfectly. After all, it wasn’t unusual for those involved in a fight to flee, regardless of their innocence, when the aftermath was littered with corpses. The Slovene justice system had its flaws, and nobody was exactly thrilled to go through the lengthy court protocols just to clear their name when disappearing made things so much easier.
And with the guise of vamp descendants in play, nobody would as much as blink at their decision to shield themselves from the public eye—even from something supposedly as confidential as a police report. Naturally, it left the authorities pissy, but what good were hunters, after all, if their targets learned their names?
The captain leaned back in his chair and closed the folder, sliding it onto his desk. He held Tomo’s gaze with the icy sharpness of his.
“I agree with you, Kralj. The crimes you have highlighted are worrisome.” He drummed his fingers against the clear edge of the desk, his gaze drifting to the windows still bearing gray droplets from the last thunderstorm that had hit Ljubljana, then focused his attention back on him once more. “You may work on this as long as it doesn’t interfere with other cases. However, with our forces stretched out as thin as they already are, I’m afraid I cannot assign any additional men to the task.” He held up a hand when Tomo stirred. “Yes, vampiric crimes have the tendency to produce severe consequences, but so do others. With the shipment of illegal firearms that arrived in Ljubljana sometime during the past month, the local gangs have been busy. We suspect the weapons came from Maribor, but we still haven’t been able to track down the supplier. And so far, our men are more often trailing after bodies than the people responsible for them. I’m sorry, but that situation has priority.
“That being said, I do want you to inform me the instant things escalate. If they do, I’ll speak with the chief to see if she can transfer some more men over to us.” He tapped the folder with a finger. “I’ll hold on to this in case she’ll need persuading.”
Although every nerve in his body was telling him to argue against the decision, Tomo nodded. “I understand, sir. I will loop in the two consultants on vamps I have previously worked with to assist on the case, and we’ll keep you informed of any new developments.”
“No.”
The word cut through the room like a knife.
Tomo tensed up. “No, sir?”
“If you want me to bring this before the chief, we cannot have outsiders working on the case. I never officially approved either of the two associates, and it will be hard enough to explain their past involvement without casting a bad light on the precinct as it is.” The crow’s feet around his eyes deepened, as did the frown. Slowly, Tater shook his head. “As I said, you can work on this alone, Kralj. And I’ll see what I can do if the need arises.”
Acknowledging the captain’s words for the dismissal they were, Tomo could do nothing but thank the man for his time and walk out the door, fighting to leash his frustration and hoping his mistake wouldn’t cost the pack too much.
With the silent twentyfourhourly chained securely in the back of the police car, Tomo drove down Ljubljana’s streets, grateful the rush hour had already rolled by. The tunnel leading under the castle was still carrying the remnants of the busy workday, but as he emerged on the other side and turned right, following a narrow road that would take him farther west, the traffic dropped down to a trickle.
He peered at the vampire through the rearview mirror, but the dark-haired man was as solemn and as quiet as he had been during interrogation. He hadn’t as much as demanded a lawyer, merely admitted his participation in the attempted slaughter, then refused to say another word. It didn’t matter how hard he’d pressed, Tomo couldn’t get the bastard to break.
Then again, he wasn’t exactly surprised. Someone who’d decided to rush into a supernatural bar and mow down everyone in sight was hardly going to be intimidated by a human officer. Even more so by one who had to do everything by the book.
He let out an inaudible groan, knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel in an attempt to ease some of the tension building up in his neck and shoulders.
The low, graffiti-covered buildings darted by on each side, a few pedestrians moving languidly down the sidewalk. Ljubljana continued to stay ignorant of the threat looming over it with hungry talons, just waiting for the right time to strike.
People liked to say that ignorance is bliss, but Tomo had a hard time accepting the old proverb. He wondered just how many lives the pack and the rest of the weres living in town had saved while its citizens blundered about none the wiser. How many times they must have intervened, even long before his own involvement.
There was an entire world existing under the facade of normalcy that now assaulted his senses, and, somehow, he couldn’t help but feel responsible for not offering his complete assistance earlier. He’d known of the weres’ presence for decades, for gods’ sake, and not once did he think of the civil services the pack had been performing under the radar this entire time.
Mulling over the unpleasant, guilt-ridden thought, he neared the intersection between Poljanska and Roška. He eased his foot off the pedal as the light changed from green to yellow when a vehicle darted out from a small, abandoned lot on the left. It skidded across the sidewalk, and before Tomo could react, it rammed right into the side of his car.
He swerved around, brakes screeching as he evaded crashing into the building on his right by an inch, but even before the car had actually stopped, the sound of glass splintering exploded from behind. Tomo flung himself out the door, one hand on his gun, the other on his walkie-talkie, already calling for backup. But aside from the smoking, beat-up hood of the red Golf, there was no one else on the road.
The perps were gone.
And so was the prisoner.
Chapter 10
“I know I said you should make it believable… But, damn, you really did give it your best, eh?” Tomo’s voice came over the phone, slightly rougher around the edges than normal.
Evelin winced, the touch of early evening wind brushing against her face. “Sorry. But it worked, didn’t it?”
For a second, there was nothing but silence, then hearty laughter filled her ears, drowning out the light hum of traffic with its vibrant blend of relief and amusement. “Yeah, it worked. It worked so well that I didn’t even have to falsify my report. Only omit a detail or two.”
She couldn’t prevent the smile from tugging at the corners of her lips. She hadn’t thought it possible for her respect of the man to grow any bigger, but he’d proven her wrong. What Tomo had done today, despite the setback…
“Thank you. For everything. I really hoped the captain would grant you the additional men.”
“Can’t win all the time,” he said softly. Evelin could almost see the easy expression matching his words. “Do you have the bastard secured?”
“We do.” S
he gave him the details. “You’re more than welcome to join the interrogation after you’re done.”
There was a slight pause. Evelin knew Tomo was fully aware of just what her invitation implied. Of the lines they would blur if he were to accept it.
“I appreciate that, Evelin,” the officer answered, the sincerity in his tone relieving some of tension that had coiled up inside her in those thunderous moments of silence. “But it might be a while before I can leave the station. As you can imagine, the incident stirred up quite some shit.”
She laughed. “Well, maybe that will be enough to convince the captain to take your folder to the chief.”
“Maybe,” he said ominously, but Evelin could hear the mirth clinging to his words. “I’ll give you a ring when we’re done. And if you’re still there, I’ll gladly swing by.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the conviction embedded in his tone. She smiled. The extended pack had just gained another member.
She stopped on the sidewalk, closing her eyes for a moment to let the news settle in as gratitude washed over her in waves.
Nikolai had always been fond of the idea of human-werewolf cooperation. But Tomo’s willingness to work on the case beyond the confines of human law… It was a step not even Nikolai had dared dream of.
She opened her eyes, remembering the officer was still on the other end of the line. “Sounds amazing,” she admitted. “Oh, in case I don’t answer, call Zarja.”
His hesitation was brief. “You’re not there?”
“I’m tracking down a lead.”
“Spoken like a true detective. I’m proud.”
Evelin chuckled. “I did learn from the best, you know?”
She could almost see the warmth in Tomo’s seasoned cop gaze as he drawled, “Happy hunting.”
