by Brenda Trim
Her Vampire Suspect
Brenda Trim
Midnight Romance, LLC
Contents
Her Vampire Suspect
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Author’s Note
Want More Midnight Doms?
Also by Brenda Trim
Excerpt from Dream Warrior, Dark Warrior Alliance Book #1
About the Author
Her Vampire Suspect
“You’re in over your head, Agent.”
I told her not to come to the club. The beautiful mortal on a mission. She shouldn't be back. But women are dying, and she thinks we're involved.
FBI agent or not, she can't take on the vampire king and win.
I need to help her find a serial killer—but she won't obey me.
So I'll make her obey. And when our enemies close in, I won't throw her to the wolves. I'll make her mine.
And once I own her, I’m not letting her go.
Preface
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Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.
~ Stephen R. Covey
Ava
My SAC slaps a case file against his palm. “DeLeon, Tinnea. My office, now.”
I shoot Bria Tinnea a look that says, ‘keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.’ She’s a NAT (New Agent Trainee), so any attention from Willows, and the woman starts confessing her sins. It would be comical—if I didn’t want to crawl in a hole for her.
The last time Willows, our SAC (Special Agent in Charge) addressed Bria, she told him she hadn’t had sex since she started at Quantico months ago. Now, to avoid Bria telling the SAC she almost took a guy home the last time we went out, I step forward and nod my head. “Be right there, sir.”
The snickers that start the second Willows is out of earshot make my blood boil. Diggs and Gleason belong in a frat house. Shooting them a glare, I snatch my folder off my desk and straighten my suit jacket.
Bria stands up and matches my stride as we walk down the hall. “Thank you. I don’t know why he makes me so damn nervous. It’s not like he’s ever said or done anything to me.”
I throw a smile at her and shrug my shoulders. “He’s your boss and you’re new. It took me more than a year before I stopped sweating every time I entered his office.”
Bria’s mouth drops open and her eyes go wide. She snaps it closed and waves her hands towards me. “I can’t imagine you ever being nervous. I mean. Look at you.”
I follow her gesture and see my dark blue suit and comfortable black shoes. It almost hurt to buy the low-heeled loafers. Four-inch slingbacks and three-inch ankle straps are more my speed. But, as with any shoes, I threw myself into buying the best. Regardless if they’re plain, shoes immediately spark my interest.
Entering the office, we find Willows behind his desk, scanning a file in front of him. The urge to straighten the various piles and clear away the mess beneath the manila folder distracts me for several seconds. I have no idea how the guy gets anything done with this mess.
“I have a new case for you two. So far, we’re looking at eight victims across four states. Looks like this killer moved to Arizona about six months ago. A local police chief decided to run a search on the MO in a new case. When he discovered four other victims in Arizona, he looked further. The second he realized it crossed state lines, he called us.” Willows pushes the folder to the other side of his desk.
Bria is already seated. I hurry to join her, and pick up the file before Willows knocks a stapler off the desk.
The referral from Police Chief Hays is sitting on top. There are brief details of the victims in Arizona, followed by an overview of what he discovered outside Arizona. Apparently, three victims were discovered clustered close together in Houston, Texas a couple months before that, and two near New Orleans a month prior to the Texas cases.
The first thing that pops out at me is that the perp seems to be moving his way across the United States. Next is the fact that the victims are all young, attractive women dressed in clothes suited for nightclubs. Short skirts, tight tops, and high heels.
I lift my head and meet Willows’s gray gaze. “Where do we stand on the investigation into cases in other states?”
He shakes his head. “We are still working that angle, but there is no indication the perp has moved on from this area.”
Returning to the file, I nod my head. “I see that the last victim was a couple days ago. He’s still in our city.”
“And, it doesn’t look like he holds his vics long before killing them. He drains them in an unknown location and dumps them somewhere they will be found.” Bria has a habit of stating relevant case facts out loud as she reads through the information. I know she does it, so I see her process, but it gets tiresome at times.
You’re training her. What you teach her will set the tone for her career. And in our line of work, patience is key. Without it, you can’t possibly continue looking into seemingly innocuous clues until you find your suspect.
“I don’t have to tell you how important it is to find this guy, and fast. The media will eat this shit up and frighten women everywhere.” Willows runs a hand through his hair and sits back in his chair.
I jump to my feet and hesitate before heading out of the office. “Is the evidence in the conference room?”
Willows nods in response. “Let me know the second you have anything to go on. The governor and mayor both want to be kept abreast of the situation. Neither wants a mass panic.”
“Will do.” I turn on my heel and leave the office with Bria right behind me.
Holding the conference room door open, Bria enters before me. “Do you want me to start the board while you go through the evidence?”
“Yes. Start with this one. At this point, it’s the closest thing we have to a starting point for this guy.” I hand her the information we have from previous states.
Sitting down, I start the grueling process of sifting through the information. I look through notes before moving on to comparing the autopsy reports. Hays wasn’t wrong in determining the modus operandi for our killer.
The demographics are all over the place. “Our first vic in Tucson is a white woman aged twenty-three who lived close to downtown. She was discovered on May twentieth. Next is a black woman, thirty-five years old. She was a lawyer from the north-east side of town, and was discovered May twenty-eighth. On June sixth they discovered a Hispanic woman, age forty. She was divorced; lived in Green Valley with her two kids. The last was a twenty-year-old co-ed from the university found on June thirteenth.” Bria wrote as I recited the details.
As I read, I confirm each one had indeed been killed the same way. Their throats were slit, and all suffered massive blood loss. What Willows hadn’t mentioned was the fact that they all showed signs of sexual and physical assault.
Glancing up, I wait until Bria stops notating previous victims on the board. “There isn’t a clear connection between dump sites. The first was near a warehouse, while the second was behind a hotel. The third was near the highway, and the fourth was in the parking structure of a high-rise. No signs of
a struggle on scene and no blood evidence.”
Bria’s hand flies over the white board as she writes. “Is there anything that connects them to each other? I can’t see anything obvious to go on.”
I keep sifting through the evidence and start taking sealed bags from the boxes. In the Hispanic victim’s file, I notice something that makes my heart skip a beat and my blood go cold. There’s a receipt from Club Toxic in an evidence baggie.
“There’s only one thing linking our victims.” I lift the baggie in one hand and several sheets from the files in the other. They’re the credit card statements from each victim. “Club Toxic.” I know the place. In fact, I think I recognize one of the women from the last time I was there.
Keeping hold of the evidence, I head to the door. “We need to tell SAC Willows. I think we need to take a field trip tonight.”
Bria catches up with me and keeps pace beside me. “Are we really going to a club tonight? I can try and get a warrant for their surveillance footage.”
“You work on that while I update Willows.”
Bria nods and turns back to her desk while I knock on the doorframe to Willows’s office. The top of his head gleams in the fluorescent lighting before he lifts it and raises one eyebrow in my direction.
“I found a connection between the victims. They all visited Club Toxic, a popular nightclub in the area.”
He cocks his head to the side and his forehead scrunches. I debate telling him that I know the club. If I say something, he will remove me from the case. But there’s no reason to go to such extremes. It’s not like I knew the women. I’m not even sure I ever saw them there. The place is always crowded with partiers. Frequenting a location doesn’t mean I can’t do my damn job.
Willows’s lips compress into a thin line. “Start with that angle. We don’t have anything else to go on at the moment.”
“We will find him. Tinnea is working on getting a warrant for their surveillance footage. We’ll go tonight, and serve it if we manage to get one.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Always.” My gut churns as I head for my partner.
More will die, and soon, unless we find this guy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that. His pattern makes that clear. This case brings up internal crap I have to stuff down in order to do my job.
My dad and grandfather would chastise me for being so distracted. I can’t help it. I made a promise to stop killers when Kat was murdered in high school. That incident made me work harder and go further until I became the best. No one should suffer like Kat’s family did.
Bria raps her knuckles on her desk the second I enter. “I couldn’t get the warrant. It’s not enough for probable cause. We need to prove that is the last place the victims went before disappearing.”
My breath leaves me in a gust as I take my seat, and I rest my head in my hands. “We will have to re-interview friends and family. But tonight, I want to go to the club and look around for myself. If we’re lucky, we will see something shady.”
Bria nods vigorously. “What are the chances of finding the perp in the middle of a crowded club?”
I keep my gaze focused on her rather than the other agents in the office. “Not very high, but it doesn’t mean we won’t see something. We can show pics of the victims to the bartenders.” Pulling out my encrypted phone, I take snapshots of several pics from the files.
Diggs and Gleason are standing beside a filing cabinet outside the break room. Diggs is wearing an infuriating smirk, while Gleason whispers like a lover behind his hand. Because they’re looking at me and Bria, I brace myself for the incoming bullshit.
When we get closer, the Hardy Boys step shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking my way.
“Hey, DeLeon. I don’t know if you should be going to this club tonight.”
Oh, boy. Here it comes. “And why is that, oh Wise Special Agent of the Bureau?” I cross my arms.
Gleason comes mockingly to my defense. “Now hold on there, Diggs. I think you’re being a little too hard on her. Those creases on her slacks are pretty damn sexy.”
“You know, I stand corrected.” Diggs steps back and appraises my standard FBI slacks, practical shoes, and button-down shirt. Men are dicks. “Those shoes have a certain… gosh, what’s the word I’m looking for?”
Okay, I’m done. “Knock it off, assholes.” I shove past them and Bria scampers after me. “You think you can do better than me? Come to the club tonight and prove it.” I tap my fingers to my brow in mock salute. Let’s see how they deal with my 5-minute-mile toned ass in a short black skirt and spike heels.
Corbyn
“I see you have developed a taste for the services we have to offer.” Liam’s critical gaze assesses me as I enter Club Toxic. He seems to be taunting or teasing me, but his expression tells me a different story altogether. He narrows his eyes and purses his lips, like I’m a shifty character who has to be watched.
Not taking it personally, I loosen my stance and lift my shoulders lazily. “What can I say? Lucius offers the best drinks in town.”
“You must really like them, since you haven’t taken a partner downstairs for two weeks despite being here nightly.”
“Finding a good vintage is harder than you think.” I force a smile across my mouth while fighting to keep my expression neutral. This is what happens when you live in an area ruled by a powerful vampire. Technically, I am part of Lucius’s brood because I reside in Tucson, but I typically don’t interact with others. There are fewer questions and problems when you keep to yourself. Besides, my research consumes most of my time.
Moving to the area necessitated my visits to the club. It was either that, or starve and become a danger. If my work didn’t require me to be close to metropolitan areas, I would live on a deserted island. Unfortunately, I can’t develop cures for human diseases unless I have some to study.
Liam shakes his head and snorts. “Not if you know where to find them.”
I continue past him and inside. Pausing, I scan my surroundings. Is she here? My heart stutters. It does the same thing every night as I enter the club, all thanks to an FBI agent with unforgettable eyes. She’s come here numerous times and I have watched her dance. It was the fact that she never actually consumes alcohol that drew my notice.
Vampires must remain hidden. A woman as observant as Ava poses a risk to us all, so I sent her away every time I saw her.
I consider heading to the dungeon for a glass of blood but walk past the coat room with its hidden entrance and move into the main club. It’s been a week since I last fed, and the thirst is starting to intrude into my constant thoughts of Special Agent Ava DeLeon. I’ll have to bite the bullet and feed tonight. But first, I need to find out if Ava returned despite me compelling her not to.
I’m just being a good vampire. Protecting my nest. After all, that’s the oath I took when I approached Lucius about moving to his city. Unlike some of my kind, I didn’t bristle at being told to help keep our existence a secret. I’m always in my lab, so I’m not worried that I will do something to bring unwanted attention to us. I mastered my bloodlust a long time ago, so there’s no risk I will leave a trail of bodies leading to my doorstep. The one thing I haven’t overcome is my insatiable desire to understand.
Keeping my eyes trained on Roxy as I walk toward the bar gets harder with every night that passes. I want to stop and find Ava before I do anything else, despite the fact that she hasn’t been here for a couple weeks.
Roxy smiles at me while wiping out a glass. “Your usual?”
I return the gesture. I don’t bother leaning forward or raising my voice when I speak. The music might be loud, but as a vampire, Roxy can hear me just fine. “You know me too well.”
Turning, I finally allow myself to scan the room for Ava. The first time I visited the club, I couldn’t see through the crush of bodies writhing on the dance floor. Tonight, there is enough space for me to look down the hall on the other side of the place.
The s
mell of alcohol, jasmine and arousal reaches me before the woman takes a seat next to me. “Can you make a white Russian?”
“Sure can.” Roxy has a new shaker in hand before the full request is out of the woman’s mouth. I watch the skill with which she grabs various bottles and adds them to the cup she filled with ice.
“You’ve found her.” The woman next to me is speaking, but I don’t know her, so I ignore it.
A snicker from two tables over catches my attention. Two pairs of eyes are trained on me when I flick a glance in that direction. I can hear one tell the other she can’t believe Belinda actually said something to me.
A quick scan of the woman next to me tells me this is Belinda, and based on her friend’s comments, I realize she is talking to me. Belinda’s posture is awkward as she tries to push her breasts out and turn her body my way. She has no idea how attractive she is without having to draw more attention to her physical attributes. Not that I want anything to do with her.
“You’re mistaken. You aren’t interested in me. You came here to drink with your friends.” I add a touch of compulsion to my words. The second Roxy delivers her drink, Belinda stands up and walks back to her friends without saying anything else. Immediate obedience. The precise reaction I expect from humans.
Roxy leans forward slightly as she washes the shaker out. “You’re good at that. I almost didn’t feel you using your power.”
“I’d better be, after six hundred years.” This visit is going to be as fruitless as the last thirteen. I must have used too little power on Ava that first time. It’s the only plausible explanation for why she came back despite my ordering her to stay away.
