Morana rubbed her hands together. “So maybe I’ll get to move up in society.”
Jess’s eyebrow rose. According to Diesel, who’d told her before he died, Morana already wanted to take over the Order of the Revenant, but so far hadn’t succeeded. She probably thought that’s what Jess was talking about.
“Okay, if that’s the way you want it to be. I’m just saying you need to watch your back. I don’t think anyone is actually afraid we’ll change things, but I do think they’d either like to get rid of us or use us.”
Chapter Eleven
VERONIQUE ENTERED the Prefecture at seven p.m. and stood in the reception area of the building where she’d worked for more than twenty years. Overnight, the offices had been totally rearranged. In shock, she assessed the changes that had happened since she’d been here last.
The outer office had become a virtual fortress. Bars were on exterior windows and doors had been fortified. What did they think was about to happen?
She proceeded to the locked door, pressed her keycard against its mechanism, and nothing happened. She went back to the main reception desk. When a strange cop approached, he asked if he could help her.
“Who are you?” she asked gruffly. “And where is Maurice?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. There’s been a change of staff,” he said.
“Why?”
“You’ll have to take that up with the chief.”
“I might do that if I could get into my office,” she said, her irritation showing.
“You haven’t been given your new keycard?” he asked.
“No.”
“Maybe you’ve been replaced as well,” he said in a voice that told her that he couldn’t care less that he might be telling her something so shocking.
“That doesn’t make sense. I’m the lead on the serial killer case.”
He looked down his extra-long aquiline nose that practically touched his overlarge lips. “Like I said, take it up with the chief.”
She tapped her foot on the floor and fought the urge to scream at the idiot. “I would, if I could get inside.”
He rolled his eyes and pressed a button, unlocking the door and letting her in.
She marched straight to her office first. Holy crap! She had been replaced. A stranger sat at her desk. Hell, even the furniture had changed.
“Where are my files?” she shouted, marching inside.
The man sitting at the new desk lifted his head and feigned ignorance, but there was a nasty enjoyment of the situation glimmering in his eyes. “They’ve been removed.”
“To where?”
“I’m sure that’s for a member of the department to know. You, I take it, are no longer privy to such information.”
She gripped her hands at her sides and bit back a slew of curses, because it would probably give this idiot too much pleasure.
She pivoted on her heel and strode out, directly toward the chief’s office. His door was shut, but she didn’t care. She rammed it open and strode inside. His back was to her, and he was on the phone.
When he turned, her stomach twisted. “Bernard, what are you doing in the chief’s chair?”
He drew on a cheroot and blew smoke in her general vicinity. “I am the chief. You should show some respect.”
Veronique couldn’t believe they’d gotten rid of the chief. He had a wall full of commendations and was the best chief the department had ever had. “Where is he?” No need to guess who the leak in the department was now.
“Don’t know. Don’t care,” Bernard said with a sly grin.
She glared at the poor excuse of a man. He’d been vying for her position. She knew she couldn’t trust him as far as she could spit, but stealing the chief’s job? What an asshole.
“What happened to everyone? Where are they now?”
“We got rid of the deadwood,” he said, making a smoke ring that grew larger on its way to the ceiling. “Yourself included.”
“How is it everyone else was told before me?”
“We couldn’t find you last night.” Bernard leaned forward on his elbows and narrowed those pin-sized eyes of his. “Where were you?”
“That’s none of your goddamned business,” she said. “What about the mayor? Is he on board with this?”
“Of course, Mayor Blanchard knows on which side his bread is buttered. He’s smart enough to go along with the new order.”
“No one gave me any such option,” she said. Not that she would have agreed anyway.
“I chose who went and who stayed,” Bernard said. “You’ve always been a pain in the ass. I wanted you out.”
“What about the serial killer? Who’s going to protect the citizens from him?”
Bernard shrugged. “That’ll be someone else’s worry.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I think we’re done here.” He waved her off, then took a long drag on his cigar and practically filled the room with disgusting plumes of smoke. She fought off a cough, turned, and walked out.
Then went straight to Vlad’s.
The bar was packed, and raised voices inside were unusual. The vampires were more animated than normal tonight. She stopped at the bar. “Is Vlad here?”
“He’s inside.”
Veronique knew where to go. She often met him here after one of her shifts.
She pressed the security code into the door and let herself in. She found Vlad drinking from a blond, who appeared to be in rapture as his teeth drew blood from her.
Veronique pressed a hand to her forehead, noticing it felt clammy and damp. She’d never seen him imbibing, and she wished she hadn’t now. That buxom blond was a polar opposite of her. Jealous much?
Damn straight.
He finished, and the blond threw her head back in a wanton, sexual way. She wanted more, but much to Veronique’s relief, Vlad had obviously finished with her. He turned away for a moment to clean up, then led the blond to the door and returned to Veronique.
“My love? I didn’t think you wanted to be part of this.”
He’d invited her to witness his feeding before, but it went against everything she’d sworn to when she’d become a detective in the French police.
“I needed to talk to you,” she said, ignoring the feeding issue. “I’ve been fired. The whole department has been fired, except for Bernard, as far as I can tell.” She inhaled a long breath. “They’ve changed everything, Vlad. The windows have been reinforced and the doors. The locks have been changed, and the building is full of individuals I’ve never seen before.”
“What is going on?” he said.
“I have no fricking idea.” She leaned heavily against the side of his desk. “I don’t know what to do about it, either.”
“Are they all humans?” he asked.
She shook her head and threw her hands into the air. “I have no idea. I wasn’t allowed to stay long, and I’ve learned I’m not the best at identifying your kind.”
Vlad’s mouth pinched at her choice of words.
“Sorry, that’s not what I meant,” she said.
“This isn’t the Neo Order’s doing,” he said, obviously choosing to ignore any further mention of his kind. “They’re still in the planning stages, and it’s not their agenda to take over Paris. So, it must be the olde ones.”
“What? I thought the olde ones wanted to keep the Pact in place?”
“You know, I thought I was working both sides so well, but since I know nothing about this takeover, I’d say the olde ones are lying to me.”
“What are we going to do?”
He adjusted his charcoal silk suit jacket, then straightened his tie. “I’m beginning to think Jess Vandermire might come in useful here.”
“I’m not sure if eve
n she can help us, but I agree we should try to convince her. She’s got talents, and there’s something different about John Brittain as well.”
Vlad frowned and stared deeply into her eyes. She wanted to melt into them, but he’d started talking so she had to pull herself out and listen.
“What do you mean?” he said. “He’s definitely not a vampire. You’ve been working closely with Brittain—you’d know right away if he’d been turned.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. He’s not a vampire, but I’m beginning to think he’s something else. I’m quite sure he’s the one who made the blue light and burned vampires alive last year. And he found a tunnel into LaCave that was impossible to find. He acted surprised when we couldn’t see it, and that made me wonder just what he does see.”
“It was him. I saw it myself.”
Veronique frowned but didn’t ask why he hadn’t told her. They had more important things to discuss. We’ll need all the skill we can get, if we have to fight against this police department takeover.” Vlad’s hand touched hers then ran up her arm, stopping at the beating artery in her neck. “There’s a reason we found each other, Veronique. It wasn’t just lust. It’s more than that. We’re becoming partners—in every sense. I’d like to think if Vandermire and Brittain can do it, so can we.”
Veronique’s heart pounded at his words. His finger didn’t need to rest on her artery to hear her pulse quicken, but he seemed to be spurred by her reaction to his words.
Veronique closed her eyes momentarily. She shouldn’t be thinking about sex right now. Not with the takeover at the Prefecture changing the face of the city. And if the mayor was onboard, they were really in trouble.
“Do you think Jess is at home right now?” Vlad asked.
Veronique pulled out her cell. “Only one way to find out,” she said, dialing.
Jess picked up on the first ring. “Hello.”
“Veronique here,” she said.
“Okay?” Jess replied, obviously suspicious. She had been previously tricked by someone who had faked Veronique’s voice on the phone.
“It’s really me this time, Jess,” she said.
“Uh-huh.”
Realizing Jess would never believe her, Veronique handed the phone to Vlad. Jess would feel his individuality just by hearing his voice, and that way she’d know it was really him.
“Jess, this is Vlad. We need to meet with you right away. It’s important.”
Chapter Twelve
“I SUGGEST WE go to Vlad’s office,” Britt said. “After all you’ve learned from Calmet, maybe Vlad is working for the Immortal? How else would he have the power to get out of the vampire trap?”
Jess closed her eyes. So many things didn’t make sense anymore. “Do you truly feel he can’t be trusted?” she asked. Britt’s angelic DNA gave him more insight than most people.
He paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back while she waited.
When he stopped, he said, “Yes, I think I do trust him.”
Jess nodded. “That’s good enough for me. Let’s go.”
When they got there, Vlad had the bartender watching for them. He ushered them into the back office straight away.
“Glad you came,” Veronique said, rushing toward the door and grabbing Jess’s hands. “You won’t believe what I have to tell you.” And then she proceeded to tell Jess about the precinct’s takeover.
“That’s just crazy! And so brazen! They’re risking so much. What if the media got word of the overnight changes?”
“They seem to be able to do damage control like no one I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Vlad had been standing near Veronique but had remained silent. Jess flicked a glance at him. “What is your take on all of this?”
“I’m worried, to be honest. I’ve been a double agent of sorts—privy to information from the olde ones who’ve controlled the vampire population in France for centuries, as well as the Neo Order who want to bring vampires into the twenty-first century. Only it seems I’ve been duped. The olde ones have been leading me along, making me believe I was one of them while they’ve been using me for information and organizing behind my back.”
“Why would they do that?”
Vlad looked at Veronique, his eyes softening. “Maybe because they figured out my loyalties lie in another area completely. I’m actually leading the Neo Order.”
Veronique reached out and squeezed his hand. “And our loyalties are for peace in our city. To keep the Pact intact. It’s been integral in stopping an outbreak that could turn nasty. That’s why Vlad created the Neo Order. They are vampires who like the status quo and who don’t want to be ruled by the Immortal any longer.”
Jess cleared her throat. “How did you rescue me from the vampire trap?” she asked Vlad.
He frowned. “I didn’t jump into it and leap out with you, if that’s what you’re thinking. You were close to the edge, so I tossed you a rope. You tied it around your waist, and I hauled you out.”
“I don’t remember that part,” she said.
“No wonder. Things were starting to get pretty hot about then. We were both in agony.”
“If Jess couldn’t jump off the roof, how were you able to pull her off?” Britt asked.
“I’ve learned, over the years, that there’s always a glitch in the traps. If I use something manmade to extract the vampire, such as a rope or a piece of wood or pipe, anything I can extend into the trap without going inside myself, I can help the vampire escape. They only have to touch something solid from outside.”
“Good to know,” Britt said. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
“The trick is to be able to find something off-the-cuff to insert into the trap and help the vampire out. Once, I had nothing. Everything around me was solid brick, and I couldn’t find anything to help. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful that time. Since then, I carry this with me.” He pulled a tiny black rod from his belt.
“How could that possibly help?” Jess asked.
He flicked his wrist, and the rod extended to at least five feet.
“Is it sturdy enough?” Britt asked.
“It doesn’t have to be. It just has to be something the vampire can touch. If their hand is on this thing, they can walk right out.” He eyed Jess. “In your case, the rod wouldn’t reach, but I found a length of rope that worked,” he said. “Luckily, you were still aware enough to tie it around your waist.”
Jess shuddered. “You must have been severely burned, too.” She hadn’t realized it at the time.
He lifted his shoulders. “It was a chance I had to take.”
Veronique still held his hand. “He often checks the vampire traps, in hopes of aiding vampires.”
“I’m guessing the takeover at the Prefecture is why you called us here, and not the vampire traps?” Britt said. His voice held an edge that Jess recognized as his own angst because he hadn’t been able to save her himself.
“We didn’t know where else to turn,” Vlad said.
That wasn’t something she’d ever expected to hear from him.
“Was it just your Prefecture that has been compromised?” Jess asked.
“My guess is, it’s all of them,” Vlad said, sitting on the side of his desk and motioning for the rest of them to take a seat. “They wouldn’t succeed if they only replaced one Prefecture.”
Jess sank into a chair. “It’s like the demon uprising all over again.”
Veronique sighed. “Only this time, we’re up against an army of vampires who’ve been around for centuries. Vampires who know every nook and cranny of this city and who look after themselves.”
“You make it sound pretty hopeless,” Britt said, leaning against the wall near Jess.
“I’m curious. Is there any chance you know this Imm
ortal who rules the olde ones? Who is he?” Jess asked.
Vlad paused, considered the question. Jess wasn’t sure whether he just didn’t know, or was trying to decide if he should tell them.
“The thing is, I’ve recently met an Immortal,” Jess said, giving him an opening.
“Immortal?” Veronique asked. “What are you talking about?”
Vlad stood and paced to a tiny window looking out on an alleyway. “It’s not something we talk about. It’s hard to admit that we are being, and have been, ruled by a non-vampire for longer than we care to admit.”
“What?” Veronique planted her hands on her hips. “Why haven’t you told me?”
He shrugged and turned back to smile at her. “I didn’t want to put you in harm’s way unnecessarily, my love. The Immortal is deadly. He rules with an iron fist. We all have to pay our dues to him in one way or another. Even though they like the way things are, the olde ones are the most at his mercy—so they toe the line. That said, they’re like mad dogs being kept on a leash. They continue to run their companies and reap the rewards, but the Immortal takes the lion’s share of the profits.”
“What could he possibly hold over them?” Veronique asked.
“I have the feeling I know,” Jess said. “The Immortal I met is very powerful. He actually created the vampire traps.”
Vlad’s expression turned to shock. “You’ve met Joseph Emmanuel Calmet? Not possible. He disappeared—”
“I know,” Jess said. “Six hundred years ago. I guess that means he’s not the Immortal leading the vampires?”
“That’s right,” Vlad said. “But now you’re saying Calmet’s back?”
“Actually, he never left. He’s been living in Paris all along.”
“I don’t believe it,” he said.
“It’s true. And he might be our only hope against the other Immortal.”
“You’re right,” Vlad said. “We’d need the strength of another Immortal against our leader if we have any hope of winning. He must be starting with the police force, putting his own followers on the inside to give him more strength.”
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